Immediately, his eyes landed on me, and our gaze locked. He blushes his face, turning completely red. He breaks eye contact with me, quickly looking away for a moment before darting his eyes slowly back to me. I'm surprised, clearly amused by his behaviour towards me. He walks towards me, slow but determined. He stands in front of me, the counter standing between as the only thing keeping us apart. His eyes slowly meet mine again.
"H-hi. It's me. T-the guy who approached you on the bus." He says nervously, twiddling with his fingers.
"Yeah, I know. That happened just a few hours ago. I remember you very vividly." I say frankly, looking at him.
His face turns bashful, reddening even more. "Right... Of course." He's silent for a moment as if choosing his words. He speaks up again, his voice less shaky this time.
"So... um... Let me introduce myself. My name is Tristan. I'm 18 years old, and I'm in my last year of senior year. Even though I'm studying to become a businessman, I secretly love art, and I indulge in it sometimes. W-well, that's a bit about me. What's your name?" He asks, his eyes shining so brightly with hope and anticipation.
Seeing those begging eyes, I couldn't bear to ignore him. My soft heart wouldn't allow it. I let out a defeated sigh. "My name is Mmasi. But only call me that when we're alone." I say strictly. "Aside from that, call me Miss Ozumba when there's anyone else with us." I narrow my eyes at him. "Got it?"
He nods obediently, happy that I'm not ignoring him. He grins. "Got it, Miss Ozumba." He says before looking around, noticing that the library is barely filled with students. Less than ten students are in the library, deeply engrossed in what they are doing. He looks back at me and whispers, still grinning at me sheepishly. "Mmasi." He whispers, trying out my name. My name rolls easily off his tongue. Honestly, I never knew my name could sound so beautiful. There is a way he just pronounces my name that makes it sound so appealing to the ear.
"How did you know I was here?" I ask, curious about how he knew the stranger he approached on the bus was the new librarian.
"Well..."
**A few hours earlier**
Immediately, the principal leaves with the new librarian. One of the male students in the staffroom carrying a pile of notebooks hurriedly leaves the staffroom and runs to his classroom– 12th grade.
He runs into the classroom out of breath, panting as he places the books onto the nearest table. "You... You guys won't believe what I just saw..."
The students who were either chatting, reading, or simply in a world of their own all looked up at him curiously.
"What did you see?" One student asks.
"Yeah, tell us, Milo!" The rest of the class chants.
"I saw the new librarian." The male student, Milo, replies.
The students groan and roll their eyes. "Ugh... Milo! What's so interesting about that?!"
"Wait! Hear me out first. Have you seen her? She's so pretty!" Milo says. "And so young!"
All the male students instantly become interested, their curiosity is piqued. While some of the female students face turn sour.
"What does she look like?" One male student asks.
"Yeah, tell us! And how pretty is she?" Another male student adds.
"She's the perfect definition of black beauty. She's Beyonce pretty." Milo says.
The guys are already daydreaming about her, trying to imagine what the new librarian looks like.
"She wore a white long-sleeved shirt with this pretty mixed colour vest on top of it, a white skirt and black sneakers. Her curly hair was tied up with a pink bow." Milo says, describing the new librarian in full detail.
Milo's description of the new librarian catches the attention of Tristan. Tristan looks up at Milo and asks him to come closer to him. Milo does, surprised by this. He knew that his friend, Tristan, had never been interested in any girl before.
"You're also curious about the new librarian?" Milo asks, teasingly.
"Yeah," Tristan replies bluntly.
Milo's eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, what? Really? You? Tristan? Are you actually interested in someone?"
"Yeah... It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it." He says.
**Back to the present**
"So that's how you knew... But what if it wasn't me? How sure were you, the new librarian, was the lady you met on the bus?" I ask Tristan, curious and slightly confused.
"Well... to be honest, I wasn't sure... that's why I came to see for myself." He says embarrassed, his cheeks flushed.
I stare at him for a moment before bursting into laughter. "You... You're really something else..."
His face turns to an even deeper shade of red. "I... Please stop laughing... This is the first time I'm doing this kind of thing... I feel so embarrassed right now..."
I wipe a tear away from the corner of my eyes, my laughter subsiding. "Haha... Alright... Alright..." My laughter is completely gone now. "You kids these days... You guys are so daring... and curious..."
Tristan pouts slightly, his face still red. "I'm not a kid. I'm 18 years old. And you speak like you're an old woman. I bet you're not up to 25 years yet, right...? How old are you anyway?"
"Well... you're still in high school, so technically, you're still a kid to me," I say with a shrug. "And you're right. I'm not up to 25 years old. I'm 21." I say. Before I died, I was actually 26 years old, but now that I've gone back in time, I'm 21 years old again.
"You see. You're not that older than me. We are only three years apart." He says, grinning like a child who just won a game.
"Still. Don't you dare disrespect me. I'll whop you if I need to." I say. I have a feeling he wouldn't do that he seems like a good kid. But I still had to say it. After all, the man I loved with all my heart also seemed like a nice guy, but he turned out to be the devil in disguise.
He shakes his head quickly. "Oh no. I wouldn't dare! And I give you every right to whop me if you must." He says earnestly.
I chuckle. "I'll whop you anyway with or without your permission."
Tristan grins and mutters under his breath. "Pretty..."
I look at him. "What..?"
His grin widens, his cheeks flushed. "You look so pretty when you're happy..." He says.
I smile. I should probably tell him that I don't want to be in a relationship. It's obvious he's interested in me. I'm not dense. But I don't want to mention that I'm pregnant. I haven't told anyone yet, not even the school management.
"Um... Tristan, listen to me..."
"Yeah, Miss Ozumba?" He says, still smiling at me and looking at me with those green eyes with a touch of yellow that reminds me of sunflowers.
"I need to be clear with you. I don't want to be in a relationship. Not now, not ever. I hope you get what I mean, right?"
"Breaking my heart before I even put it out there, huh?" He says, his smile still on his face, but I could see a tinge of sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry... I just don't want to. You seem like a good guy and you are still so young. You'll find someone who will be way better than me and will love you." I say, my soft heart aching at the sight of his masked sadness.
"But we can be friends... right?" He asks hopefully.
"Yes, of course."
"Then that's enough for me." He says, smiling genuinely even though his young and innocent heart just got broken.