It had been a week since Nkem's confession but things hadn't changed for the better for Cheta. They got worse and nothing he did or said seemed to restore the convivial relationship he had with Nkem.

They barely spoke before class or recess and did not share their lunch anymore. Cheta felt even lonelier than he had been in the past. His whole life around school revolved around Nkem but now, he realised how alone he was.

Nkem also became a shell of herself. Her hearty cheers of his artistic expression were gone. High-praise for excelling in his studies were non existent. It felt like they had become strangers anew.

Cheta had gone to Nkem's house every morning to pick her up as usual, but each day, he met the same response as the former "Oh! She has gone to school "

He felt like a cheat, swindling her off her new bike and letting her walk to school. Cheta had vowed that he was going to return the bicycle to Nkem after the last day and was determined to see it through.

He had barely made any attempts to speak to Nkem throughout the day. The cold replies he received in the past drew his lips shut. There was no need knocking on a sealed door.

A teacher's voice drew Cheta out of his thoughts and his eyes met Nkem's briefly before he looked away.

"Now who can transcribe these words on the board" Everyone knew that the question was more of an inquest to fish out students who didn't pay any attention at all in class. The teacher seemed to avoid the confident hands that were waving and trying to garner his attention while his gaze stayed on the less confident ones who half raised their hands and the ones like Cheta whose hands were safely tucked in beside their bodies.

The few hands that were raised remained up and the teacher finally settled in front of Cheta who was now at an alert.

"You! Transcribe these words first one" The teacher pointed at Cheta and handed over to him a piece of white chalk which he took and walked slowly to the board.

He could hear hushed jeers and teases, a trait that always surfaced whenever his peers aimed to embarrass him.

Cheta's gait was slow and confident as he baited the reactions from his peers. Transcription had been one of the many lessons he had received from Nkem and his constant use of the dictionary in his spelling endeavours had placed him at an advantage. He could remember the first time he saw the symbols in the dictionary and how amazed he had been at Nkem's knowledge of them.

His admiration of Nkem's brilliance impelled him to study more. Chetanna stared at the words on the board which read: PART, BIRD, HARD, CAT, MAKE.

He turned back to his teacher and asked a question that threw the whole class into a fit of laughter. " Sir which one should I transcribe?"

He sought Nkem's face amidst the crowd and was pleased that she had not laughed with the others. Maybe she still felt some sort of loyalty towards him despite their differences. Or it could be because only she truly understood what he was capable of.

" See how you're asking as if you can do all of them. The teacher replied sarcastically drawing more hoots and cheers from his classmates.

"Should I do all sir?" He enquired anew oblivious of his teacher's jest.

"Okay, Chetanna do all"

All the heads in class turned to Cheta as he wrote on the board.

He phonetically transcribed each word, encasing them in two slashes as he had learned from Nkem.

"PART → /pɑːt/
BIRD → /bɜːd/
HARD → /hɑːd/
CAT → /kæt/
MAKE → /meɪk/"

The class fell silent as Chetanna walked back to the teacher to hand over the piece of depleted chalk and wait for the assessment of his answers.

He could see their astonishments and even Ekene's mouth was wide open. The teacher stood gaping at Cheta's answers and when he had recomposed from his surprise, he commanded the class to give Cheta a round of applause.

Chetanna caught a glimpse of Nkem's face which harboured a smile and he wished that the events of that afternoon would help mend their relationship. Afterall, she was the reason why he was receiving accolades from his peers.

"I am impressed! Deeply impressed by this! How did you learn so fast? Even Ekene here had proclaimed these symbols as similar to writing mandarin"

The class laughed hard at Ekene who bowed his head in shame.

"I learnt from Nkem and the dictionary" Cheta's response led to an applause for Nkem and a long reprimanding of his classmates who did not make good use of their OXFORD dictionaries.

The teacher ended the class on a positive note encouraging the other students to emulate Chetanna and Nkem.

The rest of his classmates swarmed Nkem after class and when they shared a glance, she nodded in approbation. A gesture that warmed his heart greatly. There were no words yet but he knew that Nkem was a proud teacher.

