CHAPTER 1|MEETING THE STARS

Anisa, a transfer student who came back to Nigeria after staying in the states with her parents since she was born. She had to come back as per her grandparent's request. But coming back to Nigeria means joining a new school and it turned out that the school belongs to her grandparents, The BAMALLIs. She hated the idea of coming back to Nigeria and that is why she promised to do anything that will make them return her back to the states.

Young Stars International is a school which only the rich and highly ranked Nigerians go to. Children of rich royals, children of rich politicians and children of rich business tycoons are the only ones who are able to afford the school fees despite the fact that it's payed per annum. You don't only have to be rich but you also have to be intelligent or skilled to get accepted into the school. But how did Anisa get accepted? Is it because she's intelligent or is it because her grandparents own the school.

The fourteen year old fair skinned Anisa hopped out of the car and half ran her way into the school building which have the name Young Stars International boldly inscribed in black on a white background and is being placed above the gate that leads into the school.

She is featuring the uniform which they use on Mondays and Wednesdays, it is a white button up shirt with a black skirt that have red and white stripes that stops at the knee then a navy blue blazer, the blazer have the school's logo on it's left and a few inches above it is her name tag, she had on a navy blue with red stripes neck tie, they are allowed to match it with any type of red scarf or come with open hair.

"Oh sorry" she said moving away from the person she just bumped into. She didn't bother turning to see who the girl is because she continued her way into the school. She don't want to waste time as she's already late. The principal Mrs Hayat asked her to come by 7:30 and it's already 7:47. Being late on her first day of school is all sort of trouble she have no intention of inviting.

She saw two students exiting the office and they both offered her a smile which she returned gladly. She is ready to know what it feels like to attend a Nigerian high school even tho she can give her all just to go back to California, will there be the cool kids like in her high school back in California or are they just some boring lame nerds like her.

"Good morning ma'am" she greeted as she head into the office. She looked directly at the woman who sat behind the big mahogany desk waiting for her to start ranting about how late she is but none came.

"Miss Bamalli" she called out "You're...twenty minutes late"she said looking at the big round shaped wall clock that's on the wall placed by the entrance door.

"Sorry for being late. I got caught up enjoying my last few minutes of not being here" is what she so badly wanted to say but instead she said "I'm sorry" she apologized, that's the best she can do right? An apology.

"Anisa Abubakar Bamalli" she called her full name as she looked at her with keen eyes. If anything the teenager hates the way the woman kept using her third name, it makes her sound so uncool and...funny. The name isn't even written on her admission form yet the woman kept calling it just to prove that she know her.

"Yes" she answered as she looked up at the serious looking woman, looking at her that way makes her want to run away.

"You have to be serious especially when you're just joining this school,I only agreed to accept you because of the information I got from your old school and also because of your good record" she maintained her serious face. Whilst Anisa not knowing what to say just smiled a little. "I hope you will keep being the good student that you have always been and stay out of trouble...please" she added, this time around Anisa could only nod her head. She's going to stay out of trouble but only if trouble stays out of her way too.

"Take this,I'm sure you have enough cousins that can show you round the school right?" the principal handed her a key which is for her locker alongside a map before dismissing her.

"Thank you ma" she collected it and then left immediately. She's not good with maps but at the moment she need it to find her way.

On the way she passed a lot of students most of them with a smile,some walking around with something that looks like a map and some talking about their holidays while some are hugging. It looked just like a typical resumption day,even in the states. Good to all other students but bad to new intakes just like her, having to make new friends and blend in isn't the best feeling especially to people like her.

Despite the fact that there are two elevators in the building, Anisa decided to take the stairs as she saw most of the students do. It was easy to locate her locker because of the numbering. She had to get some books and also check the time table so she opened the locker, in it there are three drawers.

The first one contains her note books, two math set, a pack of pen and pencil, two long metal rulers and five erasers. All the materials have the logo and name of the school on it,ranking from the books to the eraser. The second drawer contains a blue polo and black jean trouser then a short sports wear which has a matching sweatpants and hoodie and a white converse and a red snickers inside by the side is a dozen set of socks(with 6 sets black and the rest of the six white) and the third locker contains all her text books in it. She picked the bag that she have been holding and with the aid of the timetable that was placed on my locker door she stuffed in the textbooks she will be needing for the first four periods. She have at least two textbooks for each subject(each of different type) and the information on her note books is being filled,it was printed in bold black ink. She have two note books for each subject,one for homework and the other for classwork. They don't copy note, only soft copy and that is one of the reasons they are allowed to come along with their devices.

