Jesse felt a tap on his shoulder, waking him up from his slumber. Slowly, he opened his eyes to see Kwesi's face in front of him.
Jesse raised an eyebrow, curious about the interruption. Kwesi chuckled and reminded him that it was already 8 o'clock and time to take a bath.
The bathroom was located on the left corner of the ground floor. Jesse carefully climbed down the bed ladder, grabbed his bucket, and unwrapped his new towel. He also brought along his fancy-smelling shower gel, sponge, and a small beach bucket known as a "pail" among SHS students in Ghana. This pail was used to scoop and pour water on the body while rinsing.
Jesse changed into his bathing robe and headed downstairs. As he approached the bathroom, he noticed a strong smell coming from inside. It was quite crowded with both seniors and freshers, all with towels hanging on their shoulders, patiently waiting in line to take a bath.
The bathroom was a large building with around 30 cubicles, each accommodating two people. The floor was made of terrazzo, which made it a bit slippery, and the walls were adorned with small pebbles. Jesse felt a bit frustrated having to wait for someone to finish before he could finally take his bath. He even contemplated going back to bed.
"Hey," Jesse heard someone call out. He turned his head in that direction and saw Ben waving at him.
Ben was undressing in one of the cubicles, getting ready to take his bath. He smiled at Jesse. Jesse walked over to Ben and noticed someone patiently waiting for Ben to finish so they could take their turn. It was clear that the guy was a freshman, with a quiet demeanor and a long face.
"Hey, Jesse, I almost forgot you said you were after me, haha," Ben said. He then turned to the other guy and apologized, explaining that Jesse was next in line. Jesse was pleasantly surprised by Ben's gesture and exchanged a look with him, accompanied by a wink.
He smiled back and decided to wait next to the cubicle for Ben. As he waited, he glanced around at the well-built, lean, and slim bodies of the other boys bathing, but none of them caught his interest like the first guy he saw resting on the bed.
Jesse silently thanked Ben as he got into the bath. He was quite shy about people seeing his nakedness, but he knew he had to get used to it since it would always be like that.
He took his time and bathed, enjoying the pleasant scent of his shower gel that still lingered on him after he was done. He put his bathing robe back on and returned to his dorm.
As he entered, he saw Senior Kelvin standing beside Kwesi, engaged in conversation. They both turned to Jesse when they heard someone enter. Senior Kelvin looked back at Kwesi and asked, "So, you took a school son?" Kwesi just smiled and shrugged.
Kelvin stared at Jesse for seconds before he sighed and went back to his room.
The moment he went,
Jesse whispered to Kwesi, "He's so rude."
Jesse started walking towards their bed, where his trunk was located
Kwesi who liked the smell of the shower gel on Jesse asked about the type of his shower gel.
"I don't know, just check it, it's in my bucket," Jesse answered as he changed into his sleepwear, he turned to look at Kwesi who was staring at him as he changed,
Jesse who liked this new look jokingly asked, "Senior Kwesi, do you happen to be gay?" Kwesi sat up on the bed, smiled, and replied, "I am gay."
Jesse gasped in surprise, but then another voice from behind the curtains said, "Shut up, Kwesi, remember I can hear you.