Betrayed by my Stepsister, Saved by Love

Inside the canteen, students buzzed with distant chatter, but the girls had been talking, no, unburdening themselves, for what felt like hours. 

Star exhaled, her tone heavy with emotion.

"My sister, people are suffering oo. You see many girls walking around campus looking fine, but you don't know what they're going through. Some don't have anyone sponsoring them. Their parents can't even afford school fees, let alone upkeep. That's how some end up sleeping with old men, these so-called sugar daddies, for survival."

Lizzy shifted on the bench, visibly uncomfortable.

"That's true... but calm down, not everyone has lost their values. Some still hold on to morals."

Star nodded slowly.

 "Yes, there are still good people, I agree. But the truth is, desperation drives many to take shortcuts. And what's the reward for that? Some of them contract HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Some even fall into the hands of ritualists, men who use their bodies for sacrifices. And after all that risk, when you finally graduate, what does the society offer you? Nothing. No jobs. Just more waiting, more suffering."

Lizzy didn't respond, just listened. Star continued, her voice rising slightly as the passion took over.

"Some of these graduates return home to learn a trade and acquire a skill. Some take to the streets. I've seen men with degrees become highway robbers. I've heard of women with diplomas becoming prostitutes, na hook-up dey trend now oo, just to survive. Imagine, after spending five or six years in the university, under the sun and rain, struggling to acquire knowledge... a man becomes a barrow pusher in the market."

She looked into the distance, as if seeing someone.

"A boy whose parents sold everything their land, their gold, even his mother's best wrappers, just to send him to school. The hope of his family... reduced to pushing a barrow, or driving a keke."

Lizzy closed her eyes briefly. 

"I feel for those girls who ended up on the streets," she said softly.

"Some didn't choose it. They were forced into it by circumstances. The condition of this country is not encouraging."

They were both quiet for a while. From the window, they could see birds flying in the sky, but these creatures were unaware of the weight of the conversation below.

"And every year," Star continued bitterly, "thousands of students graduate from over a hundred universities in this country. Where are they all supposed to go?"

Lizzy sighed. "Where will they be fixed?"

Star shrugged hopelessly.

"Nowhere. After spending millions on education, they're left to run their own race. And those who manage to get government jobs? They fake their age just to keep the job longer, even after turning sixty."

Lizzy raised her brows.

"Sixty? That's the retirement age for civil servants."

Star nodded.

"And yet, some won't leave. They cling to the job like their lives depend on it, blocking space for the younger generation."

"Wonders never cease," Lizzy muttered.

There was a long silence. Lizzy stared at Star with something close to admiration and sadness. Before she could speak, Star began again.

"I read a news blog the other day. A woman brought her dying child to a hospital. She had no money. She begged the doctor to treat the child first, promising to pay later. The doctor refused. The child died in her arms."

She paused, trying to control her voice.

"I wept after reading that. The health sector is a complete disaster. Human lives, which have no round two, mean nothing anymore."

Lizzy nodded slowly, her voice low.

 "I've seen it too. When I follow my dad to visit sick people at the hospital, to pay off their bills. I've seen doctors often demand money before touching the patient. They forget that life has no spare. Once it's gone, it's gone."

Star's eyes glistened.

"And then there are the beggars... the disabled roaming the streets with no help. Nobody cares. The system is dead. Look at the value of the naira. A thousand naira can't even buy you decent soup ingredients. What's the point?"

Lizzy added quietly, 

"Sometimes at night, when returning from events with my family, I see people sleeping under the bridges. I asked my mum once, and she said they were homeless. My heart broke. They lie there, exposed to the cold, with no future. Just existing."

Star stood up slowly and stretched. 

"Lizzy, abeg let me go and join the queue for the shuttle, back to he hostel. I'm tired."

Lizzy stood up too.

"Can I come with you? I stay off-campus, but I need to be around for the freshers' orientation this afternoon."

"Sure," Star said.

Together, the two girls walked toward the school gate in silence. But within them, a storm of thoughts brewed, of pain, of hope, and of a shared dream for a country they loved but didn't always recognize.

 Lizzy sat uneasily on the student's bed, her eyes darting around the small, poorly furnished room. Everything felt beneath her standard, too humble, too hot, and too cramped. The space was divided into four transparent corners with makeshift curtains, each belonging to one of the roommates.