She was done locking her locker so she turned to leave when someone bumped into her.

"Excuse you" Anisa said annoyingly

"Sorry" the girl quickly apologized, that is Anisah's weak point.

"Oh never mind" she said with a smile.

"What class are you?" The girl asked her "you look like you're new" she added

"It's because I'm new and I think sophomore" she replied, she have only spent a year of her high school life in the states so it's definitely sophomore.

"Oh science or art or commerce?" She asked

"Science" Anisa replied curtly.

"Class what?"she asked

"I think five" she replied not sure if the science Sophomore 5 that she saw on her admission form means that or not.

"Oh it's just two classes away from mine, I'm in science three" she replied. "If you don't mind then will you just wait for me to pick out my books then I'll show you your class?" She asked. Despite being tired of the girl and all the questions, Anisa couldn't be more grateful. Sha hate maps.

"Thank you" she thanked the girl and immediately the girl headed to her locker which is opposite Anisah's on the corridor of the fourth floor.

The principal's and vice principal's office, is on the ground floor along side the cafeteria, indoor sport theater, indoor pool and school clinic, whilst their class is on the fourth floor. The second floor is where the staff room is along with the library, assembly hall, broadcasting room, fully equipped computer room, cinema and labs. The third floor is for the freshman, new intakes and the second for the sophomore while the fourth is for the seniors. The third, fourth and fifth floors which are divided into three and there are lockers also. The sciences, the art and the Commercial students. The last and sixth floor is where the coordinators, guardian and counseling, director and other officials of the top level are and the drama and music theater is also there. There is also a rooftop but it is hardly ever visited. The school have another middle school/junior secondary section which is located in a different area not far from the high school/senior secondary section.

The girl finished with whatever she was doing before she joined Anisa. She only took a few minutes just like she said.

"What's your name?"she asked

"Anisa" she replied "Anisa Abakar Muhammad" she added

"Nice name, I'm Fatima and I think we'll be good friends especially since we're both in science" the girl added. Anisa couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah me too" she added. She's actually looking forward to meeting her first not online and not a relative Nigeria friend. Not like she have a lot of real friends because she's a type of person that fears getting attached, because when she do she care hard so for the sake of disappointment she keep her circle small.

She showed Anisa her class and then left to hers. "Assalamu alaikum" she salamed before going in. None of the students payed attention to her salam because they continued with what ever they are doing.

The class is beautifully decorated with flowers, quotes written on cardboard and placed on the board that's behind the class. There is also a dispenser with a lot of disposable cups kept on a table next to it. The board is a smart board and there is a marker board by its side. There is also a podium and by the side of the podium is a sit and a desk for the teacher. There is also a pot of flower by the side and the class smells nice. There isn't much sits in the class, just twenty five.

"Adnan is backkkkkk" a girl screamed and immediately rushed out of the class, she hit Anisa in the process. It took every ounce of her to stop herself from pushing the girl away from her.

She made her way to the last sit by the left which is next to the window and sat. She got tired of sitting so she brought out her phone to reply some chats when the bell rang and immediately after it stopped a voice came up. She looked at the direction where the sound was coming from, it was a speaker.

"All of you should make your way to the hall on the second floor, assembly starts in five"the voice said. The assembly normally starts by 7:30 to 8:30 but it starts by 8 to 8:30 every resumption day.

Anisa quickly made her way out of the class and down to the second floor whilst checking her phone. She saw a message notification pop up and she couldn't help but tap on it because she wasn't expecting a comment from who ever it is. She had only requested to follow the account last night and he accepted her request that morning.

Darkpoet001: your page is too girly don't you think? It is not good if you ask me. I don't know why it's so popular.

This is the rudest comment she have received in a while. Her happy mood went down the drainage. His words really hurt her like hell, she can't even describe the way they made her feel. She's devastated. She have never gotten such negative message since she created the account inkheart on Instagram. She was sure the page was promoting a friendly environment but there were definitely people out there who don't know how to be nice. She quickly went to the person's profile and she immediately regretted her action, it made her furry even more.

