Brown Skinned Bet

Chapter XV

•Daryl•
   
          I looked over her sleeping face,her facial features in perfect rest,finally getting my chance to stare at her as long as I wanted without the fear of being caught by her or anyone else. She looked peaceful,and that seemed to make me happy.

          From the onset of the day,she'd looked different,I couldn't quite pinpoint why but I knew she looked different. I recalled her talk with Jawal,she'd sounded strained and I found myself wondering why. She'd seemed okay yesterday,so what was wrong today?
  
          She'd told Jawal she would eat when she got back to class so I took it upon myself to observe if she actually did but she didn't. She simply gazed here and there,looking so uninterested in whatever the world had to offer.

          I'd considered walking up to her and asking her what was wrong but I knew better than that. If what was bothering her was deep,I doubted she would want to share it with me. Deciding to not put myself into another trouble with her,I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling within me. Why was the level of my uneasiness beginning to increase whenever she was involved?

          I ignored the feeling up until break time,still observing her from time to time from where I sat behind. Onome guarded her like she was a princess so even if I wanted to talk to her,I wouldn't be able to. Onome didn't seem like a fan of my existence.

          Spotting Yomi walking out of the class,a light bulb lit above my head as I found a different solution to my problem,I would ask the more calm-headed friend. I strode over to B class,seeking out Jade and in my good fortune,I found her leaning  against the wall,conversing with Yomi who I'd followed there.

         "Yomi,please let me borrow Jade first. Two minutes" I appealed. Jade looked between Yomi and I,one of her brows raised furrowed in confusion. "Thank you,Jade please can I ask you something outside?" I directed at Jade after Yomi gave me a go ahead.

        "Em...o..kay" Jade hesitated,probably confused as to why I would want to ask her anything but she still followed me out of the class. "What's up?" She questioned.
"I don't mean to be pry but please I need your help" I told her.

         "Okay,with what?" She asked. "Can you please tell me what's wrong with Kainene?" I finally asked,overcoming my hesitance. "Kainene? Why? What happened? Is she crying?" She motioned to move past me but I was quick to stop her.

         "No she's not crying,its just that..she's been looking not so good..." I trailed off,as it was her turn to hesitate again. "Daryl ehn..." she started, "..I dont know why you're asking or why you even care but....its complicated" she told me.

           I nodded,understanding that it was truly something deep like I'd speculated earlier and something she was in no place to let me in on. "Okay,thank you" I told her.
"Don't worry,she'll be fine by tomorrow" she assured me before walking back into her class.

         I didnt know what I was thinking when I approached Kemi to swap groups with me. Apart from just wanting to be in the same space as her,I actually wanted to try elevate her mood in any way I could.

          In the course of our practical,whenever she flashed me small but weak smiles,my heart did little somersaults,at least she was trying to smile with me. It made me wonder too,if she wanted to mask what she was feeling before me or she actually felt a bit better with me around.

          Although I hadnt expected the accident to occur,I knew she was weak as she hadnt had anything to eat the whole day,I felt the heat of her fingers each time they brushed with mine and I'd noticed her hands shaking. So even though I did worry about my belongings which had been soaked with aqueous ammonia,I worried more for her.