I felt restless all through the night, unable to sleep.
Trying to fight the feeling of guilt but, there is nothing I can do about it even though I should have helped Jane more.
At day break, I rushed to class, with my cupcake I made at the school cafeteria. On getting to the class, she was not there, her seat empty. I walked over to Nafisat….
"Where is your bestie?" I asked.
"Detention." She replied sharply while her eyes with her eyes fixed on the plate I was holding.
"Detention is to be after school."
"Well." Nafisat said as she picked one of the cupcake. "Even if I am going to die, at least I should eat." She ate from it, rolled her eyeballs and stamped her feet. "You have my approval to date Jane." She said laughing.
Her comment made me chuckle a bit. "Do you know what she did?" I asked further.
" I don't know." She replied with her mouth full. "But, she was given Labour of Punishment." She whispered.
I gasped.
Only students with criminal tendencies are given that punishment.
"Alright" I said then stood up, walked over to Emma, gave her a cupcake and then left. I am pretty sure she is still angry at me, but forgiving her is harder than I thought.
When it comes to detention, there is one work that the principal gives to those set of individuals, and that is to clean the administrative building. I went there,
not to my surprise,
Jane
she mops the floor lazily, I would say, rubbing the mop on the surface of the floor.
I scared her and she screams.
"Why will you do such a thing?" She said as she hit me with the mob stick playfully.
"Why are you here?" I asked and offered her a cupcake.
"The Principal woke up on the wrong side of the bed." She said laughing as she collected it, but, the laugh was not genuine but I nodded it off.
"How about you? Why are you here?"
"To see you and also,.…" We sat on a chair close.
We ate together.
"Did you make this yourself?"
"Yeah, although the caterers did assist." I replied and she laughed.
"You seem lonely, alone, like a lonely wolf. You are here all by yourself, laughing, talking to??? It must have really affected you so bad."
She sat on the floor as soon as she was done talking, but sincerely, each word felt like a cold water on a hot coal.
With a tired smile I replied her; "Why won't I? so why are you here"
"Like you said, I am interested in this case, I thought you were the culprit but, it seems like you need a friend to maintain your sanity."
I turned to look at her, sat beside her, she looked so beautiful and her smile as beautiful as the new moon and her face so bright like that of the aurora light.
She placed her head on my shoulders and it felt like the whole world should pause for that moment to continue.
"Are we all going to die?" She said with her head still on my shoulder.
"We wont and if we do, we do together." I said and we both laughed.
Jane raised her head, looked me in the eye and then said;
"That was odd but I will take it. Everything is collapsing, no help nearby."
The principal enters, we stood up quickly.
"Andrew…. What are you doing here?"
"Humm...i came to see my friend sir" I said nearly stuttering.
The principal overs Jane coffee.
"Are you guys a couple?" He asked but with the look on his face as he pronounced every single word, I could tell something was wrong. Something had happened.
"No sir." Jane replied.
"Sign out once you are done." He said and left.
"How did you get detention?"
"I was caught outside during curfew." She replied as she takes up the mop and continues to mop if that is what she calls what she is doing.
I don't know the truth but from the Principal's reaction, I know so well that something had happened but I cant really tell what.
The Principal look; he looks sad and happy at the same time. He looks up but avoids eye contact from both Jane and like he was hiding something.
At first I thought, "is that the Principal is the murder and Jane knew about it …..because it had to be that."
"There is something you are not telling me" I questioned further.
"Who are you? My dad?" She asked the most annoying question people ask to get out of trouble.
Seeing her avoid the question...I held my peace.
"Do you want to know what happened?" An unfamiliar voice called out.
A girl, probably within the ages of fourteen to sixteen, her hair so curly, ginger and her eye lash so full. Jane and I stared at her for a while.
"Hi Jane, Hi Andrew."
I stood frozen.
How can a person I have never met know my name. Am I that famous?
"Who are you and how did you know our names?" Jane asked.
"Well, I am Vivian but popularly known as goddess of information but you can call me the Gossip Queen…."
"Ohhh you mean, the rumor champion. " Jane replied
"Ha ha ha so funny." Vivian fired back. "I know most of the things that happen in this school and I think you need my help more than you know it."
"What do you know?" I asked.
"Everything that is too be known by man and those that should not." She replied confidently. "You want to give it a test?"
"Yes..what happened with Jane?"
"Why do you want to know so bad?" Jane asked in defence.
"So, yesterday, little miss Jane went to the forbidden site to look for answers for her so called best friend. "
"What do you mean by so called?" Jane cuts in feeling offended.
"You will find out later. So, she got stuck then the Principal came in as a prince charming to save the little damsel in distress. Then, she fell on him."
"Are you following me?"
"Yes." Vivian replied sharply.
"Girls….calm down. I know it was just a little mistake and you are ashamed of it so is the principal. It meant nothing."
"Well…..who knows" Vivian chipped in the words sent like an arrow to annoy Jane.
"Look, Mr. Thompson is single in case you don't know." Vivian said. This time, Jane picks up the mop sticks and chases Vivian around the hall.
They run till they were both tired of running. Vivian was seated on the floor while Jane on her laps.
"So…..Vivian…"
"Noooo" She cuts in. "It is Queen to you." Vivian roared. '
"Yes ma'am" I responded politely . "What do you know about what is going on here…..in this school and with all these, why has the principal not yet asked for help or call for one?"
"Let me say, it is a bit complicated. The Principal doesn't own the school. You know that. His is just a 30 year old man from wherever he is from and he is a puppet. Even if he calls for help, the boards of director in this school will always look for a way to cover up things and he will get fired. "
Vivian pushes Jane off her legs and then sits properly on the floor.
"Lets tell it with a little flashback." Vivian said, her eyes… they didn't move like someone guessing or exaggerating. She gave this kind of vibe of, I know what I am saying.
"You don't look like a gossiper why do u do this?" I said without thinking but then I realised that it was too late to take the words back.
"What a detective…..well I do. I don't look it because I am good." She said with a smirk.
Jane shifted beside me, her shoulder brushing against mine unconsciously. Vivian leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice like the walls themselves were listening.
"Then you need to understand one thing first," she said. "This didn't start with this set."
She paused. "It didn't even start with this principal. It did a long time ago.""
"How do you know all this?" I asked quietly.
Vivian tilted her head slightly, a small smile tugging at her lip while Jane hits me playfully on the shoulder.
"Meet me here after school hour, I will tell you the full history of the school."
" Aren't you to be cleaning? You still have a lot to do" The principal called out.
We stood up hurriedly.
"Andrew go to class." He called out and left.
"Yes sir." I turned back to check on Vivian but she had already gone.
"That was fast." I said as I carried the plate. "I guess I will see you after school." I said then left.
My mind was fixed on what Vivian said, however, I was able to concentrate in class. After class, as I was about to leave the classroom, Emma called me back.
"Are you avoiding me?" She asked me.
I froze, stared at her and wondered the audacity she had to ask me a very obvious question.
"I have to be somewhere. So we can talk about this later." I said with a tome so clear that I uninterested in what she wanted to say.
"Soot yourself." She said and walked away with her minions.
I ran to the Senate building…...on my way, an accident had happened.