It was a guy. It was not a common thing to find a guy in such pages so she decided to go through his bio.

Name: don't need to know, stalker.

Location: read the above

Gender: M

Motto: stay clear of my path

He have posted few quotes and a collection of some dark/sad poems. There is nothing about him and his profile picture is blank. It took a lot to prevent herself from writing insults on his comment box. She was going to handle it in the natured and civilized way. She'll dm him.

Three years ago when she was eleven she came across something which changed her life. It was past midnight on the day she was given a phone while she was surfing through Instagram, she came across a few poems, quotes and memes account and immediately she knew she had to start penning her own art. Without much waste of time she put her plan to action. Two years after that she started to post her work, she have received a lot of positive comments and this is why his words really got to her. At first nobody discovered her but now she gets a new follower everyday.

Inkheart: Inkheart: hello dark poet I understand if you didn't like my post, but there is no need to be so rude.

She tapped on the send button, he didn't give her the chance to breath because her phone pinged almost immediately indicating a new message. She walked down the staircase to the second floor. The students quickly moved to give her way because they want to see what happens next.

She walked to the three guys that stood in the middle of the not so perfect circle that was created by the students without even knowing she did until one of them tripped her with his leg, she almost fell down but she didn't and unfortunately for her phone it fell. She quickly got on her toes and looked at the three guys as she wondered who is the criminal. She didn't know what to say, truth is she couldn't say anything. She was embarrassed that this handsome boy tripped her. Adnan smirked at her, probably thinking she was dazzled which she was but she quickly tried to put on a careless facade. She cleared her throat and stood up.

"You should watch where you're going" he said curtly. "You should also clean your face, have you ever heard of wipes and tissue?" Anisa's mouth was open in shock. How dare he! She's a shy person, if you mess with her physical appearance, you mess with her life. It's a sensitive topic for her.

"Have you ever heard of manners?" she retorted folding her arms over her chest clearly annoyed.

"Oh, it speaks!" He exclaimed in mock surprise. She glared at him then stepped aside to walk past him. Successfully, she managed to take five steps away when he spoke again.

"I think this belongs to you" she glance at him, ok more like glared at him over her shoulder, he was holding her phone which she don't know how it got to him.

"Give it back" she demanded as she jumped up as high as she could. The dummy was tall that he didn't even look preoccupied by her futile attempt of getting her phone back. He stared at her amusingly.

"No nerdy" he mocked. His dimples popped whenever he speaks.

"I'm not" She retorted.

"Nope, you have to be a nerd other wise why will you come to school looking so...unfeminine? I mean those sneakers don't fit you. I mistook you for a boy in the lady's uniform" he shrugged. His insults really got to her. Her face heated in anger and her fist clenched, she couldn't control herself. The next thing she did is something she will remember for the rest of the day, no something she will remember for the rest of her life. Her palm hit his cheeks hard across the face, he was dumbfounded. Taking advantage of that she snatched her phone away and ran like a crazy person to the assembly. She might not be the most loved girl back in her school in California but at least they are not this mean. They don't treat her like trash.

So meet the three stars of Youngstars Ahmad, Ajmal and Adnan. Some also call them the A cube or three As. They are technically the stars of young stars. And they are all seniors, SS3.

Ahmad is the most intelligent student in the whole of YSI, he's a commercial student. He is also the fairest among the stars.

Adnan is the best player in the school, just name the sport and he already is good at it. He is a science student. He is caramel skinned and can sometimes pass as fair.

Ajmal on the other hand is the most talented person in the school, he writes poems, books, and also paints and draw. He is also a motivational speaker. Well he is an art student. He is the darkest among the stars.

In summary: the boys are everything wrong with high school in one frustratingly good looking body.

Hello guys 👋 I hope you've enjoyed this first chapter and that you'll give OHSL a chance. And please tag your friends, share this book, vote and comment if possible.

Its not too much to ask right?

And what do you think of our characters? Anisa? Adnan? Darkpoet001? Ajmal? Ahmad?

Let me hear your opinions in the comment section please. And no rude comments, don't be like Darkpoet001 😅