ECHOES OF US
Chapter 2: Cracks in the Reflection
By the time third term began, something between Amara and Awele had shifted—just enough to be felt, not yet enough to be named. They still dressed alike sometimes, out of habit more than desire. They still walked to school together, but the silences between them had become longer, more frequent, and harder to ignore.
Amara was waking up earlier now. She would slip out of bed before dawn, the rustle of her notebook pages becoming a new kind of morning music. Awele often opened her eyes to find her sister hunched over her desk, scribbling into exercise books or flipping through revision cards, lips moving silently as she memorized formulas and definitions.
At first, Awele didn’t mind. She admired Amara’s focus, her discipline, even if she didn’t fully understand it. But it wasn’t long before the admiration soured into something else—something heavy. Something like... being left behind.
It wasn’t that Awele didn’t try. She did. But while Amara’s mind seemed to cling to facts and figures with ease, Awele’s drifted. She would open her textbooks and end up sketching hearts in the margins. Her mind wandered to music videos, to stories unfolding on Instagram, to group chats buzzing with excitement about the upcoming Independence Day party at school. So, she dropped her books and took her phone, while playing music with her headphones on.
One Monday morning, the twins were assigned a joint literature project. It should have been easy—they’d always worked well together. But Awele forgot the deadline. She thought it was next week.
“I reminded you twice,” Amara said quietly, flipping through their barely-complete notes.
“No, you didn’t,” Awele snapped, defensive. “You just assumed I’d remember. I have other things on my mind, you know.”
“Other things,” Amara repeated, her voice clipped. “Like what? TikTok? That party you’re sneaking out to on Friday?”
Awele’s cheeks burned. “At least I have a life.”
The words hung in the air like a slap.
For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Amara stood, gathered her books, and walked out of the room. She didn’t slam the door. She didn’t need to. The quiet she left behind said everything.
At school, the distance between them grew wider. Amara spent more time with Nkem and Tope—two girls who always carried stacks of textbooks and spoke in quiet, urgent voices about exams and scholarships. Awele couldn’t relate to them, and they never tried to relate to her.
Instead, Awele found herself pulled toward a different kind of crowd—girls like Simi and Glory, who wore gloss on their lips, kept extra earrings hidden in their bags, and always had something daring to say. With them, Awele didn’t feel small or shadowed. She laughed more. Talked louder. They told her she was fun. Pretty. Free.
But still, late at night, when the laughter faded and her room dimmed, Awele would glance across the bed at Amara—head buried in a textbook, shoulders tense—and feel that familiar ache. She missed her sister, even as she resented her.
Question
1. How did Amara’s behaviour begin to change?
2. What caused the argument between the twins about the literature project?
3. Describe the types of friends Amara began to associate with.
4. Describe the types of friends Awele began to associate with.
5. Did Awele missed her sister?