The cafeteria was always loud _filled with the kind of laughter that could slice through skin if u let it. I never let it.
Miriam and I walked in like we always did, her a step behind me, our tray clutched tight. The scent of fried plantain mixed with something less appetizing like stale stew or the ghost of a hundred unwashed plates. It wasn't the worst but it wasn't inviting either.
The whispers started before we even reached the food counter.
"Na she be that Jade?"
"She still get mind show face"
"I hear say.."
I blocked them out. If you paid any attention they would think you cared. And I didn't. Not about them.
Miriam sighed beside me "You for at least frown small, make Dem no think say you day enjoy the attention".
I smirked , grabbing a plate. "But I do".
She rolled her eyes but didn't push. She knew me well enough to know that I wasn't just talking. There was something about the way people whispered my name like it was a prayer they weren't allowed to say out loud. Something about the way they looked at me, some with judgement, some with envy, some with curiosity that burned through their chest.
And then, there were the ones who looked and pretended not to see.
Zion.
He was sitting across the room, three tables away from the window, head bent like he was actually paying attention to Segun's latest rant. Michael was laughing at something, his voice cutting above the cafeteria noise.
I paused for half a second, just enough for me to take him in.
Zion always looked good but something about him today made my chest tighten.
Maybe it was the way the light hit his skin, pulling warmth from that rich cocoa shade. Maybe it was the way his lips were slightly parted like he was about to say something, but forgot the words. Maybe it was nothing.
But I felt it.
His fingers tapped against his cup, restless. His shoulders tensed in that way they always did when he was pretending I wasn't there.
I smiled.
We walked pass their table and for a split second his eyes flicked up _ just once , just quick enough to be nothing if you weren't looking. But I was.
And I saw it.
Saw the way he swallowed, the way his fingers stopped tapping, the way his body registered me before his mind forced him to look away.
Segun's voice cut through the moment.
"See weytin olosho day chop. Na una school fees o ".
Michael laughed, a sharp sound that made my teeth clench.
Zion did not laugh. He didn't say anything. But he didn't tell them to shut up either .
Maybe I should have expected this. Maybe I should have been used to it by now. But it still burned, settling somewhere between my ribs like a wound that never truly closed.
Miriam's fingers brush against my arm, a silent leave it. I exhaled slow and steady and let the moment pass.
We found a table beside the window and I sat without a word, stabbing my spoon into my rice. The taste barely registered.
"Excuse me".
The voice was unfamiliar. I look up.
A guy stood there, tray in hand , face open and expectant.
He was tall, maybe Zion's height, maybe a little bit shorter. But where Zion was all angles and tightly held tension, this one was looser, more at ease. His skin was lighter. His eyes were sharp but not unkind.
"Can I sit here?".
I notice the gap tooth at the upper jaw.
Miriam hesitated, glancing at me.
He didn't look nervous. He should have. He was making a choice just by standing there. A choice that would have people whispering his name next. But he just waited, calm and steady, as if the weight of my reputation didn't exist to him .
I shrugged, pushing out a chair with my foot "Sure".
He sat, placing his tray down like he belonged there. Like he wasn't new. Like he hadn't just made a decision that would cost him whispers of his own.
"I am Stephen" He said with a broad smile "A transfer student. I liked the way you spoke in class today. What's your name".
I popped a piece of plantain into my mouth, chewed, swallowed and looked him straight in the eye.
"I am Jade".
And just like that, the cafeteria had something new to whisper about.