The tarred floor ended in black and white kerbs. A stretch of grass covered land followed, guarded by high chain-link fences. Goal posts were visible on either sides of the field, white markings evident on the grass.

Chidiogo stared beyond it, getting a view of the main school building. The building was large and covered in bricks. Eight white pillars stood at the center of the building marking the entrance.

The cloisters stood out as Chidiogo watched students donned in white and navy blue disappear and reappear between arches.

She let her eyes wander around the large compound, observing the basketball and volleyball courts in a distance, all screened by chain link fences.

She put a hold on her straying mind as her eyes moved back to her mother who sat inside the car.

She was checking something in the rear view mirror as her lips kept moving.

Grateful that she hadn't noticed her absent-mindedness, Chidiogo put on a smile as she tried to tune out all distractions and focus on her mother.

". . .that's why its important for you to take care of yourself. . ."

The rest of the words blurred as Chidiogo cast Mmachi a side glance.

Her lean frame rested against the car. Chidiogo couldn't tell what the expression on her face was as her eyes remained on the tarred floor.

A stream of marching ants held her attention, something which their mother's speech had failed miserably in achieving. The message couldn't be louder, every passing minute she spent with the both of them could as well be likened to torture.

The tension that crept into the car with them had been too heavy throughout the drive, it was almost crushing.

It lingered longer than it should have, still present even as the both of them stood outside the car while their mother sat behind the steering wheel advising them.

Chidiogo looked back to their mother suddenly conscious of how the almost wound down car window pressed against her skin. She stared down at her crossed hands scared that changing her position would attract their mother's attention and give her a wrong idea.

Her arched back ached and she itched to stand straight as she looked back at her mother, smiling as their eyes met.

The words coming from her had ceased to make any sense and all Chidiogo could see was her moving lips.

She stifled a yawn as she shifted a little, still too scared to move properly. Her muscles had started acting up from being in the same position for a long time.

Chidiogo glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time. Fifteen minutes in, her mother showed no signs of stopping.

She looked up just in time to catch her mother staring at her. She wasn't talking at that moment.

"You heard what I said right?"

Chidiogo paused for a while before smiling, moving her head up and down.

"Yeah."

"Promise you'll do it?"

"Suuure."

She smiled when her mother raised a brow at her, her cheeks starting to hurt from her constant smiling.

"Always remember to pray and make sure you never allow anything to distract you from your studies."

Chidiogo nodded, making a mental note of the last statement she made just for the sake of it.

She leaned forward to plant a kiss on her mother's cheek just as Mmachi's patience snapped.

Pulling their attention, together with the lilac box in her hand, she exited the place.

Their stares followed her a little distance but not long enough to witness her taking a deliberate turn in the wrong direction.

---††††---

"Wait for me!"

Chidiogo's voice resounded in the hallway causing a few students to turn around to look at her as Mmachi walked on, not a step more or less, anyone would have borne the misconception that she hadn't heard Chidiogo.

Chidiogo, on the other hand, kept trying her best to catch up to Mmachi, her straight cut skirt giving her little permission to do so.

She called out to her once more, this time, moving her legs faster-not bothering whether her skirt would rip apart or not.

In a few seconds, she was walking side by side with Mmachi who still walked on as if she hadn't noticed her presence.

"Why didn't you stop when I was calling you?" she asked Mmachi, almost out of breath.

"You called me?"

The way the corner of her eyebrow shot up with the question annoyed Chidiogo.

"So you're going to pretend you didn't hear me now, aren't you?"

Mmachi walked on, readjusting the purple school bag which hung loosely on her right shoulder. Chidiogo stared at her for a while before speaking again.

"I'm surprised I even found you. I thought I'd have to find my way to class. Mom took up to ten minutes extra after you left."

Mmachi shrugged. "I waited for you."

Her statement made Chidiogo take an actual pause to look at her. She resumed walking when she saw that Mmachi hadn't missed a step and was definitely not planning to wait for her.

"You're joking right?"

"Unfortunately, no."

She pondered on her words. It was a bit hard to believe that Mmachi would do anything that would benefit her. Even if it was something as little as waiting for her.

"So why didn't you stop when I was calling you?" she asked.

