Crossroads of trust: my freshman year first ordeal

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Just this period last year, I had gotten admission into the university. I was really anxious about moving into the university hostel. My brother told me stories of his first year staying in the university hostel, and trust me when I say the stories he told me weren't nice at all.

School had resumed, and I had already booked my hostel. I waited a week to move into my hostel; I didn't look forward to it. I stayed in a school hostel all my secondary school years and had lots of bad experiences. So, no one would blame me for hesitating to move in.

I eventually got ready to move into the hostel because, no matter how long I stalled, I knew I would still have to move in. Finally, I was in school. I knew my way around since it wasn't my first time visiting the school hostel. My brother stayed there before, so I got to visit the hostel anytime I came to see him. I got to the room assigned to me and knocked on the door.

"Come in, the door is open," the voice from inside beckoned me. I walked into the room; it was only one person who had moved in.
"Are you staying here? Is this your room?" The guy in the room asked. "Yes," I answered as I pulled my luggage along.
"Welcome! Finally, I have a roommate now. It is not only me who would stay in this hostel," he said as he got up from his bed and helped me with my things.
"So, you are in 100 level, am I right?" He asked.
"Yes, I am," I answered as I settled in. "That means it might just be true that only 100 level students will stay in this hostel," he said as he went back to lay on his bed. "By the way, I am Kingsley. What is your name?"
"My name is Joshua." I answered
"What department are you in? I am in the electrical engineering department."
"I am in the medical laboratory science department."

I finished settling in; we got to know each other, and after that, we were quite cool. Kingsley was a neat person, and we both minded our business. The school hostel wasn't as bad as they said it would be.

I later made friends from my department, and one of them was named Emmanuel. One day, I had Emmanuel escort me to my hostel to get a textbook before we went to class. When we reached the hostel, I felt pressed and told him to wait in the room with Kingsley while I used the restroom. After that, we went for the class.

After school, I returned to the hostel and was famished. I was shocked when I checked my box and couldn't find my money. I ransacked my box but still couldn't find it. I didn't know what to do because I had withdrawn my allowance for the week, and now it was all missing. Kingsley wasn't in the hostel, so I waited for him to return. In the meantime, I called my dad and told him my ordeal. After some scolding, he sent me another money and made it clear that he wasn't going to send another one if I was careless again. I immediately rushed out and had something to eat.

Later that evening, Kingsley had returned, and I asked him if he knew anything about my missing money. He then told me that he saw the guy I came to the hostel with put his hand in my box. I was shocked when Kingsley told me everything. I wanted to ask Emmanuel about the money if he really took it. But I just told myself that even though I caught him, he must have already used the money and would probably deny taking it.

I started keeping my distance from him and was more careful around him. One fateful afternoon, while I was in class with my other friends, Emmanuel came to me and told me he needed to talk to me privately. We went to a corner and then sat down there. "Joshua, I am sorry," he said. "Sorry for what?" I asked him. Then he brought out some money. "I was in need of money that day and didn't know how to ask you for money, so I took it." He gave me the money; I counted it, and it was exactly the same amount that got missing.

"I knew it was you who took it; my roommate saw you take it and told me. And I am glad you returned it," I said to him. Indeed, hearing him confess was music to my ear. However, I still kept my distance from him because first impressions matter a lot, and he had lost the trust I had in him.