Several minutes went by after Chikaima's sudden exit without any sign of her returning. Chidiogo glanced around in search of her every once in a while but with no success.

She tried her best to focus on Kamsi's detailed story of how to craft a ring from wires and beads but couldn't understand more than two words before getting distracted again.

She regretted asking her how she made her ring, feeling a bit sorry for her as she watched her trying to explain another pointless question she'd asked.

"Round nose pliers! You use round nose pliers! You can't form a loop with normal pliers."

Then she went on to explain how and why that wouldn't work. At a point Chidiogo got exhausted. If Kamsi really knew how much energy and saliva she was wasting by talking to her, she would probably hate her.

After about ten more minutes, Chidiogo couldn't wait around any longer. If Chikaima wasn't back that could only mean something had gone wrong.

She excused herself, promising to continue listening to Kamsi's lecture some other time before running off.

"But you'll be back!"

She managed to hear Kamsi's voice over the background noise before she put a good distance between them.

Though there was no need to be in a hurry, she found herself almost sprinting across the hall, occasionally bumping into sweaty bodies.

She had gone quite a long way in the same direction but couldn't find the exit. She looked around, confused for a moment. The hall was big but never this large, they hadn't gone that deep into it either so she couldn't understand why she couldn't find the exit.

It didn't help that the swaying bodies formed an obstacle to her path. She turned around, deciding to forget about finding Chikaima and head back to where Amelia and Kamsi were, when she collided with someone.

She gasped as she felt something cold make contact with her skin, crawling down her chest to her stomach. She stared wide-eyed at the puddle formed by the wine which poured on her.

The chiffon material felt clammy against her skin, gluing to it as the liquid, still trickling down her skin, started an itching sensation. The puddle formed on her shirt made the outline of her bust visible with the way the material adhered to her skin.

Out of instinct, she crossed her hands over her chest but made sure to not press the damp material further against her skin.

When she finally looked up from the mess, she found that the girl who spilled the drink on her had been apologizing to her.

"I don't know how it happened. Clumsy me-"

"It's okay," Chidiogo said attempting to leave.

"Let me help you wash it."

Chidiogo agreed because she didn't know the way to the bathroom and her skin was becoming more itchy by the second, it took a lot of control to not rip the shirt off her body there and then.

By the time they got to the bathroom, some of the wine had trickled into her trousers but she didn't mind much. She peeled the shirt off her skin and started splashing water on herself in a bid to get rid of the wine.

It helped and she got most of it off her skin but the smell remained. She grabbed a towel, hesitating a bit before giving in and using it to dry herself while the girl who spilt the wine on her washed her top.

"Wouldn't that just get it like really wet?" she asked, pausing to look at the girl who was engrossed in washing the top.

"It wouldn't be any better if you left it like that. Besides, it's easier to get the stain out now."

"I get all that but... What am I gonna wear?"

The sound of water rushing from the faucet filled the place for a moment before the girl glanced up.

"Isn't that a bralette? You can go with that," she said looking back to the shirt positioned under a tap.

Chidiogo glanced at the mirror which covered the opposite wall, just above the sinks, to be sure that the girl knew what she was saying. Sure enough, she wore a black bralette but she couldn't wear only that in front of everyone.

"I can't."

Raised head and brows, the girl stared at her like she wasn't making any sense.

"Why?"

"I won't feel comfortable."

"Oh." She squeezed out the shirt for a while before turning her full attention to Chidiogo. "You can borrow my jacket if that helps. It doesn't have buttons but..." She gave a small shrug.

Chidiogo examined the jacket. It didn't serve much of a purpose in the girl's attire so she accepted.

"I'll spread your shirt somewhere. You can pick it up later. I'm in room 2. Diane just in case you don't see me. Sorry once again for ruining your shirt."

"No problem," Chidiogo said, collecting the jacket from her, "Thanks for this."

She ran her thumb over the shiny leather. It was smooth, her finger sliding off the material with ease.

She looked up from the jacket after a while when the girl didn't reply. The girl still stood in front of her but she seemed fixed on staring at something on her arm.

She started turning to follow the girl's stare when realization hit her. She quickly shrugged on the jacket, making sure to cover the horrid mark.

The girl snapped back to reality and she thanked her once more.