As the students dispersed with Nkem, Cheta was left in the classroom alone until he was approached by Janet who was eager to learn from him.

Cheta found it odd that she had come to him and not Nkem who was obviously the smartest person in class. But when Janet explained that Nkem was indisposed, he gladly accepted.

He had never taught anyone before and deep down he was thrilled that he had become a somewhat brilliant student who could now share knowledge with his peers. It has been a mere dream before the arrival of Nkem, one that he never believed would be possible.

"You can't sit there" He spoke abruptly, startling Janet who practically jumped off the bench. Cheta apologised for his tone and suggested that they moved to her own bench.

Chetanna felt it was inappropriate for Janet to share the same bench with him and he did with Nkem. It didn't matter that he was not speaking with her at the time, it was only ideal that she was the one allowed to seat beside him.

Janet and Cheta studied together as he showed her the basics about the phonetic symbol and she practiced.

"Nkem says once you master the symbols, you can even transcribe long sentences" Cheta harped on about the words as they practiced.

Janet began to laugh at Cheta while he paused unable to comprehend her the reason amusement.

"You really like Nkem" She finally opined as Cheta grew quiet. "You have mentioned her name a thousand times today"

"She is my friend of course I like her" Cheta retorted in his defence.

Janet chuckled and shook her head as she caught wind of Cheta's discomfort. It was so obvious that he had feelings for Nkem.

"Boys! You are all the same. You feel something for Nkem. I think everyone in this class knows that but you!

I mean, see the way you chased me from your bench! Or do I even start recanting how many times you have side eyed any boy who breathes near Nkem"

Cheta grew quiet as he rehashed his actions in his mind towards his peers when they approach Nkem.

"I don't think we will work out. Nobody likes me and I don't want people to say I am using her"

It had been the first time that Cheta admitted his feelings to anyone else but the winds and bushes.

"Nkem likes you. everyone knows it. I don't even know what two of you are doing? You two are like a couple already. You do everything together in this class."

Cheta quietly acknowledged her perception and they continued to learn.

Nkem was the first to return to the class and when she did, she barely acknowledged the pair before walking away.

"Is there any trouble in your paradise?" Janet asked as she watched Nkem walk away.

Chetanna explained everything that had happened between them and Janet laughed at his actions.

"Chetanna, you deserve a beating!" She had finally opined leaving Cheta even more distraught.

"I have seen what you can do Janet, I hope it is not a threat"

"I wish I could, because you are a big fool" Janet continued

"I have said that to myself a lot of times" Cheta answered bowing his head in shame

" You laughed at her called her a drunk!"

"What do I do to make things right?"

"I think she is just disappointed and angry with herself not you. You need to tell her how you feel about her"

Those words seemed harder than the math equations they had begun to learn in school. It seemed impossible from Cheta's perspective and feared that Nkem would never believe him.

That day after school dismissal, he waited behind to give back Nkem's bicycle and apologise for his actions on the day she had shared her feelings.

Nkem barely paid any attention to what he shared about the bicycle. He could tell that she was visibly upset with him. But how did things turn from bad to worse? Even the smile she shared earlier that gave him an iota of hope was gone.He didn't quite understand why she was in a haste to leave.

Nkem took the bicycle and thanked him without hearing the rest of what he had to say and as he watched her pedal away, his heart began to boil when he saw Ekene riding towards her with his own bicycle.

Chetanna walked home feeling dejected and even felt worse by the time he had reached home because he was soaking wet. The heavens also decided to punish him for his actions.

He was quiet during meal time and even though his mother sang his praises owing to the feedback she had received from Chinazom about what she overheard teachers saying about him, he felt no need to rejoice.

He had refused his dinner of beans and garri with two cubes of sugar which his mom had purchased specifically for him. Chetanna feigned sickness when he retired for the night. And even when his stomach sang loudly in the middle of night, he knew better than to approach his mother's kitchen at such odd hours. That night as his stomach grumbled and bellowed, his heart ached in ways that he never knew existed but worse than all, he still could not understand what he was supposed to do to fix things.

Hello Everyone!

A little chapter for you ❤️

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