31/10/2025
CHAPTER THREE
CLASS BANTER
The lecture hall buzzed with low murmurs as students filed in, some settling into the back rows with laughter and chatter, others scanning for the best view of the whiteboard. Amari adjusted her bag, her eyes already set on the second row her usual spot. But Bella tugged at her wrist.
“Let’s sit over there,” Bella said, nodding toward the middle section where her friend group had gathered, girls with full glossed lips, flashy nails, and the kind of laughter that made people turn.
Amari hesitated. “You know I like sitting in front. I can’t concentrate from the middle.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “Come on, just for today. The girls haven’t seen me and Joel together since we made it official. I want them to see how we vibe.”
“I’m not here for the vibe,” Amari said, soft but firm. “I came to learn.”
Bella folded her arms. “So I can’t enjoy my relationship and still be with my friends?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You don’t support me. That’s the truth.”
Amari looked around students were starting to glance their way. Her voice lowered. “You’re making this about something else.”
Before Bella could retort, a hand slipped between them.
“Enough,” Joy said, stepping in with a tight frown. She looped her arm through Amari’s. “Amari, come. It’s not worth it.”
Amari allowed herself to be pulled away, but her heart pounded with frustration. She didn’t like public drama and Bella knew that.
Later, back at the hostel, the common room buzzed with more than just the usual evening banter.
Bella was perched on the edge of her bunk, surrounded by her clique Ifeoma and Precious. Someone had brought up the argument from earlier, and before long, the story had twisted into a spectacle.
“I mean, why’s she always acting like she’s better than us?” Ifeoma asked, chewing on her gum like it owed her money.
Precious scoffed. “Because she gets straight A’s? Please. You know I heard she’s been sneaking around with someone’s man.”
“Whose man?” someone from the corridor called out.
“Maybe she’s eyeing Joel. That’s why she didn’t want Bella sitting with us.”
“No way,” Ifeoma chimed in. “I heard it’s someone else. Someone she’s been hiding.”
By the time Amari walked in, holding her shower bucket and headphones slung around her neck, the laughter stopped. Eyes followed her. Whispers trailed behind her steps.
She paused, sensing it all.
“Wow,” Bella said loudly. “Speak of the devil.”
Amari turned slowly, her gaze locking with Bella’s. “If you have something to say, Bella, say it.”
“Oh, I don’t need to,” Bella replied with a smug smile. “Apparently, you’ve been saying plenty behind everyone’s backs.”
The silence was sharp, stinging.
Amari scanned the room, hurt flickering in her eyes. Then she turned and walked away.
She didn’t owe them anything.
But in the pit of her stomach, she knew this wasn’t the end.
Amari waited until after dinner.
She’d had enough of the whispers, the sideways glances, and the half-muttered comments that stopped whenever she entered a room. Her appetite had disappeared sometime around noon, replaced by a storm brewing in her chest.
Bella was in the common area again, lounging on a chair while Precious braided Ifeoma’s hair on the floor beside her. The laughter and loud music were background noise but it all faded when Amari stepped in.
Her presence silenced the room like someone hit pause on the evening.
“Bella,” she said firmly, not caring about the audience. “We need to talk.”
Bella looked up slowly, brows arched, mouth already curled into a smirk. “Oh? Now you want to talk?”
“Yes. Right now.”
Bella stood, brushing imaginary dust off her shorts. “Say what you need to say, Amari. But don’t think I’ll stay quiet.”
Amari took a breath. “I heard what you and your friends have been saying about me. That I’m a boyfriend sn**cher. That I’m sneaking around.”
“And?” Bella crossed her arms.
“And it’s a lie.” Amari’s voice sharpened. “Joel and I are friends. That’s all we’ve ever been. You know that. You’ve always known that.”
Bella let out a cold laugh. “Best friends that act like you’re glued together? Always whispering, always texting. Always sitting close. What am I supposed to think?”
“That you trust him. And me,” Amari snapped. “Instead, you’re spreading lies and turning people against me.”
“I didn’t spread anything,” Bella said, raising her voice. “People are just finally seeing you for who you are. A hypocrite. Smiling to my face while chasing my boyfriend behind my back.”
“I’m not chasing anyone!” Amari shouted. “And maybe if you weren’t so obsessed with putting on a show for your friends, you’d see that!”
Precious stood now. “Bella, don’t let her twist things.”
Amari ignored her. “You want the truth? Fine. I do have someone. But it’s none of your business. And it’s not Joel. So stop calling me a cheat, stop calling me names, and stop acting like you own people.”
The room went still.
Bella stared at her for a long second eyes wide, mouth trembling, as if she wasn’t sure whether to scream or cry.
“You’re lying,” she said finally. “Trying to cover your tracks.”
“I’m done explaining myself,” Amari said, voice quiet now. Cold.
She turned and walked away.
Behind her, the silence stayed, heavy and thick, until someone muttered under their breath, “This hostel is about to catch fire.”
And they were right.
Because Bella wasn’t going to let it go.
Not now.
The room was dark, quiet. Joy had fallen asleep long ago, her soft breathing rising and falling like background music. Amari lay on her bunk, phone in hand, eyes fixed on the dim light of the screen. Messages had come in earlier some pitiful, some passive-aggressive, none from people who mattered.
Except one.
Jordan
Still awake?
She responded.
Me:
Unfortunately.
Her phone rang almost instantly. She didn’t think she answered.
