Lazy Saturdays

ENIOLA SAT ON the edge of her chair, her bare feet were propped on the edge of jagged study table in her room.

Opening the half used nail polish, Eniola applied a coat of black paint to her toenails. The strong smell wafted through the room instantly, overpowering the sweet fragrance of Lara's lemon air freshener. 

Their room was painted a cool shade of purple and white with a bunk bed leaning against both side of the room. Posters of Halle Berry, Naomi Campbell and a half naked Latino male model lined the wall. In the far end corner of the room, blouses, jeans and every size bra imaginable were carelessly draped over a chair. Strings of colorful waistbeads dangled from a bent nail on the pastel wall.

As usual, Omolara had her head buried in one of her anatomy textbooks with gory pictures on the paperback. Fareedah who had just finished her evening prayers was sitting on a mat on the floor, her eyes lowered but not completely closed as she swatted off a fly. Her lips moved as she mumbled Arabic words under her breath, the beads of her white tesbih clicking as she counted them.

White lace curtains swayed with rhythmic strides as the light evening breeze drifted into the room. As the curtain parted, Eniola could see Onome hanging her clothes to dry on a line in the backyard of the hostel.

These three girls were not only roommates, but Eniola's good friends. Fareedah and Omolara had been her schoolmates at Wellington high, so she was quite familiar with them. She had only met Onome the first day she packed into the room and they hit it off. And she being in the same department as her was a bonus.

Her roommates had been busy all morning with cleaning and washing activities, as it was Saturday. Eniola had tossed and turned on her bed before deciding to read an harlequin novel that she had borrowed from Fareedah. Even that had not lifted up her mood. Saturdays are meant to be fun people!

Eniola groaned. "You guys, let's hang out in the garden for a while nah."

Lara lifted her head from her textbook. "Let's go outside abeg. This book is driving me crazy," She grumbled, slamming the large textbook on the study table.

Fareedah laughed at her action. "Today has been so uninteresting," she said, a strong Hausa accent over-stressing each syllable

Eniola smiled. "Onome, we are going to the garden for some air," she called through the window.

"Let me get my hijab first." Fareedah said, tearing through her box for a longer scarf. She pulled the long gray jalabiya over her head, revealing a shorter dress that stopped below her knee. Then loosely tied a pink floral scarf on her head.

Eniola paused before the cracked mirror that was propped on the windowsill to fix her hair. "OK, I'm done."

Palmers Hall is one of the many girls hostel situated on the outskirts of the Yaba campus. The hostel was known to attract an army of assorted men simply because many of the hottest babes on campus resided there.

Sleek cars rolled into the hostel parking space, talking of Mercedes Benz, BMW's, and an unattractive fleet of tokunbo. 

The garden was a welcoming sight for visitors at the hostel. A three-tiered fountain sat in the middle of the garden, flowing with sparkling water that danced as the aureate sun hit it.

The vibrant colors of flowers attracted hummingbirds and butterflies. Green flowery vines trailed up the chains of the swings next to the water fountain. 

Eniola sat while Fareedah was standing behind her, idly pushing the swing back and forth. 

"Na for instablog I see am oo. This country sef, na wa." Lara clapped her hands. 

"Shey I no tell you before? This one that every small boy wants to buy Benz now, one has to be careful." Onome warned.

Fareedah hissed, "Don Allah (please). Those girls are partly to blame too. After all they only got what they bargained for."

Eniola shared the same views as Fareedah. It's a new drama everyday on I*******m, today a fifteen year old boy was caught stealing panties at a girls hostel, tomorrow it's a cleaner hoarding used sanitary pads to ritualists.

Only God can save Nigeria. 

"Hmmm." Eniola sighed.