Ralia had just brought out her bowl of rice and stew from the microwave ready to dig into her late dinner when the loud whir of the fire alarm began to ring. She took a seat and ate some spoonfuls of her meal, looking into the faces of her other flatmates who were in the kitchen with her. They were as unbothered as they were unheeding, carrying on their conversation like the sound was from a toy.

It wasn’t the first time their activities have been interrupted by the noise, and they had developed an indifference to the warning as if they were fire-resistant. Ralia scooped more rice into her mouth and when the alarm wouldn’t stop, she turned to her housemates. “I think we have to go out now.”

Ralia retreated into her room to change her clothes, ignoring the fatigue and hunger caused by the day’s busyness. She remembered the first time the fire alarm went off in a noisy blare. It was 1am, and she had barely closed her eyes to wade off the headache that had plagued her all day. The noise roused her out of sleep and she dashed out of the room with only her phone. Her other flatmates had scuttled to the corridor, and they were all headed for the assembly point. As she stepped out, the harsh winter cold knocked her legs together. She ambled to a corner with her other flatmates, shivering like a jelly. She’d cupped her palms together and blew into it, but all that came out from her mouth was cold air. The temperature was less than zero degrees and the only covering around her slender frame was the lightweight pyjamas she had on.

This time Ralia slipped into a thick jogger, grabbed her coat from the hanger and joined her flatmates in the hallway. They hurried down the stairs alongside other occupants of the building, bumping into each other. There were already a number of people outside. A guy with long black hair had water dripping from his head. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and a long top over his upper body. Soap-suds could be seen around his neck.

“I’d just put soap on my body when I heard the alarm. I rushed out of the bathroom,” Ralia heard him say to his friends, laughing.

From a distance, the sounds of blaring sirens could be heard. As the fire trucks drew near, their blue and red lights brightened the dark starry sky. Ralia wondered why people brought out their phones to record the grand entrance of the trucks, which had come to save the night. She shoved her hands in her pocket and stared into space. In her front was a group of girls puffing out smoke from their mouths and nostrils like a chimney. She moved away, coughing out the cigarette she’d inhaled.

A sturdy woman jumped out of the truck, a red helmet tucked under her armpit. A rugged-looking man followed after her. He had his helmet fastened under his chin, a smirk on his face. They hurried into the building with the security officer who had notified them.

Ralia noticed that two of her flatmates were nowhere to be found. She looked around and saw them running around the pathway between the road and the canal, chuckling. The smoke from the girls puffing cigars still filled the air.

“Let’s take a walk.” Mariana turned to Ralia. “I feel choked.”

Ralia and Mariana made their way around the sea of residents and followed the trails of light leading to the tunnelled path. They waved to their other flatmates who were now talking with a guy and some other group of girls. He had black tousled hair and full beards. Ralia and Mariana got to the end of the tunnel before turning back towards their apartment building. There was no one outside and only one of the three trucks, the red and blue light beaming. As they walked through the door, they saw the sturdy woman and another man talking in front of the meter box. They took the lift up to their flat.

At the door was the guy with tousled hair talking with Louis. Ralia and Mariana smiled at them and went in. Ralia went to her room, and stripped herself of the extra clothing she had on before returning to the kitchen.

“Your food must be cold by now,” Rachel said. 

“Yeah. I’ll eat it like that. I eat cold food and I’m too hungry to put it in the microwave.” Ralia took the cover off the plate and dug in. “It’s still kind of hot,” she said, mouthful.

Louis joined them in the kitchen after over 15 minutes, grinning. She poured frosted flakes into a pink and grey round bowl. She opened the fridge, brought out a bottle of skimmed milk and poured it over in. She joined Mariana and Rachel on the Sofa, munching her crunchy cereal, interjecting every now and then in the conversation.

Three days after the fire alarm saga, Ralia was in the kitchen eating chips, a burger, and a milkshake. She’d just come back from the store. Louis walked into the kitchen, a grin on her face. Rachel came in after her.

“Rudy is coming. He’s bringing me food.”

“Who’s that?” Ralia asked.

“Someone I was talking with the other night.”

“Should we go to our rooms?” Rachel asked.

“No, no. You don’t have to. Just be normal.”

Ralia glanced at her from the corner of her eye and refocused on her food. A knock on the door and the tousled-haired guy from the night of the false alarm came in with a plate in his hand. A blue flannel robe was fastened around his waist, and his hair looked a bit damp. He stayed for less than five minutes, and Louis followed him to the door.

Ralia and Rachel winked at her when she came back to the kitchen. Smile lines had formed around her face, and the trio burst out laughing. 

Oluwakemi.