Writers 
TOP CREST UNIVERSITY
The car screeched to a halt at the school gate.
Safiya's heart pounded against her ribcage like a caged bird desperate to break free. She slowly stepped out of the car, her feet touching the grounds of Top Crest University for the very first time.
She looked up.
The name of the university was boldly displayed across the magnificent gate, its golden letters gleaming beneath the morning sun. The university crest stood proudly above it all—a symbol of excellence, ambition, and the promise of a brighter future.
Safiya stared at it for a moment, almost afraid to blink.
This is it.
Her eyes glistened with tears of joy.
This is where my story begins.
"Safiya!"
A familiar voice broke through her thoughts.
She turned and saw her uncle standing near the gate, his arms stretched out to welcome her.
"Uncle!"
A wide smile spread across her face as she hurried toward him and fell into his embrace.
"Welcome to the university, my dear," he said warmly. "You're starting your registration today, right?"
Safiya nodded. She wanted to answer, but the emotions caught in her throat made it difficult to speak.
Her uncle led her to his office and directed her to the various places where she needed to complete her registration.
"Thank you so much, Uncle," she said before leaving.
Her steps felt lighter than air.
She was finally a university student.
Safiya was a young woman whose presence naturally attracted attention. She carried herself with quiet confidence and grace, and although people noticed her wherever she went, she remained humble and reserved.
She had come to Top Crest with one thing in her heart:
A dream.
---
THE FIRST TEST
That day was nothing like she had imagined.
It was a nightmare dressed in daylight.
The excitement that had filled her heart since she received her admission seemed to disappear within hours. The joy that had kept her awake for nights evaporated like morning mist beneath a scorching sun.
"I didn't know registration could be this difficult," she whispered.
Her legs ached.
Her back hurt.
Her throat was dry.
The queues seemed endless. Students pushed past one another. Offices were closed when they were supposed to be open. Documents were requested, misplaced, and requested again. Some officials barely looked at the students before sending them to another office.
Safiya felt overwhelmed.
Is this what I signed up for?
She wanted to cry, but she refused to give herself permission.
Eventually, after hours of moving from one office to another, she completed her registration.
By the time she returned to her uncle's office, she was completely exhausted.
The moment she entered, she collapsed onto the couch.
Her uncle laughed gently.
"You've had quite a day, haven't you?"
Safiya didn't answer.
She simply lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Her chest rose and fell slowly.
"You'll get used to it," her uncle said. "That's how university can be."
He pointed toward the refrigerator.
"Take something from the fridge."
Safiya forced herself to stand. Her body felt heavy as she walked to the refrigerator. She grabbed a drink and swallowed it quickly.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Then they talked for a while before her uncle took her home.
Safiya thought the worst was over.
She was wrong.
---
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
Weeks later, everything was ready.
Her mother had bought everything she needed—new clothes, shoes, bags, toiletries, books, and other necessities.
Everything was new.
Everything looked beautiful.
Everything smelled like hope.
Safiya packed her belongings carefully.
She was ready.
On Monday morning, she stepped onto the university campus as a fresher.
Her heart was full of dreams.
She imagined new friends.
She imagined good grades.
She imagined graduation day.
She imagined standing in her graduation gown while her family watched proudly from the crowd.
She imagined a future she could finally call her own.
But sometimes, life does not follow the script we write for it.
---
THE FALL
Safiya's university experience did not begin well.
The lecture halls seemed impossibly far apart. She would leave one venue only to discover that her next class was somewhere on the other side of the campus.
Finding lecturers became an adventure of its own.
Even Saturdays offered little relief.
What in the name of stress is this? she complained silently.
Then came the hostel.
Her room was overcrowded. The bathroom was constantly busy. Water was unreliable, and privacy was almost nonexistent.
Then there were her roommates.
They were loud.
They were inconsiderate.
They had habits that constantly irritated her.
Safiya tried to adjust.
She really did.
But every night, she found herself asking the same question.
Why did I even come here?
Sometimes, she cried quietly into her pillow.
She missed home.
She missed the comfort of her family.
She missed the life she had before university.