"Again, you called me?"

Mmachi lifted her brow in a similar fashion as she did earlier. Chidiogo shook her head sure Mmachi was just messing with her.

"Why did you leave when mum was still advising us?" Chidiogo asked the first question she had intended to when she first called out to Mmachi.

After Mmachi left, her mother had waved it off like it was nothing. That didn't stop Chidiogo from noticing the sudden change in her tone and how she seemed more tired than ever.

Sometimes Chidiogo wondered just how much Mmachi's behavior affected her. Definitely much more than she let on.

"What's with this Q and A session?" Mmachi asked instead.

Chidiogo let out a sigh. She knew Mmachi would try to avoid the topic.

"You're avoiding the question."

Mmachi rolled her eyes, blocking her ears with her hands. "Your voice is making me nauseous."

"We have the same voice," Chidiogo said, her face deadpan.

Mmachi shot her a glare but remained silent.

"At least put yourself in her shoes. How do you think she felt?"

Mmachi scoffed. "It wouldn't make a difference to her."

"Of course it would."

"It wouldn't!" Mmachi said, almost before Chidiogo could complete her statement. "She was talking to you. I was just intruding. I should have left much earlier."

"No, she was talking to the both of us and you know it!"

"And you know that because you found the football field more fascinating than listening to her?"

Chidiogo fell silent for a while and Mmachi seized the opportunity to continue.

"At least you must have caught onto the fact that yourself and my daughter isn't exactly addressing two people."

"That still didn't make it okay to leave!" Chidiogo said, "I admit, I got tired of listening to her talking at a point but I didn't leave or stop her because I thought about how it would make her feel. You didn't even consider her feelings once before leaving."

The silence that followed made Chidiogo rethink her words.

"The hostel is over there," Mmachi said, stopping and pointing in the opposite direction, "When you come out, ask for S.S.2 C.A."

Chidiogo turned around to look at the direction Mmachi pointed at. She stared for a while unable to make out anything other than a series of repeating arcs which seemed to lead to nowhere.

She turned to ask Mmachi to clarify only to find out that she was gone.

---††††---

The classroom was filled. Students littered almost every corner. The indistinct chatter had made a permanent abode as it mixed with the light sound of music playing in the background, one which no one seemed to know the source of.

Chidiogo stayed at the door taking in the environment.

She felt a little bit out of place. As if adding her presence to the class alone would be too much for it to handle.

Her eyes moved around the class. From the portrait of Chinua Achebe at the extreme end to the four students sitting at the first set of desks in the front row of the class.

A brown skinned girl whose untamed afro could pass off as a nest particularly stood out.

Allowing her eyes to drift further, she took in the arrangement of the desks.

The arrangement was similar to that of a lecture hall with rows of long desks arranged step by step, each row a step ahead of the preceding one.

Her eyes stopped roaming once she caught Mmachi staring at her.

They locked gazes for a while.

"Hey!"

That was enough to break Chidiogo's gaze as her eyes embarked on a frantic search for the person who called out to her.

"Instead of standing there looking stupid, why don't you go find a seat?"

Chidiogo's eyes finally landed on a rather small dark skinned boy. He stood behind a desk on the last row, three seats away from Mmachi.

Her lips parted as she attempted to force words out.

Rather, a sigh made it's way out as she started walking into the class.

She felt eyes trail her movements. Whispers escorted her as she made her way to the last row.

They continued even as she took a seat and unpacked her books. She tried hard to ignore the way everyone stared at her, wondering what the unwanted attention was about.

Could they have known?

She shook her head at the thought sure she was over thinking again.

She turned to look at Mmachi who hadn't uttered a single word since she joined her desk. Her eyes were trained on the textbook which sat in front of her though it was obvious to see that she was lost in thoughts.

Two girls sat in between them. They seemed oblivious to Chidiogo's presence as they continued their chat.

Closest to Mmachi was a pretty girl who went by the name Amelia. She had a similar light complexion with Mmachi and looked a little bit familiar to Chidiogo.

Amelia bore an innocent look with the blonde braids framing her round face, slightly upturned nose and small pink lips stretched in a thin line as she stared into nothing.

