Rats, Roses And Paper Bones

Chapter 28:'The wall of truth'

I still had a throbbing headache.

It was probably from the fall.

Or maybe it was from what I'd heard earlier that evening—the revelation that had sent my brain into complete overdrive.

"Michael likes you!"

Victoria had said it with so much confidence that you'd think Michael himself had personally confessed his undying love to her.

"No, he doesn't."

I'd immediately shut it down.

One thing I wasn't going to do was mistake his kindness for affection.

Victoria didn't know the whole story.

I did.

"But he does!" she insisted. "Can't you see it?"

"That's impossible."

"But what if he does?"

She raised her eyebrows dramatically.

I stared at her.

"Just mind your business."

I pushed her towards the door.

"Go away."

She laughed as I shoved her out.

But apparently, kicking Victoria out of the room wasn't enough to kick her words out of my head.

My brain refused to settle.

I spent the entire siesta tossing and turning in bed.

Two hours.

Two whole hours of staring at the ceiling and changing positions every few minutes.

What if he actually liked me?

No.

There was no way.

But then again…

Monitoring someone didn't necessarily mean you had to be nice to them.

Michael was way too nice to me for me to dismiss everything as "just monitoring."

What if he'd started out simply keeping an eye on me and then somehow developed feelings?

And if that were true…

Did it mean he'd finally realised he was wrong about me?

I turned over for what had to be the hundredth time.

These were all just speculations.

Yes, he was always thoughtful.

Yes, he was kind.

Yes, he seemed to notice things about me that other people didn't.

But assuming he liked me?

That was a stretch.

A very, very long stretch.

Besides, Michael was nice to everyone.

Even people who hated him.

Did I like him?

I honestly didn't know.

And that was exactly the problem.

I didn't have room for distractions like this.

Not now.

---

I headed to the school clinic before night prep to get something for my headache.

Nurse Temilade was sitting behind her desk, sorting through some medication.