Chapter Forty-One – New Beginnings

Mara’s case may have been solved in her favor, but her issues were far from over. She was constantly being dragged on social media and issues that had nothing to do with her still had her name being brought up.

Jean had come up with an inventive way to solve the problem. “Whether we like it or not, your name is going to be in everyone’s mouth for a long time to come. You can let the clout break you or you can let it make you. you can turn yourself into some kind of voice for women. Foreign bodies will eat that up and any company that wants to be taken seriously will offer you jobs. It’s never going to be easy but at least you can turn things around.”

So, before Mara could say Jack, she was thrust into the public eye and made an ambassador for survivors of sexual abuse. Did she want it? Not in the least. But it was either that or living in fear and defeat.

University in Ghana cannot be university if there are no water issues. The past week, there had been water shortages in the entire hostel and so Mara had diligently filled her bucket for her bath that morning, the night before.

She dragged her feet to the bathroom and yawned loudly. She lifted the lid of her bucket to find that it was almost empty. She saw red. She looked around her room. Her roommates all laid on their bed like they had no idea what was going on.

“Who used my water?” she asked angrily. No one volunteered a response. Her blood was boiling. “Is anyone going to mind me? I filled my bucket last night and carried it up the stairs. Who used my water?” she asked again.

They each mumbled that it was not them. Mara fumed. She picked the bucket in annoyance and headed for the door. She opened it at the same time that Lara was about to knock on the door.

“Where are you going?” Lara asked. Mara rolled her eyes as she narrated the story.

“We’ve got water at our place. You can use some. Araba won’t mind” Lara said.

Mara gave a sigh of relief. She retrieved her bathing apparatus and followed Lara to our room. Lara waited for her to finish showering before bringing up why she was there.

“Did you meet Mathew last night?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Lara didn’t know how to ask the next question.

“You know he’s a player, right?”

Mara nodded. Lara was getting even more confused.

“So?”

“So, nothing. I’m an adult and I’m perfectly in control of my own decisions. Trust me.”

Lara didn’t want to drag the situation further since Mara suddenly got defensive about things. Some things are best left unspoken but she could smell a disaster from a mile away.

*

Sly and I had worked on his speech and so he asked Trudy to come over so she could take a look at it. I watched her as she listened intently to the speech. She did an excellent job of not allowing her face to be easily read.

Once Sly was done she applauded him and then offered to make a few corrections. He seemed perfectly happy about the idea but I felt that it was a personal attack. The speech was perfect in every sense of the word. I don’t blame her though. It’s tough to be a hater.

It seems that this year was all about awkward encounters because Sly stepped out to make a call leaving the two of us in the room together. I fidgeted with my phone knowing damn well not a single soul was texting me.

“You two make a good team” Trudy finally said.

I looked up from my phone and stared at her. I couldn’t tell if she was being genuine, fake or shady. She continued. “Can I be honest with you? I’m a little jealous. Sly and I were never a good team. There were always problems. We were young and stupid. I can see he’s really matured since our relationship. I’m glad.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was still thinking of a response when Sly came back in. Trudy’s words set me thinking though. Technically, she’d never done anything overtly malicious for me to think that she had it out for me. I created the rivalry in my head. Besides, it was easy to understand her.

She’d been with him when he was immature and foolish and he’d used their relationship as a way to learn how to be a better person. That must sting; knowing that you made the man better for the next woman and not you.

Though I sympathized with her, the less of her I saw, the better. Fear women.

*

Carl was scrolling through his phone at the faculty when he noticed one of the freshmen struggling to juggle a ton of books and a water bottle down the stairs. He chuckled and set the phone in his pocket, walking over to help her with her load.

“Why so many books?” he asked curiously.

“I wanted to be prepared for class” she said.

He laughed. “You don’t need all this for a lecture. This is uni. A notebook should be fine.”

He observed that she was wearing an obsessively long skirt and her arms were covered as well. If not for the fact that she had her hair out, he would have thought she was a Muslim.

“Are you Jehovah’s Witness or Deeper Life” he said before he could catch himself. Remember I told you Carl can’t seem to control his mouth?

The girl looked mortified. “No. This is just how I like to dress” she said.

Carl had intended to escort her only to a point but wound up taking her all the way to her room because there was no point in time where he could have left her.

“Thank you very much” she said sweetly. “Please would you like some water?” she asked. Carl was initially planning to refuse but he was parched and not in the least enthused about the journey back in the hot sun so he obliged.

She excused herself for a few minutes and came back with a bottle of water.

“I’m Carl. What’s your name?” he asked.

“Angela” she replied.