Lessons After Class.

Chapter 1

I woke up with panic sitting heavy in my chest.

My eyes opened and before I even checked the time, I already knew something was wrong. The room felt too bright. The sunlight pushed through the curtains like it had no business being there yet. I turned my head slowly, hoping I was wrong, hoping I still had time.

I reached for my phone.

The moment the screen lit up, my stomach dropped.

I was late.

Not just late but dangerously late. The kind of late that made my hands cold and my throat tight. Today was my first day of class. Not just that. Today was the day I had to submit my scholarship renewal papers at the administrative office before class. The papers that decided whether my fees stayed paid or became a problem I could not fix.

I sat up too fast and felt dizzy. I pressed my hand to the bed and took a deep breath. I told myself to calm down but my heart refused to listen.

I looked beside me.

The other side of the bed was empty.

The pillow was untouched. Cold. The sheets were smooth like nobody had been there for hours. That was when I smelled it.

Bacon.

Crisp bacon. Salty and warm. The smell filled the room and crawled into my nose. It would have made me happy on any other day. Today it only made my chest tighten.

I already knew who was responsible.

Yemi.

I stood up slowly, anger rising with every step I took toward the bathroom. He knew today was important. He knew I could not afford to be late. He knew mornings were hard for me. Yet he let me sleep like it was a normal day.

I brushed my teeth quickly, barely paying attention to anything. Toothpaste dripped down my chin and I wiped it off with the back of my hand. I stepped into the shower and let the water run over me. I did not enjoy it. I did not relax. My mind raced.

Papers. Office. Class. Friend.

I kept thinking of everything that could go wrong.

I dressed fast. I did not care about looking perfect. I just needed to look decent. I grabbed my bag and rushed to my desk where my scholarship papers sat neatly stacked. I flipped through them quickly, checking each page like they might disappear if I blinked. Everything was there.

I shoved them into my bag and headed straight to the kitchen.

Yemi stood there like nothing was wrong. Calm. Shirtless under my oversized shirt. Bacon sizzling in the pan. He looked up and smiled when he saw me.

That smile irritated me instantly.

“Good morning ife”, he said

(He said ife means love in Yoruba)

“There is nothing good about this morning. Why didn’t you wake me up? I’m late because of you”, i said pissed.

“I know for a fact that you’re not late. You should be in time for class”

“I told you that I have to submit the forms for the scholarship reapplication. I have all the signatures”, I retorted.

“You didn’t tell me it was today. I would have woken you up”, he said calmly.

That made me angrier.

“I did. I told you. It’s all I’ve been talking about this week”, I said sitting down in front of my food.

“How could you do this to me? You of all people know how stressed I’ve been going round to get the signatures”, I added.

“I know babe. I really didn’t know that it was today. I thought you still had time”

The silence between us felt heavy.

I crossed my arms and looked away. My eyes burned and I hated that feeling. I hated crying when I was angry. It made me feel weak even when I knew it was not.

He stepped closer.

He turned me around and kissed my forehead gently.

That single action softened something in me.

“Breathe, babe. Breathe. Everything will be fine”.

I sighed and shook my head. There was no time to argue.

We ate breakfast quickly. Pancakes. Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Cold orange juice. Normally I loved mornings like this. Today I barely tasted anything. I ate fast and stood up almost immediately.

“I’m in a hurry, babe. I need to drop these papers before class so I won’t have it on my mind all day”, I said while picking up my bag.

He nodded, “I will just wash the dishes before leaving to my place”.

We stood by the door. The argument already felt far away. We kissed slowly. Longer than we should have. One of those kisses that tried to fix everything without words.

I pulled away and left.

The hallway felt longer than usual. My footsteps echoed loudly as I rushed down the stairs. Outside, the campus was already alive. Students walked in groups, laughing, talking, looking relaxed.

I felt like I was running while everyone else was strolling.

I walked fast, almost jogging. My bag hit my side with every step. I pulled out my phone to text my friend that I was on my way. My eyes stayed on the screen longer than they should have. I typed quickly, not caring about mistakes.

That was when I ran into someone.

The impact knocked the breath out of me. My phone flew out of my hand. My papers slipped free and scattered across the ground like they wanted to escape me.

I froze for a second.

Then panic hit.

I dropped down and started grabbing the papers. My hands shook. My heart pounded so hard it hurt. These papers were everything. I could not lose a single page.

The person I bumped into crouched down to help. He picked up the papers and tried to hand them to me. He spoke but I barely processed the words. My head felt full. Too full.

I snapped, “Leave the papers. I don’t need your help. You’ve done enough already”.

The words came out rude and sharp. I could hear it but I did not stop myself.

He apologized.

I did not reply.

He kept helping anyway. He gathered the papers and handed them to me. His movements were calm. That only made me more irritated. I grabbed the papers from his hands roughly, not bothering to thank him.

I stood up and ran off.

I did not look back.

My chest felt tight as I walked away. My mind was spinning. Guilt flickered briefly but I pushed it down. I did not have time to feel bad. I had things to do.