She took me to the clinic and gently guided me through the bright, spacious rooms. "This is our clinic. People come here whether they are sick or not," she said, her voice echoing lightly against the walls, her warm, genuine smile putting me at ease.

I didn't bother to ask her the reason why healthy people came there. The answer was right in front of me. Who wouldn't want to come when there were televisions in every room, casting a soft glow that made the space feel cozy and comforting? "If I was sick, I wouldn't want to recover," I joked, my voice mixing with the sound of laughter and distant conversations. "You see the problem we have in this school," she said, chuckling.

For a fact, she looked beautiful when she smiled. Separating herself from others must have blinded them from seeing her true beauty. The sunlight filtering through the windows illuminated her features, and her laughter resonated with the warmth of the room.

I knew I had one goal to play in her life: expose her to the light. "Linda, I would love it if we met more people. You know that I'm new here, so my first goal should be to make friends," I said, looking intently at her. She seemed to withdraw from me, her eyes reflecting a mix of emotions. "They don't like me. I have no friends," she said as tears fell from her eyes, the sound of her gentle sobs merging with the hum of the air conditioning. "They think I'm weird," she added, bursting into uncontrollable tears. I was deeply touched by her words. "Poor orphan. Having no friends and no parents must have hurt a lot. I felt that way when I found out Janet was fake. I had lost Julie, no hope for me. Hadn't known anything about my parents. That feeling that you are all alone," I thought, unconsciously letting tears fall from my eyes. "You are also crying," Linda said, looking confused.

I immediately touched my eyes, surprised at the moisture. "It's nothing; your tears are contagious," I said, now smiling at her. She immediately brightened up. "I like you," she said and covered her mouth, the room filling with the sounds of our shared moment.

I guessed she said that unconsciously and just smiled to myself. "I guess they're two new students now in this school," I said. "You and who? Or did you come with someone?" Linda asked, confused. "Of course, you and I. We are freshers for now. We don't know anybody. So I'm suggesting we go out there together and make friends," I said, elated, the sounds of our footsteps echoing as we left the clinic behind.

We chatted excitedly as we made our way up to where our classmates were gathered, the sound of laughter and animated conversation filling the air. Jeremiah nudged Julius and pointed, "Hey, look. Isn't that Sam over there, talking and laughing with the 'hard-to-get' Linda?" Julius, clearly taken aback, couldn't hide his surprise at seeing us together. "Hmm, I never thought he could pull this off. But how?" he mused aloud. As the news spread, more and more of our classmates made their way over to the podium to join us, their voices blending with the background hum of the podium.
"Hey, Sam. I'm Gabi from class earlier and what are you doing with... ehm," she coughed mockingly.
"It seems you weren't given proper orientation on the girls to crush on. I mean girls like me.", she said, turning around to showcase herself.

I didn't know what to do. Whether to laugh or what? But for real, who was this clown in front of me?
"Gabriella, sorry to say but I don't see anything special about you that I can't see in Linda. And also, I think the orientation I gave myself is the best", I said, smiling at her.

Linda had been staring at the ground, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Unbeknownst to her, I was ready to defend her at all costs. I gently nudged her, encouraging her to look up, silently assuring her that I had her back. If anyone dared to harm her, they would need to go through me first. Gabriella, feeling slighted, stormed off. Just then, Adaobi approached us with her friend Rose. "Sammy, meet Rose," she said. "Hi Rose, it's a pleasure to meet you. How are you doing?" I inquired. "I'm good," Rose replied with a quick smile.

As Adaobi noticed Julius watching from a distance, she motioned for him to join us. "Why are you standing there? Come here!" she called out. Julius hurried over to our group. "Now that Julius is here, can you guys fill us in on what's going on between you two, Sam and Linda? We have the right to know," Adaobi demanded. "We're just best friends," I explained. "Be quiet!" Adaobi snapped. Turning to Linda, she said, "I'm thrilled for you," then embraced a surprised Linda. Julius gave me a warm, surprised smile and added, "Hey guys, don't forget that tomorrow is Social night. You all know the plan - PARTY TILL LIGHTS OUT!" With a final cheer, the bell rang, signaling the end of the sports activities for the day.