Water Under the Bridge

Chapter 5

Lagos, Nigeria.
4th January, 2023.

I stared at the huge mahogany door with the word 'PRINCIPAL' stuck to it. I fiddled with my neat braids and chewed on my bottom lip nervously with my mum sat beside me as we waited for the principal to finish his brief meeting with the teacher in his office.

The principal's secretary was sat opposite us behind her cubicle and she was stealing not so subtle glances at my mum in what looked like awe and jealousy. I can't blame her, my mum turns heads everywhere she goes.

A true epitome of beauty.

The sound of the secretary's telephone ringing drew me out of my thoughts. She picked it up.

"Yes sir...Okay sir."
"The principal is waiting for you ma'am" she said in her shrill voice as she faced my mum who had just removed her attention from her phone since we arrived. My mum nodded and stood up, gesturing for me to follow her.

We entered the principal's office and my mum went ahead to give the principal a handshake while I looked around.

The principal's office was exuding both authority and calmness. The room was well-lit and organized, with a large desk at the center. The furniture was made of dark wood, and the walls were lined with shelves full of books. On the desk there were several binders and folders, and a coffee mug that said "Principal" in big block letters. The walls were decorated with student's artwork and photos of the students and staff. There was a window overlooking the school grounds, and the curtains were pulled back to let in the natural breeze.

"Good morning, Mrs Benson." the principal said. My mum cringed slightly at the title the man used.

"It's Miss Benson please, good morning to you too" she said with a tight lipped smile. The principal looked a bit embarrassed.

"Of course ma, my apologies. Please take a seat."

"It's okay." my mum said, with a slight wave.

"I'm just here to make sure my daughter is given her class schedule and to know if she can get a student guide for at least a week. I already settled her school fees with the bursar on Saturday."

"Yes ma. Actually, Mr Chima here will take her to her class when the next period starts since the second period is already coming to an end. Her school uniforms will be available by the end of this week." he said and I finally noticed the full bearded, tall man standing at a corner in the office.

"Okay then. I'll take my leave now Mr Adekunle. " my mum said standing and picking her bag from the table.

"Alright ma. Thank you for choosing Lakeview High" he said confidently.
"Mr Chima, please take Arielle to her class" he said, turning to the lanky man.

"Okay sir, let's go Arielle" Mr Chima said.

I kissed my mum on her cheek and followed the man. He took me down the hallway which was just by the principal's office then led me to a flight of stairs. There was another hallway at the end of the staircase and we walked to the middle where I saw another stairway. I followed him upstairs again and we finally got to our destination.
The SS3 block.

I panted slightly to as he led me to a classroom labelled 'SS3 Ruby'. He knocked thrice and the door was opened by a short, beautiful young lady.

"The new student?" she questioned Mr Chima while looking at me.

"Yes, this is she." I snickered silently at the man's choice of words.

The woman nodded then led me into the class while Mr Chima walked away. My breath faltered slightly as I looked at my new classmates.
Some were staring at me with awe, some looked at me with curiosity and some didn't even care they had a new classmate.

"Introduce yourself a little please, if you'd like to of course." the young teacher said, looking at me with a gentle smile.

I honestly didn't want to introduce myself but I also didn't want to look like a wimp so I introduced myself.

"I am Arielle Derinsola Benson. I'm in the arts department." I said shortly, smiling a little.

"Alright, Arielle. That's a lovely name. Sit beside Jasmine. My name is Miss Teniola but just called me Miss Teni." she said while pointing to an empty sit beside a very fair girl with fiery red braids. The girl was already smiling at me. I walked over to her.

"Hi! My name is Jasmine and I love your accent," was the first thing she said to me as I sat.

"Hi" I replied, "thanks."

She nodded and a teacher walked into the class. Five periods later, it was time for lunch and Jasmine offered to follow me to the cafeteria. She had appointed herself as my personal student guide.

We walked into the cafeteria and I almost melted as I perceived the aroma of the different foods they had to offer. Walking to the queue with Jasmine close to me, I selected a tray. When it was our turn to get our food, I asked for Jollof Rice and a cup of apple juice and waited for Jasmine to get her food.

We walked to an empty table to sit and dug into our food while Jasmine told me things about the school. I laughed where she made jokes and added little inputs where I could.
She had a very vibrant personality and I knew we would be good friends.
I felt eyes on me and looked around but I saw no one. I turned back to my food and continued eating. I still felt the heat of the person's stare. It was getting uncomfortable and I was beginning to think I was just being paranoid.

Who is it?

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