As if in a trance, she kept her eyes fixed on the blue light as it assumed a flickering quality like a candle flame undulated by the wind. She didn't steer even when she became aware of Chikaima's presence next to her. 

Finally Chikaima's voice forced her to break her gaze from it.

"What's wrong?"

She didn't speak; rather, she looked back to the blue light, pointing at it. One second the blue light shone, flickering slightly; then the next it was gone, like the flame it resembled, blown off without the tell tale smoke and the darkness took it's place.

Confusion marred her features for a moment as her hand fell back to her side. She stared at the darkness minutes after the blue orbs were gone.

"What? What were you pointing at?"

Her lips remained glued as she kept staring into the darkness. She snatched her eyes away from it when she felt a small shake. She turned her stare to Chikaima who had worry written all over her features.

"It's nothing. I just . . . I thought I saw something."

"Something? Like what?"

Chidiogo glanced over at the darkness again before speaking. "Like a blue light . . . Crystal blue irises just that . . . they were . . . glowing."

There was an edge in her voice as the last words came out, like even she couldn't believe it. She couldn't tell if the silence that followed resulted from the absurdity of her words or Chikaima just being too stunned to speak. Either way, she wished for the first time since they met that the girl would keep talking.

She almost sighed in relief when she heard her voice again.

"What do you mean? Glowing irises? Like actual glowing eyes?"

Chidiogo nodded slowly. She watched Chikaima, waiting for a reply.

"I don't know," Chikaima said glancing at the field, "I didn't see anything. Maybe you just imagined it . . . or perhaps it was a cat?"

"A cat?!"

Chikaima shrugged. "I've never really seen one around here before but if you're sure then that's a possible explanation. Why are you even stressing about this? It's just a blue light. What you should be stressing about is the fact that we are so gonna be dead if we aren't back in the hostel in five minutes!"

She took a while to think before agreeing. She still couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong but as Chikaima had said, there were more important things to bother about.

                   ———††††———

"There you are!" Chikaima screamed on entering her dorm room with Chidiogo, causing Amelia and Mmachi to both look up from their books and stare at her.

"Did you maybe loose your way to an asylum?" Mmachi asked returning her gaze to her Chemistry textbook while adjusting slightly on her bed and pulling her duvet closer.

"Of course not. I haven't seen you since we resumed, I'm just glad to see you again. All this bitterness isn't really necessary. A little happiness won't kill you," Chikaima said, heading towards Mmachi's bed.

"Tell me about it."

Amelia's voice came out in a monotone as she returned her attention to the books and papers scattered all over her bed.

Mmachi rolled her eyes. "We just resumed yesterday. And could you quit crushing my bones? I get it, you missed me. Now free me abeg before I stop breathing."

Chikaima chuckled lightly before breaking the hug she had engulfed Mmachi in. Mmachi muttered something under her breath as Chikaima returned to her own bed.

Chidiogo stood at the door for a while before realising that she didn't need an invitation to go into her own room. No one noticed her. Even if they did, they did a good job at acting like they didn't.

She took gentle steps inside, scared that if she pressed her foot on the floor with even the slightest bit of pressure, her presence would be made known.

She had hardly taken a few steps when Mmachi looked up and their eyes met. Mmachi's lips seemed to tilt downward before they parted and her voice soon filled the room.

"Hey sis."

Chidiogo kept quiet, blinking a little more than usual. She looked around the room before looking back at Mmachi who still stared at her. She wondered for a moment if Mmachi was talking to Amelia.

"How are you doing?"

Chidiogo stared at Mmachi again before looking behind her to check if someone was there. When she finally looked back at Mmachi, she found her still staring at her. She didn't know when the next word slipped out of her mouth.

"Me?"

"Of course silly. Which other sister do I have?"

Chidiogo was still trying to digest her words when she heard Chikaima's voice.

"I think she's a bit rattled. She lost her way earlier and when I found her she kept talking about seeing things and someone following her."

"Oh really?" A hint of curiosity and amusement laced Mmachi's voice as she turned to look at Chidiogo. "You lost your way? Don't you always have your glasses on?"

