School finally ended, and I departed with my friends, feeling trapped and suffocated by my parents' expectations. I saw my kid sister who was in the same school as me but in junior class, afar off with her friend at the school pack, waiting there for me as always, so we could walk home together, and I felt responsible for her.

As I approached my sister, her friends greeted me, causing her to notice me and wave goodbye to them. "How was school today?" I asked, trying to sound enthusiastic. "It was fine," she replied with a sigh, her eyes fixed on the ground. I sensed a hint of frustration in her voice and made a mental note to ask her more about it later.

We strolled down the gate to board a bus, and I paid our fares, feeling the weight of my backpack filled with books ." She suddenly perked up, her eyes sparkling with excitement ,'Oh yeah! I totally forgot to tell you! Something hilarious happened in our class today!' Realizing stress was the cause of her previous reaction I smiled back at my sister and she dove into the story, barely pausing for breath as the bus rumbled on, carrying us home.

When we got home, we were surprised to find our parents there, which rarely happened. My little sister rushed to hug our mom. Our dad, sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper, looked up to see me standing in the doorway ,still surprised interrupted my thoughts, "Are you going to just stand there and not greet your parents?, I smiled and approached him with a respectful cultural greeting and hugged him, given his conservative nature, he didn't quite reciprocate, offering only an awkward smile in return

As my sister also rushed over to greet my dad, I simultaneously walked over to envelop our mom in a big, warm hug, showering her cheeks with playful kisses, eliciting a joyful laugh and tease , even though we still saw each other just yesterday and not this morning because she slipped out of the house so early this morning for work, before we were even awake for school , 'Don't be a baby, han!' my mum said, her eyes sparkling with delight.

Han is a special name, my family calls me except my dad who always prefers to use my full name. "How was work, Dad and Mom?" I finally asked, faking a fervent tone. My junior sis added, "Why are you guys home early?" Our parents replied that work was fine, and our dad mentioned that our mom had been calling him and complaining that he wasn't creating time for us ,which drew a teasing glance from my mom and earned a tired smile from us.

Feeling the conversation getting dull, my sister excused herself to freshen up, and I did the same, feeling tired from the stress of school and family expectations. As I trudged into my room, exhausted, my eyes landed on the soft pink and white walls, which seemed to glow with a soothing light. I dropped my backpack onto the floor, amidst the scattering of school books and notes that covered my desk.

My gaze wandered to the guitar in the corner, a reminder of my long-abandoned dreams of learning to play. Next to it stood the long tennis racket my dad had gotten for me in junior school, a symbol of my unfulfilled promise to take up the sport. But for now, I just wanted to collapse onto my bed, surrounded by the comforting familiarity of my favorite things.

Few posters of my kpop idols smiled down at me, their bright faces a cheerful contrast to my own tired expression. I kicked off my shoes and sank into the plush quilt, feeling the weariness of the day melt away in the cozy sanctuary of my room. With a contented sigh, I reached out to toss my dirty clothes into the corner, too tired to worry about tidiness right now.

As I snuggled into the blankets, my room seemed to wrap its arms around me, holding me close in a warm and comforting embrace. My eyelids grew heavy, and my thoughts grew fuzzy until I slowly drifted off to sleep, surrounded by the comforting silence and warmth of my room.

....The next time I was aware of my surroundings, my sister was shaking me awake again. "Dinner time, moi-moi lover!" she chimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement. I groggily opened my eyes, my stomach growling at the mention of dinner. We were having moi moi, a traditional Nigerian dish, bean pudding and my mom's version was the best.

We made our way downstairs, the savory aroma of moi-moi growing stronger with each step. My stomach growled in anticipation as we entered the dining room. The table was set, and our mom smiled at me, her eyes warm with love. "You look so tired; we saved you some," she said. I smiled back, took my seat, and our mom scooped a generous portion of moi-moi onto my plate.

I dug in, the flavors exploding in my mouth. It was just as delicious as I remembered. I noticed my parent and sister had already eaten and my dad was now watching the news on TV. Our mom joined him, starting a conversation about her day. My little sister took a seat in front of me, not eating but instead focusing on her assignments.

After finishing my meal, I joined our parents in the sitting room, trying to start a conversation about my college plans. But our dad was engrossed in the news, and he replied, "Just let me finish watching this, okay?" I felt a surge of frustration and decided to confront him. Dad!! My frie..... Interrupting me, I cleared my schedule specifically for you and I'm not going anywhere tonight , he said , exasperated.

My mom gave me a knowing glance that I'll get his attention, sooner or later, all with a warm smile. I sighed and stormed off to my room , not interested in watching the news and knowing it was going to take a while before I can have the discussion with them. I flopped onto my bed and sighed, feeling displeased.

I lay there, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the right moment to have my conversation. Feeling bored as I suddenly remembered what Zoey said in school today: "You hardly come online, you just watch K-dramas and listen to K-pop." Just then I felt the urge to go online and try something different and exciting to pass the time. I scrolled through my phone, looking for a social media app that I hadn't used in a while, except for WhatsApp, which I only use for school-related things."

I decided to go on Instagram, where I had only posted once before - a photo of my friends and I , including Zoey and Julia, from our last school party - and my profile picture was a photo of Taehyung, a member of the K-pop group BTS. As I scrolled through my IG notifications, I noticed a flurry of follower and message requests from a surprising number of guys (and a few girls!) all using eerily similar conversation starters.

As I mindlessly scrolled through my message request , boredom started to set in, and I was about to lose interest when a message request from JETT caught my eye. His profile picture, though blurry, showed a young dark-skinned guy about my age with a micro coily dreadlocks, and a striking forearm tattoo that piqued my curiosity. Intrigued, I decided to reach out and learn more about the story behind his ink."

As I crafted my response, I was taken aback by the realization that three months had passed since JETT's initial message! My curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to overlook the delay.

"Yoo... is that tattoo real?" I typed, hesitating for a moment before hitting send. I quickly checked his activity status, relieved to see he was active just 25 minutes prior.

While waiting for his response, I took the opportunity to quickly wash my face. my heart racing with anticipation. When I returned to my phone, I was thrilled to see JETT's response: "What do you think?" accompanied by a playful emoji.

My excitement was short-lived, as my mom's call from downstairs interrupted our exchange. "I'm coming!" I hastily replied, setting my phone aside, hoping JETT would understand my brief absence.

Hey everyone!

I hope you're enjoying the journey with me so far! Chapter 2 was just the beginning, and I'm thrilled to have you all along for the ride.

As I continue to share Hannah's online adventure, her connection with Jett is about to take an exciting turn! Who knows what awaits?

Stay tuned for Chapter 3 to find out...It's about to get real!

Best, [Bee Brown]