Small talks and small trouble

It had been one week since Daniel joined the school, and somehow, Ebun was already getting used to having him around.

They sat together every morning, shared notes during classes, and sometimes even walked to the dining hall together — though she always pretended it was a coincidence.

Eri didn’t believe her one bit.

“Babe, stop lying jare,” Eri teased one afternoon in the hostel. “You and that boy are getting close. Next thing now, una go start doing homework together under mango tree.”

Ebun threw her pillow at her. “Eri, get out!”

Eri laughed. “No vex o. I just dey observe love from afar.”

⸻

The next day during lunch break, Daniel and Ebun sat under the big almond tree near the classroom block — their new favorite spot.

Daniel was reading quietly while Ebun munched on gala and coke.

“You like reading too much,” she said, watching him flip through his book.

He smiled. “And you like talking too much.”

She gasped. “Excuse me?”

He laughed. “Okay, sorry. You like gist — better?”

She smirked. “Much better.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while. The wind blew gently, carrying the smell of fried plantain from the canteen nearby.

Then Daniel asked, “So, what do you want to be after school?”

Ebun paused. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe a journalist. I like writing.”

“Figures,” he said. “You’re observant. You notice small things.”

She smiled faintly. “And you?”

He hesitated. “Engineer, maybe. Or pilot. My dad says I should think big.”

Ebun nodded. “You look like someone that’ll do big things sha.”

He turned to her. “And you look like someone that already knows what she wants, even if she pretends not to.”

For some reason, that sentence stayed in her head long after the bell rang.

Later that evening, during prep, the noise in the class was loud as usual students laughing, reading, and gossiping.

Mr. Ade suddenly walked in and shouted, “Quiet! Who is making noise here?”

The whole class went silent.

He looked around and pointed at Daniel and Ebun. “You two, stand up. You were talking!”

Ebun’s heart dropped. “Sir, we weren’t—”

“No excuses. Both of you, outside!”

The class went wild with laughter as they stepped out. Eri gave her a look that said, “You’re on your own.”

Outside, Daniel tried not to laugh. “You see what your talking caused?”

Ebun folded her arms. “It’s your fault! You were the one asking about my handwriting.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, smiling. “Let’s just take the punishment with pride.”

They stood there quietly for a while before Ebun giggled. “You’re smiling again.”

He shrugged. “Maybe it’s because standing with you doesn’t feel like punishment.”

Her laughter faded, replaced by a small flutter in her chest. She looked away quickly, pretending to study the notice board nearby.

Later that night in the hostel, Eri wouldn’t let her rest.

“So how was standing outside with your boo?”

“Eri, please!” Ebun said, burying her face in her pillow.

Eri laughed. “Keep denying, but that’s how all these love stories start o.”

Ebun smiled to herself in the dark, remembering Daniel’s words “standing with you doesn’t feel like punishment.”

And for the first time that term, she actually looked forward to the next day.

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