CHAPTER 2- A Different Kind of Hunger
251 Words
CHAPTER 2 — A Different Kind of Hunger
School was not meant for girls like Amina.
At least, that’s what the village liked to pretend.
The classroom was small, crowded, and permanently coated in dust, but to Amina, it felt like the only place where breathing was easier.
Here, no one shouted at her.
Here, she wasn’t just a burden.
“Amina.”
She looked up quickly.
“Yes, sir?”
The teacher, Mr. Mensah, stood at the front, holding up a worn textbook.
“Come and solve this.”
A murmur passed through the class.
Not because the question was hard, but because she had been called.
Amina hesitated for a second before standing. Her heart beat faster as she walked to the front, aware of the eyes on her.
Some curious.
Some amused.
Some waiting for her to fail.
She took the chalk.
The numbers blurred for a moment, then settled.
Step by step, she worked through the problem, her hand steady despite the noise in her chest.
When she finished, she stepped back.
Silence.
Then_
“Correct.”
The word hung in the air.
Mr. Mensah nodded slowly, something like approval in his eyes.
“You see?” he said, turning to the class. “Talent does not ask where you come from.”
Amina returned to her seat quietly, but something inside her had shifted.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just enough to remind her that maybe… her life did not have to end in that dusty yard.
- Writer
