I never wanted to share this, but sometimes when I sit down, I feel like our story can save another person in a similar situation. My guys out there, after reading my story, I hope you make better choices with your lives, especially the young ones in the University.
So the thing is, we were four friends. We all came from the same High School and got admission into UG. We were inseparable. Two of us were in traditional halls on campus. The other one was in a hostel which was also on campus. For the last one, he was staying in East Legon, it wasn’t far from campus, so he was non-resident. He was perching me ocassionally though. Especially around exams time. University life was freedom, it was too good to be true. You could miss lectures and just do want you wanted. I was the most intelligent amongst my friends. They just wanted a degree, but my family was rooting for me to get a first class. That’s not the focus of my story though.
One of the popular hostels on campus was having a hall week and we had been there for our first and second years. The hall week was always lit and people came from outside. It is one of the biggest entertainment shows in Accra no cap. So we went. That was when one of my friends met this girl. The way the story is, I want to give them fake names so that I can flow. So let’s say the friend who met the lady was Kofi. Kofi was vibing so much with the lady that the other three of us left them. After the hall week, we asked Kofi about the lady and he said they were really into each other. That weekend, Kofi had s*x with her multiple times. We share everything, and he was excited to tell us how easy it was to have s*x with that girl. Then he said he will give us all a chance to have s*x with her.
Kofi shared the girl’s contact and snap handles with us and we all started vibing with her normally. I was a bit distant with my conversations with her because I knew she was more like my friend’s girlfriend. But the other two friends knew Kofi was not really serious about her. The girl gave them the impression that she was the free type and she knew very well that we were all friends with Kofi whom she was dating but she didn’t even tell us to back off. After just like a few months, our second friend, let’s call him Nana also had s*x with her. We were done with exams for the sem and all his roommates had gone home so he invited her over and she came and that was how it happened. When he told us, something in me told me there was something wrong. Why will a girl open her legs for her boyfriend’s friend when she knows very well that her boyfriend may even find out the truth. I told my friends about my concern, but they brushed it off. If the lady was acting dumb, they will all play along and have s*x with her.
Our third friend, let’s call him Nii also had his way barely a month later. He is the richest amongst us and he took the girl out during the vac and they ended up at his house when his dad was not around. He said they did three rounds. During the vac, we have been meeting as a group at Nii’s house and talking about the girl. At a point she was sleeping with all three guys at different times and acting as if she doesn’t know we discuss her. She was still in this on and off relationship with Kofi. Then my friends started putting pressure on me to also knack her. I just refused, I didn’t want to. At that time, I had a girlfriend but she was always billing me so I wanted to leave her. The pressure really got to me because my friends won’t keep quiet about how they were enjoying the free s*x. So eventually I had to give in.
It was final year first sem. I was in an inner room. Because I also wanted to knack, I was vibing her during the vac. When school resumed, I invited her over and when it was time to p*netrate, I took out a c*ndom. She asked if I don’t trust her and that she takes pills not to get pregnant so no need for a condom. I told her I always use c*ndom and I don’t knack raw. I saw that she was angry just by this and I asked her what was wrong with us protecting ourselves during s*x? The thing became a fight and we didn’t continue. She wore her clothes and left. That was when I knew that this lady was spreading an STD. In fact, I had heard stories of ladies who do that. I told my friends they all had to go check. They told me they didn’t have any symptoms or anything, but I still insisted. We went to check for HIV first at the school clinic under the CC staircase. All three of my friends were HIV+
That period was a very though period for all of us. Kofi recounted how the girl had shown her the pills to remind him that there was no need for protection before s*x. But Nii and Nana just liked it raw so she didn’t even use the pill format on them. They were the type of guys who liked to pull out upon reaching climax. I was shaking the whole time because I was this close to becoming HIV+ We confronted the girl later. Kofi even hit her multiple times and the whole matter became complicated. Her roommates reported us to the porters and we were never allowed into her hostel again. We later heard she was no longer resident on campus. We were in our final year at that time and we never saw her again. My friends didn’t want anyone to find out they were HIV-positive so we kept this to ourselves. They started the ARV treatment. This happened 6 years ago. Nii and Nana are doing well. They don’t look sick in any way. It’s been years since I saw them, but they update their Facebook profiles often and I see their pics and chat them.
Kofi is the one we haven’t heard from in a while. He was from a different region so we never knew where he stayed when we were on campus. Kofi did not also graduate UG. The thing affected him so much that he failed a lot of papers and never came back to resit them. The other two barely graduated and I didn’t get my first class. In spite of that, I feel lucky because I could have easily gotten HIV too. It’s not a death sentence as it used to be, but you will take medicines for the rest of your life and you will have to be extra careful with a lot of things. Also, my friends complain about side effects of the ARVs. The life we have is just one. My friends and I learnt this lesson the hard way. We don’t go clubbing anymore. I drink alcohol occasionally, but they don’t drink alcohol at all. I hope that someone reads this and makes better choices in life. Even if it’s just one person who reads and turns his life around, I would have accomplished my purpose for sharing this.