Chidiogo fixed her gaze on her, trying to figure out what was going on in her head.

"She wears glasses?" Chikaima asked, turning to look at Chidiogo. "Why didn't you have them on earlier?"

Chidiogo's voice was barely audible. "I don't really wear them."

"Well you should. At least we'll have a way to tell the both of you apart."

"Oh there's plenty of ways to tell us apart," Mmachi said to Chikaima, "People just find it easier to ignore them. Right Diogo?"

Mmachi held Chidiogo's gaze for a while maintaining a tight smile. Chidiogo managed a stiff nod, forcing a smile when she realized that Chikaima had her eyes on them.

"Is that how hard it is to tell you two apart?"

Mmachi smiled a little at Chikaima. "Not really. You'd eventually get to tell us apart if you've stayed with us long enough. Unless we decided to pull a twinsies again. Though I wouldn't try that, the last time it didn't exactly end well."

Chidiogo shifted uncomfortably before walking into the room, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Mmachi, who kept her eyes fixed on her.

"Twinsies?" Chikaima asked, her lips tilting downwards slightly at the corner, "What's that?"

"Wearing matching shit. It's hard to tell us apart then. Even fooled our parents . . . " Mmachi trailed off. "At least they made it look like that."

"Aww. That's cute. Nice of them," Chikaima said, her smile almost reaching her eyes.

Mmachi chuckled. "Yeah, really nice."

"I still don't get one thing though. You said Chidiogo wears glasses? So she has terrible vision? How come she was able to make out some random blue light, more like glowing eyes in the dark?"

"Glowing what now?"

They turned their attention briefly to Amelia a little surprised that she'd been paying attention to them.

"That's what she told me," Chikaima said with a shrug.

"She has bad night vision," Mmachi said but then as an afterthought added, "Or is it xerophthalmia?"

She stared ahead of her for a minute before saying, "I think the xerophthalmia resulted from myopia. Diogo am I right? Abi I'm missing something?"

Mmachi looked at Chidiogo, trying to maintain a straight face while waiting for her reply.

"It's nyctalopia," Chidiogo said, "Xerophthalmia doesn't result from myopia. It's from vitamin A deficiency and not congenital so it's highly unlikely that I'd ever develop it and you know that. The nyctalopia resulted from myopia."

Mmachi rolled her eyes. "Of course Einstein."

Chidiogo ignored her, turning to Chikaima with a small smile, "It's not that bad."

Mmachi scoffed. "Yeah. It's not that bad. It's hideous. Even in dim lighting she can see next to nothing."

"You don't know that okay?!" Chidiogo said, feeling somewhat defensive.

"Uh, I actually do but let's just forget about it. Whatever floats your boat. The next time you think you have night vision or something make sure you head straight away from the school building, far away from all the lighted areas. If possible make a trip to the subway. It's as good as dead at night. At least then your bat vision could come in handy. Maybe I'd finally be rid of you."

"Can you two not start fighting now?" Amelia said before Chidiogo could reply.

"She's the one who started it," Chidiogo said under her breath.

"I'm not fighting with anyone. I'm going to bed," Mmachi said tossing her Chemistry textbook on the floor and pulling her duvet over her head.

One look around the room and Chidiogo knew that every other person wanted to do the same. She crawled into her bed after lights out.

She was vaguely aware of falling asleep before floating around in an in between state of consciousness and unconsciousness with the inherent awareness that she'd never be safe.

                ———††††———

The assembly was over by the time Chidiogo arrived at the hall after spending hours in toilet blocks and the laundromat. She fought the urge to cry as she watched students leaving the hall. She wished that she had headed to her class from the beginning.

Her legs felt sore as she turned around and started another journey to her class. The class was far enough as it was but with her body aching all over, it felt like a punishment.

She released a sigh when the plate tag bearing S.S.2. C.A. came in sight. Her heart dropped when she saw the number of students crowding the entrance.

Bracing herself, she walked straight into the crowd almost sustaining injuries as she forced her way inside. The struggle managed to leave her looking a bit ruffled.

