Chapter 2
1451 Words
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First Impressions
The dining hall at Celestia Royale Academy was a symphony of luxury and calculated aesthetics. Crystal chandeliers sparkled above, hanging from a domed ceiling painted with a golden mural of Nigerian legends—Chinua Achebe beside Fela Kuti, Queen Amina facing Wole Soyinka. Mahogany tables were arranged in long rows, with imported cutlery that glinted under the soft lighting. At the far end of the room stood a marble buffet counter that could have belonged in a five-star hotel. On it: steaming jollof rice, peri-peri grilled chicken, pancakes with imported maple syrup, vegan okra soup, parfaits in tall glasses, and fruit bowls arranged like art installations.
Runo entered flanked by Adaora, Zainab, and Ivie.
“You’ll get used to it,” Zainab said coolly, pulling out a chair. “The food is better than most restaurants in Lekki. I mean, my dad owns one, so I would know.”
Runo smiled faintly and sat.
Students were already gathered in groups some laughing loudly, some whispering, some glancing toward her with thinly veiled curiosity. A few students, mostly boys, leaned in to whisper as she passed. She could feel it again the weight of being noticed. But here, it felt different. Less malicious. More like curiosity… or calculation.
A girl with short dyed-green hair leaned across her table and whispered to her friend, “That’s the Edevbie girl, right? The oil princess?”
Her friend, chewing on toast, nodded. “She’s fine sha. Like, very fine. And that car?”
“She doesn’t even look like she’s trying too hard. That’s the scary part.”
Runo tried to ignore it. She focused on her food papaya, grilled plantain, and toast though her appetite was barely there.
“Alright,” Ivie said, twirling her spoon. “Here’s what you need to know before your name ends up in some drama group chat.”
Runo blinked. “Drama?”
Adaora giggled. “Girl, this place runs on drama. Celestia is like a live TV show where everyone is the main character and there’s no off switch.”
Ivie nodded. “First rule: never trust people who smile too wide on the first day. It means they’ve already planned your downfall or they want something. Second rule: stay far away from the drama prefect.”
“There’s a drama prefect?” Runo asked.
Zainab raised her brow. “Not officially. That’s just what we call Nana Akande. She runs the school blog anonymously everyone knows, she just pretends it’s not her. If you breathe the wrong way, it’ll end up on her blog with full backstory and hashtags.”
“#NewGirlEnergy,” Adaora added dramatically. “#OilPrincess. #BentleyBabe. #RichNerdGlowUp.”
Runo snorted. “Please stop.”
“No, seriously,” Ivie continued. “She’ll find out everything who you dated in your old school, who you unfollowed on i********:, what your cousin wore to your sister’s wedding. Nothing is sacred.”
Runo raised her glass of water and sighed. “Sounds like hell.”
Zainab smirked. “Welcome to paradise, babe.”
As the girls ate, the room gradually filled. From one corner of the hall, a noticeable hush swept through the crowd. Runo followed the direction of the stares.
A tall boy walked in, flanked by two others. He wore his uniform like it had been made for him—blazer slightly unbuttoned, tie loose, but not sloppy. There was an ease to his movements, a confidence that didn’t ask for attention but demanded it anyway.
“Who’s that?” Runo asked, without meaning to say it aloud.
Adaora followed her gaze. “Oh. That’s Levi Babalola. Captain of the debate team. Senior prefect. He’s... kind of a big deal.”
“And drama?” Runo asked warily.
“Not really,” Ivie said. “Levi’s the untouchable type. Doesn’t date in school. Doesn’t gossip. Still ends up in all the stories because everyone wants to be seen with him.”
Zainab leaned in. “He’s not arrogant though. That’s the worst part. He’s actually nice. Makes him harder to hate.”
As if on cue, Levi turned his head and locked eyes with Runo for a fleeting moment. It was brief, but something in his gaze made her spine straighten.
He offered a small nod.
Runo returned it, her face blank, but her heart did an unexpected somersault.
The girls around her went silent.
“Oh no,” Adaora said, half-joking, half-terrified. “You made eye contact. That’s how it starts.”
“Starts?” Runo asked, pretending to focus on her toast.
“The rumors. The ship names. The edits.”
Ivie giggled. “You’re going to be ‘RunVi’ on t****k by tomorrow morning.”
Zainab shook her head. “She’s not even safe yet and y’all are dragging her into fan fiction.”
Runo chuckled. “Well, if someone makes an edit, I hope they at least pick a good song.”
The table erupted in laughter.
Later that day, classes began with a bang. The first was Literature, taught by a sharply dressed man named Mr. Ogunlana who had the energy of a theatre director and the vocabulary of a novelist. He called Runo up to the front of the class to introduce herself.
“Tell us something no one knows about you,” he said, grinning.
Runo hesitated. The room waited.
She cleared her throat. “I... write poetry. But I’ve never shared it with anyone.”
There was a pause. Then someone at the back whispered, “A soft queen, okay.”
Mr. Ogunlana clapped. “Then this class might be the beginning of something wonderful.”
Her seat was beside a girl named Amanda, who wore expensive perfume and had a constant resting smirk. She barely glanced at Runo. No hello. No smile.
By the second class Physics Runo had already memorized the layout of the school’s academic building. Everything was advanced. Smartboards. Labs that looked like sci-fi movie sets. Teachers who spoke with clarity and demanded engagement. It was the kind of environment she could thrive in. If she was left alone.
During lunch break, she headed to the school library to breathe. The space was quiet, two stories high, with glass walls that overlooked the school gardens. She wandered to the poetry section and ran her fingers along the spines of worn anthologies. Achebe. Soyinka. Warsan Shire.
Then she heard a voice behind her.
“Do you actually read these? Or are you just looking for aesthetic vibes?”
She turned.
Levi Babalola stood behind her, holding a copy of Things Fall Apart.
“I read them,” Runo said calmly. “But I can see why you'd ask. I look like I just came here to post quotes on Instagram.”
He smiled. “I didn’t say that. You just did.”
She raised a brow. “Do you always sneak up on new students?”
“Only the ones who seem interesting.”
There was a silence.
She turned back to the shelf. “Well, then I should warn you. I’m not that interesting. I’m just trying to survive the school year without ending up on the gossip blog.”
Levi chuckled. “Then you’ve already failed.”
She looked at him again. “Why’s that?”
“You made eye contact with me in the dining hall. Nana Akande probably drafted a post the second it happened.”
Runo groaned. “Great.”
He shrugged. “It’ll pass. It always does.”
She paused. “What about you? You don’t seem like someone who... blends in.”
“I try to stay in my lane.”
“And what lane is that?”
“The quiet, top-of-the-class, don’t-give-people-a-reason-to-hate-me lane.”
She smirked. “That sounds familiar.”
Levi’s eyes softened. “I know who you are, Runo. Not just the name. I heard about what happened at St. Victoria’s.”
She froze.
He continued, voice low. “People don’t always need a reason to destroy you. Sometimes, just existing is enough.”
Her throat tightened, but she didn’t let it show.
“I’m not looking for pity,” she said quietly.
“I wasn’t offering any,” he replied. “Just saying I get it.”
Another silence.
“Thanks,” she said.
He nodded. “See you around, oil princess.”
And with that, he walked away.
Runo stood still for a moment longer, heart beating faster than she liked.
This school was different. It was still dangerous. Still political. Still a world of hidden agendas and silent wars.
But maybe, just maybe, it was also the beginning of something she didn’t expect.
Not peace.
But purpose.
- Writer
