PART 5: “GROUP WORK, LOVE WORK”

Two weeks after their flirtatious moment at the quiz finals, Kwabena and Manda had become…

well, not a couple. But something.

He called it "equation-building."

She called it a "calm partnership."

To the outside world, they were just a TA and a sharp Level 200 student who happened to love Geometry more than gossip. But to the few people paying attention, something was definitely

plotting beneath the surface and it wasn't parabolas.

Study Sessions (With Tension) It started innocently.

Kwabena invited her to a "special revision session" on Circle Theorems at the UEW South

Library.

What he didn't mention?

He'd spent two hours Googling "how to be impressive without looking desperate." He

wore cologne.

She came in joggers and glasses.

He brought markers and a mini whiteboard.

She brought her own protractor and didn't even notice the cologne.

"Let's start with Theorem 6," she said, flipping her notebook open like she was ready to teach him.

For the next hour, she asked questions. He explained. She countered. He smiled. She didn't.

At one point, she leaned close to examine his working on a tangent problem.

Their hands brushed.

He flinched.

She didn't even blink.

Is this girl a robot?" he thought. "Or is she just immune to fine boys with first class?" The

WhatsApp Shift

That night, she sent him a message:

Manda: "Hey, thanks for today. I like how you broke down the arc length. Made it feel real."

Kwabena: "Oh wow. You're welcome. You make theorems feel like poetry."

Manda: "That's a stretch. But thanks." Then... three dots.

Typing...

Then nothing.

He stared at the screen like it owed him airtime.

Trouble in "Paradise"

The next week, Kwabena made a huge mistake.

He joined Manda's group assignment team as a "casual helper." But the other girls in the group

especially a bubbly one named Ama had other plans.

Ama kept flirting during meetings.

One day she casually joked:

"Kwabena, do you teach differential calculus too? I have some curves that need understanding."

The whole group burst out laughing except Manda.

She stood up, packed her books, and said:

"Some of us came to calculate areas, not chase attention. Bye." And

just like that, she ghosted the group for a week.

Kwabena panicked

The Make-Up Plan

Desperate to fix things, Kwabena stayed up late preparing a "Math Apology Kit":

➢ A folded love note written entirely in math analogies

➢ A hand-drawn Venn diagram titled "You + Me = ∩"

➢ A cupcake (because even first-class students make sweet mistakes)

He met her outside the UEW North Lecture Block and handed it all over without saying a word.

She opened the note.

"If x is me and y is you, then together we form the perfect (x + y)²: x² + 2xy + y². That 2xy? That's

what I'm sorry for the moment I didn't protect our middle term."

Manda read it.

Smirked.

Then whispered:

"You're ridiculous."

Kwabena grinned. "But you smiled."

She nodded. "Only because of the cupcake. You're still under probation