Salamat was offered admission to study Nursing Science at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the Ademolas finally moved to Zaria. Her parent's inability to make ends meet in Katsina facilitated their moving.
They decided to settle in Zaria because of Salamat's studies so she won't be far away from them.
All the necessary fees were paid to A.B.U microfinance bank. All the necessary registration processes were done and Salamat became an undergraduate.
Lectures started immediately after their matriculation ceremony which lasted for a week. On the last day of the ceremony, all the freshers were taken on a tour around the school to familiarize them with their new environment and also some prominent places in Zaria.
Salamat was allocated space in Amina hall, and it was a room of 6 individuals, including herself.
Fortunately, her roommates were all freshers just like her except Ibukun who was a final year student of Pharmacy and they were all nice people.
They were serious-minded and intelligent people who took their education as their number one priority. They studied together during General Studies tests and examinations and often ate together, especially on weekends.
They also discussed morals and trending issues on social media, with each one of them bringing her own opinion on the issue.
During the second semester, which was a very short one, though, full of social activities, they all stayed indoors to read instead of partying like others.
Ibukun, who was popularly known as I.B.K was the eldest and the most religious of them all. She was the type of girl that hardly goes out for events that had nothing to do with academics. She was like a mother figure to them and she was down to earth. She often counseled them on both academics and personal issues and was always ready to help any of them when the need arises.
Ibukun liked Salamat a lot because of her quietness and intelligence and loved to discuss with her.
Salamat, on the other hand, admired her so much because of her personality but was not ready to break the world she had built around her.
She was not ready to let anyone into her world. She was not ready to face another betrayal.
Whenever she was having issues with a particular course, she goes to Ibukun for an explanation. Ibukun was always glad whenever Salamat asked her for academic help, and being the intelligent person that she was, she always makes sure to explain to the best of her ability.
Salamat was finding it hard to cope with school stress at first, but having good and lovely roommates who were always there for her had made it a lot easier. As an indoor person, Salamat doesn't go out at night to read in classes like her roommates. She reads in the room or in the mosque that was inside the hostel. Because she was a fast learner and assimilates things easily, she sees going to night classes as unnecessary.
The Ademolas were staying in Graceland which was not too far from the school main gate and Salamat goes home on weekends.
'How time flies, she thought to herself when she was done with her first semester's examination.
"It wasn't easy but with God and with the help of Ibukun and my other roommates, it was fine", she told her dad.
Her parents kept encouraging her by giving her words of motivation and this made her studied harder.
During lectures, she hardly asked questions which is why she isn't known by the majority of her coursemates. She made it a principle to always be in class and to be punctual.
Qasim, who was their class representative noticed her and wanted to become her friend but she told him to back off. He did as he was told and stopped talking to her completely, unless necessary.
Salamat felt bad but decided to take it off her mind.
Aisha, another coursemate was holding grudges against her for a reason that was unknown to Salamat. Anytime they met, Salamat would be the first to greet her and Aisha would answer the greeting by murmuring incoherent words or even by grumbling. At a point, she stopped replying to Salamat's greetings and Salamat decided to let her be.
One day, Salamat was on her way to the department for an 8 a.m class when she met Aisha and her cliche on the way.
"Good morning sisters", she greeted them jointly as she hurriedly passed them.
"Good morning Salamat, how are you?", the other two answered while Aisha refused to answer.
"I am fine", Salamat replied and kept walking.
"Stupid girl", Aisha yelled all of a sudden.
Then she continued: "Can you imagine the rubbish? Arrogant girl! You think you can just come from nowhere and start claiming Americana abi. Arrant nonsense! You are a Yoruba girl and you can't even show it to the world. You are hiding your identity and you are even proud of it. You think you are the only one that can speak English abi....."
"You greeted her in Yoruba and she replied in English. Isn't that bad of her", Aisha turned and said to her to friends, Lola and Bisi, who was flabbergasted at her reaction.
The two girls tried calming her down as she kept on ranting while Salamat kept walking and pretended as if the words were not meant for her.
A few weeks later, a boy known as Tunde called her on her way back to the hostel.
"I am sorry to stop you but can I have a few minutes of your time? I have some things to discuss with you."
Salamat was quiet for a while before saying, "I hope I am safe."
He smiled and replied, "Of course you are."
They moved to their departmental garden and sat down before he started. "Your name is Salamat, right?"
Salamat nodded and he asked again. "Are you a Yoruba girl? And can you speak Yoruba?"
Salamat smiled and said, "Yes, I am Yoruba but not fluent in Yoruba."
"Sorry for the questions. I am just trying to clarify some things. Aisha and I are cousins and I heard what happened between you too. Please don't take it to heart, Aisha is a very rude and harsh girl. Please forgive her for my sake."
"It's nothing. Is that all?", she asked about to stand up.
"No, please sit. I have been noticing you for some time now and I realized I haven't seen you in any of our State Union programs and Muslim Association programs."
"Oh yes! That's true and the reason is that I don't always know when they are having any programs for the MSSN but the state union, I don't think I have the time."
"Don't worry, I will let you know whenever we are having any program, and please try coming for the state union meeting too, it's helpful in a way. I also want to advise you because I noticed you are not the friendly type and I am 90 percent sure that you don't have any friends in the department. I want to advise you to try and mingle with people, make friends that will be of positive impact to you and not otherwise. Try it and maybe the issue of being pompous will die down", he counseled.
"Thank you, sir, I am grateful but I don't think it's something to bother about. I don't care what people say of me because my priority here is my education. Also, I am not here to please anyone but my Creator. They can say whatsoever they want to say, I don't care."
"I don't mean to annoy you. I am just trying to make you see things from my perspective. Don't just isolate yourself please because nobody knows what the future holds. Remember also that nobody is an island of knowledge. You may be intelligent quite alright but a time will come when you might need help whether academically or others. I don't know your reason but I know you are a good person and your reasons are good. I will be more than willing to be your friend. I will let you know whenever we would be having any meeting so you can attend."
"Alright, thank you."
"You are welcome, so can I have your phone number?"
Salamat was hesitant at first but later gave it to him. He promised to call her later and they departed. Salamat heaved a sigh of relief and left to the hostel.