CHAPTER NINETY-TWO: WHAT EVERYONE COULD SEE
Daniel slowed down as he reached us, slightly out of breath. He tucked his Mathematics notebook under his arm and looked from Samuel to me.
"I knew it."
I frowned.
"Knew what?"
He folded his arms dramatically.
"You people enjoy talking without me."
Samuel laughed.
"You left to look for your notebook."
"So?"
"So whose fault is that?"
Daniel clicked his tongue.
"You're both unbelievable."
I shook my head and walked into the dining hall before he could continue.
The dining hall was already almost full.
Students formed orderly lines with their trays while the dining hall prefects instructed everyone to move faster.
"Shift, shift! Don't block the line!"
We collected our food and separated immediately.
As always, boys sat on one side of the hall while girls occupied the other.
I found Victoria and Morayo waving at me from the middle row.
"Over here!"
I carried my tray to them.
Morayo looked at me suspiciously before I had even sat down.
"What?"
"I haven't even said anything."
"You don't have to."
Victoria laughed.
"Your face is enough."
I sighed.
"What did I do this time?"
"You came in smiling."
"I always smile."
"No," Morayo replied. "Not like that."
I looked down at my food.
"You're imagining things."
Victoria leaned closer.
"Did you talk to Samuel outside?"
I paused for a split second before answering.
"Yes."
Morayo smiled knowingly.
"About?"
"Nothing important."
Victoria scoffed.
"If Samuel talks to you for more than one minute, it's always important."
I refused to answer.
Instead, I focused on my rice.
Unfortunately, my silence only encouraged them.
"You see?" Morayo whispered.
"She's avoiding the question."
"I noticed."
I looked up.
"You two should become detectives after secondary school."
Victoria grinned.
"We're already practising."
The three of us burst into laughter.
Across the hall, I accidentally looked towards the boys' side.
Samuel was sitting with his friends.
Daniel sat two places away from him.
Just then, Daniel looked up and caught me staring.
He smiled and waved his spoon in the air.
Embarrassed, I quickly looked away.
Morayo noticed immediately.
"Who were you looking at?"
"No one."
"Liar."
"I was looking around."
Victoria followed my line of sight.
"Hmm..."
She didn't say anything else.
But the smile on her face told me she had already formed another conclusion.
...
After lunch, students returned to their classrooms for afternoon prep.
The heat had reduced slightly as clouds covered the sun.
A cool breeze drifted through the classroom windows, making almost everyone feel sleepy.
Our Mathematics teacher hadn't arrived yet.
The classroom buzzed with conversations.
Gift was discussing an English assignment with Daniel at the far end of the class.
Since they were seat partners, they often compared notes before lessons began.
I watched them briefly before looking away.
Then Samuel spoke beside me.
"You've been quiet today."
I smiled faintly.
"Have I?"
"You usually talk more."
"I don't think so."
He looked unconvinced.
Before he could say anything else, our Mathematics teacher entered.
"Good afternoon, class."
"Good afternoon, sir."
The lesson began immediately.
For the next forty minutes, nobody dared whisper.
The teacher was known for sending talkative students outside to kneel under the sun.
No one wanted that punishment.
...
When the lesson ended, the teacher wrote an assignment on the board.
"Submit it tomorrow morning."
A loud groan echoed across the classroom.
The teacher smiled.
"I can hear you."
Everyone laughed.
As soon as he left, students hurried to copy the assignment before the board was cleaned.
Samuel nudged me gently.
"Do you understand number three?"
I looked at it again.
"Not really."
"I'll explain."
He pulled his notebook closer.
Using rough calculations, he patiently broke the question into smaller steps.
I watched carefully.
Halfway through his explanation, I finally understood.
"Oh!"
"There."
He smiled.
"It's actually simple."
"It didn't look simple before."
"That's because you looked at the whole question instead of separating it."
I nodded.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
From the far end of the class, Daniel looked in our direction.
He rested his chin on his hand for a moment before returning to his own work.
Gift noticed where he had looked.
Her eyes followed his.
She saw Samuel explaining the assignment to me.
Then she quietly returned to her notebook.
She didn't say a word.
But somehow...
The atmosphere shifted.
Only slightly.
Yet enough for someone paying attention to notice.
...
School closed later than usual because one teacher delayed the final lesson.
By the time students were dismissed, the evening sky had already begun changing colour.
As everyone streamed towards the hostels and dining hall, Victoria caught up with me.
"Wait."
I slowed down.
"What happened?"
She linked her arm with mine.
"You know..."
I immediately became suspicious.
"What now?"
She smiled.
"I've been observing something."
"Victoria."
"Hear me first."
I sighed.
"Go on."
"Daniel likes talking to you."
I blinked.
"So?"
"So Samuel likes talking to you too."
I laughed.
"They're my classmates."
Morayo, who had just joined us, shook her head.
"No."
"What do you mean no?"
She smiled.
"There are over thirty students in our class."
"So?"
"They don't all look for you every day."
I opened my mouth to argue.
Nothing came out.
Because... they weren't entirely wrong.
Daniel always found a reason to talk to me.
Samuel did too.
But that didn't mean anything.
Did it?
Victoria seemed to read my thoughts.
"Don't overthink it."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"I wasn't."
"You've been doing that a lot lately."
I sighed.
"Can we talk about something else?"
They exchanged amused glances before nodding.
"Fine."
The conversation shifted to assignments and the upcoming continuous assessment tests.
But despite their change of topic...
Their words stayed with me.
That night, after lights-out, I lay awake on my upper bunk while the room gradually became quiet.
The rain had started again, tapping softly against the hostel roof.
Below me, Gift had already fallen asleep.
Or at least, I thought she had.
I closed my eyes.
Victoria's words replayed in my mind.
"Daniel likes talking to you."
"Samuel likes talking to you too."
I didn't know whether either statement was true.
Maybe they were both simply being friendly.
Maybe Victoria and Morayo were reading too much into ordinary conversations.
Or maybe...
I had become so afraid of assuming the wrong thing that I had started doubting every genuine moment.
As I turned onto my side, another thought quietly entered my mind.
If Samuel truly didn't like Gift...
And Daniel wasn't simply teasing me...
Then perhaps the biggest confusion wasn't theirs.
Perhaps...
It was mine.