Ore stretched on her bed lazily as a loud yawn escaped her lips. She rubbed her eyes briefly with the back of her hand before adjusting to an upright position, her back leaning on the wall.

Mercy was sitting on her own compressed foam in a jean short and white singlet. Her full concentration seemed to be immersed in a fashion magazine that was perched close to the bridge of her nose. Ore's gaze strayed from Mercy's corner to her new roommate whose name she couldn't recall.

The bedspread was well laid and the ends were tucked in making for a comfortable sleep. Ore began to wonder where her roommate must have wandered off to so early in the morning. The sky was a tinge of blue through the backdrop window and the leaves fluttered wildly in the chilly breeze.

Ore wrapped her blanket tighter about her body and was about drifting off to sleep once more when she heard a loud slam. She jerked, her senses extremely awake. The magazine Mercy was engrossed in had been tossed carelessly on the floor and she was pacing the entire length of the room with a pensive breath.

Ore furrowed her brows as Mercy stopped midway to glare at her. Her natural hair was tousled from her constant turning here and there and her nostrils were getting rounder with each inhale and exhale.

"We need to talk," Mercy stated cautiously perching at the edge of the empty bed opposite Ore.

Ore pulled the fluffy cover away from her body, she suddenly felt a cold chill spreading from her back down to her sensitive toes.

"What's going on?" she asked taking in the wooden door that was ajar. "Did I do something to you this time?"

Ore kneaded her fingers tersely in her lap as she recalled the events of last night. She was sure Philip had relayed the whole story to his churchy sister and now she wanted to enquire whether what happened was true or not.

"Did you follow a friend to a party last night?" Mercy asked confirming Ore's suspicions. Mercy ran a hand through her hair as a figure passed by her line of sight.

"Yes and so?" Ore countered bracing herself for more queries.

"Ooh God," Mercy shivered and blew out a frustrated breath. "Do you know you could have been raped or worse still attacked?"

Ore shuddered at the mention of the word 'rape' and she brought her knees close to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Her head was propped on her elbows, conflicting emotions raging in her heart.

"But nothing like that happened so you didn't have to worry yourself!" Ore's tone was sharp and made something inside Mercy snap.

"Really?" Mercy seethed. "I know what has been going on Ore, I am not blind and certainly not deaf. You have been hanging around people that are no good for you, you've got your tities out, panties in a twist but your crush still doesn't notice you. Can't you stop already?"

Ore huffed in disbelief at Mercy's harsh words. She let her arms fall limply by her side as she unfolded her laps.

"Don't you dare talk about Dami or me that way!" Ore hissed through clenched teeth. "And don't pretend like you care how the hell I live my life."

Mercy's shoulder slumped and she threw her hand helplessly in the air.

"So, would you be ready to face the consequences of your actions when the tables turn eventually?"

Ore peered at her through fluttering eyelids, "what the hell do you mean by that?"

The room was awkwardly silent for a minute, only the sound of the birds chirping and the rustling of a few hostellers here and there filled the space between them.

"I have warned you Ore, don't come crawling to me like a baby when Dami breaks your heart!"

With those final words, Mercy marched out of the room leaving Ore to stare at her retreating back.

The rest of Ore's day went by quite sourly. The gruesome weekend clean up could not distract Ore's thoughts from straying to what Mercy had said to her. What did she mean by tables turning? Did that have anything to do with Tami by chance?

Ore was finding it hard to wrap her head around the brutal fact that Tami was not to be trusted. There was no telling what could be going on in her mind one minute and then the next.

But Ore knew deep down in her heart that Tami was trying the best way she could to make her feel more confident in herself. And most importantly, to make her actually more of a woman. She had learnt lots of things from Tami that she never knew existed because of the way her parents sheltered her life.

Growing up wasn't at all rosy for Ore. When her mum hadn't yet given birth to a baby boy and it was only her, she was locked in after school. Her parents would be away at work and she would be doodling in her notebook in a big, empty house.

Her mum never lectured her on sex education and she was never told the intimate aspects of sexuality by her science teachers. Ore was left in the dark about subtle topics of feminism so it wasn't a surprise when her first blood flow came, she screamed like a banshee in the bathroom.

She wasn't explained to in detail on how to handle certain complications in her body as she slowly adapted to maturity. Then, her baby brother was born and the rest was history.

Ore heaved a sigh as hot tears gathered around her eyes and trickled down to her cheeks, staining the mascara she had put on earlier. Her lips quaked and she continually hit her head on the wall not minding the splitting headache that was brewing somewhere within.

Ore's phone kept on ringing times without number but she wasn't in the right mood to answer any call. Especially if it was from her overly protective mum.

She let the her line ping with numerous notifications of friends wanting to know if she was okay. Ore tucked her hair into her hairnet and straddled her four sided bed.

In about thirty minutes, Mercy would be back from evening mass and she didn't want to be looking like a homeless shackle. Ore pulled herself together and picked up her phone, her trembling fingers typing in her passcode. Her face was puffy from all the crying and the front part of her shirt soaked.

Ore tapped on her call log and scrolled through the missed call section. Tami had called her five times, her mother approximately ten, Philip thrice and an unknown number twice.

Her curiosity was piqued as she saw a text message from the strange number.

+2348156794013:
Hey, are you okay? Please text me back as soon as you see this! I am so worried and I really need to talk to you.

Ore read the text over and over again, thinking hard on who the number belonged to. After a short while, she decided the only way to find out was to send a quick text in reply.

+2348015674039:
Hi there, I am doing pretty good but may I know who this is?

Ore stalled for a moment before punching the send button. She placed her phone to charge since there was light and left the room with her bucket to the toilet.

After easing herself and flushing, she washed the bucket with detergent and placed it on the grass to dry. Ore lathered her face with a good amount of her beauty soap and as she made a quick dash to her room to get a bailer of water, she heard a loud ping.

She fumbled for her phone through soapy eyes and unplugged it. The message icon popped up immediately Ore unlocked it. Her heart almost flew out of her chest as she read the next text.

+2348156794013:
Lol 😜 Meet me up at Kilimanjaro by five tomorrow to find out.

Ore hissed in frustration and hurried to rinse the sting off her red rimmed irises.