"Chantel! Hurry before you get late for school. The driver is waiting by the car," her mother shouted, waiting for Chantel to bring the rest of her things down.

"I'm coming, mother," Chantel replied, rushing down with her travelling bag in one hand, and her bag pack in another. She was dressed in a pink and white striped dress, reaching her knees.

She got closer to her mother, who hugged her tightly. "I am so proud of you, sweetheart. And I know your father is proud of you as well."

"Thank you mother. And I promise to always make you proud, no matter what," Chantel replied, happily.

"I know you will. You have never disappointed me, so I trust you. My dear, please, remember everything I have told you and be a good girl, like the way you always have been."

"I will, mother. I will never disappoint you ever. I promise you." She hugged her mother again, who hugged her back with tears in her eyes.

"Well, you have to go now, before you are late to your new school. I would not want your teachers to think that you are a late comer, it will create a bad first impression," her mother said and Chantel laughed.

"Yes, mother. That will be terrible, wouldn't it? Alright mother, I will be going now. But, why don't you come with me, mother? I want you to be there with me, when I go to this school. I really want you to be there, mother."

Chantel had a sad look on her face. She wanted her mother to be with her when she goes to the high school of her choice. She wanted that, with all her heart. Yet, she understood why her mother couldn't be with her.

"Chantel, my dear, you know why I can't go with you. I really wish I could come, but, I will be travelling in the next 3 hours, and that means I can't make this trip. But, I promise you, I will come and visit you as soon as I come back, alright?"

Chantel nodded and smiled, even though, she felt disappointed. She hugged her mother one last time and walked out, with her mother following right behind her. She put the last of her bag in the car trunk, and turned to her mother, who still had a smile on her face. She hugged her again, and went to sit inside the car. She took her head out the window, and waved her mother goodbye. Her mother waved her back till the car left the compound and was no longer in sight. Her mother then returned to the house, to prepare for her trip abroad.

Chantel was sitting behind the driver, with a dull look on her face. She was very excited about going to this school, yet she felt so nervous.

"Miss Chantel, are you okay? You look sad," the driver stared in the mirror, looking at Chantel's reflection.

"I am fine. It's just that, I feel nervous. I really like this school, that is why I chose it. But, this is the first time I am moving away from home, and I don't know how to feel about it, uncle Roger," she confessed.

"Listen, Miss. I know you and you are one of the brightest kids I know. Moving away from home can be very scary, I can tell you that. But, this is your dream. You have always wanted this and by God's grace, you have it. Just savor the moment and enjoy yourself. By the way, you will still come back and see your family during the holidays. So don't worry, okay?" Roger replied.

"But, what if the kids I meet there don't like me? What if I don't make any friends? You know how hard it is for me to make new friends. That is why I decided to make mother my best friend. She understands me. I just don't know what to do," she furrowed her brows.

"Miss, I am sure the kids won't be that bad. You will surely make friends there. Just believe in yourself," Roger encouraged her.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Roger. I feel better now. I will try to make new friends as you have said," Chantel said.

Chantel was happy with how far she had come. Back when she was in junior high school, her mates did not like her that much because she was very intelligent. She always hit the highest grades in her class, so, all her teachers loved her and most of them would compare her with other girls. This made her mates, jealous of her. Some of them started spreading rumors that Chantel was a witch, who had taken the intelligence of all the other students and added it to her own.

Because of these rumors, all her mates shunned her. This hurt her very much. Some of the students started bullying her and calling her names and it was beginning to affect her studies. Her teachers noticed this and told her parents, who tried to get her out of the school. At first, Chantel agreed to leave. But, she realised she would be making a terrible mistake if she did.

So, she stayed. After their final exams, she came out as the best student of her school and won a full scholarship to study in any senior high school of her choice. That's how she got admitted in The Queens senior high school. The school she had always dreamed about.

Even though Chantel had a bad experience in junior high school, she was determined to make a difference in this school. Roger was right. She is a bright student so she will definitely know how to handle herself.

After 4 hours of travelling, they were finally at the school compound. Today was the day all first year students were to report. Chantel knew she was late, so, she hurriedly got down from the car. She ran to the back, while Roger opened the trunk for her. She managed to take out her two big bags and a smaller one which contained her books and clothes.

They stood there, looking around when a girl approached them.

"Hello, are you new here?" the girl asked, turning to Chantel.