Next to her was a girl with a darker complexion known to most people by the short form of her name-Kamsi. She seemed to do most of the talking and had lots of colored bracelets adorning her left arm. One of the bracelets she had on was hand crafted and had lettered beads which spelt the name KAMSIYOCHUKWU.

She made it a point to wave her bracelet covered hand as she spoke.

"...and guess who I saw him with?"

"Who?" Amelia asked, turning to look at Kamsi, curiosity evident on her face.

"The loner girl," Kamsi said.

A dramatic silence followed her reply before Amelia let out a small chuckle which caused a faint dimple to appear on her left cheek.

"Why am I not surprised?" She shook her head a bit, her voice still laced with amusement. "In my opinion, there's definitely something going on between them. Like the both of them are making it so damn obvious. Don't you think?"

This time, Amelia directed the question to Mmachi in an attempt to include her in the conversation. She stared at Mmachi, waiting for her opinion.

Mmachi, oblivious to what was happening around her, kept her eyes fixed on her textbook until Amelia nudged her causing her head to snap up from the book.

"Yeah?" Mmachi said, the moment her eyes landed on Amelia.

"What do you think?"

Mmachi's forehead creased at Amelia's question.

"About?"

"I'm talking about Amara and Wale . . ." she started saying but paused, her brows lowering and her small lips forming a scowl. "Were you even listening!?"

"Sorry," Mmachi said, giving her head a small shake, "what about them?"

Amelia sighed. "Kamsi was just telling me that . . ."

She took her time repeating the story the dark skinned girl had told her. Something about finding the two main characters of the story in a compromising position.

Mmachi stared into space long after Amelia was done with the tale. She took sometime digesting it before she spoke.

"Amarachi and Wale"-Mmachi scoffed, letting out a mirthless chuckle-"let's see how that works out."

"Must you always be bitter? I think they'll work out nicely," Amelia said, pouting.

"Whatever."

The statement was accompanied by an eye roll as Mmachi returned her attention to the book in front of her. Amelia scrunched her brows, worrying her lips for a moment before suddenly asking.

"How about you and Justin? Are you two even still together?"

"Who is Justin?"

Chidiogo didn't know when the question left her lips.

For the first time since she arrived, the two girls turned to stare at her. She took an immediate interest in studying the swirls on the mahogany table in front of her, her fingers finding solace in moving around the pen in front of her.

It dawned on her that she should have remained quiet but it was too late to take back her words.

"Justin is her boyfriend. I'm sure she must have mentioned it to you before," Kamsi answered, much to her surprise.

Chidiogo turned, unsure if she heard Kamsi properly.

"You have a boyfriend?" she asked, turning to Mmachi.

Chidiogo stared at Mmachi, waiting for a reply. She didn't get any; rather, she heard Kamsi's voice.

"They've been dating for over a year now. Mmachi didn't you tell her?"

Mmachi yawned, flipping her book to the next page as Chidiogo and Kamsi's eyes remained on her.

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," Chidiogo said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mmachi paused; head whipped to the side to get a proper look at Chidiogo.

"Am I obligated to tell you what happens in my life now?"

"I just thought . . . " Chidiogo struggled to find words. "You'd tell me since we're sisters and . . . "

She trailed off, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with Mmachi.

"Really?"

Mmachi arched her brow the way she usually did, the corner lifting slightly in a way that would irritate even the calmest person.

A faint smile lingered on her lips as she continued. "I don't know what gave you that idea but you can drop it now. I blame nature for cursing me with a sister but what can I do? Stop trying to pull that shit on me, it's not going to work."

Mmachi managed to pull a smile at the end of her sentence. Chidiogo still avoided looking into Mmachi's eyes. She blinked repeatedly while muttering something under her breath.

Mmachi turned to Amelia. "I'm going to the library."

Amelia nodded as Mmachi shuffled out of her seat, picking up the textbook in front of her.

Mmachi barely made a full turn when something hard collided with her face. She stood stunned for a while, her nose throbbing as it assumed a distinct red colour.

She let out a groan before she fell back on her seat. The air was quick to get clogged up with words of concern together with laughs and taunts which followed closely.

Chidiogo rushed to her side and knelt next to her, examining her face while Amelia inquired incessantly if she was okay. Chidiogo noticed the trail of blood which trickled down her nose.

