Lesson One

Things look different now, even though I haven’t been here for so long. There are things I am noticing that I never really paid much attention to in the past. Most of the girls here are uncomfortable sharing a room with others. I do understand that, but we are only four people in a room. Back at Asempa SHS, we were close to forty in a dormitory, and our bathhouse could accommodate over thirty people at a time. We were uncomfortable in the beginning, but by the end of our first term, we grew comfortable bathing together. Hmm, I guess Nana was right, there is much to learn from life; one man’s meat is indeed poison to another, what I consider an upgrade is viewed as a downgrade by these girls. If so, do I belong?
We may all seem clueless in this new environment, but there is something they all have in common that I do not. They are rich kids, and I do not even know what I am. If not for ‘Wofa’ Ato, I wouldn’t even be here. This is a place for people like Ekow; he is the one who grew up with this lifestyle. He would fit in like a square peg in a square hole… as I thought to myself, I saw Akiti rush out of our room into the common area, from the way she stopped in her track and turned around only to run into me, it was obvious she thought the common room would be empty, to her surprise, there were more girls there chatting and giggling about one thing or another, immediately she realized I was the one she bumped into, she wrapped her arms around me and sobbed on my shoulder. I was taken aback for a moment, then, without much hesitation, I started rubbing my palm gently in circles on her back without saying a word. After staying that way for a while in silence, I asked her to come along with me for a walk. We strolled past the library and made our way to the athletic field, where we sat on the bleachers. Before I could ask what the matter was, she blurted out, “I want to go home,” and broke down in tears. I responded, “Me too,” and started laughing. Surprised by my response, she looked up at me in disbelief. “What is funny?” she asked. “You’re a rich kid,” I retorted, laughing even louder.