THE BOY I WASN’T SUPPOSED TO LOVE

The first thing I noticed about Daniel Cole was that he was late. Not five minutes late. Not the kind of late where someone quietly walks into class and hopes nobody notices. He was the kind of late that made everyone look up when the classroom door opened. It was Monday morning, and Mr. Adeyemi was already halfway through our mathematics lesson when the door opened. “Sorry, sir.” Everyone turned. A boy stood in the doorway with a backpack hanging from one shoulder and a notebook tucked underneath his arm. His shirt was slightly untucked, and his hair looked like he had run his hands through it several times on the way to school. Mr Adeyemi looked at the clock. “Daniel, this is your first week here, and you’re already late.” “I know, sir. I’m sorry.” A few people laughed. Mr. Adeyemi pointed toward the empty seats. “Find somewhere to sit.” There was only one empty seat. Beside me. I looked at it, then looked at him. Please don’t. He walked straight toward it. Of course. He pulled out the chair and sat down. “Hi,” he whispered. I looked at him. “Hi.” “I’m Daniel.” “I know.” He smiled. “You know me already?” “You’re the new student.” “Oh.” He opened his notebook. For the next few minutes, I tried to ignore him. I really did. It lasted about three minutes. “What page are we on?” “Thirty two.” He flipped through his book. “Which question?” “Number four.” He looked at the board. “Thanks.” A minute later, he leaned closer. “What did he say?” I turned to him. “He said we should solve number four.” “Oh.” I stared at him. “You’re going to fail.” He laughed quietly. “That’s why I’m sitting beside you.” I raised an eyebrow. “That isn’t how school works.” “I’ll figure it out.” I turned back to my work, but I was smiling. I didn’t know it then, but that was the beginning of everything. My name is Amara Bennett, and at that point in my life, I had absolutely no plans to fall in love. I had enough going on already. I was in my final year of secondary school, and everyone kept reminding me that exams were important. My mother had started talking about university applications months before I was ready. She wanted me to get excellent grades, get into a good university and make something of myself. I wanted that too. I wanted to study architecture. I wanted to design buildings people would actually admire. I wanted to make my mother proud. There was no room in my plans for a boy. At least, that’s what I told myself. At lunch, my best friend Tasha dropped into the seat beside me. “So,” she said, opening her lunch box, “who is the new boy?” “Daniel.” She looked at me. “You already know his name?” “He introduced himself.” “Uh huh.” I ignored her. She smiled. “Is he cute?” “I don’t know.” “You definitely know.” “I don’t care.” “You’re smiling.” I stopped smiling immediately. “I am not.” “You are.” Before I could answer, Daniel walked past our table. He stopped. “Hey, Amara.” Tasha’s eyes immediately went to me. I tried to act normal. “Hey.” “I think I copied the wrong homework.” “You didn’t copy any homework.” “Exactly.” Tasha laughed. Daniel looked at me. “Can I see yours?” “No.” He placed a hand over his heart. “That hurts.” “Do your own work.” He laughed. “Worth asking.” Then he walked away. Tasha waited until he was gone. “You’re in trouble.” “I am not.” “You like him.” “I met him this morning.” “That has never stopped anybody.” I rolled my eyes. But she was wrong. I didn’t like him. Not yet. Over the next few weeks, Daniel slowly became part of my everyday life. It happened so naturally that I didn’t notice it at first. He sat beside me during mathematics. He asked me for help during chemistry. He borrowed my pens and somehow forgot to return most of them. He made jokes whenever I was stressed. And he had this annoying habit of knowing when something was wrong with me even when I didn’t say anything. One afternoon, we were working on a group assignment after school. Everyone else had already left. Daniel was looking at the drawings in my notebook. “You’re really good.” I looked up. “At what?” “Drawing.” I shrugged. “It’s nothing.” “It isn’t.” He pointed at one of my sketches. “You drew this?” “Yes.” “You’re actually going to become an architect.” “I hope so.” “You will.” I smiled. “You sound very sure.” “Someone has to be.” I laughed. He packed his books and stood. “You worry too much.” “I do not.” “You do.” “How?” “You’ve erased that same line five times.” I looked down at my drawing. He was right. “Maybe I want it to be perfect.” “Nothing is perfect.” I looked at him. “That sounds like something someone who doesn’t study would say.” He laughed. “Fair enough.” He started walking toward the door. Then he turned around. “Try smiling more.” I frowned. “Why?” “Because you look happier when you do.” Then he left. I sat there for a while, staring at the door. That night, I thought about what he had said. It was silly. It shouldn’t have mattered. But it did. A few days later, Tasha and I were walking home when she suddenly grabbed my arm. “Amara.” “What?” “You like him.” I sighed. “Who?” “Don’t do that.” I looked away. Maybe I did like him. Just a little. Maybe I liked the way he could make me laugh when I was stressed. Maybe I liked how he listened when I talked. Maybe I liked how he never made me feel like I had to pretend to be someone else. But liking someone didn’t mean anything. At least, that’s what I thought. I had no idea that Daniel was about to become the person I wasn’t supposed to love. And I definitely didn’t know how much that would change my life.