Chidiogo's footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. She clutched her notebook to her chest, thinking about her Religious Studies assignment which was due for the next day.

She had at least five narrations to do on three different accounts and she hadn't even started a single one.

Her footsteps died when she saw Justin leaning against a pillar. He stood far from her, ear pods blocking out any sounds with his eyes fixed on the garden opposite the corridors.

She hadn't been expecting to see anyone since it was past school hours and Friday evening meant no prep. At least she had learnt that earlier unless Amelia had been lying which didn't seem likely since others had also stayed back at the hostel. She just came out to grab a notebook she forgot.

She remained in a spot contemplating whether she should turn around and use another way or walk up to him. She hadn't seen him ever since the bathroom incident and she felt she owed him an apology.

He just tried to check on her because he was concerned but she snapped at him and even threatened to frame him.

She found herself walking towards him. She halted when she got to his side. His eyes were still fixed on the garden but she was sure he must have seen her through his peripheral vision.

She put on a smile.

"Hey."

His eyes remained fixed ahead. The rays from the receding sun fell across his face, bouncing off his eyes while giving the illusion of golden flakes swirling around his brown orbs.

She got distracted by his beauty for a moment before snapping back to reality. She took a deep breath, unable to explain the sudden pounding in her chest, before tapping on his arm.

The action seemed to startle him and he turned to her, his eyes widened. They reduced to their original size once they fell on her and he took off his ear pods.

"You scared me there."

"Sorry."

"Chidiogo was right, you do enjoy scaring people."

Chidiogo's smile fell. "I'm Chidiogo."

"Oh." His eyes moved back to the garden in front of him. "What do you want?"

She played with her fingers. "I wanted to apologize for what happened the other day-"

"Which day?"

She glanced up to find his brown eyes piercing her. "Look I was wrong to make you leave like that. I know you didn't mean any harm and-"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Huh?"

"I said which day?"

She sighed. He just had to make this hard for her.

"Wednesday."

He humphed, turning his head away from her. She stared at him for a few seconds trying to understand what that meant.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while, "I'm really really sorry. I know I shouldn't justify my action but I wasn't in the right frame of mind."

The sound of rustling leaves followed her words, causing her to throw a glance in the direction of the bush. Justin's voice pulled her eyes away from it and back to him.

"I know"-he sighed-"I'm sorry you felt like you needed to apologize to me. I should have understood."

"It's okay," she said, her lips tugging up at the corner.

"Yeah."

The rustling sound filled her ears once more and she couldn't help staring at the garden again. Was the wind really that harsh? If it was, she definitely wasn't feeling it.

She was just looking away when a shadow stole her attention. She stared at it for long. Something about it felt off. It almost looked like it was cast by a human figure but whenever she looked up, all she saw was the tree.

"I think we should keep our distance though."

She turned at the sound of Justin's voice.

"Huh?" She didn't know when the sound escaped from her lips.

"I think staying away from each other would be the best. Sorry if I overstepped by coming after you that day but I'll keep my distance from now on."

He leaned off the pillar, standing straight while his words still kept Chidiogo rooted to a spot.

"No, that's what I've been trying to say. It's not a problem that you came to check on me, that's what friends do aft-"

"Friends?" Justin said like the word sounded foreign to him.

"Aren't we friends?"

"Look, just stay away from me okay? I'll try to do the same."

With those words, he left. She watched him walk away, unable to comprehend what just happened. The rustling leaves snapped her out of her thoughts and this time, she found herself heading towards the direction.

She tip-toed as she got nearer.

The sound of someone wailing caused her to jump, throwing her off balance for a moment. She didn't know when she dropped her notebook.

By the time she regained herself, the shadow in the human form had receded, leaving the shadows cast by other objects in a mass of black which crept across the tiles.

She pushed some branches of the tree aside, glancing around but still found no one. She let the branches sling back in place, ignoring the snapping sound that followed. This time she was certain that it wasn't just the setting sun messing with her head or her imagination. Someone had been there.

She turned to leave but as she headed in the direction she came from, the wailing sounds she heard earlier only got louder and she soon began to feel apprehensive.

Her footsteps slowed as she tried to make out the cause of the sound. The answer to her question appeared right in front of her at that moment as she sighted Kamsi and Amarachi at the extreme end of the hallway.

As she drew closer, she noticed that Amarachi sat on one of the carved marble benches that could be found around the school at intervals, especially around the gardens. Her knees were pressed to her chest, her eyes squeezed shut.

Her palms were pressed to her ears and a cavity was visible on her upper arm from the acid burn she had gotten. Next to her, Kamsi sat cross legged.

Three feet away from them, Chidiogo started picking up Kamsi's voice. She also noticed the tears streaming down Amarachi's face.

"Quit being pathetic, I know you saw this coming. Throwing yourself all over him wouldn't have made a difference. Loner! You were always meant to be a loner! I tried to snap you out of the dream but you wouldn't budge so I let you. After all, what other choice do you have as a beggar than to ride your imaginary wish horse?"

"Shut up! JUST SHUT UP!"

Chidiogo flinched at Amarachi's tone but Kamsi remained unshaken. Amarachi kept rocking herself on the spot, her hands still clasped around her ears.

"Shutting me up won't change the truth. Remember the acid incident? I told you not to mess with me. Even Wale and Quinn couldn't save you. I warned you but you just chose not to listen." Kamsi sighed. "So what are you gonna do now? Run to your uncle to report? Good luck with that."

Kamsi's eyes darted about as if in search of something before landing back on Amarachi.

"And you know the funny thing? I really liked you when you first came to this school. I mean you could have gotten anything you wanted. Was it fame? Quinn was THE QUEEN BEE." Kamsi's chuckle followed the words but didn't last in the air for more than two seconds before it faded and all signs that she had ever laughed vanished with it, replaced with a large scowl.

"And she was your best friend after all. You would have been popular too. And of course before Mmachi got her dumb ass locked away in juvie, our circle was pretty popular, probably the most popular in the set. We could have easily accepted you."

Amarachi still rocked herself, muttering a string of incoherent words.

"There were a lot of guys. I mean, A LOT. You could have picked whoever you wanted but no"-she shook her head sighing-"you had to go for my ex."

At this point, Chidiogo began to wonder if Mmachi was the only unstable person in her group of friends. She didn't even know if she could call Kamsi Mmachi's friend.

"Why him?" Kamsi's voice came out calm, her index finger tapping her right knee.

Amarachi continued rocking herself while muttering to herself. Her tears had dried up at this point leaving behind white lines on her cheeks.

"I SAID WHY HIM!?"

Kamsi was on her feet in seconds, her voice rising. It echoed around the empty hall as the sound of birds flapping away from a nearby tree filled the air.

Amarachi remained in her state.

"You're not gonna talk, right?" The smile on Kamsi's face almost made her look psychotic. "I'll make you talk."

She gripped Amarachi's right hand, which was still pressed against her ears, her long nails digging into her scar from the acid burn. Amarachi gave a blood curdling scream which left Chidiogo paralyzed for a moment before she found her voice.

"What the hell are you doing!?"

And for the first time since she stood there watching them, her presence was made known.