The thought that they were never truly alone in the train haunted Chidiogo long after she left the subway; still lingering in her head by the time she got to her dorm room.

She bolted out of the train the moment she digested the letter and realized that whoever left it would probably still be around, waiting for the right time to attack.

She found herself looking over her shoulder, one too many times, on her short walk from the subway to the hostel building. It didn't help that the dirt road that led to the building was usually lonely during that time.

Amelia was the first to acknowledge her when she stepped into the room.

"Hey!"

She nodded in response to Amelia's greeting, heading straight for her bed. As usual, several past questions, books and fliers were scattered all over Amelia's bed and she sat in between them.

Mmachi was absent, as was the norms, and Chidiogo wondered how the hostel mistress never caught her whenever she snuck back into the hostel.

"I didn't see you during prep," Amelia said, when Chidiogo had settled on the edge of her bed and began pulling off her sandals.

She looked up at Amelia, still struggling with the strap of one of her sandals.

"I lost track of time."

That was all she could say before she stood up to keep her sandals in her portion of the white shoe rack built into the wall.

"When you were doing what?" Amelia asked, not dropping the topic.

Chidiogo took her time placing her sandals in the rack before turning around. She found Amelia staring at her expectantly.

She bit the insides of her cheeks as she darted her eyes around, trying to think of a way to change the topic. Her eyes landed on Chikaima's bed and a thought popped in her head.

"Where's Kaima?" she asked, observing her bed.

It was the same way she had noticed it the first time she came to the room. A white duvet was spread over the bed, covering almost every part of it.

A form was visible underneath it but being used to the trick already, Chidiogo was almost certain that it was just a stack of pillows.

"She's sleeping," Amelia said.

Chidiogo threw her a skeptical look.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking between the bed and Amelia.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Yes, genuis. Now quit trying to change the topic!"

Chidiogo glanced at Chikaima's bed again. Before she knew it, she was heading towards the bed.

"What the hell are you—"

She held up a finger, halting Amelia's words. She turned to Amelia afterwards, still holding up her finger. Amelia was standing now, gathering her blonde knotless braids in her hands.

Chidiogo placed her pointer on her lips, gesturing for Amelia to remain silent. Amelia threw her a quizzical look but she didn't bother about it as she tiptoed to Chikaima's bed.

When she got to the bed, she pulled the duvet off. Large eyes flopped open the moment she took off the cover revealing dark brown orbs.

A few strands of white hair splayed across Chikaima's face, contrasting her ebony black skin. Chidiogo remained still for a while, gripping onto the edge of the duvet.

Chikaima pulled off one of her earbuds before speaking.

"What's up?"

Chidiogo only managed to shake her head.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you," she muttered, still gripping onto the duvet.

Chikaima nodded before she placed her earbuds back and closed her eyes again. Chidiogo stared at her not knowing whether to pull the duvet over her or not. After much thought, she gently covered her with it.

She remained standing there, staring at the bed. It wasn't until Amelia's voice sounded from behind her that she snapped out of her thoughts.

"I've been calling you. What's wrong? And why are you staring at the bed like that? You've seen Chikaima, right? Now come and tell me where you were and why you missed prep."

Chidiogo blinked before looking from Amelia's face to Amelia's hands intertwined with hers. She didn't even know when Amelia held her hands.

"Hello? Chidiogo are you even listening?"

Amelia freed her hands from hers, snapping in her face.

"Yes, yes." Chidiogo turned away from her and started heading towards her bed. "What were you saying again?"

By the time she sat on her bed; Amelia was in front of her, her hands folded and her tiny lips pulled into a scowl.

"Seriously? I've been wasting my saliva!?"

Chidiogo found herself chuckling in spite of the death glare Amelia was giving her.

"I'll just go to bed," Amelia said, throwing up her hands and shaking her head.

Chidiogo laughed some more as she watched Amelia walking back to her bed. Her laughter died down and no sooner had the whisper of the air conditioner taken over as the only sound in the room than her thoughts returned.

