‘Folakemi, they admitted you for Chemistry.’ my dad said in his rich Yoruba accent.

I felt disappointed.
All I ever wanted in my life was to be a pharmacist. I remember how the pharmacy passion began. it was in primary 2, and it was from Uncle Benson.
Uncle Benson, my new elementary science teacher, would always come to class, and with every slight aggravation, whine and whine about how he shouldn’t be here teaching a bunch of sorry little kids when he originally was made to be a pharmacist. He managed to like a few of us, and these few he never failed to educate on the allure of pharmacy. My best friend and I will yawn and yawn every time he started on the matter, and sometimes, when the yawns would not come, we would induced them  just to spite him. How were we to blame? little kids in their sixes and sevens, we hardly knew what a university was talk less of pharmacy.  Never mind that the periods he usually got his boring-talk-fits were usually during lunch time or break time, increasing their oddity.
Unknowingly, pharmacy had come to stick in my head since then. i knew i had to be in science, i knew i had to like chemistry, i knew i had to be a geek, i knew i was going to be rich by it; but that’s as far as i knew about pharmacy, and i would later tell everyone that cared to listen that that was what i was ‘originally made for’.

I decided I couldn’t accept the Chemistry admission and Alero understood. Luckily, I had applied for admission in another university and they had chosen me for Nursing science. I opted for that instead and that was when Alero and I were separated. The good thing was, even though she was in Lagos and I was in Ile-Ife, we never lost touch, not even once. We exchanged calls, text messages and many times even visited each other during the breaks and ASUU strikes. Alero was an amazing friend I knew I could never lose. She thought same of me too.

I met Adebisi Jagun on the day of the choir audition held by the choir leaders of my university fellowship. It was a cold Friday evening. There was a queue at the entrance of a popular lecture theatre where the auditions were being held. I, completely knowing no one, joined the queue but concentrated on my blackberry. Then someone else came and stood behind me.

‘Hi.’I heard an innocent voice behind me.

‘HI!’I said, turning round to catch a glimpse of an equally innocent face.

‘I’m Bisi.’ Innocent-face had stretched her hand.

I took it, smiling. ‘I’m Folake. Nice to meet you.’

We went in together and after answering a few questions, she was asked to sing a song.  As soon as she parted her lips, I felt intimidated. Her voice gave me goose bumps all over and I was certain that they’d choose her over me if they had to take just one of us. Fortunately, both of us made it into the choir, alongside some fourteen others. It was two weeks into our being choir members that we really got talking and then I realized she was in hundred level while I was in two. Bisi was a sweet young lady! Despite being asked to take solos more often than many old members, she was never proud or conceited. Her good nature attracted me to her.

We had a good talking relationship until my 300level when she moved in with me in my apartment in town. That was when we became more like sisters. We went everywhere together and had a wonderful time as roommates. There was hardly a thing about me that Bisi didn’t know and she never hid anything from me. Till I graduated, Bisi remained my roommate and soul sister.

Then something unexpected happened just before i left school, totally changing the course of our relationship.