"You're welcome," she said staring at Chidiogo's arm once more, even though it was covered with the jacket, before leaving.

Chidiogo released a breath she didn't know she was holding when the girl left. She walked over to the mirror, shrugging off the jacket to take a look at the mark on her upper arm.

Judging by the way the girl stared at it, it must have been worse than she thought even though she'd always managed to convince herself that it wasn't so bad. She let her eyes roam the length of her shoulder, travelling down her arm.

The scar looked more or less like a map, spreading across her shoulder and just a little down her upper arm. It had lightened considerably over time both from age and several creams slathered on it in an attempt to get rid of it but it still stuck, almost looking more gruesome by the day.

She'd gotten it around the middle of the previous year in her former school—Jasmine High—at the time when the jokes were becoming unbearable. They'd made it look like an accident; even she couldn't prove it otherwise.

She'd woken up screaming, her first impulse to fling away the iron which pressed down against her arm. It came off with relative ease-not without yanking away a bit of charred skin-which was a bit surprising.

Somehow, in her unconscious state, she'd felt the pain biting through the waning grip of sedatives. It started out as a prick, inconsequential and easy to wave aside.

Rather than diminishing, it crept in stealthily; showing cracks in the walls of her vivid dream. It seared through the cracks, pulling her to the borderline between consciousness and unconsciousness.

She could have sworn she felt her limbs responding to the stimulus, trashing about in a mad attempt to extinguish the pain from the unknown source.

She pulled and pushed, shoved even but there seemed to be something other the weight of semi-consciousness holding the iron down.

The blisters on her fingers had been proof that she'd tried to free herself of the pain even while asleep.

She couldn't tell if it was because she was too deep in sleep or someone had really been holding the iron against her arm but the whole incident was just a bit too convenient to be an accident.

How convenient it was for her to have fallen asleep in her own bed only to wake up next to the pressing table on a different bed with an iron, which was left on, pressing against her arm.

It was even more convenient that not a single one of her roommates woke up in spite of her screaming but people from other rooms gathered there in a matter of seconds.

They'd rushed her to the school clinic though much couldn't be done since it was late in the night. It took days before she could muster the courage to look at it.

Since then she couldn't remember a day which it hadn't been hidden behind a sleeve, the same way Mmachi almost always hid her scars behind long sleeves.

She sighed, pulling the jacket over her arm when she heard the door creaking open. She placed her hands under one of the faucets causing water to run over them.

Not bothering to dry them, she left the restroom. The night air pierced her skin once she stepped out of the restroom causing her to pull the jacket closer to herself.

She shuddered a bit, stumbling past the entrance to the hall. She wasn't in the mood to return there.

She put quite a distance between herself and the hall before she realized that she had no idea where she was heading to. She groaned, leaning against a nearby wall.

She had left her guide behind since she came with Chikaima and had intended to go back with her so didn't see much need in carrying it along. She would never have foreseen a situation like this.

Tired and not knowing what else to do, she let her back slide against the wall—her leather jacket screeching at the impact—before ending up in a sitting position.

She lost count of how many minutes she sat staring at the corridor railings before someone tapped her arm, startling her.

She turned, alarmed at first but calmed down when she made out Justin's face illuminated by the hallway light.

Ever since the incident at the field, she'd been a bit jumpy.

He smiled at her showing off a pair of dimples. "Hey."

She bit down her lip, watching him sit beside her on the floor. She hadn't expected company, certainly not his in the least.

They never had any kind of interaction after the crazy incident in the class in which he mistook her for Mmachi and he didn't say anything while Mmachi vented out her anger on her either so it was a bit surprising that he'd want to start a conversation all of a sudden.

'Unless he mistook you for Mmachi again.'

The thought sent her flying to her feet, staggering back impulsively.

"What's wrong?" he asked standing up and dusting off his jeans.

"Look I-I'm Chidiogo."

A corner of his brow quirked up as he tried to suppress a smile.

"I know. I was with Mmachi just a minute ago."

The reply caught Chidiogo off guard, confusion creasing her features before realization ironed them out causing her eyes to widen as her lips formed the shape of an 'O'.

She face-palmed herself.

"Oh. I'm so sorry. It's true... I just..."