The letter was clear in her head. Still fresh as though scalded on her mind. She tried to shake it off as she went through a shower but it persisted, popping up in her head whenever she tried to think of something else.

The fact that someone around her would go out of their way to make sure she didn't have a reason to smile didn't sit well with her.

When she lay on her bed to sleep, it became repetitive, her mind trapped in a loop where each thought led to the same thing—the letter. She didn't know how she fell asleep that night.

———††††———

"I really don't know what to do again," Chikaima said, sighing.

Chidiogo just played with her fingers while trying to come up with a solution to her problem. Friday evenings meant no prep and they were practically free.

She had returned from classes to find Chikaima sitting in a corner with a glum face. She asked what was wrong with her and Chikaima launched into the story of how she was one of the organizers of the forthcoming Christmas party and she was in charge of the Christmas carols.

Only, she didn't know how to go about getting people to join the carol. Everyone she had asked turned her down with an excuse and it was beginning to take a toll on her.

"Don't worry yourself too much," Chidiogo said, placing her hand on Chikaima's, "You still have a lot of time."

Chikaima's brows lowered and pulled together as she stared at Chidiogo.

"No, I don't," she said, pulling her hand away from Chidiogo's and placing it on the white sheets of the bed. "I have less than a month."

Chidiogo's hand hung on the air after her action before her fingers recoiled. She remained silent for a second before forcing her lips back into a smile.

"You can still do a lot with that. C'mon, what happened to the optimistic Kaima I knew?" Chidiogo said, nudging her a bit.

"Chidiogo, abeg leave me." Chikaima hissed, rubbing her temples. "You won't understand. You're not the one who has to plan a carol with a nonexistent choir. And this would be so much easier if Mmachi had just agreed to help me!

"She has such a nice voice, I wonder why she doesn't like singing. If I could find someone just as good as her then I would . . . " She trailed off before suddenly looking at Chidiogo, her large eyes even wider than it usually was.

"You guys have the same voice!" she said, snapping, "Which means you can help me instead!"

Chidiogo opened her mouth to object, she had no problem with singing but she would falter if she had so many eyes fixed on her. The desperate look in Chikaima's eyes made her seal her lips and nod.

"Great!" Chikaima squealed, almost jumping. Her feet bounced on the floor as she held onto Chidiogo's hands. "Let's get started."

Chidiogo's smile grew wider and she felt her cheeks begin to hurt.

"I want to hear your voice first. Can you hit a high pitch?" Chikaima asked, her grip on Chidiogo's hands unintentionally tightening.

Chidiogo tilted her head back a bit, thinking about it.

"I can try," she said with a shrug.

"Okay." Chikaima finally let go of her hands. "Try singing the chorus of Angel."

Chidiogo's brows scrambled together, a dent appearing on her fair skin. "Angel?"

"By Halle Bailey."

"Oh." Her creased forehead smoothened, her brows returning to their place.

"Just try the chorus."

Chidiogo took in a deep breath and ran through the chorus. When she was done, she waited for Chikaima to say something. Chikaima only humphed.

"I prefer Mmachi's voice," she said finally, "but yours is good too and that's all I have to work with."

Chidiogo bit her lower lip to prevent herself from saying anything.

"Try singing That's Christmas to Me."

Chidiogo sighed. She cleared her throat a bit before starting.

"The fireplace is burning bright, shining all on me
I see the presents underneath the good old Christmas tree—"

"Stop, stop!" Chikaima said, cutting her off, "I forgot how much I disliked that song. We'll be using Carol of the Bells instead. You can sing that right?"

Chidiogo, who had been frowning at her disruption, felt her heart drop into her stomach when she heard Carol of the Bells.

"Um . . . No, I don't know the song," she said, playing with her fingers.

"You don't know the song!?" Chikaima all but yelled.

The intensity of her wide eyes made Chidiogo look away.

"I've heard it before but . . . I-I can't really sing it."

Chidiogo's eyes remained on Chikaima's white bedsheet as she spoke.

"Oh, that's not a problem then! I'll download the lyrics now. Let me get my MP first so I can play the song," Chikaima said, standing up from the bed.

