CHAPTER THREE

MONDAY MORNING - 6:45am

The house was quieter than usual. Her dad had already left for work, and her siblings were scrambling for their lunch packs downstairs, shouting over each other like they were in a market.

Amaka sat at her vanity, lazily brushing through her hair, the wide-toothed comb gliding through like her mind wasn't really present. Her eyes kept drifting to her phone, the tiny black Infinix charging quietly beside her Bible.

She had dreamt about him again last night. Not him holding her, not even kissing her. Just… his face, her eyes, the way he stared at her like she mattered… like there was something about her worth paying attention to.

It was annoying, not the dream but the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Her phone buzzed. It was Miriam's message

"You bringing that your holy ghost phone today? That your phone that the only thing inside is Bible app lol"

Amaka smiled and typed back

"I might bring it. I just have a feeling. I should."

She'd never taken her phone to school before. Her parents would have her head. But today? She couldn't explain it. She just… wanted it close. Just in case.

She unplugged it quietly and slid it into the inner lining of her bag, tucking it under her old Civic Education textbook.

Downstairs, the kitchen was alive with soft gospel music playing from her mum's transistor radio. The smell of hot yam and spicy egg sauce greeted her halfway down the stairs.

"Come and eat o!" her mum called over the sizzling pan. "Before the devil uses delay to stop your destiny!"

Amaka laughed under her breath, tying her school scarf with one hand and adjusting her cardigan with the other. Her afro had finally behaved this morning, the gel held it perfectly in place. No loose strands, no flying edges. Today already felt… smooth.

The table was warm with family noise. A steaming bowl of egg sauce sat in the center, the scent of pepper and onions filling the air. Her siblings were already eating, arguing about the last slice of yam.

She joined them, eating like nothing else mattered, but in truth, her thoughts were all over the place. Scattered between the spoonfuls of egg sauce and the wondering question in her chest

"Would he talk to her today?

Would he look at her the way he did at church?"

Would anything change?"

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MONDAY MID-MORNING - 10:25am

The sun had started acting wicked, seeping through every broken louvre window like fire on skin. The zinc roof of the SS2A block turned the classroom into a frying pan.

Amaka was half-listening to Miss Helen's grammar lesson and half staring at the rough handwriting in her notebook. The words weren't even registering. Her thoughts were somewhere outside the class, dancing along the dusty field, somewhere near the hallway…

He had walked past her class earlier. And for one brief second, their eyes had met…

Just one second, then he looked away. It was a quick amd sharp like she wasn't there, like he just glanced over her

Her chest burned in a way she couldn't describe. She felt like doing something to attract him again maybe buttoning down so he can stare at her…well at it…the way he did in church

Mariam noticed her and nudged at her, leaning closer. "If you like, don't go and talk to him. I've been watching you. You've been looking at him since."

Amaka blinked. "You think?"

"I know," Mariam grinned, chewing on the edge of her pen. "And the worst part? He likes you too. But you, you're forming serious girl."

Amaka scoffed, but her fingers twitched against her desk.

"He walked past me and looked away," she murmured. "How does that mean anything?"

Mariam rolled her eyes. "Abeg, he's forming. You think it's easy for boys to like girls like you? You look like if someone mistakenly touches your hand, Holy Ghost will slap them."

Amaka burst into a short laug but deep inside… she wished Mariam was right.

Because Tobi's silence had been louder than words. It didn't hurt like an insult,it hurt like a disappointment. A quiet one that echoed at the back of her heart.

The bell rang and the students poured into the hallways. Some ran toward the food vendors, others clustered by the lockers.

Amaka began to pack her books slowly when her phone very gently

She reached into her bag, her fingers brushing the hidden screen. She pulled it out quickly under the desk.

It was a Notification: Tobi Olawale liked your photo on Facebook.

Her heart stopped…Literally stopped.

It was the picture she had posted last night before bed. Just her in her scarf, sitting outside after youth night service on Sunday, sun set light on her cheek, captioned:

"Still His Favorite"

Her fingers hovered over the screen. She continuously tapped the notification.

His name sat boldly at the top of the list…No comment…Just a like.

But to her? It wasn't just a like it was everything.

Her lips parted slightly. Her chest did that soft jump. The one that only comes when something sacred happens in secret.

She wouldn't check his profile. Not now. Not yet.

Instead, she quietly turned off her phone, placed it under her books again, and smiled down at her lap.

She wasn't ready to admit anything out loud except he saw her.

Not just the picture. Not the scarf. Not the Bible caption;

Her.

And for the first time all day, she breathed like the sun wasn't so harsh after all.