Chapter 1: Welcome to Campus
“Amara, hold that box properly!”
“I’m holding it, Mummy!”
“You’re holding it with one hand. Are you trying to break your things before you even enter school?”
Amara Okafor rolled her eyes and adjusted the carton against her chest.
“Mummy, please. I’m not five years old.”
Her mother ignored her.
“Your bucket is inside that black nylon. Your provisions are in the blue bag. Your bedsheets—”
“Mummy.”
“—and don't forget the money I put inside the small envelope.”
“I know.”
“Keep it safe.”
“I will.”
“And don't be following people anyhow.”
“Mummy!”
“What?”
“You've said that like ten times since we left home.”
Her mother sighed.
“Because university is not secondary school, Amara. You are going there to study. Not to come back and tell me stories.”
Amara smiled.
“I'll study.”
She looked through the car window.
For the first time, the university gate was right in front of her.
Students moved everywhere, dragging suitcases and buckets behind them. Parents were shouting names. Taxi drivers were calling passengers. Vendors were selling bottled water, gala and snacks.
Someone was already arguing with a driver.
“Brother, I said two hundred!”
“Madam, fuel is expensive!”
Amara almost laughed.
Her mother tapped her shoulder.
“Don't laugh. Come down.”
The moment Amara stepped out of the car, the reality hit her.
She was officially a university student.
No more secondary-school uniform.
No more teachers asking why she forgot her assignment.
No more morning assembly.
This was a fresh beginning.
At least, that's what she thought.
---
By 2:17 p.m., Amara had already regretted choosing university.
Her hostel was on the third floor.
The staircase seemed endless.
She dragged her suitcase behind her while her mother carried a bucket filled with toiletries.
“Jesus,” Amara whispered. “Who built this place?”
A girl coming down the stairs laughed.
“First year?”
Amara nodded.
“Fresh blood.”
She laughed and continued downstairs.
Amara looked at her mother.
“Mummy, did she just call me fresh blood?”
Her mother shrugged.
“Maybe that's what they call new students here.”
When they finally reached the third floor, Amara checked the paper in her hand.
ROOM 207.
She pushed the door open.
Three girls turned toward her.
One was sitting on the bed, eating noodles straight from a bowl.
Another was arranging clothes inside a wardrobe.
The third girl was lying down with her phone covering her face.
The girl eating noodles smiled.
“You're our fourth roommate?”
“Yes.”
“What's your name?”
“Amara.”
“I'm Teni. That's Blessing. And the one lying down is Mimi.”
Mimi removed the phone from her face.
“Welcome to Room 207.”
Amara smiled.
“Thank you.”
Her mother immediately began inspecting the room.
“Hmm.”
Amara knew that sound.
“What?”
“The window doesn't have a net.”
Teni laughed.
“Aunty, welcome to Nigerian university.”
Amara's mother wasn't amused.
“Where is the toilet?”
“Down the corridor.”
“Kitchen?”
“Downstairs.”
“Water?”
“Sometimes.”
Her mother's eyes widened.
“Sometimes?”
Teni nodded seriously.
“Sometimes we have water. Sometimes we have faith.”
Amara burst out laughing.
Even her mother couldn't hold back a smile.
---
By 6:40 p.m., her mother had finally left.
Amara stood at the hostel entrance watching the car disappear through the gate.
She suddenly felt empty.
She had been excited all day.
Now that her mother was gone, the university looked completely different.
Huge.
Unfamiliar.
Lonely.
Her phone vibrated.
Mummy: Lock your door at night. Don't trust everybody.
Amara smiled.
She typed back.
Amara: I know, Mummy.
Then another message arrived.
Mummy: And don't enter any strange room.
Amara frowned.
Strange room?
Before she could reply, Teni shouted from upstairs.
“Amara! Come and see something!”
Amara hurried back inside.
“What happened?”
Teni pointed toward the end of the corridor.
“There.”
Amara looked.
A young man stood beside the staircase.
Tall.
Quiet.
Dressed in a black shirt and jeans.
He wasn't talking to anyone.
He was simply staring at Room 207.
More specifically—
He was staring directly at her.
Amara froze.
Their eyes met.
The stranger's expression changed.
For a second, he looked shocked.
Then he quickly turned and walked downstairs.
“Who is that?” Amara whispered.
Teni shrugged.
“I don't know.”
Mimi suddenly sat up.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at her.
“What?”
Mimi's voice dropped.
“That guy?”
She pointed toward the staircase.
“I've seen him before.”
“Where?”
Mimi swallowed.
“Standing outside this room.”
Amara's smile disappeared.
“When?”
“Last night.”
Silence filled the room.
Amara looked at the door.
Then at the corridor.
Then back at Mimi.
“But I wasn't here last night.”
Mimi shook her head.
“I know.”
She stared at Amara.
“That's why I'm scared.”
Amara's phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown Number
One new message.
She opened it.
Her face went pale.
UNKNOWN: You shouldn't have taken Room 207.
Amara stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
UNKNOWN: Because the last girl who stayed there disappeared.
And before Amara could say a word—
Someone knocked three times on their door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
