Rats, Roses And Paper Bones

chapter 34: secrets

Two Years Ago...

“Hi. My name is Doyin. What’s your name?”

I stared at myself in the mirror.

“No. No, that sounds stupid.”

I groaned and paced across the girls’ hostel bathroom.

The mirror had seen everything. Girls standing in front of it for hours, gossiping about classmates, fixing their hair, comparing hairstyles, whispering about boys until the hostel mistress eventually appeared and chased everyone out for making too much noise.

Today, however, it was my rehearsal stage.

I stopped in front of the mirror again.

“Hi, my name is Doyin. I think you're really pretty.”

I cringed.

“Ugh. Too much.”

I tried again.

“Hello, I'm Doyin. What's your name?”

Better.

Yesterday was when it happened.

A new girl had walked into our classroom wearing a yellow, sleeveless dress. She looked completely clueless, but there was something hopeful about her smile as our class teacher ushered her inside.

Her dark crimson hair was packed into a small, shiny bun, and her fair skin seemed to glow under the sunlight streaming through the windows.

I couldn't stop staring.

It was unusual to get a new student in eighth grade. Our school admitted almost everyone in the seventh grade, which meant that once you got to eighth, you were pretty much stuck with the same people until graduation.

And I didn't particularly like my classmates.

The feeling was mutual.

But a new student?

That was different.

A new face meant a new opportunity.

Maybe she wouldn't have heard all the things people said about me. Maybe she wouldn't already have an opinion. Maybe, just maybe, I could make a friend.

“Gloria, introduce yourself to your new classmates,” our teacher said.

The girl looked at her, then at the class.

She smiled.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Gloria Effiong. I'm twelve years old, and I came from St. Joseph's Memorial College.”

She looked at the teacher as though waiting for confirmation that she'd done it correctly.

I giggled under my breath.

She didn't need to tell everyone her age.

Now everybody knew she was younger than most of us.

The teacher smiled.

“Good. You can choose a seat.”

I glanced around the classroom.

There were only two empty seats.

One was at the back.

The other was beside me.

I already knew which one she'd choose.

Nobody wanted to sit beside me.

I looked down at my desk, trying not to let the disappointment show.

Of course she'd choose the back.