"Can you help me with some . . . " Chidiogo started asking Kamsi but trailed off when she saw her picking her nails.

Her face twisted as she wondered whether Kamsi noticed what just took place.

She stood up; deciding to get the tissue paper herself when she noticed a plump brown skinned girl standing a little distance from them.

Her short hair was a mess, uncombed and rather untidy. Her white shirt, which looked like it had been creased on purpose before she put it on, was tucked into a skirt which had been ironed to perfection.

Her body trembled, her shaking hands barely able to balance the large book which had hit Mmachi's face.

Chidiogo watched her whimper as Mmachi glared at her with bloodshot eyes. She couldn't help but feel bad for the girl.

"You again?"

Chidiogo turned around to look at Kamsi, who glared at the girl, surprised to hear her speak.

"You really are a pest. Care to explain how your book ended up on Mmachi's face?"

In response to Kamsi's question, the girl's whimpers only grew louder.

"I assume you aren't hard of hearing."

Whimpers.

"SPEAK ALREADY!!"

Chidiogo was startled by the way Kamsi's voice rose, she wondered for a moment if she was missing something. Her eyes drilled holes into the girl in a way which made Chidiogo shudder. If eyes could kill, the girl would have been long gone.

The girl turned to look at Mmachi, her teary eyes pleading for mercy.

"I-I'm s-sor . . ."

"Save your dumb apology!" Mmachi yelled, interrupting her, "I just want to know how your book landed on my face."

Tears rolled down her face as she stared at Mmachi. The loud sobs which erupted from her seemed to annoy Mmachi more by the second.

"QUIT CRYING ALREADY! Are you crazy or something?!"

Silence followed Mmachi's outburst as a few words lingered on-bouncing off the walls.

All eyes were fixed on the both of them until Kamsi's voice cut through the silence.

"Of course she is. Probably why she'd forever remain a loner."

"Let's not start this now. Can you pass me some tissue?"

Mmachi sounded tired as she glanced over at the girl who sat on the floor bawling out her eyes. Kamsi nodded, proceeding to carry out her request.

Chidiogo stared at the crying girl a while longer wondering what would have triggered her reaction. Her book hit Mmachi probably by mistake. That didn't explain why she panicked so much and cried like it was the end of the world.

She glanced at the girl once more before returning to her seat.

She searched for a book to read to pass time after checking to see if Mmachi was alright. Normalcy had been restored but it wasn't long lived.

It ended with the moment when she heard the name 'Amara' echo throughout the class. She looked up from the copy of Amma Darko's Faceless which she had been reading.

At first she didn't notice anything other than the students who had been there earlier. She was about to return to the book she was reading when she sighted a girl with a blinding white complexion running towards their desk.

The girl almost looked like an albino but for her dark thick long lashes, even darker eyebrows and her eyes which were an alluring shade of brown.

Strands of golden brown hair poked defiantly out of her long black braids highlighting the need for it to be changed. Chidiogo found it weird since every other thing about her spelt perfection.

On reaching their desk, she crouched next to the girl on the floor while repeating the name 'Amara'.

Amara remained on the floor, her hands blocking her ears as she rocked herself, the stream of tears still pouring from her eyes.

The albino girl kept calling her name, wrapping her hands around her every once in a while in an attempt to calm her.

Amara stared on into space, still moving back and forth as she sobbed.

After several futile attempts to get Amara to calm down, the girl stood up and headed straight for Mmachi.

"What did you do to her?"

Her voice was calm, which was surprising, mellifluous and a bit too deep for a girl.

"Nothing really," Mmachi said, her lips stretching into a wide smile, "Just a pat on the back for almost destroying my nose."

Mmachi's smile seemed to piss the girl.

"I see you enjoyed your stay in juvie, you just can't wait to return there."

She crossed her hands as she spoke, narrowing her eyes.

"Itching really," Mmachi replied, her smile widening.

At this point, her smile made her look like a maniac.

"Who are you planning to murder this time?" the girl asked, raising her brows.

Mmachi let out a chuckle, her fingers curling into a fist.

Amelia's voice was soon heard. It was low and controlled. "Quinn!"

