The bell sounded, putting an end to the hour long torture the Mathematics teacher had put the whole class through in the name of teaching. Chidiogo stifled a yawn as she got up from her seat, stretching out her body.

She had just started packing her bag when one of her classmates, who she never spoke to, walked up to her to wish her a happy birthday. She plastered on a smile, thanking the person and waiting till he left before dropping her smile and releasing a sigh.

Ever since she stepped into class that morning, she had been receiving birthday wishes from both those who she knew existed and those she didn't. Even the pretty Iranian girl with electric blue eyes, who literally talked to no one, wished her and hugged her.

She found it odd since she never mentioned her birthday to anyone and she didn't think anyone cared about Mmachi that much to take note of her birthday. Apparently, she was wrong.

As she fastened the strap of her backpack, she noticed Justin walking towards their table. Her heart fluttered to a halt before picking up pace again.

She stood in the same position, staring until Justin got to their table and engulfed Mmachi in a hug. When he broke the hug, he placed a quick kiss on her lips before wishing her a happy birthday.

The action seemed to break Chidiogo from whatever spell had enveloped her, sending a dull pain coursing through her chest. A tap on her shoulder sent her head swinging to the opposite direction.

She forced her cheekbones to rise when she saw Paschal, who had been standing beside her all this while. He handed her a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates from Munchies.

"Happy birthday," he said, his signature smile gracing his face.

"Thanks," she said, staring down at the flowers.

Nestled between the artificial light pink and white roses was a small blue jewelry box. She could bet that whatever was inside the box had to be diamond. She had told him she preferred diamonds to silver and gold accessories during their date.

She picked up the box and turned it around in her hand for a moment before flipping the lid open. Seated on a small cushion was the prettiest necklace she had ever set her eyes on.

As she stared at the piece of jewelry, she felt eyes pricking her skin. She knew Paschal was watching her, waiting for her reaction.

She looked up after a while, pushing the corners of her lips up.

"I don't know what to say." Her eyes darted back to the jewelry box, tracing the outline of the chain holding the diamond pendant. "It's extremely pretty . . . You didn't need to get this."

Her eyes flew up to meet his when she got no reply. He stared at her for a long time before breathing out a chuckle.

"I didn't need to but I did. You're going to make me feel guilty about that too?"

"No, no, I didn't mean it like th–"

"Relax, okay? I'm not offended," he said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ears.

She wanted to move away from his touch but couldn't get herself to for some reason. It wasn't until someone spoke that she realized she had gotten lost staring into his eyes.

"Aww!"

She turned to find Amelia pouting at them.

"You're all too cute. I feel oppressed," she said, trying to put on a sad face as she folded her arms.

Chidiogo couldn't help but giggle at how much she looked like a lost puppy.

"You're the one who refused to get a boyfriend," Mmachi said to Amelia, drawing Chidiogo's attention to her.

Her and Justin still had their hands wrapped around each other, neither of them making an attempt to untangle themselves.

Amelia flipped Mmachi the middle finger before replying. "I don't need one. Being single rocks!"

Mmachi rolled her eyes before turning back to Justin. They all settled into a comfortable silence before Chikaima's voice broke it.

"So you two are like a thing now?"

The question was directed to Chidiogo and Paschal. It came as a bit of a shock to Chidiogo since she hadn't noticed when Chikaima joined them.

"No."

"Yes."

Chidiogo and Paschal exchanged a look after their simultaneous response. A loud cackle broke their stare and the silence which built up within the period.

"One is dating the other without their knowledge. How epic!" Kamsi said, chuckling.

Kamsi's response irked Chidiogo but before she could reply, Paschal was already speaking.

"I was just joking. I and Chidiogo are not dating. I mean, I never officially asked her out. I just wanted to know what your reactions would be."

Kamsi didn't say anything in response when Paschal finished talking while the rest just muttered about how 'uncool' it was of him to make such a joke.

Even though he sounded very convincing, Chidiogo couldn't get herself to believe that he hadn't meant it when he said 'yes' to Chikaima's question. She wondered if she had given him the wrong idea.

Mmachi had agreed to go on a date with him while impersonating her and she had to go on with it after seeing the effort he had put into it.

Technically, from his point of view, she had willingly agreed to go on a date with him, she hadn't made any move to rebuff any affectionate gestures from him and she never outrightly told him to stay away from her.

And there was that one time he kissed her in the pool.

Could all that be enough for him to think she was willing to be in a relationship with him? She had no answer to the question.

She tried to slow her thoughts down. Maybe she was reading too much meaning into it. After he kissed her in the pool that day, he never brought it up again. Not that he had any chance to.

Perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing. And even if it wasn't and he really did have feelings for her, she didn't know if she was ready to be in a relationship with him.

"Diogo?" Paschal called, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" The sound was an involuntary response as Chidiogo whipped her head around to look at Paschal.

