It all began in 2020

CHAPTER TEN

AANU

I went to school expecting nothing but the usual ranting of teachers and mind wreaking class exercises we were given. I wasn't always sanguine towards school. Chidi was the only thing that made it worthwhile, but then, there was also James.

From the moment he stepped into the class, I had quite an undeniable sort of attraction towards him. Call it lust, infatuation or hell, call it an unhealthy fondness towards the boy. He was just different, different from the austere, dirty and smelly boys that surrounded me. He was clean, he looked well taken care of. He looked rich.

Surprisingly, Chidi arrived at school earlier than I did and she explained to me that it was because she had no chores to do, so that allowed her to have her bath early and thus, she came to school early.

It was a Tuesday morning and that meant there was no assembly. We used the time we had together to plan out our future and write down the things we wanted to achieve. Many people had told me that I had always been dreaming, but I paid them no listening ear. I believed that if I could wish it, I could achieve it.

Minutes later, James walked into the class and soon, my eyes were fixated on him. It made me realise how matured he looked.

He wasn't slim, neither was he buff. His physique was sort of in the middle and so was his height. I was guessing he was a five-foot, nine. His hair wasn't as high as the rubbish I was used to in my school. It was high enough to barb a fade but low enough to also easily maintain. Everything about him was moderate and he seemed modest to me. I didn't realise I had been staring at him for a very long time until Chidi pinched me.

"Ahan. Do you want to swallow the boy?" she asked

"Chidi. Don't talk like this now. Can't you see how handsome he is?"

"He's handsome. But not my type," she said, giving James who was now well seated on his seat at the back, a disapproving look.

"Suit yourself. He looks perfect to me."

"I love the way you have so much hope. Is it you that this guy will fall in love with? You rarely talk to your classmates."

"That one doesn't matter. I sha know he would notice my brilliance, and if he is as perfect as I think he is, he would fall in love with me."

Chidi laughed at my statement, and as much as I hated it, I couldn't help but chuckle too. I knew I sounded delusional, but things like that were what maintained my sanity in school.

James was now surrounded by the boys in my class. He looked so small around them. So cute. (Aanu, stop it already). They tried to socialise with him, but it seemed as if James wasn't having any of it. He didn't look comfortable around them and kept on looking sideways, probably for a way to escape. Our eyes met and immediately, I looked away, avoiding those beautiful hazel ornaments.

"He looked at me." I squealed.

"Aanu. It shall be well with you. Anyway, let me be on my way. I don't want to miss Mr Wuese's government class."

And so, Chidi stood up and left me alone to dream about James. Thinking about him gave me so much pleasure, and I was glad to know that there was one more thing to wake up to every morning in my life. I looked at my watch and checked the time to see it was just 8 O'clock. We had Geography. I pulled out my notes from my locker and ran through what we did the previous week. I was reading about the objectives of the ECOWAS and that was when I heard the everyday bang on the table that came with the choruslike greeting: "Class stand. Greet. Good Morning..." I sighed and knew it was just another day in school.

⏳

Break time was finally here, and being a Tuesday, we had some buns and powdered pepper in the dining hall. It was my school's favourite dish, for reasons I do not know. Owing to my hatred towards the food, I always went over to the head of the kitchen to give me some cornflakes to eat. It wasn't much but was enough to hold belle.

When it was over, I went back to class and looked up at the timetable to see that our next period was meant to be mathematics. I then remembered the story of Mr Kunle's wife, and how he was meant to be with her. Guess it's another free period. Some time passed by and my class was full of students again, and the class became rowdy once more. The timekeeper rang the bell, indicating the start of a new period, but everywhere was still noisy. I noticed everyone was scattered across the class, forming groups, having conversations, but there I was, sitting alone, wondering what to do, seeing Chidi wasn't around.

I looked to my left and I saw James who was searching for something in his backpack. I had the sudden urge to walk over to talk to him, but I just couldn't. Seeing how noisy the class became, I realised that it would only be a matter of seconds before we were all asked to kneel on the basketball court, under the sun. I made up my mind to go to the library, where I would be alone, lost in the beautiful world of another novel.

On getting to the library, I greeted the librarian. He was always friendly with me and loved to tell me stories of his experiences being a new father. He once showed me the pictures of his daughter and I must say, that the resemblance between his daughter and he, was uncanny. He told me people thought of his daughter as a reincarnation of his forthcoming dead soul. As weird as it might have sounded, it made some sort of sense to me.

I browsed the shelves of the library, running my hands across the spines of every book, of every genre that laid in there before finally settling for a fictional book titled 'the lord of the flies'. I pulled out a chair and settled in, then opened the book and began reading. I was a few lines into my book before a voice brought me out of my trance.

"What are you reading?"