LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

The End of One Chapter

Chapter Six

SS3 second-term holiday came with a feeling I couldn't quite explain.

We had reached the final stage of secondary school, and everything suddenly felt different. There was a sense that things were changing, even though we were still living our normal lives.

I was preparing for our Senior WAEC and, at the same time, preparing myself mentally for SS3 third term.

During the holiday, she and I continued talking.

We chatted through our phones. We spoke whenever we could. We joked, shared moments, and tried to keep our relationship alive despite the distance between us.

But our communication was limited.

It wasn't the same as being in school together.

When we were in school, I could see her, talk to her directly, and spend time around her. During the holiday, all I had was my phone.

So I missed her.

A lot.

Sometimes, I wished I could simply see her instead of having another conversation through a screen. But there wasn't much I could do. I had to accept the distance and make the best of what we had.

Phone calls and chats became our way of staying connected.

Then SS3 third term finally came.

We resumed school.

Only a couple of weeks after resumption, our Senior WAEC examinations began.

There was something strange about sitting for those examinations.

On one hand, I was excited because I knew I was getting closer to the next stage of my life. In just a few months, I expected to leave secondary school and become a university student.

That thought made me excited.

But on the other hand, there was a part of me that felt bored and uncomfortable.

One major reason was her.

She wasn't close to me in the way I wanted her to be.

Even though we were still in the same general stage of life, the examination period didn't give us the kind of time together that we were used to. We had to concentrate on our examinations.

Sometimes, we could only talk on the phone.

And that made me miss her even more.

The examinations themselves were a mixture of different emotions.

There were moments when I felt tired and bored.

There were moments when I felt interested and excited.

And there were moments when I would suddenly realize that this was it.

This was the final stage of secondary school.

For years, school had been my normal life.

The classrooms.

The teachers.

The friends.

The daily routines.

And, most importantly, the memories I had created with her.

Now everything was coming to an end.

One examination followed another.

We kept going.

Eventually, Senior WAEC came and went.

We made it through successfully.

And just like that, secondary school was over.

We were no longer secondary-school students.

A chapter of our lives had officially ended.

After everything was finished, I went home.

Later, she came to visit me.

I was glad to see her that day.

After all the examinations, the stress, the distance, and the limited communication, seeing her again felt good.

We spent some time together.

We hugged.

We had fun.

There wasn't anything complicated about that moment.

It was simply good to see her again.

But even while enjoying that moment, I knew another major change was approaching.

While we were still writing our Senior WAEC, I had already started pursuing admission into a university.

I had my plans for the next stage of my life.

I wanted to continue my education.

I wanted to become a university student.

So while we were on holiday after secondary school, I was waiting for my admission.

That waiting period came with its own uncertainty.

I didn't know exactly when the admission would come.

I could only wait and hope.

Then finally, the news I had been waiting for arrived.

I got my admission.

I was happy.

It was something I had been looking forward to.

I immediately told her.

She was happy for me too.

But her happiness came with another emotion.

She was also sad.

Because my admission meant I would be leaving.

I wouldn't be staying around anymore.

I was going to a place far away from her.

And that meant the physical closeness we had finally regained would soon disappear again.

Once again, we would have to depend on our phones.

Once again, we would have to communicate through calls and chats.

Once again, distance would become part of our relationship.

She was happy because something good was happening in my life.

But she was sad because that same good thing meant I was going farther away from her.

I understood how she felt because I felt the same way.

I was happy about my admission.

I was excited about university.

But I was also sad.

I knew I was going to miss her.

A lot.

For so long, our relationship had been connected to school.

School was where we met.

School was where we became friends.

School was where we drifted apart.

School was where we found each other again.

School was where we became a couple.

And now school was over.

I was moving to university.

She would remain on her own path.

Our lives were beginning to move in different directions.

Still, before I left, we made the most of the time we had.

We talked on the phone.

We chatted.

We had fun.

We created some of our best moments during that period.

Those moments became even more meaningful because we knew that my departure was getting closer.

Every conversation felt important.

Every moment together felt like something I wanted to hold on to.

But eventually, the month I was supposed to return to school arrived.

It was time to start preparing.

University was no longer just an idea.

It was becoming real.

I began thinking about everything I would need.

I had to prepare the things I would take with me.

There were school requirements to think about.

There were personal belongings to arrange.

There were so many things to prepare before leaving home.

I knew I needed quite a lot for school, so I started getting everything ready.

As I packed and prepared, another thought kept coming back to me.

I was actually leaving.

Soon, I would be starting a completely new chapter.

A new school.

A new environment.

New people.

New responsibilities.

A completely different life.

And somewhere far away from me would be the girl who had been part of one of the most important chapters of my secondary-school life.

The girl I first saw on a Wednesday.

The girl who had once been a stranger.

The girl who became my friend.

The girl I lost contact with.

The girl I found my way back to.

The girl I eventually asked to be my girlfriend.

Now, I was preparing to leave her behind physically.

I didn't know exactly what university life would bring.

I didn't know how the distance would affect us.

I didn't know how often we would be able to talk.

I didn't know what challenges were waiting ahead.

But I knew one thing.

Our story wasn't ending simply because secondary school had ended.

It was changing.

And as I packed my things and prepared for the journey ahead, I couldn't help wondering what would happen to us when the school that brought us together was no longer between us.

For the first time, our relationship was going to have to survive without the classrooms, breaks, school corridors, and everyday meetings that had shaped it.

This time, it would be just us—and the distance between us.

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