"No . . . " Chidiogo started saying but Amelia walked into the room at that moment, causing both their attention to turn to her.

She still had on her school uniform, like Chidiogo, very little navy blue fabric peeking out from underneath her beige cardigan. Her blonde braids were tied in a ponytail, cheery pink lipgloss coating her lips.

"Hey guys," she said with a small smile which caused the shadow of a dimple to appear on her left cheek.

"Hi Lia," Chikaima said, returning her greeting with a warm smile.

Amelia tossed her school bag on her bed which already had a pile of past questions and papers scattered on it, completely blocking her pink sheets out of sight. Chikaima frowned when her eyes landed on Amelia's bed.

She pulled her lips between her teeth and refrained from saying what she wanted to.

"You guys came back early," Amelia said, pulling off her clothes and tossing them in the laundry basket next to her bed.

"No," Chidiogo said, "you came back late."

"Really?" Amelia asked, with a small chuckle.

Chidiogo nodded. Amelia just shrugged and left her shoes lying next to her bed stand, an action which caused Chikaima's left eye to twitch.

"Lia, can you please arrange your side?" Chikaima asked, her expression pinched.

Amelia just arched her naturally carved brow at her before flipping her off.

"I'm serious!" Chikaima said as Amelia pushed the books on her bed to one side, creating enough space for herself on the bed.

"Kaima rest abeg. Abi you promised you wouldn't bother me again? If it irks you so much why don't you just crawl back under those your sheets?"

Amelia placed her head on her pillow as she spoke, pulling her sparkling pink duvet over her body. Chikaima glared at her while Chidiogo just glanced between the both of them hoping the matter wouldn't escalate.

"I wouldn't bother you if you didn't act like a pig all the time!"

Chidiogo's jaw dropped open at Chikaima's words and Amelia's eyes went wide.

"You did not just call me a pig!"

Amelia pushed off her duvet, getting to where Chikaima stood in a matter of seconds. She squared up to Chikaima who just looked down at her with a passive expression. Chidiogo wrung her fingers, trying to think of a way to stop the fight.

It wasn't like Chikaima to just start a fight. She was talkative and didn't think twice about stating her opinion but she was mostly calm and didn't just start fights out of nowhere.

Except for the time she had an argument with Kamsi in class over the bag issue, Chidiogo had never seen Chikaima picking a fight with anyone.

"I called you that because you behave like one," Chikaima said, fueling the matter.

"Kaima you do not want to go down that lane with me. What's up with you anyway? Just because I didn't have enough time to arrange my books this morning doesn't give you the right to call me a pig!"

Chikaima scoffed. "Your books are always scattered."

Amelia clenched her teeth as she spoke. "They're only scattered when I'm using them. I arrange them every morning before I leave the room and you know that! Just because I don't arrange my stuff with a ruler like you do, doesn't make me a pig!"

Chidiogo found herself agreeing with what Amelia said. She wasn't the most arranged person but she did put her stuff in order every single morning. The only problem was they never stayed that way for long.

"And by the way," Amelia continued, "I'm way neater than you can ever dream of being. I do my laundry thrice a week, I change my sheets every week and don't even get me started on the number of times I clean this room in a day! My things might not always be in order but I'm definitely not a dirty person!"

Chikaima maintained a bored look, lifting her brow slightly.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Amelia balled her fists and she moved closer to Chikaima. "You fucking—"

"You guys should please stop," Chidiogo said, halting Amelia's movements.

Amelia looked at her while Chikaima just rolled her eyes.

"You're right. I don't have time for fools," Amelia said and stormed out of the room.

Chidiogo stared at the door after she left, wondering whether it would be a good idea to go after her or not. Chikaima's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Let's get back to what we were doing."

She turned to find Chikaima placing her MP on top of her white nightstand.

"I'm not really taking sides but I think you should have just let Amelia be," Chidiogo said to Chikaima.

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get back to the singing."

Chidiogo nodded, deciding to drop the topic. She didn't really pay attention to what Chikaima was doing until she sat next to her.