She tried smoothening her shirt while hoping her hair was still in order as she walked to her seat. She found the remaining three seats, next to hers, empty.

She sat down and started unpacking the books in her bag when she saw Amelia heading towards her. She wore a slightly oversized beige sweater with the letters CA imprinted on the left side. Chidiogo immediately recognized it as the school cardigan.

The sweater covered most parts of Amelia's short skirt, leaving very little blue fabric in display. She wore long white socks with matching navy blue stripes.

With her short straight blonde wig, false lashes and gait, Amelia almost looked like a runway model even in her uniform. Chidiogo couldn't help feeling a bit jealous.

Chidiogo watched her as she made her way through rows filled with students and desks.

Amelia was still on her way to her desk when someone called out to her. She glanced at the boy who called her for a few seconds, enough for him to begin talking, before giving him a once over and walking on leaving the boy standing with his mouth hanging slightly open, looking like a complete idiot.

Chidiogo couldn't help the anger she felt as she watched Amelia leaving the scene like nothing happened. A similar memory struggled to resurface. The exact same gesture. It felt a bit odd, more like déjà Vu.

Then it clicked. She had seen it before. That explained why Amelia seemed a bit familiar to her. She was Mmachi's best friend—Amelia Etim. She'd seen her once before she started schooling at Crest Academy.

On a trip to the cinema. She'd tagged along because Mmachi asked her to. She didn't say a word to Chidiogo and mostly stuck to Mmachi's side. But then something else about her struck Chidiogo. The way she could easily make a person feel like trash.

The word snub had registered in Chidiogo's head when she saw her walk past someone who was talking to her, hardly throwing a glance in her direction, like she wasn't in existence.

Chidiogo made up her mind again to really stay out of her path. She couldn't exactly tell why Amelia approached her after the incident with Mmachi, she wouldn't bother to find out either.

When Amelia finally arrived at their desk, she threw Chidiogo a quick glance before taking her seat.

The class was still rowdy, most of the students still standing when a voice commanded everyone's attention.

"CLASS COMPLIMENT!"

Chidiogo quickly shuffled out of her seat, already on her feet like more than half of the class was. The words 'good morning' were on her lips when she sighted a young lady walking to the middle of the class.

The young lady waved off their greeting.

Chidiogo sat, waiting for the woman to address them. The woman stood, supporting herself slightly by the front desk which she leaned on as she waited for the class to become orderly.

About a minute later when everyone had settled down, she began talking.

"Good day class."

"Good day Miss Esua," the students chorused.

"This is probably the first time I'm seeing you all since you resumed. Hope you had a nice holiday?"

"Yes ma."

"Great." A small smile punctuated her sentence before she continued. "Okay let's cut to the chase. As many of you must know, my name is Esua Akinwale and I'll be your form mistress for the rest of the session. I wasn't around earlier which is the reason for the late introduction but I hope it's clear?"

After getting sounds of assent from the class, she continued. "Let's start with the basic things. I see you've all chosen your sitting arrangement which is fine by me. Just make sure to remain in your sitting position for the rest of the session.

"The next thing I want to talk about briefly is about the new comers. They should have been introduced on the first day but there were a few changes and those who resumed later missed out on this. I just want to reintroduce them for formalities' sake."

She glanced around the class before pointing towards the left side of the class. "Stand."

A caramel brown skinned girl with dyed hair got up from her seat. Her hands resting on the table in front of her, she stared at Miss Esua.

Miss Esua pointed about three other students before pointing in the direction of Chidiogo's table. But she didn't point at Chidiogo.

Chidiogo turned to see Mmachi standing. She didn't know when she had arrived and was a bit surprised to see her.

It struck her that something about Mmachi seemed different but she couldn't exactly tell what it was. She was about writing it off as the paleness of her skin when she noticed what felt off.

Apart from the fact that her hair, which usually fell across her shoulders, was packed in a messy bun disturbingly identical to Chidiogo's own, a new feature was also present on her face.

