CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY: THE BEGINNING OF US
There were some moments in life that seemed ordinary while they were happening.
You did not know they were important.
You did not know they would become memories.
You did not know that years later, you would look back and remember exactly where you stood, who was beside you and how the air felt around you.
I think that was what made life beautiful.
You never knew when an ordinary moment was secretly becoming the beginning of something extraordinary.
That morning began like any other.
The final term of SS3 was moving quickly, and the entire school seemed to be caught between excitement and anxiety.
Our final examinations were approaching.
Teachers were constantly reminding us to revise.
Prefects were becoming stricter.
Students were discussing life after secondary school.
Everyone seemed to have somewhere else to go.
Some were talking about universities.
Some were discussing courses.
Others had no idea what they wanted yet.
As for me, I was simply trying to enjoy the moments I had left.
I woke up early that morning and sat quietly on my bunk.
Gift was still asleep below me.
The hostel was unusually peaceful.
I looked around.
Thirty girls.
Fifteen bunk beds.
The same walls that had witnessed arguments, laughter, tears, whispered secrets and countless mornings.
I smiled.
This place had been part of my life for years.
I would miss it.
Even the things I had once hated.
The early mornings.
The crowded bathrooms.
The hostel inspections.
The endless sweeping.
The noisy evenings.
The arguments over bed spaces.
The laughter that sometimes continued long after lights-out.
All of it had become part of my story.
I climbed down from my bunk.
Gift stirred.
"What time is it?"
"Early."
"That is not a time."
I laughed.
"Go back to sleep."
She pulled her blanket over her head.
"I love you, but I hate mornings."
I smiled.
"I know."
I got ready for the day.
Something about that morning felt different.
I couldn't explain it.
Perhaps it was simply the knowledge that we were nearing the end.
At assembly, the principal gave another speech about responsibility.
He reminded us that SS3 students were approaching the final stage of their secondary education.
"Your time here is almost over," he said.
I looked around at my classmates.
Some were listening carefully.
Others were trying not to yawn.
Victoria was whispering something to Morayo.
Gift was standing beside me.
And across the assembly ground, I noticed Samuel.
For a moment, our eyes met.
He smiled.
I smiled back.
There was no pain.
No bitterness.
Just recognition.
We had once been everything to each other.
Now we were simply two people who had shared an important part of their lives.
And somehow, that was enough.
After assembly, we returned to class.
Our teacher announced that we would be doing a final group discussion before the next round of examinations.
When the groups were announced, Daniel and I ended up together again.
Victoria laughed when she saw the arrangement.
"You two again?"
Daniel looked at her.
"What is wrong with that?"
"Nothing."
She smiled knowingly.
I rolled my eyes.
"Don't start."
"I haven't said anything."
"You were about to."
Daniel laughed.
Our group settled down to work.
For the next hour, we discussed the topic, argued over ideas and corrected one another.
Daniel made a ridiculous suggestion.
I rejected it.
He argued.
I rejected it again.
Victoria eventually said, "Just let Floral win."
Daniel looked offended.
"Why?"
"Because she will keep arguing until you surrender."
I laughed.
Daniel shook his head.
"You've all formed a conspiracy against me."
"Yes," I said.
He smiled.
"I don't mind."
I looked at him.
Something about the way he said it made me pause.
He looked away.
I returned to my notes.
But my heart had begun beating slightly faster.
During break, Gift, Victoria, Morayo, Daniel and I sat together.
The conversation moved from schoolwork to everything else.
Morayo talked about her plans after secondary school.
Victoria disagreed with half of them.
Gift complained about the food.
Daniel said the food was actually improving.
Everyone stared at him.
He immediately corrected himself.
"Fine. It is not improving."
We burst into laughter.
For a while, I simply watched everyone.
These people had become my world.
Gift, who had once been connected to me through rivalry, had become one of my closest friends.
Victoria and Morayo, who had once struggled to get along with me, were now among the people I trusted.
Daniel had started as a friend.
Then he had become the person I could talk to without thinking twice.
And Samuel…
Samuel had been my first love.
My first real heartbreak.
My first lesson that loving someone did not necessarily mean they would remain in your life forever.
I looked around the table.
I realised something.