“Hey,” he said, voice soft, almost like a whisper.
“Hi,” she replied, managing a small smile no one could see.
“You sound tired.”
“I am tired,” she murmured. “Emotionally, mentally… maybe even spiritually.”
Jordan chuckled gently. “Let me guess Queen Bella strikes again?”
“Harder than ever.” Amari turned onto her side, staring at the wall. “She’s on a full-blown PR campaign to drag my name through the dust.”
“What’s the latest headline?”
“That I’m a shameless cheat, juggling my best friend and some mystery guy at the same time.”
Jordan whistled. “Wow. Your villain origin story is unfolding fast.”
“I’m not even mad about the lie,” Amari said, her voice lowering. “I’m mad that people believe her. People I’ve known for years.”
Jordan paused. “You and Bella... were never friends, right?”
“No. Not even close. We’ve known each other since year one. Been in the same classes, crossed paths. That’s it. I tolerated her. She tolerated me. Until Joel.”
“Right,” he said slowly. “Then suddenly your name made it onto her blacklist.”
“Exactly. The second she started dating him, she decided I was a threat. Like I was just lurking in the shadows waiting to steal her man.”
Jordan’s tone turned playful. “Well, to be fair... you did sn**ch someone’s heart.”
Amari smiled despite herself. “Shut up.”
“I’m just saying,” he teased. “Maybe Bella’s right. Maybe you are dangerous.”
She laughed a tired, real laugh that sounded foreign to her ears after such a long, draining day. “You’re the worst.”
“But the worst who loves you,” he said simply.
There was a pause. Then his voice softened. “Amari... I know you act like you’re fine. You joke, you bounce back fast. But I know when you’re hurting.”
She closed her eyes, her smile fading slightly. “I didn’t think her words would get to me, but they did. I hate the idea of people seeing me that way. Like I’m fake, or manipulative.”
“You’re none of those things,” Jordan said. “People believe lies more easily when they come wrapped in drama. But anyone who really knows you? They’ll see the truth.”
She let silence fill the line for a moment. “I just wish things could be normal.”
“Normal’s overrated,” Jordan replied. “I mean, sure we’re sneaking around like a K-drama couple with an overprotective villainess. But look at the bright side: at least you’re not actually in love with Joel.”
Amari burst into another laugh. “Can you imagine? That would’ve been chaos.”
“Absolute chaos,” Jordan agreed. “You’re way too good for him anyway. You chose the hot twin.”
“You’re impossible,” she whispered, warmth settling in her chest.
“I’m yours,” he whispered back.
The silence that followed wasn’t heavy—it was comforting.
“I needed this call,” Amari said softly. “Thank you.”
“Anytime,” Jordan replied. “I’ve got you, no matter how messy things get.”
She smiled into the dark. “I know.”
The morning sun spilled lazily through the hostel corridor, warming the tiled floor and the walls still damp from early mopping. Amari was brushing her teeth outside when she noticed the sharp shift in the atmosphere girls pausing their conversations, heads turning subtly in her direction.
Here we go again, she thought.
Bella had stepped into the corridor, face made up, voice loud as ever. She wasn’t even trying to pretend anymore.
“So that’s her,” Bella said to no one in particular, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “The one that can’t keep her hands off other people’s boyfriends. Shame no longer exists.”
Amari didn’t even flinch. She continued brushing like nothing had been said, though her blood was boiling.
“Imagine calling yourself innocent when you’re playing two boys at once. Girls like that should be banned from hostels.”
A few girls giggled half entertained, half afraid to be Bella’s next target.
Then a firm voice cut through the air like a blade.
“Bella, rest.”
Every head turned toward Chioma, Amari's roommate, a final-year student known for her sharp tongue and zero tolerance for nonsense. She stepped forward from her corner of the corridor, her arms crossed, her expression one of bored disgust.
“Seriously. Don’t you get tired of embarrassing yourself?”
Bella blinked, momentarily stunned. “Excuse me?”
“No, you need to be excused,” Chioma fired back. “Excused from this childish obsession you have with Amari. Since when is a girl not allowed to be close to a boy you’re dating? Do you hear yourself?”
“She’s not just close” Bella started.
“Oh, so you have evidence now?” Chioma snapped. “You’ve been shouting and ranting for days with nothing but jealousy and makeup fumes to back it up. Girl, if your man can be taken, take it up with your man. Not Amari.”
Gasps rippled across the corridor.
Bella's mouth opened, then closed.
Chioma stepped even closer. “You call her a cheat? Last I checked, Amari’s never been caught sneaking out of any boy’s room at midnight. But you? You’re famous in more than three blocks for crying outside after every argument with your ‘precious Joel.’”
Laughter erupted now some muffled, some bold.
Bella’s face turned red. “You people are just”
“No, Bella. You’re just loud, insecure, and bitter,” Chioma snapped. “You want to be feared, but you’re just tiring. And the more you attack Amari, the more people are seeing you for who you are.”
Bella stood there, frozen, trying to save face. Her eyes darted around the crowd. No one was backing her this time.
Not even Precious or Ifeoma.
Amari watched it all silently from where she stood. When Bella finally turned and stormed off without another word, she rinsed her mouth and walked back inside calmly, as if nothing had happened.
But inside her, she felt lighter.
Chioma caught up with her by the stairwell. “Let her bark. You? You walk. Always walk.”
Amari smiled quietly. “Thank you.”
Chioma winked. “Girl, anytime.”
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