Once again her words betrayed her and she found herself fumbling. She looked away, bitting down on her lower lip to prevent her from further making a fool of herself.

She heard Justin chuckle and her eyes drifted back to him. For some weird reason, she found her eyes trained on his pink lips as she replayed their kiss in her head.

She caught herself, looking up to find Justin staring at her with knitted brows. She shook her head as if the action would clear her thoughts as she cussed internally.

She put on the most pleasant smile she could muster, hoping it didn't look as abnormal as her over stretched lips felt, before speaking.

"You've not yet told me why you decided to haunt me down all of a sudden," she said, attempting a joke.

"Oh right. I just wanted to apologize for the other day. I was the reason you and your sister got into a fight and I just stood there do–"

"It's no problem," she said waving it off, "we fight all the time and I should have said something... or at least given you a hard enough push."

Her words made him smile showing off the pair of dimples she was beginning to fall in love with.

"So we're good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

"Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me, really. I have no right to hold a grudge against you."

He smiled again. "Nice dress by the way."

She couldn't help the frown that graced her face as her eyes drifted to her makeshift attire. She pulled the jacket, which she had forgotten about, together to hide the bralette out of sight.

She was still frowning when she remembered how he complimented Amelia's attire and figured out he was just being nice.

She smiled mouthing a 'thank you'. When she didn't get a reply, she looked up to find him staring at her. Something in his gaze had shifted but she couldn't quite place it.

She found herself trapped in his stare, drowning in the dark brown eyes which bore unreadable emotions until she saw a flicker of blue.

Fear ceased her. She took a step back out of impulse and was just about running when a voice behind her made her jump.

"Hey guys!"

She released a breath when Mmachi's face came into sight, holding her chest as she tried to calm herself.

"Do you enjoy scaring me?"

"Scaring you? Why would you be scared? Were you doing anything wrong?"

"No, I saw..." she started saying but trailed off.

Mmachi stared at her waiting for her to finish her statement.

"Forget it."

Mmachi wanted to reply when Justin joined them. Chidiogo tried to put some space between them. She knew she was overreacting, she'd just seen a reflection of blue light in his eyes but she couldn't help it.

She zoned out Mmachi and Justin's conversation and only snapped back to reality when Justin kissed Mmachi goodnight.

She thought Mmachi would leave just as he had but she stood staring at her.

"Are you okay?"

For the first time, Mmachi's voice lacked any form of sarcasm. Chidiogo nodded but on further probing, suggested that they walked back to the hostel together.

Mmachi agreed even though she sensed Chidiogo was trying to avoid the topic. They began their walk, taking slow steps with Mmachi's hands buried inside the pockets of her gown and Chidiogo snuggling closer to her jacket.

Just when Mmachi had gotten used to the crunching of debris beneath their feet and the cricket sounds, she heard Chidiogo's voice.

"I think someone's trying to kill me."

Mmachi didn't miss a step as Chidiogo began recounting her experience at the field and how she found a mark on her neck earlier in the evening. She missed out the part of seeing the reflection of blue light in Justin's eyes on purpose.

Mmachi kept walking when she was done talking, shoving her hands deeper into her pocket. Chidiogo had let go of her jacket as she tried to keep up with Mmachi's pace while waiting for a reply.

Just when she thought Mmachi wouldn't speak, she heard her voice.

"What's that?"

She came to a standstill, just as Mmachi had and followed her gaze to see that her jacket had slipped a bit from her shoulder and part of her scar was visible. She covered it quickly, pulling the jacket closer to herself.

"It's a jacket I got from one girl like that. She ruined my top and I couldn't come out wearing only a bralette so she gave me this."

"Oh. I thought I saw something on your arm–"

"It's part of the jacket," Chidiogo rushed out, cutting her off. "Weird right?" She forced out a fake chuckle at the end of the sentence.

Mmachi nodded slowly. She continued walking, kicking off a stone in her path.

"You should have worn the bralette like that though. You would have left plenty people speechless," Mmachi said smirking.

Chidiogo shook her head. She was about explaining how and why that would be wrong when Mmachi spoke again.

"So you really think someone's trying to kill you?"

She paused in her tracks and Mmachi did the same.

"Yeah."

"That doesn't really make sense."

The words hung in the air long after they left Mmachi's lips. Chidiogo shook her head before she resumed walking. It was pointless telling her in the first place.