"Can I talk to you outside for a—"

"Sorry lover boy," Amelia said, pushing past Paschal to get to Chidiogo. "I have to steal Chidiogo for now."

Before either Chidiogo or Paschal could object, Amelia was already pulling her out of the class. She let go of her hand when they got outside.

"You really saved me back there," Chidiogo said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Amelia just quirked a brow, folding her hands and leaning back on a wall. "You didn't look like you needed saving."

"Well I did and you came just right in time."

"What's up with you and Paschal anyway? You guys aren't dating yet?" Amelia asked.

"No, we aren't dating and I . . ." Chidiogo trailed off, sighing. "I really don't know if there's anything going on between us."

"You really don't expect me to believe that," Amelia said, pushing herself off the wall.

She started walking and Chidiogo followed, not bothering to ask where she was heading to.

"Here, let me help you hold that," Amelia said after a while.

Chidiogo looked down at her hand and realized she was still holding onto the bouquet Paschal had given her.

"Don't worry about it, I'll drop it in my locker and pick it up later," she said, twirling the bouquet.

"Okay."

Amelia followed her to her locker and waited for her to drop the flower. She continued walking after that, turning left at the first junction she saw. Chidiogo repeated the action. At this point, it was obvious that their destination was the dinning hall.

Chidiogo couldn't be more grateful that her birthday had fallen on a Saturday. Apart from the three hour compulsory lessons they had in the morning, they were practically free to do whatever they pleased for the rest of the day.

"Chidiogo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind if I ask a question?" Amelia asked, glancing over her shoulder to look at Chidiogo who had fallen a few steps behind her.

Chidiogo's brows dipped. "Um . . . No?"

"Do you like Justin?"

Chidiogo's heart missed a beat. "No!" she said almost immediately. "What gave you that idea?"

Amelia watched her closely before replying. "I think I've said this before but I observe a lot of things. I just pretend to be blind to them most times."

Chidiogo was tongue-tied. She didn't know whether to tell Amelia the truth or try to convince her that she was mistaken. She didn't know if keeping quiet would only worsen her suspicion.

For a moment she wondered just how much Amelia really paid attention to things. She was the only one among all their friends who could always tell her and Mmachi apart no matter how similarly they dressed or how well one tried to act like the other.

She was the only one who noticed that there was an issue between Chidiogo and Kamsi. Although it wouldn't have taken a genius to realize that, Chidiogo and Kamsi were never the best of friends and no one would have questioned the lack of interaction between them since they barely even interacted in the first place.

Only someone who was paying much more attention than was required of them would have done that.

If she really noticed every small detail and kept them to herself, Chidiogo could just imagine what exactly ran through her mind. The thought unnerved her a bit.

"What exactly did you observe that made you think I liked Justin?" Chidiogo asked, keeping her eyes glued to Amelia's face, taking in her every expression.

Amelia chuckled lightly. "I thought you had decided to drop the topic. It took you quite a long time to respond."

Chidiogo didn't know why she felt there was more to the statement. She suddenly felt defensive. "I—"

"Anyways," Amelia said, ignoring the fact that Chidiogo was speaking. "Let's just say I observed a lot."

Chidiogo was beginning to wonder whether Amelia was bluffing and just trying to use her brain to get her to reveal information she didn't know when she continued talking.

"And before you begin to think I'm a stalker or something, I observed a few things about other people too. Like I know that Kamsi does drugs and is technically also a drug dealer. Sky doesn't actually have a family.

"Amarachi is an addict and has way more scars than Mmachi does. Kaima is still in love with Justin. Mmachi has to be the worst girlfriend of the century. Quinn struggles with low self-esteem. Wale is way more dangerous than Kamsi can ever be."

Chidiogo blinked at Amelia after she had digested all she just said. She knew most of what she said to be true but some things just didn't add up.

Things like Amarachi having way more scars than Mmachi. As far as she knew, Amarachi had the most flawless skin. And Quinn never came off as someone struggling with self-esteem neither did Wale seem like a particularly dangerous person—at least not more dangerous than Kamsi.

What puzzled her the most was what she said about Sky. What could that possibly mean? 

But she didn't see any reason for Amelia to want to make things up about her friends.

"Amara has scars?" Chidiogo asked just as they walked into the dinning.

"They're mostly hidden. Just like yours."

Amelia continued walking after her reply while Chidiogo ground to a complete halt. One thing was for sure. Amelia was definitely a stalker.

A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS.❤️ MY INCOURSE IS COMING UP IN A MONTH AND I TECHNICALLY SACRIFICED MY READING TIME TO COME UP WITH THIS. PLEASE TELL ME IT WAS WORTH IT.

AGAIN, I STOPPED THE CHAPTER BEFORE THE ENDING I HAD INITIALLY PLANNED FOR IT AND I'M NOT REALLY SURE MUCH HAPPENED IN THIS CHAPTER BUT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

FINALLY, PLEASE MAKE MY DAY BY DROPPING A VOTE. LOVE Y'ALL❤️.