I was grateful.
For all of it.
Even the painful parts.
That afternoon, after classes, I was returning a book to the classroom when Samuel called my name.
"Floral."
I turned.
He stood a few steps away.
"Can we talk?"
I nodded.
We walked towards a quieter part of the compound.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Samuel smiled.
"You look happy."
I smiled faintly.
"I am."
He nodded.
"I can see that."
I waited.
He looked down.
"I've thought about everything we talked about."
"And?"
"I understand."
I looked at him.
"You don't have to keep apologising."
"I know."
He paused.
"But I wanted to say something anyway."
I waited.
"I loved you."
My chest tightened slightly.
"I know."
"And part of me still wishes I could go back and change things."
I said nothing.
"But I also know that I can't."
He looked at me.
"You've moved on."
I smiled gently.
"I've healed."
He nodded.
"I think that's different."
"It is."
He gave a small laugh.
"I used to think losing you meant I had failed."
I looked at him.
"Maybe we just weren't meant to last forever."
He considered that.
"Maybe."
There was a long silence.
Then he said, "Is there someone else?"
The question was gentle.
Not accusing.
I hesitated.
"I don't know."
He smiled.
"That's an honest answer."
"I don't want to rush anything."
"You shouldn't."
He looked towards the field.
"I'm glad you're happy."
I smiled.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
Then he said something I never expected.
"I hope he treats you better than I did."
I looked at him.
There was no bitterness in his face.
Only acceptance.
"I hope so too."
We both laughed softly.
Then Samuel held out his hand.
I looked at it for a second before shaking it.
"Goodbye, Floral."
"Goodbye, Samuel."
And that was it.
No dramatic goodbye.
No tears.
No desperate promises.
Just closure.
When I walked away, I realised that sometimes closure wasn't about forgetting.
It was about finally being able to remember without wanting to return.
Samuel had been a chapter of my life.
A meaningful one.
A painful one.
A beautiful one.
But a chapter nonetheless.
And I was ready to turn the page.
That evening, after prep, I was walking towards the hostel when I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned.
Daniel.
He slowed down when he reached me.
"Floral."
"Hi."
"Can I walk with you?"
"Of course."
We began walking.
For a while, he said nothing.
That was unusual.
I glanced at him.
"You're quiet."
"I'm thinking."
"That's dangerous."
He laughed.
"I knew you'd say that."
We continued walking.
Then he stopped.
I stopped too.
"What?"
He looked nervous.
Really nervous.
I had never seen him like that before.
"There is something I need to tell you."
My heart began beating faster.
He took a breath.
"I've wanted to say this for a while."
I waited.
"When we first became friends, I didn't think anything of it."
I smiled slightly.
"I know."
"But then we started talking more."
He looked at me.
"And I realised I liked being around you."
I remained silent.
"Not because you were Samuel's girlfriend."
His voice was steady now.
"Not because I felt sorry for you after the breakup."
He shook his head.
"I liked you because you were you."
My heart thudded.
Daniel continued.
"I liked the way you laughed. I liked how stubborn you were. I liked how you argued with me over everything."
I laughed softly.
"You do argue a lot."
"I know."
He smiled.
"And somewhere along the way, being your friend became one of the best parts of my day."
I looked at him.
He swallowed.
"I didn't want to tell you too soon because you had just been hurt. I didn't want you to think I was trying to replace Samuel."
"You didn't."
"I know that now."
He paused.
"I don't expect you to answer immediately."
I stared at him.
"Daniel…"
"You don't have to say anything."
I smiled.
"You talk too much when you're nervous."
He laughed.
"I know."
I looked down for a moment.
Then I looked back at him.
"I like you too."
His expression changed immediately.
"You do?"
I laughed.
"Yes."
He stared at me as though he couldn't believe it.
"But…"
His smile faded slightly.
"But?"
"I don't want what we have to become something rushed."
He nodded immediately.
"I don't either."
"I don't want to be with you because you were there after Samuel."
"You're not."
"I don't want to compare you to him."
"You don't have to."
"And I don't want us to pretend everything will be perfect."
Daniel smiled.
"Nothing is perfect."
I laughed.
"Exactly."
He looked at me.
"So…"
"So?"
