HURDLES

Chapter Three

"He is in my class" Bella sighed as she plopped into a chair next to Benita's. She looked down at her fingernails picking on the little dirt lodged there. She looked up again when she didn't get a response from her. "Benita!"

"What?" Benita asked absent-mindedly her attention still on the textbook she was reading.

She snapped her fingers in front of Benita. "Listen to me. Why are you even reading on the first day of school making other people seem unserious? Are you the only serious student here? Close the textbook already."

"Fine" Benita said closing her textbook. "So, what where you saying?" she asked, turning her chair towards the window where Bella sat. She took out two doughnuts from her backpack and handed one to Bella. "That's from my mum by the way."

Bella beamed before taking the doughnut from her. 

"Thanks. Your mum's doughnut is like the best in the whole wide world" she drawled before taking a bite humming her satisfaction.

"What were you saying earlier or should we forget about it?"

"The new student is in my class" Bella repeated scrunching her face. "Can you imagine?"

"Why are you frowning? The boy is at least handsome, isn't he?" 

"And what if he is handsome? To think he is even my seatmate." She hissed.

Benita watched her friend for a while. "Bella, are you okay?" she asked.

Bella frowned in confusion. "Yes. Why?"

Benita was silent. She hesitated as if she was debating whether to continue or not. She sighed, glancing at Bella. "It's just that you look a little upset. Did something happen?"

Bella opened her mouth to talk but decided against it immediately. She snapped her mouth shut. She shook her head. It wasn't something serious anyway. "Nevermind" she said finally, "it's nothing I can't handle." She smiled to reassure her.

Benita shrugged leaving the matter alone. "But come to think of it, the school doesn't accept students into SS2. We barely even accept new students into SS1."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Well, there are exceptions to every rule I guess." 

She went silent munching on her doughnut. Benita was right though, the school doesn't accept senior students or at least not SS2's and SS3's. Only the proprietress will explain what Collins was doing in the school, she decided discarding the thought. She instead turned her attention to the classroom. Even though it was already a break period, the desk and chairs in the classroom were still well arranged. It was no wonder the class not only emerged the neatest class for the SS2 students every month but also in the whole senior block. She easily got bored with the classroom, turned her attention to the door and opted to watch as students trickled into the classroom. 

Merit walked in first hand-in-hand with his twin sister, Mabel. Where other seniors wore pencil trousers and skin tight shirts, he opted for baggy clothes. It didn't help that he always tucked in making him look like a stuffed animal whenever the harmattan wind announced its arrival. Mabel who was latched onto his hand was whispering something to him which made the huge boy burst into laughter.

Bella waved at them when they looked towards her direction before looking back at the door. The slightest smile on her face was immediately replaced with a frown directed to the student who was speaking to someone at the door. She decided to sidestep him and tapped Benita who already went back to studying.

"I'm going" she told Benita when she looked up at her.

"Alright. See you later" Benita replied, her attention back to her textbook even before she finished the sentence. Bella shook her head at her and headed for the door. Nothing could come between Benita and books sometimes.

She was already behind him but smacked right into his chest when he abruptly dismissed the student and turned around.

"Hi" Bella was forced to greet.

"Hello" Franklin greeted flashing her a smile. "How are you doing?" he asked.

Bella sighed. Why wasn't things going her way today of all days?

"Fine," she replied, not returning the smile.

"You sure?"

"Yes" she replied again keeping the answers short, eager to get away.

"So about my proposal two days ago..."

Bella cut him off. "My answer is still no."

"But why?"

"Reasons best known to me" she answered, stalking off at the same time the bell rang for break over.
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