As soon as he said this, I felt crushed. I was to be in room three or so, he wasn't sure, which only meant that room three was not his room, the room for the special boys. He had looked at me and had judged me common like Jovi. It must have been my cheap sandals and fake leather suitcase.

'Are these yours?' He asked pointing to my belongings.

I nodded. I noticed his eyes had zeroed in on my wooden provisions locker. He hesitated for a fraction of a second but I had noticed how his tongue had jutted out quickly and licked his lips.

'Open your locker.' He said sternly. 'I want to make sure you have not packed any contrabands from home.'

I fished my key chain from my pocket and quickly identified the correct key for the locker. As soon as I unlocked it, I threw the door open. Stacked inside like a mini superstore were my provisions; three packets of cabin biscuit, two regular tins of Nido powdered milk, two tins of Bournvita (I had wanted Milo but my mother had said it was more expensive), two packets of Nasco cornflakes, three packets of Tates sugar, a little bag of garri, two bottles of groundnuts, a tin of blue band margarine, one bottle of Three Top orange squash and one bottle of lemon squash, some tins of geisha and sardines, two massive loaves of bread bought by the Benin toll gate, a container of fried meat my mother had prepared and a small cooler containing jollof rice. Also inside were my toiletries like bars of bathing soap, toothpaste, body cream, deodorant spray and hair pomade.

When I looked at Senior Emeka again, I could see he was smiling self satisfactorily. I figured then that I was not carrying any contraband. I felt pleased that he seemed happy with me.

'We don't usually allow students to bring in tin foods.' He said solemnly, pointing to my sardines and geishas. 'But don't worry, I would let you keep these, ok!'

'Ok, Senior Emeka.' I said grateful for the favour he was offering me.

'I think it would be better if you stayed in my room.' He said almost to himself. 'It would be safer for you. I have a space underneath my bunk bed you can use.'

I took a deep breath and my sigh of relief was almost audible. I was to be among the special ones. I grinned widely and watched as he pushed the door open. I glimpsed a row of black metal bunk beds pushed against the far wall.Five in number with spaces in between each for a wooden locker much like mine. Some corners had two lockers instead of one for the two students sharing a bunk bed and space. Each bed had been laid out immaculately in white bed sheets with a strip of a separate red piece cloth of about two yards covering the foot side of the bed and tucked in neatly by each side. I entered carrying first my heavy suitcase and then I saw that by the opposite side of the room, the side with the door, three more bunk beds stood pressed to the wall immediately preceding the opening of the door and another bunk bed was directly behind the door. This bunk bed had the biggest space area in the room and an empty bunk space below the bed. There was also a centrepiece Persian rug by the bedside. I knew instantly that this would be my corner as well. There were three ceiling fans in the room as well as three florescent tubes, all switched off.

I dropped my suitcase and was heading out to bring in my other things when I noticed Senior Emeka lifting my provisions locker into the room. The veins on his arm swelled tautly against his skin. I saw he was also sweating somewhat on his face, neck and sweat stains marked the armpit area of his white shirt.

'Thank you, Senior Emeka.' I said to him.

I got outside and brought in my remaining things like my buckets, brooms, farming tools, mattress and pillow and a nylon bag containing some snacks and odd bits.

While Senior Emeka watched me, I set up my bed on the vacant space on the lower bunk. I opened my suitcase and carefully removed a bed sheet from underneath my neatly ironed and arranged clothing that lay inside the suitcase. My mother had helped me pack my bag so that I could make the best use of space and also fit in some other items I would need like the big coal iron for ironing my uniform. I had never seen a coal iron prior to that moment and had wanted an electric iron instead, but my mother had insisted that it was best I get a coal iron as it was inexpensive and could be used at any time. She had explained that all I needed was to lift the top of the iron, fill it with coal, and add some kerosene and light with a matchstick. When the coal had burned to a sizzling red, I could then replace the lid and use the iron like any regular iron. I had been intrigued by her explanation and a little fascinated with the whole concept of the coal iron, but at the back of my mind, I kept thinking it was still a primitive way to iron and probably more suitable for the poor and common. Also packed in my suitcase were my mosquito netting, two breakable serving dishes with two complete sets of cutlery and my schoolbooks.