"I mean, no one knows you neither do they have any reason to kill you. Quinn is a pain in the ass and I agree that what she said to you was really creepy but I don't think she would want to kill you. She hates me, not you. She might have something against you because you opposed her in class but it definitely can't be as deep as her hatred for me. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Chidiogo prompted when Mmachi's silence stretched out for too long.

Mmachi shook her head. "It's a random thought, unlikely but not impossible. Let's just cross Quinn out okay? And you said the person knew about your bad vision? But..."

She didn't complete her statement but they both knew pretty well the words left unsaid.

No one else knew but me.

"Let's just cross out that possibility. And you didn't see anything when you turned around yet you're sure someone was behind you? Chikaima didn't see anyone either? And I know your vision is bad but didn't you see any telltale signs. Footprints maybe?"

Footprints!

That was what she had missed. The person would definitely have left footprints.

"I knew I was missing something. The light from Chikaima's torch distracted me at first and it was really bright, it took a while to adjust to it and I think that was enough time for whoever it was to flee but then I didn't even think of checking for footprints. I was just so disoriented and... I messed up."

"Don't start beating yourself up. Yeah you should have done something, maybe even while the knife or whatever was held to your throat but you were too scared. It happens. One last thing though."

"Hmm?"

"You said something about blue eyes. Glowing blue eyes to be specific. Was that in your head?"

The same shade of crystal blue flashed before her eyes, clear as daylight and she shook her head.

"No, it wasn't in my head. It couldn't have been."

Mmachi sighed. "Well you're the one with the brains. Tell me, can the human iris really glow?"

Chidiogo kept quiet for a while. "There's something called iris transillumination but–"

"Severe pigment dispersion of iris, pupil sphincter paralysis, I think blurry vision is one of the symptoms too... Unlikely that the person would see enough in the dark to lay an ambush for you."

Chidiogo stared at her.

"What? I know things too," Mmachi said when she noticed the look on Chidiogo's face.

"No, no it's not about that. I mean you're right but the whole glowing iris could be a detour maybe? To mislead me. Isn't that possible?"

Mmachi's eyes dimmed. "Hmm... So what do you plan to do?"

"I don't know. Tell mom about it?"

They were nearing their hostel by now, the interlocked floor had faded into a dirt road.

"In my opinion, you're probably just overthinking this. It's just like the blood. You saw it everywhere even when it wasn't there."

Mmachi voice was calm, a bit too calm, it was unnerving. "Your doctor said you were showing symptoms of psychosis, was it?"

Chidiogo's voice trembled, her eyes brimming with tears. "I'm not seeing things."

"You were so sure you weren't seeing things then. Just take a rest and don't overthink it. Who knows, everything might be back to normal by morning? Oh and there's no need to stress mom but do whatever you want."

Mmachi continued walking while Chidiogo stood ruminating on her words. It took the obnoxious giggle of some students loitering about and the sounds of rushing footsteps for Chidiogo to realize that Mmachi was gone.

She strolled towards the hostel building, trying her best to believe Mmachi's words but it was a long shot since she couldn't even get herself to trust Mmachi.

A/N: AWW, THE SISTER'S SEEM TO BE ON TALKING TERMS NOW, A BIT WEIRD BUT AT LEAST THEY'RE NOT CUTTING EACH OTHER'S THROATS 😂. BUT CHIDIOGO DOESN'T TRUST MMACHI, IS SHE BEING A BIT EXTRA OR IS TRUSTING MMACHI REALLY INVITING TROUBLE? WELL, WE'LL SOON FIND OUT.

WHEN I FIRST TOLD MYSELF I WOULD FINISH THIS CHAPTER THIS NIGHT, I ACTUALLY LAUGHED AT MYSELF BUT GOD IS REALLY GREAT, I DID IT🥺😭😭.

THE CHAPTER SHOULD HAVE BEEN LONGER BECAUSE I HAVE THIS REALLY FIXED END FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER AND I DON'T WANT IT TO RUN OVER 4K WORDS BUT I JUST HAD TO CUT THIS ONE🥲. LET'S HOPE THE NEXT ONE DOESN'T RUN OVER LIKE THAT.

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.

UNTIL NEXT TIME❤️.