"Does this mean…"
I smiled.
"Yes."
His smile widened.
"Really?"
"Yes."
He laughed softly.
I had never seen him look that happy.
Then he held out his hand.
I looked at it.
This time, I took it.
His hand was warm.
The moment was simple.
No crowd.
No dramatic music.
No grand declaration.
Just two people standing beneath the evening sky, finally admitting what had been quietly growing between them.
When I entered the hostel, Gift looked at me immediately.
She narrowed her eyes.
I tried to walk past her.
"Floral."
I stopped.
"What?"
"Why are you smiling like that?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do."
I tried not to laugh.
She stood up.
"Tell me."
I looked at her.
"Daniel told me how he feels."
Her mouth fell open.
"And?"
I smiled.
"I told him I like him too."
Gift screamed.
Several girls turned towards us.
"Keep your voice down!"
She grabbed my hands.
"I knew it!"
I laughed.
Victoria and Morayo came rushing over.
"What happened?"
Gift looked at them.
"Floral and Daniel!"
Victoria screamed.
Morayo started laughing.
Suddenly everyone wanted to know what had happened.
I covered my face.
"You people are too much."
Gift hugged me.
"I am so happy for you."
I smiled.
For once, I wasn't afraid.
I wasn't wondering whether it would last.
I wasn't thinking about what could go wrong.
I wasn't comparing this feeling to anything I had experienced before.
I was simply happy.
Later that night, I lay on my bunk.
The hostel had finally become quiet.
I stared at the ceiling.
I thought about the girl I had been months ago.
The girl who had loved Samuel so deeply that she believed losing him would destroy her.
The girl who had cried when their relationship ended.
The girl who had wondered whether she would ever feel normal again.
I wished I could speak to her.
I would tell her something.
I would tell her that heartbreak was not the end.
That losing someone did not mean losing yourself.
That some people were meant to stay.
Some were meant to leave.
And some would arrive quietly when you least expected them.
I smiled.
Daniel.
His name brought warmth to my heart.
I didn't know what the future would bring.
University.
New friends.
New responsibilities.
New challenges.
Maybe distance.
Maybe difficult days.
Maybe arguments.
Maybe moments when we would have to choose patience over pride.
I knew life would not suddenly become perfect because we were together.
But I also knew something else.
This time, I was entering love as myself.
Not as somebody desperate to be chosen.
Not as somebody afraid of being abandoned.
Not as somebody trying to hold another person together.
I was entering it as Floral.
Whole.
Stronger.
Older.
Wiser.
And ready.
The next morning, the school grounds looked brighter.
Or maybe I was simply seeing them differently.
I walked towards class with Gift.
When I entered, Daniel was already seated at the far end beside Gift's usual position.
He looked towards me.
I smiled.
He smiled back.
Nothing about the classroom had changed.
The desks were still there.
The board was still covered with yesterday's writing.
The teachers would still give us assignments.
The examinations were still approaching.
School life was still school life.
But something inside me had changed.
I took my seat.
Daniel caught my eye from across the room.
He mouthed, "Hi."
I smiled.
"Hi."
Gift noticed.
She shook her head.
"You two are already annoying."
I laughed.
Maybe we were.
Maybe that was okay.
Months later, I knew I would remember this school.
I would remember the hostel.
The classrooms.
The assembly ground.
The teachers.
The laughter.
The arguments.
The examinations.
The friendships.
The tears.
The first love that taught me what love felt like.
The heartbreak that taught me how strong I could become.
And the friendship that quietly became something more.
I had once believed that the end of a relationship was the end of a story.
I was wrong.
Sometimes, an ending was simply the place where another story began.
Samuel had been my first love.
Daniel became my next chapter.
But before either of them, there had always been me.
And perhaps that was the most important thing I had learned.
I did not need another person to complete my story.
They could become part of it.
They could add laughter.
They could add memories.
They could walk beside me.
But the story was still mine.
I smiled as Daniel walked towards me.
He reached out his hand.
I took it.
And together, we walked across the school grounds.
Not knowing exactly where life would take us.
Not knowing what the future held.
But knowing that, for now, we were choosing each other.
Indeed this all boarding school experiences can be said as my boarding school love dramas. lol