"Yes, sorry. I just arrived, and I don't know where to go. Can you help me?" she said, looking embarrassed.

"Sure. You are a first year student, right? Anyway, my name is Cynthia. I am a first year student too," the girl said and stretched out her hand.

"Chantel." Chantel took her hand and shook it.

" Well, Chantel. Please follow me, you are supposed to go that way. The administration is right ahead," Cynthia pointed to a building, in front of them.

Cynthia helped Chantel carry one of her bags, while Roger carried another, with Chantel carrying the small one. Cynthia led them to the administration block, where Chantel was able to register for her class. Cynthia waited till she was done, and ran up to her.

"I guess you are already done. So, which dormitory will you be in? Cynthia asked.

"It seems I got the Addy-wood dormitory."

"Really? That is where I am. Wait? Are you the other student, with whom I will be sharing a bed with?" Cynthia asked.

"What?"

"No, don't get me wrong. But, we were told a scholarship student from Accra will be sharing a bed with me. And I just wanted to know if you were the one," Cynthia explained, looking embarrassed.

"It's okay, Cynthia. Let me check, I might be the one. That is, if you are in room 4?"

"Yes, I am. Oh God. I am so excited to have finally met you. Come, let me take you there and introduce you to the rest of the girls." Cynthia said excitedly, while Chantel and Roger followed behind her.

Cynthia led Chantel and Roger into the room. It was not too huge and neither was it too small. Let's say, it was just right. There were three bunker beds in the room and the two on one side of the room were already occupied by four students, the other one was empty.

Cynthia pointed to the empty bed. "That is our bed, over there. I will be sleeping on the top, so I guess you will take the one down. Anyway, you can place your bags at the side."

Roger placed the bags on the side of the bed and asked to leave.

"Thank you so much, Uncle Roger," Chantel said.

"Well, I will let your mother and father know that you are here safely. Please, Miss, take care of yourself. And, don't forget to pray all the time, okay?" Roger held her and hugged her, as the others in the room, looked on.

After Roger left the room, Cynthia decided to introduce Chantel to the other girls. She started from the right.

"So, this is Mavis, Sharon, Grace, Beatrice and Adiepena, who also happens to be my best friend," she said, jumping in excitement.

All the girls in the room said hello to her. Then a girl lying on the lower part of the second bed, jumped up and walked towards the two girls.

"So, you are the girl from Accra? The one on scholarship?" she asked.

"Yes I am. I guess everyone already knows about me," Chantel answered.

"Yes, everyone knows. And we all have been expecting to meet you. So, welcome to the Addy-Wood dormitory. And welcome to the Queens," the girl, Adiepena said.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it," Chantel looked down, with her cheeks flustered.

"You know, I already like you. You look like a nice girl, and I am sure Adiepena likes you too. We are all going to be really good friends," Cynthia nudged Chantel on the elbow, making her look up and smile.

They all sit on Chantel's bed and start conversing with each other. Cynthia looked happy. She was excited about everything. But, Adiepena looked calmer and matured. She happens to be the oldest amongst the three, so it was expected.

Both Adiepena and Cynthia were studying general arts but Chantel chose to study home economics.

"So, why did you choose home economics? You look like a science girl," Cynthia shrugged her shoulders.

"I do like science, but I want to be a fashion designer and open my own fashion house both home and abroad. That has been my dream for as long as I can remember," Chantel explained to them, while both girls nodded in reply.

"That's good. For me, I want to be an entertainment journalist. I want to cover any news that has to do with entertainment. From fashion, to movies and music... everything," Cynthia said.

"I want to be a teacher," Adiepena also added.

"Why did you both choose to those professions?" Chantel asked both of them.

"Because I love everything that has to do with entertainment, duh."

"And I love children, that's why I want to teach them. I want every child to have an education and I want to be a part of that," Adiepena said.

"That's really good, Adiepena. It's very noble. It's amazing how we are all taught by teachers and yet, no student wants to be a teacher," Chantel said.

"Except Adiepena," Cynthia joked, making all of them laugh.

They continued to chat and laugh while the other girls in the room continued with whatever they were doing. Chantel was glad to have friends. These girls were good and she knew she could trust them. What made her even happier was the fact that this girls did not care about her been rich or intelligent than they were.

"Our classes happen to start next week. So, we have the whole of this week to settle down and look around. And, I think there will be an orientation, at least, that is what I learnt," Adiepena announced.

