Concentric circles

Big Joe ran after an angry Nimah, she kept her brow knitted walking heavily along the corridor of the seventh block, she was heading towards her economics class. Joe called her name severally as he ran after her but she didn't stop nor respond to his calls.

"Nimah, please wait and hear me out...Nimah! Nimah!" Big Joe called.

Finally, she halted looking straight into Big Joe's eyes, she clenched her fist as she drew in her lips. "What do you want to say? Be quick with it because I don't want to get let to class."

"I want to apologize to you, I know I offended you even though I don't know what I have done, but please can you forgive me? Ever since we returned from the mid term break, you have been ignoring me."

"Are you done?" Nimah asked and Joe nodded. "Then, I will leave for my class." She eyed and turned away.

"One more thing." Joe said, raising a finger up but Nimah didn't turn back. "How can I explain myself to this girl, she doesn't want to listen to my explanations let alone tell me what I have done." Joe sighed heavily.

Joe didn't see her afterwards as he made his way to his Chemistry class. And for a while he almost stopped thinking of her. There was that instant why his mind was focused on actual learning and the thoughts he had of her and her voice, her scent, were gone. But then he got to chemistry class and he found her already seated, engaged in some sort of conversation with her new friend, Esmeralda. Both on the first row. Could it be that she knew he was going to come?

Joe wasn't a front row kind of person, so he was glad to spot a couple of vacant desks in the middle of the classroom, because he also wasn't a last row kind of person.

She didn't seem to notice him, and for some reason he felt disappointment flashing through him. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, but he knew it was unusual. Esmeralda spotted him and waved, and even then Nimah didn't stare in his direction, he managed to wave back and set for one of the desks he had chosen. And he was almost there when she decided to finally speak.

"I just spent some minutes telling everyone that the seat behind me is taken by a friend... are you planning on making me seem like a liar Big Joe?" She asked and he stepped in his track.

He had avoided taking that seat because it was behind her, he didn't know if sitting there would make her more upset. And also yes, he wasn't a second row person either. He liked a seat at the middle row.

Nimah sat across on her seat, her arm on the back rest and her jaw set In a grim line of focus as she watched him. She had quite a perfect face shape, like some sort of aristocrat. Joe gazed around the room that was still scanty and almost empty. He decided to simply stop over thinking and go sit down, besides there were in class and he was behind her. There wasn't much to go on really.

"How was Mr. Armando?" there was mischief in his voice and Nimah knew why. Mr. Armando was by far one of the most arrogant individuals, she had ever came across. And that temper of his was another issue entirely. He was a way too different from the previous economics teacher, Mr. Roland. Nimah feigned a smile and shrugged. After the mid term break they had, the school had been filled with new teachers and even new system and rules, more strict rules.

"The man is cool though, I guess he is behaving this way because he's new... He will change with time, he only wants to instill fear into the student so that they will always respect him."

"I can't see that you know how to study people alot, that's one of your unique attributes." Joe said with a smile but just as Nimah was about to say something in response, the teacher came into the class and the class went silent.

"Class, students from the third and fourth blocks will be joining us with the chemistry class, so sit properly and make space for them." Thee teacher said and immediately the students made space.

Joint class had been happening for the past three days and this had been affecting most of the students, especially Nimah. Making space for stranger and sitting with them always made her uncomfortable.

After waiting for some minutes, expecting the students from the two blocks, they eventually arrived in crowd. The class became heaving with new, weird, gentle, different faces irrespectively. They were all looking for seats and this only went on for few minutes before the class finally come back to its usual self.

Nimah was sitting at the seat next to the wall, Esmeralda sitting next to her then a face she had never seen, a guy who kept smiling at her and trying to get her attention.

In some ways, he looked weird to Nimah, he was tall and yes taller than Nathan and he was build. His long blonde hair was tied in a half ponytail and the rest fell to his shoulders in smooth waves. His smooth skin was pale and unblemished and his eyes, the first time Nimah stared into his eyes, its color was midnight blue, but she noticed that the colour changed to teal, though she doubted it was teal. It was like a mixture of some kind of unrecognized colors and now that she was staring at it, she saw the golden eyes, it was golden this time. Then his lashes, the only feminine thing about him, they were long and thick.

Joe who was sitting just behind Nimah had been noticing the guy numerous times, trying to make Nimah look at him. Nimah did her best in trying to avoid him but she didn't know why she couldn't, his smiles look so beautiful.

It was really hard to concentrate seeing as she was that close to the one capable of robbing her all of her concentration. And it also didn't help that each time the teacher turned to write something down on the board, he took a second to glance at her. She ignored him the first few times and kept her attention glued to whatever equation they were being worked out up ahead. But eventually it became impossible to pretend that he wasn't there. That he wasn't looking at her, even Esmeralda could not even take it.

Nimah looked back.

He smiled and that was as far as her attention on the lesson went.

The teacher turned back around, the guy didn't seem to realize. He just kept staring until Nimah nodded towards the front.

"Hixton Arthur, how do you feel about working this equation out?" He asked him in reference to the question she had written down on the board. Hixton looked at it briefly then looked back to the teacher

"I feel like I would be in a more capable spot of working it out if you went through the process one last time," his voice seemed was all charm and confidence. But it didn't work on the teacher who held out the marker to him and simply smiled.

Hixton blew out a breath and stood, then he walked over to the front of the class and took the marker. He stared at the equation, seeming deep in thought, and then he began working it out.

It was a topic Nimah had already learnt on her own, so she knew that he started well... but then somewhere along the way he got confused, then he got chuckles which simply led to more confusion. He erased the board twice before the teacher asked him to let it be.

"And that, Mr. Arthur, is what happens when you don't pay attention in class. I expect more commitment from you, since you seem to have no interest in chemistry."

"My apologies." He bowed.

The teacher turned back to the class and crooked her finger towards Nimah, beckoning for her to walk over there.

"Let's see if your girlfriend will be your saving grace." He said as Nimah stood up, just then he noticed that Nathan was also in the classroom all this while. Nimah felt like defending them and saying that they hadn't even been conversing, she walked over to the board and reached her hand out to Hixton for her marker.

He placed it in her hand with some kind of secret intimacy. His hand almost clasping hers and his multicolored eyes moving between her own and the spot where out hands touched. She took the marker and erased his failed attempt at solving the equation. Then she quickly worked it out until she got what she believed was the correct answer.

"Impressive Arthur." The teacher said and that was when she realised she bears the same surname with Hixton.

Nathan stood up, raising his arm and he walked out of his seat, approaching the teacher at the front of the class. He had noticed an error in Nimah's solvings. Hixton looked up at the approaching Nathan, swaying his long hair to the back, exposing his bare neck and then Nathan caught the sight of that sign. The sign he once saw in his nightmare, the concentric circles boldly drawn on his neck.