The road into the city unspooled steadily beneath the tires, long and familiar yet weighted with something final.
Vanessa Vale nicknamed Nessa back at home, sat in the passenger seat, legs crossed, jacket folded neatly on her lap. She watched the skyline inch closer through the windshield, glass towers catching the afternoon light like they had something to prove.
Her mother, Mrs Vale, kept both hands on the steering wheel.
"You don't have to rush into anything," she said, eyes fixed ahead. "People in the city move fast. Too fast. Let them."
Nessa hummed softly in response, her gaze still outside.
She had always heard this tone measured, protective, sharpened by experience.
Her mother didn't speak often but when she did, her words stayed.
"You are allowed to observe before you decide who you trust," Mrs Vale continued.
"And you don't owe politeness to anyone who makes you uncomfortable. Not lecturers. Not classmates. Not men with titles."
That earned a faint smile from Vanessa.
"I know mother," she said quietly.
She glanced at her then, really looked. Not at the clothes or the hair or the confidence she carried so easily but at the steadiness beneath it.
Pride softened her expression.
"You're not coming here to be reshaped," she added. "You're coming to learn. Always remember the difference."
Traffic thickened as they entered the city proper. Endless horns. Voices. Motion everywhere.
Vanessa shifted in her seat, feeling the hum of it settle into her bones. She wasn't overwhelmed. She was alert.
Having traveled late evening, they didn't make it to the academy hostel. Instead, the car turned into an older neighborhood where the streets were quieter and the houses leaned into one another like they shared stories.
Mrs Vale parked in front of a modest gate painted a fading green.
"This is where we will stay tonight," she said. "Auntie Fatty,you remember that old friend of mine."
Vanessa nodded. She had heard the stories childhood laughter, shared dreams, long letters exchanged when life pulled them into different worlds. Her mother's lifelong friend.
The door opened before they could knock.
"My daughter," Mrs Vale's friend exclaimed, pulling Vanessa into a warm embrace that smelled of spices and too warm. "You've grown into yourself."
Dinner was unhurried. Conversation flowed easily, stitched together by memories Vanessa listened to more than she spoke. She liked that. Observing first. Always.
Later, when the house quieted, Mrs Vale stood by the doorway of the guest room, arms folded loosely.
"Your big brother would be doing these duties," she said. "But work took him out of town, Victor is always occupied."
Nessa's lips curved slightly. "My brother! Your son,values family less since he settled in the city. "
"I guess he'll see you soon," her mother added. "Until then rest. Tomorrow begins early."
They hugged longer than necessary.
When the door finally closed and the house slipped into sleep, Vanessa lay awake for a moment, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.
Somewhere in the same city, her big brother was busy building the life he had chosen. Somewhere else, paths were crossing without her knowledge.
Tomorrow, she would step into her dream Media academy.
Tomorrow, she would officially start her media journey out of all the stressful months convincing her mother, she was too capable for media studies.
For now, she closed her eyes steady, prepared and unchanged.
Morning found the house already awake.
Mrs Vale moved with quiet efficiency, checking her daughter's documents, counting copies, sliding them into a neat folder.
Vanessa watched from the dinning table, half ready, half suspended in the awareness that this day would change the shape of everything.
"Eat," her mother said without looking up. "The city has a way of draining people who arrive hungry."
She obeyed, though she barely tasted the food.
In an hour, the drive to the academy started but it was slower than the previous day, traffic thick and impatient.
Mrs Vale kept her eyes forward, one hand resting lightly on the steering wheel.
"You will meet many people today," she said. "Some will talk loudly. Some will try to impress. Let them. You don't have to compete."
Nessa nodded. "Yes mother."
"And if you don't know something," her mother continued, "you ask. Pride is useful. Silence is better."
That made Nessa smile.
The academy gates rose into view, wide and confident. Students clustered outside with luggage, parents hovering, voices layered with excitement and fear.
Mrs Vale parked and stepped out first, already scanning, already assessing the new surroundings.
Reporting took longer than they expected. Forms were checked, names confirmed, instructions repeated.
Mrs Vale stood beside her daughter the entire time, asking questions Vanessa had not thought of, correcting details before mistakes could settle.
When it came time to choose a hostel, Mrs Vale insisted on seeing the rooms around.
They walked the corridors together, the smell of fresh paint and unfamiliar detergent clinging to the walls.
A door stood open at the end.
Inside, a girl was already seated on one of the beds, folding clothes with careful precision.