A pair of cat eye silver framed glasses, with small chains ending in stars. The chains dangled by both sides of the frame. It was similar to Chidiogo's prescription glasses—only that this one wasn't medicated.

Chidiogo wondered for a moment how she got the glasses since hers were locked somewhere in a wardrobe at home. But then she remembered that Mmachi was the kind to blow away money on unnecessary things.

She practically crossed the limits when she blew off thousands of dollars on a stupid hello kitty toy, the only impressive thing about it being that it was made from precious stones.

Chidiogo stared at her for a long time wondering why she decided to wear glasses right after she established the fact that she (Chidiogo) was the one with bad vision.

She was so occupied with trying to come up with a reason that she missed the teacher's call. It wasn't until a classmate tapped her that she looked up to see the teacher glaring at her.

"Where's your mind at?"

"Huh?"

"I said you should stand."

She quickly shot up from her seat almost injuring herself in the process. Miss Esua looked her over for a while before proceeding to address the class.

"Again you've probably gotten to know these students by now . . . Or not. Let's hear them introduce themselves. Starting with the pink haired girl."

The girl with the dyed hair began to speak but her voice was barely audible. Drowned out even in the silence of the class. Miss Esua looked at the girl for a long time before giving an exasperated sigh.

"To save time I'll introduce them myself. The one who just tried to introduce herself—but must obviously have something stuck in her throat since she couldn't—goes by the name Voile Amina Isah. She previously schooled in Germany and is here to get acquainted with her culture or so. Make sure to treat her nicely. I don't want to hear any complaints."

She turned to Voile. "You may sit."

After introducing the remaining three students, she turned to Chidiogo and Mmachi.

"And now the twins. How am I supposed to tell you two apart?"

"It's easy," Mmachi said with a smirk before Chidiogo could even come up with an answer, "You've known one for a couple years, the other you're just meeting. If you're sharp enough, you can tell the difference."

Chidiogo was a bit shocked by Mmachi's words. Miss Esua frowned at Mmachi. "You have quite a sharp tongue for a newcomer or you're just like your sister?"

Chidiogo was still trying to absorb the meaning of Miss Esua's words—as it finally dawned on her why Mmachi dressed differently—when Mmachi leaned forward on her desk, looked straight at Miss Esua and said, "What do you think?"

"Mmachinemerem Silver Ezenwa how many times have I warned you not to mess with me?"

Mmachi looked slightly taken aback as her lips thinned into a line.

"You thought I wouldn't tell the difference? What's up with the glasses anyways?"

"Hypermetropia," Mmachi replied, maintaining a straight face, "They're pretty fancy too."

Miss Esua shook her head before turning to Chidiogo. "So you're Chidiogo right?"

Chidiogo nodded.

"Okay class, this is Chidiogo Gold Ezenwa. She previously schooled at Jasmine Highschool. Do well to help her out whenever it's needed. Is that clear?"

"YES MA!"

She turned to Chidiogo again after addressing the class. "I get that you two have really long hair but could you put it in braids? I'll give you till next week. On Monday, before assembly, look for me and show me your hair. . . identify yourself as you do so. Don't make the same hairstyle and—"

"Whoever made that rule?" Mmachi asked, interrupting her.

All eyes fell on Mmachi as Miss Esua glared at her. After many minutes of silence, she finally spoke, the words barely making it past her clenched teeth.

"How many times have I warned you not to interrupt me?"

Chidiogo felt a bit scared for Mmachi but Mmachi looked completely unbothered.

"Sorry about that but my question still stands," Mmachi said, "It's not at all compulsory that I braid my hair. And it's written nowhere that I have to make a different style from someone. I'll make what I like and she'll do the same. What's the problem if we end up with the same hairstyle? What's even the logic in what you're asking us to do?"

Murmurs filled the class. Everyone stared at Mmachi who still looked unfazed.

Miss Esua clucked her tongue before replying.

"It's important for me to be able to tell you two apart so don't fail to do as I say."

Her tone was dismissive and she turned to address the rest of the class but Mmachi's words halted her in her tracks.

"Well that's just dumb."

