Following Senior Stella across the compound felt strangely comforting.
She walked ahead of me with confidence, while two junior boys carried my suitcase and bag behind us. The afternoon sun cast long shadows on the school pathways, and students moved around the compound like people who had already learned the rhythm of this place.
For me, everything still felt unfamiliar.
The hostel building stood a short distance away from the academic blocks. It was large and rectangular, with long balconies and rows of windows. From outside, I could already hear loud voices, laughter, and the occasional bang of metal beds being dragged across the floor.
My stomach tightened.
This was where I would live now.
As we approached the entrance, Senior Stella suddenly stopped.
"Okay," she said, turning toward the boys carrying my luggage. "Take his things inside and help him arrange them."
"Yes, Senior!" they responded quickly.
She then turned to me.
"I can't go inside the boys' hostel," she explained. "School rules."
I nodded quickly, suddenly realizing that of course she couldn't.
She crossed her arms and gave me a small, encouraging smile.
"You'll be fine."
I hesitated, suddenly feeling nervous again.
"What if I don't understand something?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Then ask the hostel prefects or the other boys. Don't just sit quietly like a lost goat."
I laughed a little at that.
She pointed toward the boys waiting at the entrance.
"Go on. They're waiting for you."
I took a few steps toward the hostel door, then stopped and looked back at her.
"Thank you, Senior Stella."
She waved one hand casually.
"Welcome to Elite Light Gate Secondary School, junior."
The boys carrying my luggage pushed the hostel door open, and I stepped inside.
The moment I entered, noise filled my ears.
Students were everywhere.
Some boys were arranging their lockers, others were arguing loudly about bed spaces, while a few were jumping from one bunk bed to another like they were in a playground instead of a hostel.
The room assigned to me had several metal bunk beds arranged in rows. Mattresses were stacked neatly on top of them, and each bed had a small locker beside it.
One of the boys helping me dropped my suitcase beside an empty lower bunk near the window.
"This one is free," he said.
"Thank you," I replied.
They placed my bags beside the bed and quickly left.
For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the metal frame of the bunk bed.
This… was my new home.
I slowly sat on the mattress and looked around the room.
The excitement of entering my dream school had faded a little, replaced by a quiet feeling of loneliness.
A boy from the top bunk suddenly leaned down and stared at me upside down.
"Hey!"
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"Ah!"
He burst into laughter.
"You must be the new student."
"Yes," I said, still startled.
He jumped down from the bed and stretched his hand toward me.
"My name is Daniel."
"Light," I replied, shaking his hand.
"Relax," he said with a grin. "Everyone feels strange on their first day."
He pointed around the room.
"You'll get used to the noise soon."
I nodded slowly.
Later that evening, the loud school bell rang across the compound.
Daniel immediately grabbed his books.
"Prep time!" he said.
"Prep?"
"Evening study," he explained. "Come on before the seniors start shouting."
We walked out of the hostel together toward the large study hall where hundreds of students were already seated quietly with their books.
The hall was silent except for the soft sound of pages turning.
I opened my notebook slowly.
My first night in boarding school.
My new life.
My dream school.
And yet, I still felt like a small boy lost in a very big world.
What I didn't know was that the next morning…
After the school assembly…
When I walked into my JSS1 classroom for the first time…
I would sit beside a girl who would quietly become the order to my chaos.
Her name was Nancy.
And meeting her would change my life forever.