The albino girl snapped her head towards Amelia's direction.

"Stay out of this Lia."

Amelia looked like she wanted to say more but Mmachi placed her hand over hers. They exchanged a look before Amelia sighed, leaning back on her seat. Mmachi turned her attention back to Quinn.

"I can't tell who I'm going to kill next," Mmachi said to Quinn, "As you know I have quite a temper. I wouldn't be surprised if I choose to end the pest standing in front of me right now."

Quinn let out a small chuckle before responding.

"The same way you ended your sister? Or was it your best friend?" She tapped her chin with her polished nail, pretending to think. "I'm not sure. Which was it? Or have you also lost count of the number of people you 'accidentally' killed?"

Mmachi glanced down at her nails which dug into her skin focusing on the liquid which trickled down.

"You're suddenly quiet? Learnt to accept the truth already?"

Mmachi's eyes remained on her nails.

"Surprising," Quinn continued, unwilling to give up, "Anyways, this is my last warning. Stay away from Amarachi you filthy murderer. You might have gotten away with murdering your si—"

"She didn't murder anyone!" Chidiogo yelled, interrupting Quinn.

More of a spell than the statement it was intended to be, everyone's gaze fell on Chidiogo, all except Mmachi who looked engrossed in staring at her manicure.

Quinn stared between Chidiogo and Mmachi, a look of puzzlement flashing across her face.

"There are two of you?! As if one wasn't enough. You never told me you had a twin."

Mmachi didn't look up from her nails. Quinn stared at her, sure that she was possessed. Or perhaps there was something in her manicure that only she could see.

"The name is Chidiogo," Chidiogo said, breaking Quinn's gaze on Mmachi, "Nice to meet you too."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking to you."

"Neither was I."

"Seems you're just as crazy as your twin. Are you also a murderer?"

Chidiogo remained silent for a while before she let out a chuckle.

"I didn't murder anyone. If anything, you're the murderer!"

Quinn's brows knitted together, her lips parting slightly.

"Excuse me? Who exactly did I murder?"

"Your sister."

Murmurs filled the air while Quinn just stared at Chidiogo for a while, her brows caving in.

"You aren't making any sense!" she said, "I don't know what sort of asylum you all come from."

"I'm saying the truth though. You killed your sister!" Chidiogo insisted.

"Are you insane!?" Quinn's voice rose by a notch, silencing the murmurs. "You don't even know anything about me or my life or sister an—"

"Exactly!" Chidiogo said, interrupting her ranting, "that's exactly the point I'm trying to make. You don't know anything about my sister either. You don't even know her name yet you're accusing Mmachi of murdering her.

"You probably heard some useless rumor and you're speaking with so much certainty. Katherine died in an accident. Mmachi had nothing to do with her death! It was just a situation of being at the right place in the wrong time. So next time before you speak, try to think. It really helps."

Quinn glared at Chidiogo, after she was done with her speech, her lips pressed together in a thin line. After sometime, she walked over to Amarachi who was still on the floor. Her silence left Chidiogo baffled but she didn't make much out of it.

Chidiogo glanced over at Mmachi's seat only to find it empty. The class had become rowdy again.

Everyone went about their usual business as though nothing had just happened. Chidiogo looked around for a while before spotting Mmachi's retreating figure as she walked out of the class.

That was the last she saw her until school was over. When she got to her hostel room, she found it empty.

Tired from the long day she had, she collapsed into one of the beds. Changing out of her clothes was the least of her problems as her eyelids began to weigh more.

Unsure if the crystal blue eyes she saw at the door was a figment of her imagination, she let her eyelids draw together, embracing the darkness which—without her knowledge—would soon become a constant in her life.

A/N: Hey guys. Is it just me or does the ending feel a little bit too dramatic?😂

Anyways, let me start by apologizing for the slow updates. I'm kinda working on my consistency, updates might become more frequent, yay😌.

So what are your thoughts on the chapter?

Who else likes Quinn? Or am I the only one? I can't say shaa, I think I might like her that's if she isn't too much of a trouble. I'll watch and see shaa.

And is it just Chidiogo or is Amarachi just a little bit strange?🤔

Drop your thoughts on each character.

See you guys in the next chapter. Bye for now❤.