"Mmachi," Amelia whispered, squeezing Mmachi's hand.

There was a note of warning in Amelia's voice but Mmachi just snatched her hand away from her.

"What? I'm just saying the truth. It's dumb. I change my hair like every week cause I can hardly keep braids so I have to approach her every week saying what? Chidiogo doesn't carry braids for long either. She'll eventually get confused and all the stress would be for nothing."

"Leave the class." Miss Esua's voice was controlled and Chidiogo feared that she was giving Mmachi a last chance.

Mmachi stared at her for a while before leaving. The class stayed silent until she was out the door.

Miss Esua sighed before asking, "What subject are you supposed to be having?"

Only one student answered, "Economics."

"Geography," another added.

"And after that?"

"Chemistry/Government."

"Okay. Make sure you go for the classes. I'll be back during break to pick out the class prefect. And remember you have orientation by 2pm. I don't want anyone to miss it. Especially not the new students. Have a good day."

The class became rowdy immediately Miss Esua left. Chidiogo couldn't help worrying about Mmachi as she picked up her Economics note.

                  ———††††———

Mmachi paced around the lobby  occasionally throwing glances at a shut metal door. She could feel the anger clawing at her nerves as she waited for Miss Esua who disappeared behind the metal door for the past fifteen minutes, leaving her behind.

Her patience had thinned considerably when Miss Esua resurfaced from the room. She didn't spare her a glance before walking away.

She stood confused for a while before a short, puffy woman appeared from the same room Miss Esua had been in. She gestured for Mmachi to come in.

Mmachi hesitated before complying.

The lightning in the room was blinding, almost as harsh as the sun's glare. Mmachi wondered why the place was so brightly lit, even that early in the morning when the sun burnt at 150°C or even more.

It took a while before she got used to the unnecessary lighting and even longer to get used to the size of the room. The room was small compared to other offices in the school but like every other could still be classified as an extravagant use of space.

Her confusion was cleared when she spotted a plate tag with guidance counselor printed on it. She let her eyes take in the decor as the short woman settled down on a rotating chair behind the desk.

The room seemed to be designed to give off cheerful vibes—a little fancy though welcoming in general. Apart from that, it was like any other office. Even though some things usually found in offices were also unnecessarily bright like the pink desk organizer on the table and a pink table lamp which Mmachi couldn't help glancing at every now and then.

The short woman gestured for her to sit before she settled on one of the two cushioned armed chairs stationed in front of her desk. She let her eyes linger on a plush couch on the other end of the room while thinking about how the throw pillows would make for a wonderful nap.

The cushioned chair was extremely comfortable. She held the urge to lean back on the chair as she kept her back straight thinking it disrespectful to do otherwise. Her actions felt ironic in retrospect.

She let her eyes roam the opposite wall with the 3D letters, D R E A M, in golden, right next to the cutest bulletin board she'd ever set her eyes on.

A voice reminded her that she had company. She turned to the guidance counselor. For a moment, she was caught off guard by how the counselor's large cheeks seemed to sag before she noticed the way the woman stared at her, as if expecting something.

"Sorry, I didn't exactly catch what you said," Mmachi said.

"I said you're free to relax."

Mmachi gave a curt nod before reluctantly leaning into the seat even though her muscles ached for relief.

"Do you want anything?"

Mmachi was taken aback by the question. "Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted anything. A drink maybe?"

Mmachi stared at her, at loss for a while before slowly nodding. She wondered why the woman was being so nice to her.

Wasn't she supposed to be giving her some brutal punishment? she thought. Or better still boring her with a speech about how good children should behave.

"Give me a minute."

She watched the woman disappear behind a wooden door she hadn't noticed before, resurfacing with a tray containing a glass of an orange liquid.

She set the tray in front of Mmachi before settling back on her seat. Mmachi eyed the glass suspiciously before looking back at the woman who beamed at her.

"Take the drink."

Mmachi looked back at the glass, hesitating a little before picking it up. She took a sip before speaking.

"Why am I here?"

"Okay let's finally get down to business."