Cynthia and Chantel both nodded.

As they were talking, a girl, followed by two other girls walked in. She was in a white shirt and pink skirt which was above her knee. She looked around in disgust, as if she was smelling something bad in the room. She spotted Chantel and the girls and walked up to them.

"Well, well, who do we have here? A new comer just joined in, right?" the girl sneered.

Chantel, being as shy as she is, did not like being the center of attention. So, she did not realise immediately that she was the one the girl was referring to.

"Hey, girl in the middle! I am talking to you. Are you deaf, or what?" the girl shouted, gaining the attention of the other girls in the room.

"I-I am sorry. I did not know you were talking to me. I-I am sorry," Chantel stood up quickly and apologised. She felt very embarrassed.

"So, you are the girl I hear is coming here on a full scholarship? I have been waiting to see you and now here you are. I thought you would be beautiful, but you look ordinary," the girl continued, making the other girls with her laugh.

"I guess I am. Please, if you don't mind, can I know who you are?" Chantel asked meekly.

"Oh, the girl wants to know who I am. Anyway, I am Nadia, the original queen of this dormitory. The most prettiest girl every guy will want to have," she said and laughed.

Chantel looked very uncomfortable with the situation. She began to shake slightly, and Cynthia noticed it. It was Junior high school over again. She felt a panic attack coming on but she tried to keep it on a cool level.

Cynthia held her hand and stood up beside her. "Senior Nadia, erm, please, forgive Chantel. She just came in from Accra. It has been a long journey for her. Maybe that's why she is not that responsive to you. So, please forgive her." Cynthia suddenly looked serious. Her smiling face had suddenly disappeared.

Nadia just looked them up and down and rolled her eyes. She moved towards Chantel, making sure she was very close to her.

"The fact that you are coming from Accra does not mean you are higher than us. And the fact that you are also here on scholarship does not mean you can do whatever you want. Just make sure, you don't cross my path, because if you do, I will make sure you regret the day you were born," Nadia suddenly frowned and left with the other two girls with her.

Chantel let out the breath she was holding. She suddenly felt sad and had the urge to cry. Cynthia rubbed her shoulder.

"Are you okay? You looked like you were about to pass out," Cynthia looked at her worriedly and helped her to sit back down.

"I don't get why that senior is like that. We just came in and she is already making us feel like children. Who does she think she is?" Adiepena suddenly said.

"Don't mind her, okay? Don't let her get to you. She is just jealous that you are here on scholarship. And about what she said about your beauty, I tell you, you are much more beautiful than she is. She is just jealous," Cynthia consoled Chantel.

"Thank you. It's... It's just that, back in junior high, I had lots of people attacking me most of the time because they said I was a witch. It was really hard for me there. So, meeting senior Nadia kind of triggered that memory," Chantel explained.

"Really? That is terrible. I thought the people in the capital city were much better than that. Why would they do that?" Cynthia furrowed her brows.

"It does not matter what happened there. This is Takoradi. And we are your friends. We will not let anyone hurt you here, for no reason," Adiepena assured her.

Cynthia nodded and Chantel smiled, flushing her cute dimples.

The following week was a very busy one. Chantel and the girls have already started their classes and they had been given the subjects they will be taking in their respective classes. When Chantel had her timetable, she realised she will have to choose between catering and sewing and she chose sewing with much delight. Her mother promised to bring her sewing supplies to her over the weekend, so she was much more excited.

The weekend came with much swiftness. Every girl in the dormitory were at the back of the building, in the open space, washing their dirty clothes. One would have expected Chantel to stay indoors, but, Chantel was not like the other rich spoilt girls. She had the beauty, and she had the skills as well. She knew how to do everything for herself because her mother taught her well.

She packed all the dirty clothes she wore over the week and went outside with the others to wash. Washing her clothes was not a big chore for her, in fact, she always had fun doing it. And moreover, her parents loved her for it. They basically loved her for everything she could do.

She and the girls, brought out their big pans, and started washing together. Chantel washed, Cynthia washed it again for the second time while Adiepena rinsed and dried them. They had a hearty chat as they continued washing. They were almost done when a girl came to inform Chantel that her mother had arrived.

"My mother is here?" she asked, with a big smile on her face.

"Yes, she is at the parking lot waiting for you," the girl answered.