She looked up as they entered, surprise flickering across her face before smoothing into a smile.
"Oh," she said. "Hi."
"This must be my roommate," Nessa said lightly.
The girl stood. "Winnie. I reported last night."
"Nessa," she replied, extending a hand.
Mrs Vale watched the exchange closely, then nodded once, satisfied. She inspected the room without comment, checked the window, the lock, the distance between the beds.
"This will do," she said.
They unpacked together. Mrs Vale arranged things with deliberate care, as though the order might protect her daughter once she was gone.
When everything was finally in place, she stepped back.
"I think you're settled," she said.
The words landed heavier than either of them expected.
Outside the hostel, the city roared on, indifferent. Mrs Vale adjusted her jacket, glanced at her watch, then looked at Nessa again.
This time, her composure softened.
Nessa stepped forward first.
The hug came suddenly, fierce and clinging. Nessa's hands fisted in the back of her mother's coat, her face pressed into familiar warmth.
She tried to speak and failed. Her breath hitched, excitement tangling with fear until tears slipped free.
"I don't want you to go yet," she whispered.
Mrs Vale held her tighter. "You are not being left," she said calmly. "You are being trusted."
Nessa pulled back just enough to look at her, eyes wet, unguarded.
"What if I mess up mother," she asked. "What if I don't fit here."
Her mother brushed a thumb beneath her eye. "Then you learn. And you call your brother if anything feels wrong. He is a phone call away. Always."
Nessa nodded, though her grip tightened again.
"Be brave," Mrs Vale added softly. "Not loud. Not hard. Just brave."
They separated slowly.
Nessa watched her mother walk away until she disappeared into the parking lot. Only then did she turn back inside.
Winnie was pretending not to watch, scrolling on her phone with exaggerated focus.
"You okay," she asked gently.
Nessa inhaled, wiped her face, and squared her shoulders.
"Yes," she said. "I will be."
She sat on her bed, letting the reality of the room, the city, the future settle around her. Somewhere beyond the walls, the academy was filling up. Voices rising. Lives intersecting.
She did not know it yet, but this was the last quiet moment she would have for a long time.
Winnie did not give the room more time to settle.
She dropped onto her bed, spun toward Nessa with bright, restless energy.
"So," she said, drawing the word out. "First day. New city. New life. How are we feeling."
Nessa sat still, hands folded loosely in her lap. "Normal."
Winnie laughed. "That's not an answer."
"It is," Nessa replied.
Winnie studied her, amused rather than offended. "You're one of those people who feels everything but says nothing, aren't you."
Nessa shrugged. She lay back on her bed, eyes tracing the unfamiliar ceiling. The room felt quiet now that her mother was gone.
Too quiet.
She let the silence work through her instead of fighting it.
Midmorning light filtered through the window as voices in the corridor grew louder. Doors opened and closed. Laughter echoed.
Somewhere, someone was already late.
Winnie was pacing now, fixing her braids in the mirror, smoothing her top for the third time.
"Are you really not coming to orientation."
"In a bit," Nessa said, though she made no move to rise.
Winnie stopped. "You don't understand," she said, lowering her voice like she was about to share a secret.
"One of the senior lecturers is a social celebrity. Like, actually famous. Handsome. Always on TV. People say he owns half of LuxStudio."
Nessa turned her head slightly. "Good for him."
Winnie stared. "That's it."
"That's it."
Winnie shook her head in disbelief, smiling anyway. "You're strange. In a good way. But strange."
She grabbed her bag, already buzzing with anticipation. "I'm not missing this. First impressions matter."
Nessa watched her from the bed, expression unreadable. She wasn't unimpressed by the academy. She just wasn't ready to perform yet.
"Save me a seat," she said finally.
Winnie paused at the door. "I knew you'd come."
She left in a rush, her excitement trailing behind her like perfume.
The door clicked shut.
Nessa exhaled.
She lay still, one arm draped across her stomach, the other tucked beneath her head.
The city hummed beyond the window, steady and alive. This was it. No mother down the hall. No familiar walls. Just her and the life she had stepped into.
She wasn't afraid of the academy. Or the people in it.
She was afraid of how much she wanted to succeed.
Her phone vibrated once on the mattress beside her. A message from her brother, short and casual, reminding her he was around if she needed anything.
She didn't reply. Not yet. Just knowing was enough.
Somewhere across campus, applause rose and fell as orientation began.
Nessa closed her eyes, letting the moment pass through her slowly.
Soon, she would walk into that hall.
And nothing would remain untouched.