FIRE AND ICE

APPLICATIONS

Day Eight was not part of seven days. Elias said seven days was Lagos. Day Eight is after. After is harder because after has no countdown.

I went back to Atlantic Hall on Monday. Real school, after one week of eclipse and Veils and true steam kisses.

Uniform still fit. But my ice didn't make frost on locker anymore. Stable.

Tola was waiting at gate before assembly. She grabbed my bag.

"Show me," she hissed. "Is fire boy coming? You said Day Seven boring over, so Day Eight he comes?"

"He has school too," I said. "Corona, not Atlantic Hall. He does A-Levels."

Tola pouted. "So you are dating A-Level boy? You are still SS3? Aunty will kill you."

"We are not dating. We are True Steam."

Tola stared. "That sounds more serious than dating. My mother said True Steam is like marriage."

I wanted to melt. Luckily, assembly bell rang.

Chemistry class was worst. Mr. Bayo asked about eclipse. "Ava, you were absent Day Four and Five. Where were you?"

I said Grandmother was sick. Lie, but ice mothers understand water mothers.

He gave me extra homework. Kael would have laughed — Atlantic Hall chemistry too easy, remember? Now I missed him saying it.

At lunch, Tola showed me her phone. Dreame app open. She was reading FIRE AND ICE.

"Tola!"

"What? You wrote it? Your grandmother said you write about boy in chemistry book, so I searched. You have 2,000 readers!"

I closed her phone. "Don't read Chapter 10. It's -"

"Oh I read Chapter 10. Eclipse kiss. Very detailed. Aunty saw?"

Mom saw, yes. Mom coughed loud.

After school, Kael was outside gate. Not in Corona uniform. In normal shirt, no fire hair. Just boy.

Tola screamed.

"Oh my God you are real! You are fine! Ava said your eyes are amber but they are brown today!"

Kael looked at me for help. I shrugged. Our ankle steam came up, soft, gold-white since dream, visible even in Lagos sun if you looked close.

Tola saw it. She gasped. "You are steaming! In real life! Like in Chapter 10!"

"Shhh," I said. "Stable means low. Don't shout."

We went to Domino's in Lekki, because boring Day Eight should have boring things like pizza, and because Amaka said no more cooking after seven days of jollof.

Kael brought brown envelope. Both letters. UK and Malaysia.

"I replied," he said. "To both."

I choked on pizza.

"Malaysia said yes, transfer easy, scholarship still there, no interview. UK said interview, online, next week. They want chemistry test."

Tola: "UK interview? With Park handprint behind you?"

Kael lowered voice. "Elias said Park Veil will try to influence interview. To draw me there. Or to scare me away. We have to be balanced during interview."

I touched his hand under table. True Steam, gold-white, between us. Pizza steam mixed with it.

"What about JAMB?" I asked. Because Mom and Femi talked about JAMB on Day Seven.

"I will still do JAMB," Kael said. "Even if UK says yes, I need UNILAG as backup. If Park eats me, at least I have UNILAG Law - I mean Chemistry."

"You want Law now?" I laughed.

"I want whatever lets me stay close to ice girl who closes Veils with kiss."

Tola made gagging sound, but happy gagging.

After pizza, we walked to beach, not for Veil, for air. No handprint in sand. Just normal Lagos beach, dirty but normal.

Kael got call from Femi. "Interview confirmed. Friday, 2 PM Lagos time, 2 PM UK time same? No, 2 PM UK is 3 PM Lagos. Okay."

He hung up. "Friday. Same time eclipse was. 2:03."

I felt ice spike, small.

"Middle," he said fast, remembering Day Four breakfast. "Not warm, not frozen. Cool. Like morning. We need middle before Friday."

We pinky-touched. Not for power. For practice. Steam was gold-white, calm.

Tola took photo secretly. "For Chapter 13," she said. "Applications + School + Beach. Dreame readers will love. You are trending!"

Day Eight ended with me at home, Grandmother teaching me how to keep ice stable during exam stress.

"JAMB is its own Veil," she said, serious. "Many children get eaten by JAMB anxiety. Same technique. Fear, joy, anger, love — balanced."

Mom came in with JAMB form. "You will apply too. UNILAG Law. Even if UK Park calls, you need backup. And Kael needs backup."

Two applications. Two countries. One Park with 20 sleeping kids.

And somewhere in Nottingham, handprint was waiting, warm, cold, warm, cold, like heartbeat that can't decide, counting down to January.