Chapter 1:THE NEW GIRL
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The first thing Amara noticed about Kingsley Academy was how enormous it was.
The school stood behind tall black gates, surrounded by enormous trees and perfectly trimmed lawns. Students in neat blue-and-white uniforms hurried across the compound, laughing and talking as the morning bell rang.
Amara tightened her grip on her schoolbag.
“New school. New beginning,” she whispered to herself.
She had earned a scholarship to Kingsley Academy after months of studying harder than anyone she knew. Her old school had been small, and she had never imagined herself walking through the gates of a place like this.
As she entered her new classroom, conversations suddenly became quieter.
A girl sitting near the window looked her over.
“She's the scholarship student,” she whispered to her friend.
Amara pretended not to hear.
The teacher walked in.
“Good morning, class.”
“Good morning, ma.”
“Everyone, we have a new student joining us today. Her name is Amara Okafor.”
Amara stood.
“Good morning. My name is Amara. I'm happy to be here.”
A few students smiled.
The teacher pointed toward an empty seat.
“You can sit there.”
Amara walked toward the seat—and stopped.
The only empty chair was beside a boy sitting at the very back of the classroom.
He hadn't looked up once.
His uniform was perfectly neat, but unlike everyone else, he seemed completely uninterested in what was happening around him. He was reading a book underneath his desk.
Amara sat down.
“Hi,” she whispered.
Nothing.
She glanced at him.
“I'm Amara.”
The boy slowly raised his eyes.
“I know.”
Amara blinked.
“You know?”
“The teacher just introduced you.”
“Oh.”
He returned to his book.
Amara frowned slightly.
Okay. Friendly.
The teacher began the lesson.
Twenty minutes later, she wrote a difficult question on the board.
“Who can solve this?”
Nobody raised a hand.
Then, unexpectedly, the boy beside Amara raised his.
He stood and solved the problem in less than a minute.
The classroom went silent.
“Excellent, Daniel,” the teacher said.
So his name was Daniel.
When he sat down, Amara whispered, “You could have helped me.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You didn't ask.”
Amara stared at him for a second.
Then she smiled.
“Fine. Next time, I'll ask.”
For the first time, Daniel almost smiled.
Almost.
Neither of them knew it yet, but that tiny conversation would be the beginning of a friendship neither had expected.
And before the school year ended, Amara would discover that the quiet boy in the last row had a secret that could change everything.
