Chapter Three
1301 Words
AMARA
I wasn't ready for Monday not because of school, not even because of Zane. But because of everything that came after home, legacy, expectations. Sunday night dinners at the Daniels estate were usually formal, cold, and strategic. My parents rarely used the word "love" without attaching a press release or brand meeting to it.
After everything that happened on Friday with Zane,his challenge, his heat, the way he dared me to hate him and made it hard to not make me sleep well. I kept replaying the way his lips quirked when he taunted me, how close his body was when he leaned over our presentation draft, the storm behind his eyes when I touched a nerve.
I wanted to hate him and it my emotion in check but I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
---
The dining room was all marble and tension. Dad sat at the head of the table, slicing his salmon with surgeon precision, eyes flicking over the quarterly growth charts of Daniels Organics laid beside his wine glass while my mum was scrolling through the British Vogue Beauty feature on her tablet, where they quoted her as “The Natural Skincare Queen of London.” I sat opposite Zara my 11 year old sister who was trying to sneak AirPods into her braids.
“Amara,” Dad said without looking up, “your media project. Is it with that Cole boy?”
I nearly choked on my water.
“Yes,” I answered, trying to sound normal.
His fork paused mid-air. “That’s unfortunate.”
Mum chimed in more of like a warning, not looking up. “Zane Cole. ZC Labs’ golden boy. You two should maintain professionalism and no personal distractions.”
“It’s just a school project.”I replied nervously
That was a lie. A dirty, unraveling lie because Zane had gotten under my skin like raw silk and barbed wire.
Zara smirked. “Is he cute?”
“Zara!” I snapped.
She grinned like the devil. “You didn’t say no.”
---
The next morning, North Hill Academy looked the same: pristine, prestigious, and performative. But everything felt different like a storm brewing beneath calm skies.
Nova, Leah, and Raya were waiting by the courtyard fountain where the cherry blossoms fell like snow. They were mid-convo, but the moment I stepped in, I caught a weird silence.
Nova’s smile was too wide. “Hey, babe. Did you do your lines for drama?”
“Barely. Zane was a handful this weekend.”
I meant it innocently mostly but I saw the flicker in Nova’s eyes. That sharp, quick moment where her smile faltered before she caught it.
Leah noticed too.
“What happened?” Raya asked, ever the peacekeeper.
“We were at the studio room, planning the structure.Well... nothing major,” I said, trying to sound breezy. “He was… tolerable.”
Nova adjusted her headband. “Tolerable is one word for him.”
“Nova,” Leah said suddenly, “you’re quiet.”
Nova shrugged. “Just tired. Didn’t sleep much.”
There it was.
A crack.
A feeling.
And for the first time, I saw it not imagined, but saw it Nova's secret. Her guarded looks when Zane's name came up and her sudden change of topic. Her "just curious" questions about our meetings.
She liked him.
She really liked him.
After a stressful and intense classes.
By lunch, it had escalated.
We were sitting under the big oak tree, eating vegan wraps from the health kiosk, when I saw Zane across the quad. He was laughing with Mason and Caleb, tossing a football in that careless, magnetic way that made other girls gawk.
Nova followed my gaze. “You’re really into this project, huh?”
My throat tightened. “It’s just school.”
“You say that a lot,” she said coolly. “But you talk about him more than anything else.”I voiced back
Leah looked between us, alarmed. “Guys…”
Raya frowned. “Let’s not start.”
But it had already started.
Nova stood, brushing off crumbs. “It’s whatever. Just don’t get too close, Amara. He’s not the type to stay.”
And she walked off, cool and composed, leaving me stunned.
Zane wasn’t the only storm I had to worry about now.
---
That afternoon, we had our first full recording session in the school’s media lab. Mr. Langley gave us access to the equipment room, and Zane annoyingly early and effortlessly hot was already setting up.
He handed me headphones. “Mic test?”
I nodded.
“Your voice,” he said, teasing, “it’s not as annoying as I thought.”
“Your ego,” I countered, “is even bigger than I assumed.”
He chuckled, but it wasn’t his usual mocking laugh. It was warmer and a little realer. And it hit me: there were layers to Zane. Rough, guarded layers wrapped around a boy who didn’t trust easily.
We worked for two hours scripting, testing audio levels, and storyboarding the intro of “Nova Glow: The Truth Behind the Beauty Industry.”
He wasn’t all charm and arrogance. He was sharp. He understood narrative flow, pacing, voice modulation. He suggested a segment on the hidden use of synthetic agents in natural products something even I hadn’t thought of.
“I thought you were just a jock,” I admitted. Thinking of his nonchalant attitude towards classes.
He raised a brow. “I thought you were just a control freak.”
We looked at each other.
And for a second, the room faded. The rivalry,The family wars,The storm with Nova. Everything stopped for a moment.
It was just… us.
Close. Breathless.
I didn’t mean to stare at his lips.
He didn’t mean to brush my hand when reaching for the mic.
But it happened. Zane reached for my lips pinning me against the table,his lips rubbing against mine and slowly into a french kiss his hand finding it way into my school skirt. I suddenly stopped,my cheeks red like tomatoes and heart racing and beating hard against my ribs. I rushed out of the studio flushed
---
After school, I found myself alone in the library. I Needed to clear my head. Nova hadn’t spoken to me since lunch, and I didn’t blame her. Not really but it still hurt.
Mrs. Wren, the librarian, handed me a book I hadn’t seen before "The Heart of Strategy: Winning When the Stakes Are Personal".
“Reminded me of you,” she said.
I flipped through the pages, but my mind was elsewhere.
Zane.
Nova.
Me.
Was this what the Cole-Daniels war had come down to?
Teen drama in a prestigious school where no one played fair?
---
That night, at home, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at myself.
I wasn’t just a Daniels heiress. I wasn’t just a top student or a best friend or the “strong girl.” I was a mess of emotion and confusion and couldn't stop thinking about the kiss with zane.
And for the first time, I whispered aloud:
"I think I like him.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
---
The next morning in school on my way to get my books, Zane cornered me by the lockers.
“Amara,” he said, breathless. “Are we good?”
I blinked. “What?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “You looked… off yesterday. I.. I don’t want this project to crash not because of us.”
I searched his eyes. There was sincerity there,Nervousness.
And something else.
Possibility.
“We’re good,” I said softly.
But in truth, nothing was good.
Everything was beginning.
And if I wasn’t careful, I’d fall.
Hard.
- Writer