Chantel quickly cleaned her hands with one of her dirty clothes. Adiepena and Cynthia offered to help her carry whatever her mother had brought, but she politely refused and told them it won't be much and that she would not take long. She followed the girl to the parking lot.

As soon as she spotted her mother, she ran to her and hugged her.

"Mother, I missed you so much. How was your trip and how is father?"

"Your father is fine and my trip went well. It's been just a week you left the house and you already miss me? I wonder what will happen if you don't see me in six months?" Her mother joked, letting go of her.

Chantel smiled. Her mother's visit made her happy. She wished her father was here with her, holding her tight and telling her how much he missed her. Chantel loved her mother to death, but she was a daddy's girl. Her mother was her friend and companion but her father was her partner in crime. And her father loved her very much too.

Her father, Mr Asare was on a business trip. He was in Canada, overseeing  his branches there and meeting new investors. She was really happy that her father's new business was picking up but due to the distance, she would not be able to see him like she used to.

"I know you miss him. Don't worry, he will be home and will come to see you by the time you open your eyes and close them," her mother said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I know, mom. I know he will be here to see me. But, I can't help it. I miss him so much. It's been a month since he left, and it has been lonely without him," Chantel confessed.

Her mother nodded knowingly. She had gone to meet up with Chantel's father and bought few things Chantel would need for her class. While she was there, Mr Asare did not stop talking about how much he missed his only daughter. Not being able to see her bothered him so much, yet there was nothing he could do about it.

"He did not stop telling me how much he misses you. He really wishes he was here too. Believe me. As I said, don't worry, he will be here to see you when he comes back."

Chantel only smiled and nodded at her mother. She knew her father will come to see her and he always kept his promises so, it did not bother her one bit.

Mrs Asare opened the car door and Chantel peeked in. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Her mother had bought a lot of things for her. She bought her a sewing machine, a new sketch book, sewing supplies and some text books. She got her another back pack and two new pairs of shoes.

"Oh Ma, you did not need to bring me all these. I only needed my machine and books, that's it."

"I know. But I just felt I should get you new shoes and the bag."

"But I already have five pairs of shoes which I have worn just one. I don't think I need extra ones. And my back pack is absolutely fine. No need to buy me a new one," Chantel complained.

Her mother just laughed. "Oh my child. You are still so modest. Just accept these ones and I promise I will not buy another one till you ask for it."

Chantel knew her mother will still buy new things for her anyway because there was no where Chantel will ask for them on her own. She smiled and shook her head. She was beginning to regret not allowing the girls help her. Now, she will have to carry all those things by herself, all the way to the dormitory.

Uncle Roger had not come with her mother which meant her mother drove all the way there by herself. Roger was a driver assigned to her because her mother did not want anyone driving her around town. She always said it was a waste of time and money, yet she did not hesitate to buy things Chantel never really needed.

Chantel decided to pack the books to the dorm first. They were very heavy books but she still insisted on carrying them. Mrs Asare stood by the car and waited for her to come back. She made two turns as she made her way to her dorm. As she was about to make the final turn, she bumped into someone, making some of the books fall on the floor.

"I am so sorry. I did not mean to bump into you. Please let me help you pack them," the person offered.

"No-No, it's okay. I should not have carried all these books at a goal. I nearly crashed you with my books. I should be the one apologising," she stared at the boy who was already bending down to pick the rest of the books from the ground.

The boy stood up straight and stared Chantel right in the eyes. Chantel stared right back, enchanted with the boy's eyes and looks. She had never seen such beautiful brown eyes ever in her life. So, seeing one, up close like this, almost brought her to her knees.

The boy also stared at the beautiful girl in front of him. He was so mesmerized by her beauty. He thought he would get lost in it forever till he was able to find his voice again.

"Do you want me to help you? I bet those books you are carrying weigh a lot," the boy offered.

"Thank you very much. But, I am fine. I am almost at my dorm, so don't worry about it," she smiled affectionately at him, making him smile back.

"Well, at least, why don't you tell me your name?" the boy asked, still smiling.

"Chantel. My name is Chantel."

"Nice to meet you, Chantel. I am Kevin Owusu. I am from the kings high school and I came to see a friend here," Kevin introduced himself.

Chantel could not stop staring at Kevin. She began to wonder what was going on with her. Why was Kevin's presence suddenly make her heart beat faster? She tried as much as she could not to stare into his eyes, to no avail. The boy before her had the most gorgeous eyes and she had fallen into them deeply.