include - Want to echo a php variable from another page

Question

I want to echo a variable on a page which I've included form a different page. This to save space and separate php code from text data as much as possible.

In the page from where I fetch the variables (let's call it "aa.php") I have:

if ($whatever=="A") echo "somethingA";
if ($whatever=="B") echo "somethingB";
if ($whatever=="C") echo "somethingC";

I include it on the page where I want the data to show (let's call it "data.php"):

include 'aa.php';
$whatever = "B";

I want "B" to show on data.php, but it isn't echoing on the page at all (I'm guessing because it's actually on the other page?) -- How do I echo it on the page where I want the data to show, with as little clutter as possible?

Answer 1

The order seems to be the problem:

$whatever = "B";
include 'aa.php';