The Soweto remix featuring Rema filled Mmachi's ears through her earpods the moment she rounded a corner. She hummed to it, her steps falling in tune with the beats as she walked through the empty hallway.

She got lost in the song, almost colliding with Chikaima who was practically running towards her direction. She stopped just in time to prevent the collision, raising a brow at Chikaima who was panting.

She paused her song, plucking out one of her earpods.

"Sorry," Chikaima muttered, not waiting for her reply, before running off again.

Her action left Mmachi befuddled and she stood wondering what the hell just happened. The usual Chikaima was more chatty than this and ever since Mmachi saved her from that ditch, she had been under the impression that they were suddenly best friends and tried to talk to her every single opportunity she got.

This reaction was therefore unexpected. Why was she even running?

Mmachi shrugged it off. She hadn't wanted unnecessary interaction so Chikaima's weird behavior worked in her favor.

She was about to plug back her earpods but paused on seeing Chidiogo at the door of the classroom less than ten feet away from her.

She held a small piece of paper in her hands, her eyes glued to it. She looked paler than usual, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail similar to Mmachi's.

Mmachi was curious for a moment but decided to shrug it off. She started walking away but Chidiogo's voice pinned her to a spot. Her voice dripped with venom.

"You!"

Mmachi turned to her, her brows jerking up. Chidiogo stared at her with stone cold eyes and she wondered what she had done this time that warranted her reaction.

"What's the meaning of this?"

Chidiogo raised the paper and Mmachi's eyes darted between the paper and Chidiogo's face.

"What's that?"

"That's what I'm asking you. Quit pretending already!"

Mmachi lifted a brow, a line appearing on her forehead. Her lips rose a bit, her teeth on display. She stared at Chidiogo for a minute before bursting into laughter.

Her action caused Chidiogo's facial muscles to pull together, her frown deepening.

"Is this the part where I become worried about your sanity?" Mmachi asked, in between fits of laughter. "Because, what the heck? Do I look like a clairvoyant?"

Chidiogo's lips twisted as she glared at Mmachi. Her hands balled into fists, crumpling the paper in the process.

"I'm honestly done with these childish games."

She stormed out afterwards, tossing the paper on Mmachi's face. Mmachi rolled her eyes, not in the least bothered by her behaviour. Her eyes fell on the paper and she considered checking it out.

Just then, she caught sight of Justin inside the class Chidiogo just stepped out from. Her brows knitted and she threw a glance at Chidiogo's retreating figure before fixing her gaze on Justin.

He seemed lost in thoughts and she was almost certain he didn't notice her presence. His eyes were hard as he stared at an object she couldn't see and for a moment she couldn't tell whether he was okay or not.

His jaw clenched and unclenched and she could pick up sniffling sounds but he was too far for her to make out his face. She considered going in to check what was wrong but decided against it.

With the roll of her shoulders, she continued walking, resuming the song she had been listening to while wondering what was up with everyone.

———††††———

"So let's start with your darkest thoughts. What's the first disturbing thought you ever had that didn't—let's say—bother you even though it was meant to."

Mmachi leaned back on her leather chair, staring back at her counsellor who adjusted the square glasses on the bridge of her nose. Sometimes she came off as an old fashioned Kewpie doll with her sagging cheeks and the way it created an impression of lines running down the sides of her lips.

Mmachi didn't even think about her question before shrugging in response. "I can't remember."

"You didn't even try to! Come on, I thought we were past this stage."

Mmachi bit back a snide reply, holding the urge to swing her chair backwards and rock it back and forth. Her eyes roamed around the office. It wasn't as bright as it used to be but never seemed to be able to rid itself of the cheerful vibes.

"Silver!"

She looked back at the counsellor. "Ma?"

The counselor's left eye twitched as she spoke. "I'm waiting for your response."

Mmachi let out a sigh, leaning forward and placing her hands against the table.

"There was this once in juvie," she started, playing with her fingers, "it was the first time my sister visited. She came alongside my parents and I refused to see them but for some reason, they let her into my cell."

The air was a bit chilly and Mmachi shuddered slightly. It was edging towards the harmattan period and she could almost taste the dryness in the air.

The days were sprinting. It had only been Friday yesterday and she was at home and the next thing she knew, it was Wednesday and she was stuck, once again, with her counsellor.

"I refused to look at her because I was angry," she continued, "Earlier that day, the kids I shared a cell with had slammed my head against the only window in the room. My eyes remained on the floor throughout her stay, not leaving the shards of glass glinting in the semi-dark room. She was talking but I didn't listen.

"All I could think of was cutting her with the shards and watching her bleed to death. But I couldn't get myself to do it no matter how much the shards called out to me to pick them. After that, I told them never to visit me again."

Her eyes remained on the table after her words. The air became stiff for a while before the counsellor spoke up.

"You only wanted to kill her because you were angry about what the kids did to you?"

"It's her fault I ended up there."

Mmachi's voice was silent, almost a whisper. Her hands clenched on their own, the feeling of her long nails digging into her skin keeping her from breaking down.

"Do you need a glass of water?"

She looked up from the table to find the counsellor staring at her hands which were now balled into fists. She unclenched them, nodding while giving off the brightest smile she could muster.

The counsellor returned with a glass of water not too long after. By the time she had taken a few sips, the counsellor had launched into a full blown session of the consequences of anger.

"Unreleased anger is unhealthy but there are other ways to express your anger so that it won't hurt either you or others . . ."

Mmachi blocked out her words. The last time she paid heed to her words, she went ahead to think that she could be some kind of saviour, the one to fix all the damages that had been done in the past.

It ended in their parents estranging them and disappearing into thin air and her almost being sent back to juvie. Chidiogo hated her even more and would definitely never believe a word that came out of her mouth.

The feeling was mutual but it did stab a bit for her to think about it. She held the urge to chuckle as she gulped down her water.

She was no saviour, she knew absolutely nothing about fixing things. She was only good at wrecking them. One thought dominated her mind as the counsellor rattled on; maybe they had been right to nickname her the girl with the Sidam touch.

A/N: IS IT JUST ME OR IS ANYONE ELSE GETTING A MASSIVE CASE OF DEJA VU?🙃

BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TRYING TO BE CONSISTENT WITH UPDATES, I HAVEN'T REALLY BEEN EDITING BEFORE I POST SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME IF YOU NOTICE ANY MISTAKES. AND NOW TO THE PART WHERE I ACTUALLY START SCREAMING BECAUSE I MANAGED TO UPDATE THREE DAYS IN A FREAKING ROW!

RESPONSIBILITY ACTUALLY LOOKS GOOD ON ME, DON'T YOU THINK?😂

WELL, I HAD A LOT TO SAY. I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER IT NOW SO I'LL JUST GOODBYE HERE AND HAVE A LOVELY NIGHT🥰.