Hello dear Ex,
My first true love. That is what you were.
I still remember the afternoon every school was breaking for half term. Your school was our sister school, which meant our worlds spun on the same axis of stolen glances, inter-school rivalries, and the quiet hope that maybe, just maybe, something real could happen. We were almost never released on the same day; the teachers never needed to explain why. But that afternoon felt different. Almost arranged.
You were already on the bus, seated on the front left seat by the window. You had seen me coming long before I noticed you. Then I caught your smile, warm and unguarded, and time simply stopped. Our eyes locked. You blushed and tried to look away.
It was already too late. Something in me locked onto you and refused to let go. The only thought left was simple: Just walk up and say hi. What is the worst that could happen?
I was coming from a boys’ boarding school. The unwritten rule was clear; if you were going to try, you at least put on a show for the group of girls nearby. Rejection was always possible, but there was safety in numbers. If you got shut down, the boys would laugh, call you names, and the moment would pass.
So there I was, standing right beside your window.
“Uko na smile imeniua, naitwa Jimmy,” I...