Deremi barged into my dorm room like she always does with my spare key. “Hey Girl!” She says at the top of her lungs. How was dinner with Dare? I had text her when Dare picked me up for dinner so she wouldn’t wonder where I was. “It was all I needed” I said, she smiled and responded “I’m glad to hear it”
“Are you ready to go?” Deremi asked as she swung my fridge open and grabbed a Dr Pepper. “Yup! And girl, you need to start buying me groceries with as much as you are in my fridge” she laughed.
Deremi and I had met during orientation week at Birming College. Birming was a prestigious university and only the best of the best made it in. I was so proud when my acceptance letter came in and Dad? Well, he could not call everyone quick enough to share the news, following up with a photo of the admissions letter to anyone that didn’t pick up.
He was excited I was going to be following in his footsteps. He had studied Electrical Engineering but over the course of his career, he had done more computer programming. He was now the Head of technology for the Central Bank, a position that came with significant responsibility and earned him status in the community. Daddy always said “The world is going digital; the smart ones will play in that space.”
Mum and Dad came with me on the first day of orientation. They had matching shirts that read “Proud Birming Mum” and “Proud Birming Dad”. My T-shirt was an awesome gift from Mayowa, my baby brother. On the first line it read “Birming College” and in a larger font and directly below it read “<- I Don’t Know Them ->” I absolutely loved it and the parents loved the random smiles and chuckles as folks on campus made out the T-shirts
We were getting a tour of campus when this tall, caramel skinned girl made her way in front of me and could not stop laughing at? Me? I looked at her a bit confused when she finally takes in enough air to speak “That is a classic mehn! I don’t know them! That is hilarious” Now that I knew I wasn’t the butt of the joke, her laugh became contagious, so I joined in “Yea, my brother made it for me”.
She reaches out her hand “Hey I’m Deremi” right as she introduces herself, I notice some parents who look like they’ve lost their daughter. The Mum’s eyes meet mine so now they are making their way to us. “Hey, I’m Teni. I think your parents might be looking for you”. She looks back “Ugh, I need my own shirt so I can get the message across” I smile.
Her parents approach us “Deremi, there you are” Her explosive personality seems to shrink in their presence and she becomes this calm well-mannered human in a matter of seconds. “Hey Dad, I just made a friend. This is Teni” He smiles and lets out a chesty laugh “Hi there Teni, congrats on your acceptance to Birming College. Your parents must be proud” his gaze shifts over to my parents as he stretches out his hand “Congratulations to you both, I am Justice Banwo, Deremi’s Dad. And this is my wife Dr Mrs Banwo”
My parents reach out with a welcoming smile and Dad speaks up “Pleasure to meet you and congrats as well. I am Joel Oyeleke and this is my wife Kemi Oyeleke” You could see Justice Banwo’s eyes do the math and then he spoke up “I knew I recognized you. Well done. Glad to make your acquaintance”. “Oh, thank you, we feel the same. Pleasure to meet you.”
Deremi and I wonder off in front of our parents. Imagine our surprise when we find out we were both going to be computer science majors. “I am great with math and the sciences plus I’ve always loved building and creating so CS seemed like the perfect match for me. “Nice!” I responded. From that moment on we were inseparable. She became the sister I never had.
Chapter 7->
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