Chapter 3: Questions, Stares, and a Name I Won’t Forget
674 Words
The car smelled like leather, mint, and something expensive I couldn’t place.
I sat stiffly, eyes focused out the window, pretending the ride wasn’t messing with my heartbeat.
He broke the silence first.
“So… what’s your name?”
His voice was low, calm and deep like he wasn’t just giving a ride to a stranger he met by the body wash aisle.
“Zora,” I replied, glancing at him briefly. “You?”
He smiled, one hand on the wheel. “Kamari.”
Kamari.The way he said it, soft and rich, made it feel like a secret. A name that carried warmth… and maybe a little danger.
There was a beat of silence, then he asked, “So… what were you going to do if I didn’t show up at the counter?”
I laughed lightly. “Cry and leave my groceries behind. Maybe eat biscuits from my roommates’ stash till next week.”
He chuckled. “You handled it well. I would’ve panicked.”
I glanced at him. “You? With that car and that calm voice? Please.”
He shrugged. “Calm voices still panic inside.”
We drove in easy conversation, him asking random things like what I study, what I like to do in my free time, if I liked birthdays or hated the attention.
I answered carefully, aware that I barely knew him. But his questions weren’t creepy. Just curious. And thoughtful.
Before I knew it, the hostel gates came into view.
And that’s when it happened.
The moment he pulled in ,sleek black car, shiny rims, dark-tinted windows .. heads turned like magnets to metal.
A group of girls outside paused mid-conversation. Two boys at the canteen doorway literally pointed. Even the security man tried to act unfazed but failed miserably.
Kamari parked, unbothered. I, on the other hand, was melting inside.
I reached for the door quickly, but he stopped me gently.
“Thanks for today, Zora. I… I’m really glad I met you.”
I paused. My hand froze on the door handle.
“Me too,” I said quietly. And I meant it.
He smiled ... that unfair, slow, perfect smile, and added, “I hope we meet again soon.”
Then I slipped out of the car, clutching my grocery bag like a shield.
The air outside was colder than inside that car, and the eyes on me? Blazing.
I walked in fast, trying to look normal.
When I entered the room, my roommates froze.
Clara was mid-sip of yogurt and choked a little. Becky’s mouth fell open. Tina sat up like she’d been summoned by a ghost.
Clara blinked at me. “Zora… who was that?!”
Becky pointed to the window. “Girl, please tell me you didn’t just come out of that car.”
Tina stood, crossed her arms dramatically. “We’ve lived together for how long? Since when do you casually get dropped off by fine boys in big cars?!”
I dropped the bag and tried to act like nothing had happened. “He just helped me pay for some things. It’s not that serious.”
Clara grabbed my hand. “Don’t you dare downplay this. That man looked like money and mystery had a child.”
“And why did he look at you like that?” Becky added. “Like you were a walking poem.”
Tina narrowed her eyes. “Did he ask for your number?”
“No.”
“Did you get his number?”
“No.”
They groaned in unison.
“I hate you,” Clara whispered dramatically. “I can’t believe the romance gods just dropped a fine stranger into your life and you let him disappear.”
I smiled to myself and unpacked the bag slowly.
They kept poking for details, teasing me like wild hyenas. But inside, I wasn’t laughing.
I was replaying everything… again.
His smile. His name.
Kamari.
And the way he said it felt like it wouldn’t be the last time I heard it.
- Writer