"Okay, I'll play the song now. You know Pentatonix right? I'm playing their version," Chikaima said, tapping her phone.

Chidiogo just nodded since she didn't know any other version.

Chikaima's speaker was set to the highest volume and in no time, the sound of rushing water filled the room. Chidiogo's spine steeled as male and female voices joined in.

La, da, da, da, da,
La, da, da, da, da,
La, da, da, da, da...

Goosebumps sprouted on her skin as she struggled to keep her mind from replaying the incident in her head. But as hard as she tried, the images came rushing back.

Hark how the bells, (Hark how the bells)
Sweet silver bells
All seem to say, (All seem to say)
Throw cares away (We will throw cares away)

The blood splattered on her body, Katherine's body slumped on the floor, Mmachi's deafening scream. It all came flooding back, like a torrent, threatening to tear down her sanity. She could clearly see the face of the maid who had rushed in, confused on what to do.

Christmas is here (Christmas is here)
Bringing good cheer (Bringing cheer)
To young and old (To the young and old)
Meek and the bold

It felt like she was reliving her nightmares, reliving that day. But the events played out in order this time, not the jumbled up mess she got stuck in whenever she fell asleep. The same song played in the background, the song she'd learnt to hate.

The lyrics taunted her. That Christmas had brought a lot with it but good cheer definitely wasn't one of them.

Oh how they pound, (Oh how they pound)
Raising their sound
O'er hill and dale
Telling their tale (Telling their tale) . . .

Her throat had tightened by the time the song was over. It wasn't until Chikaima placed her hand on hers that she realized she was shaking.

"Are you okay?" she asked, staring at Chidiogo with concern.

Chidiogo could feel her heart beating out of proportion in her chest. She took in gasps of breath, struggling to fill her lungs with oxygen.

She managed a nod, forcing a smile when Chikaima didn't seem convinced.

"I think we should take a break," Chikaima said, standing.

"No, no, it's fine. I'm fine."

Chikaima looked like she didn't believe a word Chidiogo uttered but she shrugged, dropping back on the bed.

"Okay, can you sing it now?"

Chidiogo nodded. She let out a sigh, mentally preparing herself before she started singing. The lyrics tasted bitter to her but she managed to force them out. She had barely made it past the first stanza when Chikaima stopped her again.

"Look, your voice is really nice but I don't think you're getting the right pitch. Isn't it possible for you to sound like the guy who was singing that part? You know the 'Hark how the bells'. Yeah, that part. I need you to sound exactly like that."

Chidiogo just gaped at Chikaima as she continued speaking, oblivious to her reaction. "I'll play the song again so that you'll get what I'm saying."

Chidiogo almost groaned when she started the song afresh. The sound of rushing water filled the room again, sending another round of chills through Chidiogo.

She tried not to pay too much attention while the song played on. The first stanza had just finished when a loud crash and a piercing sound disrupted the music that had been playing.

The noise caused Chidiogo to cover her ears. She looked up to know what caused the disruption. Standing in front of the nightstand was Mmachi, her breathing ragged as she glared at the crashed MP at her feet.

A/N: Y'ALL REMEMBER CHIDIOGO'S NIGHTMARES RIGHT? AND YOU REMEMBER THE SONG ALWAYS PLAYS IN HER NIGHTMARES?

SO YEAH, THE SONG TRIGGERS MEMORIES FOR HER. BAD ONES. AND WELL, WE FOUND OUT HERE THAT SHE ISN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS AFFECTED BY SONG. MMACHI GETS AFFECTED NEGATIVELY TOO.

THE BOTH OF THEM JUST HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF REACTING TO IT. WHILE CHIDIOGO REACTED IN A CERTAIN WAY, MMACHI TOOK A MORE VIOLENT APPROACH.

THAT SAID, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CHIKAIMA AND AMELIA'S FALL OUT? WHO WAS RIGHT AND WHO OVERREACTED?

LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BEHIND AND ALSO DON'T FORGET TO MAKE MY DAY BY VOTING 🌟.