She sat on Star's side, where a reading table stood beside the bed, topped with a red plastic torch resting on neatly arranged books.

Her eyes wandered to the open, medium-sized wardrobe. A few clothes were hung carefully, and three pairs of shoes sat on top. It was a far cry from Lizzy's luxurious life back to her lodge, where her family-sized wardrobe overflowed with designer clothes and a dedicated sack held dozens of shoes in every color imaginable.

The floor was covered in a faded, cheap carpet. Though the room was neat and organized, Lizzy was clearly out of place. The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company had just cut the power, and the heat was unbearable.

"Can you please switch on the generator? The heat is much," Lizzy said, already sweating.

But there was no response.

"Star, can you hear me?"

"Yes, dear," Star replied from the small kitchen space, peeling yams.

 "But I don't have a generator. Try opening the curtains for some breeze."

Lizzy got up and drew the curtain gently.

"You don't have a generator? So how do you survive in this kind of heat?" she asked, half in shock, half in complaint.

"My sister, I just manage. At least I have a roof over my head."

Lizzy looked around again.

"My mummy would never let me stay in a place like this."

Star smiled faintly. "Really?"

"Yes. My dad is a wealthy businessman; he imports and sells children's clothes. My mum is a full-time housewife, but we have maids who run everything. My elder brother is in the 300 level at Cambridge University."

"Cambridge? As in, England, United Kingdom?" Star interrupted, genuinely surprised.

"Yes," Lizzy said, pride tinged with sadness.

"He's studying medicine. He's brilliant. But me? I'm not like him. No matter how hard I try, I don't understand books. I even failed to gain admission into Cambridge. My dad was furious and cancelled all plans to send me abroad. He said it's either Cambridge or nothing."

"You had the opportunity to study at Cambridge and missed it?" Star asked quietly, looking up.

"I know," Lizzy said, looking away.

"My dad wanted me to study law. But honestly, I don't think I can. I don't want to disappoint him by failing, or worse, losing myself over there and turning into something I'm not. I may even become a high-class ashawo there."

"You're not serious," Star said, raising an eyebrow.

Lizzy laughed awkwardly and watched as Star wiped her eyes. She had been chopping onions.

"This is exactly why I hate cooking," Lizzy added. "It's messy and stressful."

"You sound like someone who doesn't know how to cook at all."

"And who cares?" Lizzy shot back.

"When I have my own family, I'll hire maids like my mum did."

Star shook her head gently.

 "Life doesn't always follow the same script. Your life may not turn out like your mum's."

"Maybe. But where do I even start? Frankly speaking, I've never even boiled water before. Since I got here, I've been buying food from Crunchies beside my house."

Star looked at her and smiled faintly. "But can you keep that up for four years?"

"I don't know. It's not like I chose to be this way."

"You're not alone, Lizzy," Star said.

 "I also grew up in a house with maids. But instead of just watching them work, I joined them. I learned to cook, wash, clean… everything. My mom was all I had. My dad died before I was born. I've only seen him in photos."

Star's tone grew heavier. Lizzy listened as the veil lifted, and pain came pouring out.

"After my mom remarried, everything changed. Her husband, my stepdad, was a womanizer. He was never home. And when he was, he ignored me and focused on Purple, my rude step-sister. We were the same age. My mom... she broke down. Depression took her. She turned to drugs and lost herself. I was only in junior class, but I was taking care of her, bathing her, feeding her. She wasn't the same person anymore."

Star paused and wiped her tears, but they kept coming; this time, the tears now falling weren't from the onion.

"She died last year from an overdose. I was sixteen. After her burial, my stepdad stopped supporting me. If not for my secondary school principal, I wouldn't even be in this school. He gave me a scholarship, but I still paid for my hostel fees, fed for myself, feeding, clothing, and transport. Everything. Year 2, hostel fee, I don't even know how to go about it."

Lizzy was stunned. She had expected a story of poverty, but not this depth of pain.

"Oh, Star… I'm so sorry. Please don't cry anymore," Lizzy said, wrapping her arms around her. 

"I didn't know. You're really strong."

Star wiped her eyes again but said nothing.

"You can stay with me," Lizzy offered.

"I rented a big apartment off-campus. I didn't know anyone when I got here, but you've become like a sister to me already. Please don't go through all this alone."

Star looked at her, eyes still red, and a small hopeful smile breaking through the pain.