chapter 2 : beneath the surface
1228 Words
The rain had barely stopped by the time morning broke over Johannesburg. Sunlight streaked through damp windows and painted puddles gold along the sidewalks. At South Jozi High, water still dripped from the gym’s corrugated roof and students stepped over wet patches in the courtyard.
Ayanda stood at her locker, freshly moisturized and flawless as always, though something behind her eyes looked restless. She was wearing a cropped school sweater over her blouse, her tie knotted loose, her braids pulled into a high ponytail. Her lips were glossed, smile ready.
But she wasn’t smiling.
She was watching the gate.
Waiting for someone.
Zinhle walked up beside her, eyeing her sideways. “Girl. Why are you standing here like some loyal pitbull?”
Ayanda sighed and closed her locker. “I’m not.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still waiting for Luca.”
“I’m not waiting, I just—”
“He’s not even that hot.”
Ayanda gave her a look. “Lies. Even you want to climb that boy like a tree.”
Zinhle laughed, bumping her shoulder. “Okay, fine. He’s hot. But weird. Cold. Like a sexy iceberg.”
Ayanda didn’t reply. Because the truth was, she didn’t understand it either. All she knew was that something had shifted when he smiled at her in Art class. Something that hadn’t shifted back.
And then, right on cue, he walked through the gate.
Backpack slung on one shoulder. Hood up. Headphones in.
But this time, he saw her first.
And when he did, he nodded.
Barely.
But it was enough to set her pulse racing.
---
First Period – Cracks in the Walls
They didn’t talk during English class. Mr. Mthembu was in full dramatic mode, pacing around the room and spouting lines from Romeo and Juliet with all the flair of a stage actor.
Ayanda sat two seats behind Luca, and even though he never looked back, she was hyper-aware of him the entire time.
At one point, Mr. Mthembu said something about how love always blooms in the unlikeliest places.
Ayanda’s eyes drifted to Luca.
And when she looked back at her notebook, she realized she hadn’t written anything for the past ten minutes.
---
Break Time – Zoe’s Warning
In the courtyard, Zoe sat with Luca under a fig tree, sketchbook balanced on her lap.
“So,” she said, glancing up at him, “you’ve been quiet.”
“I’m always quiet.”
“No. This is different.” She chewed her lip. “Is this about Ayanda?”
Luca didn’t answer right away.
Zoe closed her book. “Be careful. She’s not... simple.”
“I know.”
“She plays games.”
“I don’t mind playing.”
Zoe frowned. “Just don’t get caught up. People like Ayanda? They’ll take your heart, wear it like a necklace, then forget where they left it.”
Luca smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Maybe I deserve that.”
---
Second Period – Lab Partner Chaos
Fate—or maybe Ms. Lebogang—decided that today Ayanda and Luca would be lab partners.
“Page 142,” Ms. Lebogang called. “Test the chemical reactions. I want clean measurements and no explosions!”
Ayanda rolled her eyes and slid her stool closer to Luca’s. “Look at us. Chemistry.”
He sighed. “Please don’t.”
“What? You don’t believe in metaphors?”
“I believe in silence.”
“You’re impossible.”
“And you’re loud.”
“Yet you keep ending up next to me.”
He paused. Glanced at her. “You keep putting yourself next to me.”
Her breath hitched.
Touché.
The experiment was simple—pouring drops of one clear liquid into another until the color changed—but their proximity wasn’t. Their fingers brushed once, twice, and by the third time Ayanda wasn’t pulling away.
She looked up, and he was already looking.
The heat was immediate. Heavy.
Neither of them spoke.
Ms. Lebogang cleared her throat.
Ayanda jumped like she’d been electrocuted.
---
After School – A Ride Home
The sky threatened rain again as students flooded out of school. Luca walked alone toward the gate, hands in his pockets, but Ayanda caught up fast.
“Wanna walk again?” she asked.
He hesitated. “Not today.”
She tilted her head. “Why not?”
He nodded toward a black car waiting just outside the gate. “My uncle’s picking me up. You?”
“I take taxis.”
He looked unsure, then made a snap decision. “Come. I’ll drop you.”
“You sure?”
He nodded.
The car ride was quiet at first. His uncle, an older man with a bald head and a stern jawline, barely looked at them in the rearview mirror.
Ayanda leaned her head against the window, watching the city pass. "This isn’t like you.”
“What?”
“Letting someone in.”
He didn’t respond. For a long time.
Then, “You make it hard not to.”
The car stopped outside her building. Ayanda hesitated, hand on the door handle.
“Luca,” she said.
“Yeah?”
“Do you think you’d ever... like someone like me?”
He didn’t move.
Didn’t blink.
Then said softly, “I already do.”
---
Later That Night – The Almost
Ayanda couldn’t sleep.
She was pacing her room, barefoot, music playing low.
She’d replayed that ride home at least twenty times in her head. The look on his face. The way he said it.
I already do.
Was he serious?
Was it real?
And why did it make her chest ache?
She grabbed her phone.
> AYANDA: Are you awake?
A minute passed.
> LUCA: Yeah.
> AYANDA: Come outside. I’m down the block.
> LUCA: …
> LUCA: You’re crazy.
> AYANDA: Come. Please.
---
They met under the streetlamp at the corner.
It was nearly midnight. The streets were quiet. The city buzzed low in the distance like a lullaby.
“You really are crazy,” Luca said, hands in his hoodie pockets.
Ayanda smiled. “Maybe. But I couldn’t sleep.”
They stood in silence, the air charged.
Then she asked, “Why did you say you liked me?”
“Because I do.”
“But why? I’m... not easy.”
“I’m not looking for easy.”
She stepped closer. “Then what are you looking for?”
His voice dropped. “Something real.”
Another step.
Now their shoes were almost touching.
“You want to kiss me,” she said, breath catching.
He didn’t deny it.
But he didn’t move.
And neither did she.
Instead, their hands barely brushed—once, then again.
And just as their faces drifted closer—
Her phone rang.
She gasped and pulled back. “s**t—it’s my mom.”
She answered quickly, voice breathless. “Yeah? I’m... outside. On the phone. Just getting air.”
A pause. Her mom’s angry voice echoed through.
“I’m coming!”
She hung up.
Luca chuckled softly. “Saved by the bell.”
Ayanda smiled sadly. “Another time?”
He nodded. “Maybe.”
She walked backward slowly. “Goodnight, Luca.”
“Night, Ayanda.”
And as she disappeared into the shadows, he let himself finally breathe.
---
- Writer
