I lived in Room 5, VIP block of the boy's hostel. Usually, the VIP hostel was supposed to be a community of rich boys in school. But there was nothing rich about me and my fellow roommates.
Yes, my room was famous in the VIP block but It wasn't because we were rich or smart, but because we had the worst luck. If it wasn't a rat chewing through our only extension cord, then it would be NEPA skipping our room like we owed them money. Sometimes, I wondered why fate, out of all the rich and smart boys in our block, would choose to gather such an unlucky group of guys in one room. Maybe the universe had intentionally hand-picked us just to punish the four of us.
There was Ikenna, AKA OCDude, the neat freak who sweeps the room almost five times each day. You dare not lie on his well-arranged bed or spill water on the floor. Unless you want to be his worst enemy for the day. We all suspected he had OCD hence the nickname.
Also, there was Big Seyi, nicknamed Big Generator because he snores so loud like a faulty generator.
We had Stanley, the fine boy who barely washed his boxers. But made sure to wear the finest clothes on campus, that you wouldn't believe it if you were told he repeats boxers. That earned him the nickname, Outwardly, because, to him, his outward looks mattered more than his inward looks.
And of course, there was me, Chukwudi, the introvert who barely left the room. That earned me the nickname Shadows.
Despite our differences and shortcomings. We lived in peace and harmony.
Until one night around 2am, in the corridors of our room, we heard footsteps. For the first few days, we thought it was normal. We even blamed it on Big Seyi's loud snores. Until it wasn't.
That fateful night, it became ragged, like someone had one leg in the spirit world. Then came the flickering light bulbs, the whispering sounds, and the door that opened and closed itself like it was tired of being ignored. We wondered if other occupants in other rooms could hear what we were hearing. We would have called them but as usual, NEPA had skipped our room that night, so nobody had a battery to call. We decided to act by ourselves.
“Guys, I'm telling you all. Something is outside." Ikenna whispered. Hugging his Bible so tight.
"We need to know what’s out there,” I said without leaving my bed. Acting all tough even though my heart was already playing Zanku in my chest.
“Let’s go together,” Big Seyi suggested.
“No o,” Stanley countered. “Let’s draw straws."
"Straws?" We all asked.
"Yes, we pick three sticks of long broom and one short stick. Then we pick randomly, closing our eyes. The person who picks the shortest one will go check. Simple.”
We all looked at ourselves. It wasn't a bad idea, we thought.
Stanley brought out four sticks of broom and broke one short. Then, he mixed them up. And we took turns picking with our eyes blindfolded.
I could feel my heart pound as I picked. "Long!". I whispered.
Seyi picked. Long. He chuckled.
Ikenna picked. Long. He started humming praise songs.
That left Stanley with the short one.
Stanley stared at the broom and then at us. He had this look on his face like he was looking at his obituary. “Me? Alone? Ah!.”
We all felt it was fair, considering he was the one who brought the idea. We could have just gone together. But since it fell on him, We hyped him up.
“You can do this bro. All these muscles aren't for fancy."
He grumbled, pleading with us that one of us should come with him. But nobody was brave enough to join him. He quickly grabbed his torchlight and opened the door like he was entering Lion’s Den. Then he stepped into the quiet, dark night.
One minute passed.
Two minutes.
Three.
Then we heard it. Stanley's voice. He screamed first before a loud crash, followed by footsteps running down the corridor. We all held our chests. Ikenna started speaking in tongues. I hugged the wall, wishing it would open so that I could fall through. Seyi grabbed my waist like it was a shield.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Stanley flew in like a scared chicken. Eyes wide. He was breathing through his nose and mouth. He slumped to the floor with his eyes still wide open.
"What happened?" Big Seyi asked in a low tone.
Stanley lay there, trying to catch his breath.
"Guy talk to us na?" I asked, still hugging the wall.
“I saw it,” he shouted.
"Saw what?" Ikenna asked he was sweating profusely.
"The ghost na. It wore white clothes. Standing at the door that leads into the hostel."
We blinked.
“Did you see its face?” I asked him.
Stanley gave me a wicked stare. "Maybe you should go check and wait till you see its face."
I swallowed hard and looked away. With the way Stanley was looking, I was sure it was a risk I didn't want to take.
"Maybe we need to alert the other rooms. Like I wonder if they can't hear us through all this chaos." Big Seyi opined.
Just then, we heard the door of the neighboring room open, and someone walked out. Then a loud knock came at our door. We froze. Everyone ran back seeking shelter.
"Guys, what's up na. What's with all the noise? We're trying to sleep here." The voice from outside said. We listened, it was Moses from the neighboring room.
Stanley bravely walked to the door and opened it. Then he dragged Moses in. "There's a ghost in the hostel," Stanley said.
"What ghost?" Moses asked.
"It's at the entrance of the hostel." Moses scoffed, turned, and walked outside. Then he flashed his light to the entrance door. "Guys that's Uche na. He's sleepwalking again."
"Which Uche? Your roommate? The new guy?" I asked coming out from my hiding place.
"Yes."
"He sleepwalks?" Ikenna asked, coming out too.
"Yes," Moses replied, then burst into laughter. "You cowards thought it was a ghost?"
There was silence between us.
Moses turned and took one last disdainful look at us. Then he walked to the door and helped Uche back to their room. Turns out the guy had a condition and walked in his sleep whenever he was stressed
We made sure they were inside. Then we all burst into laughter. I collapsed on the floor, wheezing. Ikenna hugged his Bible like it betrayed him. Seyi slumped into his bed face flat. Stanley made the sign of the cross. We laughed until our stomachs hurt.
The next morning, Moses told the rest of the hostel what happened. And we were the talk of the hostel for the whole month. In all these, we tried not to make fun of Uche about his condition. But till today, anytime someone hears a sound at 2am, we shout,
“Short straw things!”