And slowly, the dream she had once held so tightly began to feel like a burden.
---
THE DISCOVERY
Then, one ordinary day, everything changed.
Safiya went to a cybercafé to print her course registration documents.
She sat patiently as the attendant prepared the documents.
Then she looked at the screen.
Her heart stopped.
She stared at the information in disbelief.
There was a matriculation number attached to her online records.
It wasn't the number she had been using.
She checked again.
Then again.
Her hands began to tremble.
The number she had been using for classes was different from the one on the university's official portal.
How?
Her heart raced.
How could this have happened?
The number she had been using had been given to her during registration.
She had trusted the process.
She had assumed everything was correct.
Now, suddenly, she wasn't sure of anything.
She hurried back to her hostel and told her roommate.
Her roommate, a final-year student, listened carefully.
"You need to report this to your HOD immediately," she said. "Don't ignore it."
Safiya nodded.
She knew she had to fix the problem.
She just didn't know that walking into that office would change her life forever.
---
THE HOD'S OFFICE
The next morning, Safiya stood outside the Head of Department's office.
Her palms were sweaty.
Her heart was beating rapidly.
She took a deep breath and knocked.
"Come in."
She entered.
The HOD welcomed her and asked her to sit.
Safiya explained everything—the matriculation-number problem, the confusion, and how the incorrect number had been given to her during registration.
He listened.
He asked questions.
He took down her phone number and the two matriculation numbers.
He even made a call concerning the issue.
For a brief moment, Safiya felt relieved.
Maybe everything will be fine.
But then his questions became increasingly personal.
Some made her uncomfortable.
She answered politely, hoping the conversation would return to the matter that had brought her there.
Instead, something happened that she never could have anticipated.
"Safiya," he said, "stand up and come over here."
She hesitated.
Something inside her told her not to move.
But she didn't want to appear disrespectful.
She stood.
Then he gave her another instruction that immediately made her uncomfortable.
Safiya's instincts screamed at her that something was wrong.
She should have trusted that feeling.
What happened next crossed a serious boundary and left her frightened and deeply shaken.
She tried to resist and get away.
Then there was a knock on the door.
Everything stopped.
The HOD quickly stepped away.
Safiya returned to her seat, trembling.
Someone entered the office.
She barely registered who it was.
She could hear voices, but the words seemed distant, almost underwater.
Her mind was somewhere else.
She felt numb.
When the visitor finally left, the atmosphere in the office changed completely.
The warmth that had been there earlier disappeared.
The HOD's expression hardened.
"Get out of my office."
Safiya stared at him.
"Go and sort out your problem yourself."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
She had entered that office believing she was going to solve a simple administrative problem.
Instead, she was leaving with a wound no university record could explain.
---
THE WALK AWAY
Safiya walked out of the office.
She didn't know where she was going.
Her legs moved, but her mind felt frozen.
Students walked past her.
Some laughed.
Some talked about assignments.
Others hurried to lectures.
Life continued around her as though nothing had happened.
But something inside Safiya had changed.
She felt disconnected from everything.
She walked through the corridor without looking at anyone.
For months, she had endured the difficult registration, the hostel problems, the stressful lectures, the confusion, and the loneliness because she believed things would eventually get better.
She had told herself to keep going.
She had told herself that university was difficult for everyone.
She had told herself that the dream was worth the struggle.
But now she understood something.
There were battles worth fighting.
And there were places where walking away was not weakness.
It was survival.
She reached the school gate and stopped.
Behind her stood the university she had once admired.
The same golden letters that had welcomed her now looked different.
She remembered the first day she had stood beneath that gate.
She remembered the tears of joy in her eyes.
She remembered thinking:
This is where my story begins.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Perhaps she had been wrong.
Perhaps this was not the end of her story.
Perhaps it was simply the end of one chapter.
Safiya wiped her face.
She tu
rned away from Top Crest University and walked.
She didn't know what tomorrow would bring.
She didn't know where her education would continue.
She didn't know how she would explain everything to her family.
But she knew one thing.
She was not going back.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
Never.
And as she walked away, she realized that sometimes the bravest thing a person can do is choose themselves.
