NAMES I FORGOT TO FORGET

A HAND REACHING OUT

After the fallout with Ayo, I carried on. I tucked the pain away in a silent corner of my heart and tried to move on. That was when I met two new people: KingAne and Janet.

How I became Janet’s friend, I don’t remember. All I know is, we started talking, going to school together, visiting each other’s homes. She had a lovely family. Her siblings were cute and receptive. We met at the lesson centre before WAEC. Janet had many friends. She was a lovely belle. Unlike me — I only had Frediya.

Frediya was a free-spirited guy. He had many friends and this strange kind of charm — one not really tied to looks. He met Janet and liked her immediately. So we became friends too. But that wasn’t my real mission.

My mission was to become KingAne’s friend.

He was that guy who hardly came to class. Had only one friend. Talked to no one. Always sat alone. He was tall and a little chubby, with this cute round face. Funny thing was — we noticed each other, but said nothing. Each time lessons ended, he would run down the flight of stairs with his round body like Fast and Furious. I always wondered how he moved so fast.

Then one day, we were taken to have a look at the secondary school where we would write our WAEC exams. After the visit, we all returned to the lesson centre.

And that was the first time it happened.

He caught me smiling — I was talking with someone else — but maybe he thought I was smiling at him. The next thing I knew, he was standing right in front of me with a stretched hand, waiting for a handshake.

Lost in the confusion of what just happened, I slowly stretched my hand out to meet his.

“Hi. I’m KingAne. And you?”

“Uhm… Oma,” I said.

“Nice to meet you. See you around.”

And just like that — he was gone, as quickly as he came. His voice sounded manly. Musical. I stood there, stunned. And maybe smiling for real this time. My stomach swirled with butterflies.

The next time we were all going to meet… would be the first day of our exam at Juliajee Secondary School.

omas pov:

I didn’t expect anything sweet to find me again — not so soon, not after Ayo. But then came little moments. A shared laugh with Janet. Frediya’s playful teasing. And KingAne… just standing there, his hand stretched out like a quiet invitation. He didn’t say much, but somehow his silence didn’t hurt like the last one. It felt like a beginning. Like someone had seen me — not loudly, not fully, but just enough to make me stay a second longer. And maybe that’s how healing starts… not with fireworks, but with someone looking at you like you’re still worth noticing.