The wind changed by Monday
Scarlet arrived late to class, a rare occurrence, her eyes rimmed with a quiet sort of tired. Mr. Hassan was halfway through a recap on circle geometry, but all eyes flicked to her as she slipped into her seat. Only it wasn't her seat anymore
The front row had been reshuffled. Mr. Hassan's new seating arrangement was stuck on the whiteboard, and like a minor earthquake, it sent subtle waves across the class's natural order.
Scarlet had been moved to the third row. Rudd remained in the second, on the far end, separated by a thin aisle and an awkward silence.
He didn't turn.
Scarlet sat. Noticed the boy next to her — tall, even while slouched, with a new-student expression that said he'd already seen too much. His name, as written on the seating chart, was Dapo Akinwale.
She nodded at him. He smiled like he'd been expecting it.
Dapo's arrival became official at assembly. Mrs. Onaiwu introduced him as a transfer from Lagos, "highly recommended," she said, "a strong addition."
The girls whispered. The boys assessed. Rudd kept quiet.
But Gabriel noticed.
He watched Dapo from the hallway as the boy navigated the school with casual ease. Gabriel's lips curled. There was something about Dapo — the kind of confidence you don't learn. The kind that gets in the way.
At lunch, Scarlet sat beside Rudd for the first time since her move. He didn't expect it.
"You're quiet," she said.
He shrugged. "You're late."
She gave a tired smile. "Family stuff. My uncle's back. The one who thinks phones are the devil's walkie-talkie."
He smiled. A real one.
They talked briefly — about teachers, the math test, and how the school now served two pieces of chicken like it was a rare mercy. Then Dapo walked past, and Scarlet called out.
"Dapo! You've met Rudd, right?"
The boys nodded at each other. Something unreadable passed between them.
Dapo sat at the next table. "You know, I haven't had proper jollof since I got here. Can someone tell the kitchen staff they're holding Nigeria hostage?"
Scarlet laughed.
Rudd didn't.
Later, in prep, Gabriel appeared.
Not to threaten or punish — just to observe. He leaned on the doorframe like a ghost in uniform, his prefect badge still sharp against his chest.
Rudd met his eyes across the room.
Gabriel smiled faintly. "Relax. I'm not here for you."
Scarlet froze as he passed by. Dapo raised a brow at the tension but said nothing.
Gabriel's shadow left slowly.
By lights-out, things felt... shifted. The seating. The presence of Dapo. Gabriel's haunting return. And something else: a gap.
Rudd stared at his ceiling fan spinning a lazy rhythm overhead.
He didn't know what was changing exactly.
But something was.
And it had started with a new seat. And a boy who smiled too easily. And a girl who used to sit beside him.