**Sabon Titin Kwaɗo, Katsina State...**

A young girl sat in a spacious room that, at first glance, appeared to belong to a young lady. The room contained two beds, two dressing mirrors, and two wardrobes. Despite the clutter in the room, it was still aesthetically pleasing.

Slowly, she reached for her peach-colored cart ears headphones, put them on while chewing gum, and adjusted them. She connected the headphones to her phone and opened TikTok, starting to record a video, her expressions like a doll with a battery. She recorded and re-recorded the video three times, each time not satisfied with her performance. Just as she was about to start recording again, the door to her room opened.

She quickly lowered the phone and greeted the person who entered, a fair young woman who resembled her. However, a closer look showed that the one entering was older, with more noticeable signs of maturity. She wore the uniform of Katsina State College of Health Science and Technology.

She held a teddy backpack in her right hand and appeared exhausted, leaning against the door frame. Her tiredness was apparent as she squinted her eyes, a clear sign of fatigue. The younger girl, noticing her exhaustion, laughed and kept scrolling through her phone, continuing to chew gum. She stared at her tired sister, then spoke.

“Students think they know it all! Who told you that Borno is east of us?”

She said while still looking at her phone, her gum popping. The other girl sat up, slowly and tiredly, then replied.

“Well, it’s not that bad. I’ve been going and coming by car... Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered!”

“See! You never listen! Now you’re beginning to realize what they meant!”

“Humm! Forget it! Class 2-4 wasn’t even good!”

She stood up, pulling her headscarf off, then took off her shoes.

“Amira! Amira!”

A voice called from downstairs, causing Amira to respond quickly.

“Yes, Mummy!”

She quickly put her phone down and stood up, rushing to her feet. Her sister, still lying on the bed, muttered.

“I forgot I was supposed to call her earlier...”

Before she could finish speaking, the door opened abruptly, making them both quickly look towards the door. Though they knew who was coming, it was a familiar face. Mummy entered with a stern look, her displeasure clear. Amira felt her body freeze, a sense of guilt overwhelming her.

“How many times have I called you?”

Mummy asked, her face stern.

“This is the first time, Mummy...”

“Shut up! Since you went to take a bath, I told you to come and help us with dinner! But instead, you went to sit and fix your hair, setting up the camera to take pictures! Right?”

“Mummy, please! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t come near me to apologize! Do what I asked of you, and then we’ll talk!”

Mummy finished speaking, glaring at her younger sister, Zahra, who was still lying down.

“Zahra! When you're done resting, come and help your sister! I won’t let you sit there idly while you don’t even know how to cook or boil water! You can’t even prepare a simple meal for your husband! Now, go wash up and join her in the kitchen!”

Zahra nodded in agreement, then lay back down on the bed, still exhausted. Meanwhile, Amira quickly changed into her kitchen clothes and rushed downstairs to avoid upsetting Mummy any further. She didn’t want to feel her wrath. Zahra, despite her tiredness, gathered herself and joined her sister to cook.

---

**Nigerian Law School, Bwari, P.M.B 170, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria.**

“YABINTU! YABINTU! YABINTU!”

In the midst of a crowd of law students from the Trots Law class, a young lady with dark skin was calling out loudly, searching for someone by the name of Yabintu.

“Yabintu! Khadija is calling you!”

Said a girl dressed in a black mini skirt and a white shirt, wearing a black suit jacket over it. She wore a legal collar around her neck instead of a tie, and held her legal gown in one hand and her legal wig in the other, looking at the other young lady, who was also dressed in a similar legal outfit with a black matching trouser, a white dress shirt underneath, and a legal collar. She had rolled a white scarf on her head, then placed the legal wig on top, with books in both hands.

She wasn’t tall but had a slim figure and was quite attractive. She had a beautiful face, the kind of beauty that made people want to admire her. Calmly, she turned to look at Laura, who had spoken to her, before her white eyes shifted from Laura to the back. This gave her a chance to see Khadija calling her from afar, and immediately she stopped, noticing Khadija running towards them.

“Don’t forget your tab!”

Khadija called out as she handed her a bar tab, Yabintu smiling softly, taking it from her hand.

“You’re lucky! If you hadn’t given it to me, I would have had to search for it until tomorrow! Thank you!”

Khadija laughed and shook her head.

“No problem! So, where are you two heading?”

She asked as the three of them continued walking together.

“I was thinking of going to the cafeteria!” Laura replied.

“I’m too tired, I was planning to go to the hostel.”

“Well, why not go grab a bite first, then head to the hostel? I know you're tired too, and you probably can’t cook anything at the hostel anyway!”

Khadija suggested.

“Alright, no problem. Let’s go then...”

Before Yabintu could finish her sentence, they heard the honk of a car, one she recognized immediately. Her eyes quickly shifted to the place where she knew the car would be parked. As she expected, it was parked in its usual spot. The driver opened the door and stepped out, one foot on the ground while the other stayed inside the car. His hand rested on the steering wheel as he looked at her through the dark glasses he was wearing.

“Well, I knew you wouldn’t just leave without me! Anyway, we’ll go ahead, and we’ll meet you at the hostel.”

Khadija said as she quickly pulled Laura to another route. Yabintu, however, walked straight to where the car was parked, her smile widening. Before she could get closer, the driver stepped out of the car, closing the door behind him. He leaned against the car, waiting for her.

“Good afternoon, my love!”

She said in her sweet voice. Umar shook his head and looked at her.

“Good afternoon, darling! How’s your day been?”

“Not too bad. We’re actually heading to the cafeteria to grab a bite, and then we’ll go to the hostel!”

“Ah, but you don’t need to go to the cafeteria while I’m here. Let’s go out and eat together.”

With surprise, Yabintu replied.

“In this outfit?”

Umar, preparing to open the car door, stopped and looked at her in astonishment.

“Eh! What’s wrong with your outfit?”

“I would have preferred to change first, but now that you insist, I’ll go as I am. I’ll change at the hostel.”

Umar shook his head and closed the car door.

“Darling, don’t you know how beautiful you look in these clothes? Honestly, if you knew, you wouldn’t change! You’ve already caught my attention, and I can’t help but admire you. So, these clothes suit you perfectly!”

Yabintu smiled softly and held her books with both hands.

“Let’s hurry up and go before the day gets too hot for me.”

She said with another smile, then proceeded to get into the car after he opened the door for her. He walked around, got into the driver’s seat, and drove off as they left the Law School.