The night I almost joined secret cult in UNN because of a girl

My first year at UNN, 2006. I was chasing this girl from my department, Chioma. Fine girl, sharp, from a good home. But she was deep into something I didn't understand at first. The way she carried herself, the older guys that always surrounded her, the sudden money she had for an undergraduate.

One night she calls me and says her 'big brother' wants to meet me. I was happy, thinking this is it, she is finally introducing me to her family. We go to a off-campus lodge in Ibagwa. The moment I stepped inside I knew I had messed up. There were about ten guys, some with marks on their faces, candles burning, a bottle of schnapps on the floor. They asked me to drink and swear to secrecy. My heart was beating like I was running a race I never trained for.

I looked at Chioma and she was smiling, like this was a normal Tuesday. I told them I needed to use the toilet. I walked out, jumped the fence, and ran all the way back to my hostel barefoot. I lost one slipper that night. I never spoke to Chioma again after that. She transferred to UNIBEN the next session. But I still think about how close I came. The thing about life is that one wrong yes can change everything. I thank God for the fear that saved me that night.