What business? She wanted to ask. Instead, she sipped her drink as she watched the woman rummage through the files heaped on one side of her table before coming up with a pink plastic folder with the name  Silver Mmachinerem Ezenwa printed on it.

"Your name is Silver?" the woman asked, peering at her through square rimmed glasses.

"Yes . . . I'd prefer it if you called me Mmachi."

"I'll ruin the name with my pronunciation so I'll just stick to Silver. Is that good?"

Mmachi shrugged taking another sip from her juice.

"From my records you were recently released from a reform boarding school?"

Mmachi's fingers tightened around her glass of juice as she nodded.

She felt the counselor's eyes linger on her for a while before she heard the next words, barely audible, voice tentative. "You murdered your older sister?"

Mmachi twirled the glass in her hand, her eyes fixed on the rim. "What do your records say?"

"That you did."

"Let's stick with that," Mmachi said, taking another sip from her glass.

"Okay." She looked like she wanted to say more but she didn't. Instead, she turned to the pink file bearing Mmachi's names and flipped through the pages.

"I had a small chat with your form teacher," she said looking up from the file, "She said you're quite a handful. With your juvie records and all, the school decided that I needed to look into your matter. You'll meet me every Wednesday during break period. Is that good?"

"It's not like I have a choice, do I?"

The counselor smiled as she gave her head a small shake.

"Then it's settled," Mmachi said sitting up and dropping her half empty glass of juice on the table.

"Before you leave, I want to ask you something."

"Sure."

"How was juvie?"

"Take a guess," Mmachi said running her finger over the rim of the glass cup, an action which caused the counselor to frown.

"Can you stop that?"

Mmachi paused, looking up from the glass with a raised brow.

"Stop doing that," the counselor repeated.

Mmachi looked at the glass and then back at the counselor before dropping her hand on the edge of the table.

"Okay," the counselor said, her smile returning, "my guess would be that it was bad."

"Bad is an understatement."

"Wrong guess then. So what do you plan on doing now?"

"What's there to plan?" Mmachi asked, her fingers itching to do something.

"Your future ambition. Don't you have dreams?"

"More like nightmares."

"Stop messing around, you know what I'm talking about."

Mmachi sighed. "What does it matter? At this point all I can hope for is to graduate in peace."

"What do you mean? Of course it matters. Whatever happened doesn't stand in your way of having a bright future."

"You're psychic too?" Mmachi said in a flat tone.

The counselor gritted her teeth. "Mind how talk to me young lady!"

Mmachi rolled her eyes. "I didn't even say anything disrespectful."

The counselor let out a breath. "You sure do know how to get someone worked up."

Mmachi shrugged. "So I'm told."

"Guess they weren't wrong," the counselor said with a sigh, "I see you're eager to leave."

"Ha! So your glasses do work after all."

The counselor stared hard at Mmachi before saying, "You may leave."

Mmachi shuffled out of her seat, plastering a broad smile on her face.

She was almost out the door when the counselor's voice stopped her.

"One more thing."

She looked back and found the counselor peering at her.

"Whatever you think might stop you from achieving what you want to, whether it has to do with your stay in juvie or it's just something else, has just as much effect on you as you allow it."

Mmachi let herself digest the words as she stared at the woman with her sagging cheeks. Her next words struck her deeply, ringing in her head for the rest of the day.

"You only become a loser when you consent to it."

A/N: FINALLY!!!! THIS CHAPTER IS DONE! THIS HAS TO BE THE LONGEST CHAPTER I'VE WRITTEN 😩. USUALLY I WOULD HAVE SPLIT IT BUT THEN IT JUST HAD TO STOP WHERE IT DID.

THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?

AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT THINKS THAT MMACHI CAN BE A LITTLE BIT UNNECESSARY AT TIMES? LIKE I'M STARTING TO WONDER HOW I ENDED UP WITH SUCH A CHARACTER 🥲. I FEEL WE HAVEN'T REALLY GOTTEN TO KNOW HER WELL ENOUGH SO UNTIL THEN LET ME JUST KEEP WATCHING HER.