Some promises fall silently

CHAPTER ONE My First Friend School holidays were the only time I felt like I could escape the harsh prison called reality. But now, they were over. The first week of resumption was always the worst part of the school year for me because it meant being forced back into the reality of socialising with other people. I had always seen socialising as an unnecessary distraction—a way for people to lie, pretend, and change who they really were just to feel accepted. I never understood the point. As for me, I preferred keeping to myself. No friends. No unnecessary conversations. Just me, my books, and my imagination. It was peaceful. At least, most of the time. The only place where that peace disappeared was school. The noise, the gossip, the constant talking, the endless interactions—it was exhausting. School felt like hell to me. But I didn't know that everything was about to change. And it would happen in a single day. After the usual boring morning assembly—which I had, as usual, avoided—I came out of my hiding place at the school clinic and made my way toward the classroom. I was already preparing myself for another ordinary day. Until I walked into the classroom. And stopped. Someone was sitting at my desk. It was a girl. A new student. She was sitting quietly, staring out of the window as though she had completely forgotten that the rest of the classroom existed. I stood there staring at her. I don't know exactly what happened in that moment. But something inside me changed. For the first time, I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to know who she was. I wanted to be her friend. It was the strangest feeling I had ever experienced. And for what felt like an eternity—which was probably only five minutes—I just stood there staring at her. I wanted to move toward her, but my body refused to cooperate. I tried to speak. Nothing came out. So I just stood there. Staring. Until our first lesson was about to begin. The teacher walked into the classroom, looked at me standing there, and frowned. "Why are you standing? Don't you have a seat?" "I... I do, ma." "Then take it and stop distracting my class." I looked at the girl sitting at my desk. I could have told the teacher. I could have told the girl that she was sitting in my seat. But for some reason, I couldn't. Instead, I quietly took another seat beside her. A few minutes later, the teacher turned toward the class. "Class, we have a new student joining us today. I expect everyone to make her feel welcome." Then she looked at the girl. "Please stand up and introduce yourself to the class." The girl stood and walked to the front. "My name is Mmesoma Favor Cynita Joan." That was all she said before returning to her seat. My seat. I watched her sit down. For the rest of the lesson, I kept thinking about it. By the time the lesson ended, I had already made up my mind. I would sit somewhere else for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, I would come to school early and take my seat before she arrived. Or maybe I would simply tell her that it was my desk. Or, if I couldn't bring myself to do that, I would move all my things to the locker beside her. At least that way, I could still sit close to her. What I didn't know was that the universe had completely different plans for me. Our next class was about to begin when I remembered that my notebook was inside the locker she was sitting beside. There was no way around it. I had to talk to her. I took a deep breath. "Ca... ca... can you help me with my notebook? It's on your desk." She turned toward me. Then she smiled. "Oh. Is this your desk?" For the first time, I heard her voice. And for some strange reason, it sounded like music to my ears. "Y-yes. It is mine. Bu-but if you like, you can stay there. I just need you to give me my stuff." She reached for her things immediately. "Don't worry. You can have your seat." "No." She looked at me. I quickly added, "Ple-please, do stay. It's not a problem." We went back and forth for a few minutes before she finally agreed to stay. I couldn't explain why that made me happy. It just did. During break, I usually went straight to the library. It was the only place in the entire school where I could find peace. I could sit alone, pick up any book I wanted, and disappear into another world. Nobody bothered me there. Nobody talked to me. Nobody expected anything from me. But that day, something strange happened. I offered to show Mmesoma around the school. I don't even know why I did it. Maybe I wanted to spend more time with her. Maybe I just wanted to talk to her. Unfortunately, our school wasn't very big, so the tour didn't take long. We barely spoke. Still, I secretly wished it could have lasted longer. Afterwards, I headed toward the library. I intentionally left the library out of the tour. I still wanted my peace. Or at least, I thought I did. I carefully made my way there, making sure nobody noticed me. Or so I thought. A few minutes after entering, I had already buried myself in one of my usual books. Then something unexpected happened. I felt someone's leg touch mine. I immediately looked up. Nobody ever came to the library during break. Nobody. But standing there was Mmesoma. She was staring directly at me. I was shocked. "How long have you been standing there?" "At least fifteen minutes." My eyes widened. "What are you doing here?" "I saw you sneaking around, so I followed you to find out what you were up to." I stared at her. "Why did you want to know where I was going?" She shrugged. "Because I thought you were in a cult and were about to do something evil." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Do you always assume the worst about everyone you meet for the first time?" She lowered her voice. "Just the ones that look handsome and cute." I blinked. "What?" "Come again. I didn't get that." I knew exactly what she had said. I just wanted to hear her say it again. "Nothing." "Please. Just say what you said again." "It was nothing. Forget it." I smiled slightly. "Okay, if you say so. But don't you think you'd be putting yourself in danger by following me here if I really was in a cult?" "Yeah, I know." I shook my head. "So you can charge into action without even having a proper plan? Don't you know that's basically a suicide mission?" She laughed softly. "You sound like my mom." "Well, your mom must have been a great person." "Yeah, she was." The smile disappeared from her face. "Was?" I asked. She nodded. "Yeah. She died last year." "Oh." I immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry for your loss." "Thanks." For a few moments, neither of us spoke. I was about to return to my book when she suddenly looked at me. "So you can talk without stammering?" I looked at her. "So you can see without your glasses?" It was the first time I'd seen her without them. And somehow, she looked different. Beautiful. She smiled. "Touche." "Yeah. You should try it more often. Not wearing your glasses, I mean. You look better without them." She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? You too. Try stopping the stammering more often. Your voice sounds better without it." We both laughed. It was a small moment. But somehow, it felt important. Then she looked at the book in my hands. "What are you reading?" She leaned closer. "Is that what I think it is?" "Which Miscreant Killed the Waiter?" "By Steven?" "Yes." I looked at her, surprised. Only a few people in school actually read novels, and even fewer were interested in mystery or detective stories. Most preferred romance novels and other genres. "Do you read them?" "Yes. They're my favourite." "Mine too." I smiled. And for some reason, that simple conversation made me feel something I had never felt before. It was as if I had finally found something I cared about. Something I didn't want to lose. Something inside me that had been dead for a long time suddenly felt alive again. We talked until break was over, discussing books, stories, and the things we had in common. When the bell rang, we reluctantly returned to class. After school, we stayed behind for a while and continued talking. And for the first time in years, I didn't want school to end. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want the day to end. When I finally got home, I found myself wishing I was still at school. I didn't want to do anything. I just wanted to talk to her. So I picked up my phone, saved her number, and started chatting with her. We talked for the rest of the evening. And that became our routine. For the rest of that first week, I found myself checking my phone every few minutes just to see if she had messaged me. Sometimes, I checked every few seconds. Weeks passed. Then one day, I realised something. Mmesoma was the only person's number in my phone who wasn't related to me by blood. She was the only friend I actually had. My first real friend. And I was certain I would never lose her. I promised myself that nothing would ever come between us. At least, that's what I thought. I thought nothing could break our friendship. I thought I had finally found something permanent. But I didn't know that the universe had other plans. I didn't know that the friendship I was so determined to protect would soon become connected to something much darker. Something dangerous. Something that would change everything I thought I knew. Because my hope of never losing Mmesoma was about to become something entirely different. And my story was only beginning.