Soulmate

4

Esi

I push open the door and step outside. The sound of the bus passing by catches my attention as I scan the area until I see Isaiah sitting at the bus stop. I'm relieved that he's still here as I walk towards him.

"I thought you'd be here," I say, a half-smile on my lips.

Isaiah turns to look at me, annoyance in his eyes. "What are you doing out here? Where's your friend Malakai?"

I sigh. I know that he knows Malik's name, but he's just refusing to acknowledge him. "Look, Isaiah, I wasn't even trying to chat to Malik like that if that's what you're getting all moody for. I was just being friendly. But he turned out to be so rude, so I was like, let me go find my cousin real quick, but all you man were gone! And you know what this guy did when he realized that you guys weren't there?"

Isaiah raises an eyebrow, his expression softening as he gets into my story. "What?"

"Bro starts yapping about some 'Now that we're alone' nonsense!"

"For real?"

"Yeah," I continue, "I don't like guys like that. I was just trying to make friends and get to know people. I had no idea it would turn into this whole mess."

Isaiah rubs the back of his neck, a sheepish look on his face. "I'm sorry, yeah? I jumped to conclusions. Sorry about that."

I try not to smile at his humility. I hate it when people can't admit when they're wrong. "It's okay. Just don't assume things without knowing the full story, innit?" I nod, acknowledging his efforts.

He stands up from the bench and silently wraps his arms around my waist, his hands resting on the small of my back and pulls me into a tight hug. I feel our breathing sync. I feel relief flood through me as I wrap my arms around him, inhaling his scent. Although I've only known him for a few weeks, there's a comfort in his touch that I can't deny.

"Let's get the next bus to Woolwich," Isaiah suggests, his voice warm against my ear.

I nod, allowing myself to smile. "Calm."

As we wait for the bus, we fall into a comfortable silence, the tension from earlier disappearing with each second. It feels good to be back on the same page with Isaiah, and to know that our friendship is strong enough to get through misunderstandings and that. Even though this was quite minor, I think it still shows me what kind of person he is.

When the bus finally turns onto the road in front of our school, we get on together, finding seats at the back. As the bus pulls away from the stop, I look out the window, watching the familiar sight of our school pass by. Beside me, Isaiah sits quietly, lost in his own thoughts, I guess.

I reach out and squeeze his hand, offering a smile. "You good, yeah?"

He looks at me, his gaze softening. "Always, Esi. Always."

I exhale slowly and rest my head on his shoulder. We chat about random things, from schoolwork to people we like and don't like.

"I can't even lie, your friend Jamila is actually so annoying. Like she's just so fake, y'know?"

"What? I mean, I haven't been friends with her that long but she seems alright," I say optimistically. I still need to find out the reason she and Liyah don't really get along. Obviously though, I can't let him know that, so I defend her. "Anyway," I start, changing the subject, "Isaiah, I need a nickname for you. Can I call you... Izzy?" I ask. I won't even lie, I just want that Yoruba pride to come out, like how dare this girl even suggest calling me such a thing? That proper Uncle indignance.

"Ah ah! No na. Izzy is a girl's name, ain't it short for like Isabel or something?" he asks, putting his hand on his heart as if he's actually offended.

"Alright, alright, how about... Zeke, Isa, Zaizai—" he cuts me off.

"Those aren't even real names, shut up, man," he says, laughing.

"Fine, if you hate all the ones I came up with, think of one for yourself!" I tell him. It feels good, the banter. It's easy, natural, like we've been friends for years instead of just a few weeks. He smirks at me and raises his brow.

"You wanna know what I think you should call me?" he asks. Something in the atmosphere seems to switch. He leans in closer to my face, close enough so I could feel his breath on my lips. I become aware of my breathing. I don't want him to know he has an effect on me. I scan his face, and he studies mine. It's as if we see each other, like we really see each other. He has a scar right underneath his eye. It looks painful. He must have noticed me looking at it because I notice an emotion flash across his eyes, but I couldn't tell what it was before he suddenly pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Ziah, I didn't mean—" I start. I feel bad for seeing a part of him that he wanted to forget.

"Shh, you didn't do anything wrong," he pauses for a second, a smile tugging at his lips. "And I like Ziah, it fits." The conversation fades out, y'know, them ones where you don't feel the need to fill the air with random convos. We're finally at the high street, so I press the bell, and we step off the bus. I say thank you to the bus driver, and Ziah just nods as we walk together down the familiar streets, his arm around my shoulder. Bare people come up to us, well actually to him. They'll dap him up, glance at me, and go.

"Is that you, yeah?" the first time, I waited to hear his reply. Will he say I'm friend, cousin, girl? He turns, looks me in the eye, and says, "Yeah, that's me still." Oh my days, this boy. I can't lie, he didn't disappoint me. At this point, I'm just waiting for him to make a move.

Isaiah

I won't lie, I'm feeling Esi. I won't ask her out just yet though, still need to get Ade's blessing on that. She's obviously her own person, but she's still his cousin. Esi suddenly stops walking, almost making me trip over since my arm is around her shoulders. "What's wrong?" I ask her.

"I just remembered, I don't have my phone. I left it in my coat pocket, which I left at school. I was gonna get you to come back inside, but... I forgot. I don't have my actual card either, so I don't have any money," she looks properly annoyed with herself.

"Okay, and?" I ask, not seeing the problem. "The mandem are still at school; you can just ask

Ade to bring it to your house." I don't think she appreciated my solution though.

"Are you listening? I said I don't have any money," she looks at me incredulously.

"And therefore, like I wasn't gonna pay anyway," I say, like it's obvious. Although we're just chilling right now, I'm not gonna be splitting the bill. Which kind of nonsense is that?

"You gonna pay for my food then?" she asks, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Of course, mumu," I say, rolling my eyes at her.

"Nah, 'cause I know you ain't calling me mumu, especially when you're the biggest oloriburuku here."

"You know, 'cause I'm grown, and not petty, I'm still buying you Tasty's," I shake my head. Normally I wouldn't take something like that, especially from a girl, but she's actually different still. I can't lie, I need to pull myself together; this is getting a bit ridiculous. Me, letting a girl call me oloriburuku, chaiii. I'm still grateful for moments like these though, simple but precious.

We get puff puff and meat pies from Tasty's and head towards our park, not that we've been here before but it's nearest to both of our houses. We sit on a bench and fall into an easy conversation. As we sit there, chatting and laughing, I realise just how lucky I am to have Esi in my life. She's become more than just a friend; she's-

"Zi, you good?" Esi asks me. I must have been zoning out.

"Yeah, I'm aite, just contemplating the meaning of life, innit," I reply jokingly.

"Shut up," she says, chuckling. She looks a bit drowsy.

"You tired?" I ask her. She just nods her head before laying on my shoulder. I put my arm around her as she drifts off to sleep. I swear this girl is always sleeping. She always has a nap when she gets home from school, and this is about that time. I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, and I carefully pry it out, conscious that I don't wake Esi up. It's Aaliyah asking where we are. I quickly recorded a voice message explaining that we left school and went to the town centre together. As soon as she has read the message, she video calls me. I put in one AirPod and picked up her call.