ADMISSION FEVER
The first thing Gabby noticed about the school was the noise.
Not normal noise.
The kind of noise that sounded like generators fighting for survival, students shouting across balconies like market women, and somebody somewhere frying plantain by 6:12 AM like national peace depended on it.
He stood at the school gate with one traveling bag, one fading box, and one dream that looked bigger than his account balance.
“Medical Laboratory Science…” he muttered under his breath, staring at the giant school signboard like it personally challenged him.
Behind him, his mother adjusted her wrapper and smiled proudly.
“You don enter university now,” she said.
Gabby smiled too, but inside his chest, fear and excitement were wrestling like WWE.
University.
The place everybody hyped.
The place where boys became men.
Or failures.
Or motivational speakers on WhatsApp status.
Sometimes all three together.
A rusty bus nearly brushed his leg as it sped past.
“Guy shift na!” the conductor yelled.
“Sorry sir, na first day excitement,” Gabby replied.
The conductor looked at him for two seconds.
“You never chop school stress yet. Your smile still complete.”
His mother laughed.
Gabby didn’t know that would be the most accurate prophecy he would hear all year.
...The hostel smelled like sweat, noodles, perfume, and frustration.
The room assigned to him looked like ten different personalities had fought and lost there.
One bunk had clothes hanging like surrender flags.
Another had textbooks stacked like mini graves.
A standing fan rotated with the sound of a struggling motorcycle.
“New guy?”
Gabby turned.
A tall dark guy wearing only shorts pointed at him with bread in his mouth.
“Yeah.”
“Department?”
“MLS.”
The guy whistled dramatically.
“Omo. Another victim.”
Before Gabby could reply, another voice shouted from the top bunk.
“Hope you sabi read till 3 AM?”
Laughter exploded across the room.
Gabby forced a smile.
He still thought they were joking.
That was his second mistake.
...By evening, he met Tobi.
Tobi was the kind of person that could joke during a robbery and somehow survive.
The guy entered the room sweating heavily, threw his bag on the floor dramatically, then announced:
“Gentlemen… I have spent my last card on rice and beans. Financially, I am now operating by faith.”
Everybody laughed immediately.
Even Gabby.
Tobi pointed at him.
“Ah. Fresh boy.”
“Gabby.”
“Good. You still look innocent. School never use broom sweep your destiny.”
Gabby burst out laughing.
Within minutes, they were talking like old friends.
Tobi spoke with the energy of somebody permanently escaping village people.
He narrated how one lecturer allegedly failed half a class because someone yawned while he was teaching.
“Impossible,” Gabby said.
Tobi looked at him seriously.
“You still believe impossible exists here?”
The room screamed with laughter again.
...Night came differently in university.
Secondary school nights used to feel peaceful.
University nights felt like war preparation.
Every corner had students reading.
Some whispered loudly.
Some walked around with flashcards.
Some looked mentally absent from Earth.
At exactly 11:43 PM, Gabby heard someone shouting from outside:
“WHO TOOK MY PRACTICAL MANUAL?!”
Another voice shouted back:
“CHECK UNDER YOUR PILLOW!”
Another person screamed:
“I SWEAR IF I FAIL THIS COURSE—”
“YOU WILL REPEAT IT!” somebody answered immediately.
The entire hostel erupted with laughter.
Gabby leaned against the window smiling.
Maybe this place would actually be fun.
Then his phone buzzed.
His father.
“How far school?”
Gabby answered quickly.
“Fine sir.”
“You’ve seen your department?”
“Yes sir.”
“You know why we suffered to send you there.”
The smile on Gabby’s face reduced slightly.
“Yes sir.”
“No distractions. Face your books. No failure.”
“Yes sir.”
The call ended.
Simple conversation.
But suddenly the room felt smaller.
Pressure had entered quietly.
...Days passed.
Orientation came and went.
Lecturers arrived with enough intimidation to qualify as military commanders.
One lecturer walked into class, adjusted his glasses, and said:
“Look to your left.”
Everybody obeyed.
“Now look to your right.”
Everybody obeyed again.
“By final year, one of them may not graduate with you.”
Silence.
Then somebody at the back whispered:
“Sir abeg don’t curse us.”
The class exploded with laughter.
Even the lecturer laughed small.
But Gabby noticed something.
Nobody truly relaxed afterward.
Because deep down, everybody believed him.
...Medical school quickly exposed people.
Some students acted rich until school fees appeared.
Some acted nice until group assignments started.
Some disappeared immediately after borrowing money.
Some only remembered your existence near exams.
Gabby watched everything carefully.
He laughed with people.
Cruised with them.
Read with them.
But somewhere inside him, he already understood one dangerous truth:
In this school, everybody was trying to survive themselves first.
...One rainy evening, light went off during reading hours.
Groans filled the hostel immediately.
“NEPA AGAIN?!”
“God punish this country!”
“Person wan pass exam o!”
Tobi used his phone torch dramatically under his face.
“If we perish, we perish.”
“Shut up!” somebody threw a pillow at him.
The room burst into chaos.
People shouting.
Laughing.
Arguing.
One guy nearly fighting because someone touched his indomie.
Gabby laughed so hard his stomach hurt.
For a moment, all the pressure disappeared.
No grades.
No fear.
No future worries.
Just tired students trying to survive life one joke at a time.
And somehow…
that made everything bearable.
...Later that night, after everyone slept, Gabby remained awake.
The fan still made its struggling sound.
Mosquitoes operated freely like licensed citizens.
He stared at the ceiling quietly.
Outside, distant laughter echoed from another hostel block.
Inside his chest, dreams mixed with fear again.
What if he failed?
What if he disappointed everybody?
What if he wasn’t strong enough?
He closed his eyes slowly.
Then whispered to himself:
“No matter what happens… I go survive this place.”
At that moment, he believed it completely.
He had no idea university was only just beginning to introduce itself...........
