Lucinda held his card in her hand and pondered on the outcome of visiting Dr Adesina. He wasn’t even a lecturer in her department so he wasn’t going to be of any direct benefit to her. Be that as it may, she was curious. She wanted answers, who gave her the one single vote? why did Amanda win? Why was Dr Adesina interested in seeing her? She needed to know and so she picked up her phone and dialled his number.

“Hello?”

“Hello, who is this?”

“Good morning Sir, My name is Lucinda Emmanuel”

“Hello Lucinda, How are you?”

His voice was so warm, it melted the ice of uncertainty that had surrounded her mind.

“Fine sir”

“That’s nice, so what can I do for you?”

“I was wondering if I can come and see you now.”

“Now is not a good time, I have a meeting with the HOD in a few minutes. Come around 5PM”

“Okay sir”

Each said their goodbyes and Lucinda ended the call. She mused over her appointment with Dr Adesina and realised that the timing must have been deliberate. Staff members closed by 4PM. She would be alone with him. Anything could happen. Ice began to form around her feet.

By 4:30 PM, Lucinda ate her frog and stepped out of her hostel in the most unprovocative dress she could find. She got to the EDM building as directed and noticed that even the receptionist had closed for the day. She was lucky to find a student that pointed her in the direction of Dr Adesina’s office.

“Second floor, third door to your left. You would see the name of the door”

She climbed the stairs hesitant but wanting to find out his intentions. Finally, she was standing in front of the door and just as she was going to knock, someone called out to her.

“Young lady, how are you?”

Dr Adesina was just returning from his meeting. They walked into his office together and the door closed behind them.

There was something about him that made her feel so relaxed and at peace. He spoke with so much honesty and admiration of her. He explained that he liked her because unlike the other ladies that used what they had to bribe the judges, she chose a different path. They talked about setting goals, strategies for peak performance and calculating CGPA. He explained how examinations were set and how to understand each lecturer’s style.

Dr Adesina was nothing like the other lecturers and he was filling a space she didn’t know existed in her heart. He became her hiding place. She could tell that he enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed his. There was something about him that reminded her of her father.

He looked at the time and it was almost 7:30PM

“Lulu, we better get going it’s quite late”

Lucinda chuckled at the manner in which he called her name, “Lulu”. She smiled, then quickly reminded herself not to get carried away.
“Okay Sir”

“Be sure to stop by whenever, is that okay?”

“I will”

There was no pressure in his voice, just a desire to see her again. She wanted to see him too. There was something about him that made her feel safe.

Watch out for the next Episode...