Saturday, 8:30 p.m. – Goleta The phone rang for the eighth time that evening. Lying on her bed after spending nearly 40 minutes in the shower, 21-year-old Lisa Awalé had made up her mind not to answer it. She had no desire to talk to anyone—especially not him. Anxiously, she stared at her cell phone, […]
… At 6 p.m., Angela met up with her friend Caroline at a fast-food joint in Agla, a neighborhood in Cotonou. She planned to tell her that she would soon be leaving Cotonou to continue her studies in Goleta, and she knew Caroline wouldn’t take it well. Her friend had always been possessive and couldn’t […]
… Lisa Awalé was lying naked on the bed. Next to her, her boyfriend Roland had his eyes glued to his phone. They had just made love. After a while, Lisa had stopped counting—and stopped feeling guilty. After the conversation she had had with the old motorcycle-taxi driver, she had wanted to end things with […]
Tuesday, 9 PMLike many second- and third-year students, Isabelle Kano didn’t live on campus. She had opted for one of the private residences located just a few meters from the university. A wealthy developer had come up with the idea of building hundreds of student housing units around the campus. Students could pay monthly or […]
Goléta, Wednesday, December 8 She cast another sweeping glance around the room without getting up. Something had come into this room (or someone). She was certain of it. Lisa was also sure she had been awake for a while already. She felt as if she had been stuck between sleep and wakefulness. A kind of […]
1:00 PM He wore a blue shirt over black trousers. He had on navy blue sneakers with white soles. His broad shoulders filled out his shirt, and he wore sunglasses to shield his eyes. With his backpack slung over one shoulder, he stood calmly in front of classroom B3. His wait was brief, as the […]
Wednesday, December 8th, 4:00 PM “If the anomaly is due to a chromosome issue, we call it a chromosomal abnormality. These types of anomalies may result from the presence of an extra chromosome in one of the pairs, or from the absence of a chromosome in a pair (monosomy). Sometimes it’s only a part of […]
8:00 PM He had woken up around 7 a.m. and asked everyone to leave. Most of them had grumbled, but eventually, one by one, they got up and went home. Some had come to their senses. Others, not really. Anyway, the majority of the guests had already left before he woke up. It had been […]
Goléta, Friday, October 1, 2021; 10:00 AM Knock knock… The soft sound on the door made the receptionist stop his work. The man sitting behind the desk glanced up distractedly at the visitor and then straightened up. — Good morning, sir, said the young girl. Excuse me, I’m here for some information. — Good morning, […]
Tuesday, December 7, 2021, 2:00 AM Anifath Bidé abruptly woke up from her bed, drenched in sweat. Despite the fan running at full speed, she was sweating heavily. Anifath gasped for breath for a moment, then shuddered. It was clear that she was not alone in this room. Everything was dark, and she felt as […]
