— At Home
Charlotte's Room. Night.
The house was quiet.
Charlotte sat on the chair by her dressing table, still in her nightwear. A soft pink gown. Her hair was down now, the gele gone.
She was staring at nothing. Thinking.
The door opened and Debbie walked in.
Debbie flopped onto the bed, legs up, phone in her hand.
"So," Debbie said, grinning. "I heard Yoruba won the cultural dance. Wow. That's great."
Charlotte smiled a little. "Yeah. We did."
Before Debbie could ask more, Charlotte's phone buzzed on the table.
Message from Adam.
Charlotte picked it up.
It was the selfie.
The four of them at the gate. Her in the middle, in her red and gold aso-oke. Adam right beside her. Vivian on the other side. Caleb smiling.
Her chest did something funny.
She was still looking at it and smiling when Debbie sat up.
"Let me see," Debbie said, reaching for the phone.
Charlotte handed it over.
Debbie looked at the picture and raised an eyebrow. "Ooooh."
She pointed. "So this is Vivian? Your best friend you used to talk about?"
Charlotte nodded. "Yeah."
Debbie pointed again. "And who's this guy?"
"That's Caleb," Charlotte said.
Debbie swiped to zoom in on the last person. "And who's the other guy? This one with the dimples?"
Charlotte's cheeks went hot.
"That's Adam," she said quietly.
Debbie stared at her. Then at the picture. Then back at her.
"So… this is the Adam?"
Charlotte looked down. "Yeah."
. Then she looked from the picture to Charlotte.
She caught it. The way Charlotte was smiling. Soft. Bright. Nervous.
Debbie narrowed her eyes. "Aha."
She sat up on the bed. "Okay Charlotte. Who among these two guys is your crush?"
Charlotte gasped. "Deborah!"
Debbie grinned. "Tell me the truth."
Charlotte bit her lip. She stared at the picture again.
Debbie didn't say anything for a second. She just handed the phone back.
Then she smiled. A knowing smile.
"Okay, Charlotte."
Charlotte didn't answer. She just looked at the picture again.
Adam's eyes. Looking right at her.
Even in a group photo, it felt like he was looking only at her.
She blushed inwardly
*she said quietly.
Debbie froze. Then she looked from the picture to Charlotte.
She caught it. The way Charlotte was smiling. Soft. Bright. Nervous.
Debbie narrowed her eyes. "Aha."
She sat up on the bed. "Okay Charlotte. Who among these two guys is your crush?"
Charlotte gasped. "Deborah!"
Debbie grinned. "Tell me the truth."
Charlotte bit her lip. She stared at the picture again. At Adam's eyes looking at her.
Then she whispered, "It's Adam."
Debbie's eyes went wide. "YES! I knew it!"
She grabbed Charlotte's hands. "So? What happened?"
Charlotte took a deep breath.
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"At Cultural Day… Adam… he confessed his feelings to me."
The room went silent.
Then Debbie SCREAMED.
"WOW! CHARLOTTE!"
She jumped up. "He confessed to you?! During Cultural Day?!"
Charlotte covered her face, laughing. "Deborah, shhh! Mom will hear!"
Debbie pulled her hands down. "I don't care! What did you say?! What did you tell him?!"
Charlotte shook her head, still smiling.
"I didn't say anything. I just… I didn't know what to say."
Debbie sat next to her and pulled her into a hug.
"That's okay," Debbie whispered. "But Charlotte… he likes you. And he did it on Cultural Day. In your aso-oke."
Charlotte leaned into her sister.
Her heart was pounding.
And for the first time, saying it out loud didn't feel so scary.