When I first moved into the hostel with Ken, I liked him immediately. We were complete opposites—he was a social butterfly, and I preferred staying indoors. This arrangement gave me plenty of time to myself, which I enjoyed. However, there was one thing I absolutely disliked about Ken—he always had girls over. If it wasn’t Adwoa, it was Awo or Benewaa. Despite being in relationships with both Sandra and Cecily, he constantly juggled his time between various girls.

Of all the girls Ken brought to the hostel, the one he cared for the least was Cecily. She’d visit, and he’d leave her alone with me. We’d sit in silence until she got tired of waiting and left. Often, she’d call him, and he'd tell her he was around, only for her to arrive and find him gone. I’d tell her he wasn’t home, and she’d walk away disappointed.

One day, she showed up again, and as usual, Ken wasn’t around. I felt bad for her and invited her in, telling her he’d be back soon—though I knew that wasn’t true. I slipped away to call Ken.

“My guy, where are you? You’ve got a visitor,” I said.

“It's that girl, right? Forget her. She’ll leave when she gets tired,” he said nonchalantly.

“Ah, but you keep doing this to her,” I replied, feeling sorry for Cecily.

“Kwaku, don’t worry about these girls. They’ll do worse to you. If you feel bad, let her watch Netflix on your laptop. She’ll be fine,” Ken said dismissively.

It seemed like a good idea, so I asked Cecily if she wanted to watch a movie. Her eyes lit up. “Yes, please!” she said. She joined me on the bed, and I set up a Korean drama on my laptop. I didn’t care for it, but I watched it because I felt sorry for her. We didn’t finish the episode that night because it was getting late. As I walked her out, she told me, “Don’t continue the series without me!” I promised I wouldn’t, but honestly, who wanted to watch Korean dramas anyway?

To my surprise, the next time she came over, I was already hooked on the show. It became our little habit—watching movies together in our free time. She started coming to see me, not Ken. A few weeks later, Ken noticed and joked, “Looks like she’s brought her clinginess to you now. Be careful—she’s hard to get rid of.”

It was true, Cecily was clingy, always wanting to watch movies in her free time. But I didn’t mind. I enjoyed her company; she made me laugh, and it was nice to have someone around. I wasn’t the type to let people into my space, but with her, it felt different. Still, Ken’s warning lingered in my mind, and I decided to push her away.

One evening, I stood a few blocks away, watching as she knocked repeatedly on our door. She called, but I didn’t answer. I watched her walk away, feeling guilty. The next day, I opened the door as soon as she knocked. Her face lit up.

“Kwaku! I was here yesterday. I even brought you food,” she said, holding out a reheated meal.

She was so sweet. I wanted to hug her, but instead, I let her in. We sat on the bed, watching a new series when she suddenly spoke up.

“Ken doesn’t like me, does he? He says I’m too clingy, and he’s never here when I come,” she said quietly.

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent. She continued, “I guess it’s just my nature. My roommates have clingy boyfriends too—they’re always with them. So, our room is always empty. Girls forget about their friends when they get boyfriends. It’s just lonely when no one’s around.” She hesitated and asked, “Do you think I’m clingy too?”

I laughed it off, and we continued watching the movie. But after that day, she stopped coming by. At first, I didn’t care, but after a while, I missed her. I started asking around about her and eventually found my way to her hostel. When she opened the door, she looked surprised.

“Kwaku, what are you doing here?”

“I missed you. Why did you stop coming?” I asked.

She looked confused. “I thought I was being clingy.”

“You are clingy,” I said with a grin, “but I’m not complaining. I like how you cling to me.”

She smiled shyly and opened the door wider, letting me in. "Let's watch a movie," she said as we sat on her bed, as we settled in, I found myself saying, “I'm clingy too I hope you like that.”

She looked at me and nodded, “I like how you let me cling to you.”

We smiled at each other, leaning in as if to kiss, but just then, the movie started, interrupting the moment. Still, I knew at that moment—I had found my person, my home buddy. It felt good, and for the first time, I realized that maybe, just maybe, this was something special.