Chapter 10 A New Uniform, A New World

The lockdown had stretched beyond what anyone imagined.

What started as a "two weeks break to curtail the virus" became months of uncertainty, boredom, and restless waiting. By the end of the year, Faith had grown tired of simply waiting for life to resume.

She was ready to move.

One afternoon, while rearranging the bookshelf, she paused on her JAMB result 315. A score so promising, yet useless in a season where university admissions were on hold. Her dream of studying Optometry at the University of Nigeria Nsukka had been paused by a pandemic she didn't ask for.

But Faith wasn't the type to wait forever.

She never was.

Her mum brought home a flyer one day from a friend whose daughter had just enrolled in a private nursing school not far from town.

Faith read it twice. The requirements weren't complicated.

She folded it once, tucked it under her pillow, and by morning, the decision was made.

"I want to try nursing school," she told her parents at breakfast.

Her dad raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"I don't want to waste more time. I'll still pursue university when everything stabilizes. But for now... I need to do something meaningful."

They didn't resist. They'd seen her resilience. Her discipline.

They knew this wasn't a rebellion it was a rerouting.

The application was smoother than expected. No long queues. No complicated entrance exams. Just documentation, a short oral interview, and a screening.

By March, while the world was still cautiously tiptoeing through the pandemic, Faith was already admitted into Nursing School.

The first day she wore her crisp white uniform, something in her shifted.

This wasn't secondary school anymore.

It was a whole new playing field.

The environment felt clinical and serious, yet alive with youthful chaos.

There were students who had been waiting for this moment for years.

There were older students, second-timers, even married ones.

There were the loud ones who introduced themselves before the teacher even asked.

There were the "I-too-knows" who would correct lecturers with misplaced confidence.

There were fashionistas who made scrubs look like runway outfits.

And then, there was Faith.

She entered like a whisper.

Said nothing extra.

Did nothing dramatic.

But in just one week, her presence was being felt not by noise, but by results.

During one of their first foundational tests in Anatomy, she scored the highest.

The lecturer, curious to see the face behind the name, called it out in class.

"Lazarus Faith... where is she?"

She quietly raised her hand.

Just a gentle nod. No speech. No smugness.

The entire class turned to look.

So that's her.

And from that moment, a subtle buzz began to circle around her name.

Not because she dressed loud. Not because she was everywhere.

But because brilliance doesn't need a microphone.

While others competed to be seen, Faith competed with her last score.

She wasn't there to impress she was there to excel.

She made a few quiet friends.

Ones who respected her calm. Who didn't pressure her to be more social than she was comfortable with.

They noticed how she took notes like someone writing a textbook.

How she studied in patterns voice notes, visual diagrams, flash cards, even mnemonics.

One friend, Ada, leaned over to her during lunch one day and whispered,

"Honestly, if I ever get seriously ill, I'm coming to you. You look like you'd cure someone by just reading their symptoms correctly."

Faith chuckled.

"Or by out-reading the sickness," she replied playfully.

Despite the seriousness of the course, Faith didn't lose her softness.

She still journaled. Still wrote reflections at night.

Her entry one night read

Room 2B Chronicles

Her roommate was Precious.

At first glance, everyone wondered how it would work Faith, the brainy, composed one... and Precious, the playful, average student who never seemed bothered about anything serious. Her English was scattered, her dressing carefree, and her approach to schoolwork? Casual at best.

"Faith and Precious? Oil and water," someone joked during orientation week.

But weeks turned into months, and something unexpected happened.

Faith didn't try to change Precious forcefully she just lived by example. And Precious? She watched. She asked questions. She listened.

Soon she was improving polishing her spoken English, organizing her books, waking early to study, even fixing her wardrobe choices. People noticed.

"You and your roommate fit each other well," one lecturer said.

And it was true.

Precious wasn't the smartest, but she was teachable. Tolerant too. Because Faith, for all her brilliance, wasn't perfect. She could be too serious, sometimes impatient, and occasionally forgot to share stuff. like provisions or even stories from home.

But Precious never blew things out of proportion. She'd tease Faith, roll her eyes, then let it go.

Together, they became the balance they both needed.

Not just roommates. A real team.

"Sometimes your path changes without your permission. But maybe that's how life works you find purpose not by planning everything, but by staying faithful in every step you take."