It was the first Friday of the term, and the entire school buzzed with excitement. Posters were pinned to every hallway wall: "Welcome Bash – Music, Games, Fun!"
Freddy had never been to an event like it. In Kiguli, gatherings meant family, food, and firewood. Here, it meant speakers blasting music, students dressed just slightly out of uniform, and a school compound turned into a festival ground.
"Don't stay in your shell," Maido teased as she handed Freddy a soda. "It's the best way to meet people."
Freddy gave a nervous smile. "Easier said than done."
Before Maido could reply, a loud whistle cut through the noise. A group of students rushed to the field where a dance challenge was starting. Freddy sat on the edge of a bench, watching the crowd laugh and cheer, trying not to feel like a tourist in someone else's world.
That's when he saw her.
Bushrah.
She stood alone at the edge of the crowd, arms folded, eyes scanning the event like she was more observer than participant. Her short, natural hair framed her face boldly, and she wore her school jacket slightly off-shoulder like it was unintentional — but it wasn't. There was something magnetic about her — quiet, composed, mysterious.
Freddy didn't know what pulled him toward her. Maybe it was the calm in her eyes that mirrored his own uncertainty.
"Hey," he said awkwardly, approaching her. "You're not dancing?"
Bushrah looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "Do I look like I dance?"
He smiled. "No… but maybe you watch better than anyone else here."
A pause. Then the smallest smile tugged at her lips. "You're not from here, are you?"
"Is it that obvious?"
She nodded. "You walk like the ground might disappear under your feet."
Freddy chuckled. "First time in the city. Everything still feels too big."
"I get it," she said. "I felt that way once."
He was about to ask her more when the music changed and Maido called out from the crowd, waving. Freddy turned for a moment — and when he looked back, Bushrah was already walking away, her jacket slipping slightly down her arm again, cool and unbothered.
He watched her disappear into the crowd, something about her lingering like a question he wanted to answer.
That night, Freddy couldn't stop thinking about her.