***JANE'S POV***
"So, Jane...hum…" That was the first thing I heard when I stepped out of the staff room. I looked around, but saw no one so I nodded it off and walked a bit further,
Then, I saw Andrew.
He was standing, backing me and he seems so tensed.
"Hi Andrew."
He turned and then hid what he was holding.
"Hi Jane. What are you doing here?" He said smiling awkwardly.
"On my way to my room."
We stood there in silence for like a minute or thereabout.
"I heard you guys won." I said finally breaking the awkward silence.
"Hum..yes we did. Thanks to you." He said then brought out the award he was hiding.
"Here you go." He said.
He then walked up to me, held my hands, and placed the glass award on it and
I froze.
"You should have it champ." He added then walked away.
I felt frozen to the
I stood exactly where Andrew had left me, unable to take my eyes off the medal resting quietly in my hands.
The noise around me gradually faded into the background as I gently traced my fingers over the engraved letters. His name was boldly written across the front, yet it still felt like it belonged to me.
A smile slowly spread across my face.
It was funny when I thought about it. I had never won anything before. Not a competition, not a prize, not even one of those tiny certificates teachers usually handed out just for participating.
They never chose me for anything, just insults.
This... this was the closest I had ever come to receiving an award, and although it was Andrew's achievement, a part of me couldn't stop feeling proud to be holding it.
I hugged the medal tightly against my chest.
Without warning, my eyes became watery.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
Then another.
I laughed softly at myself as I hurriedly wiped them away with the back of my hand.
"You're seriously crying over someone else's medal," I whispered to myself, shaking my head.
Maybe I was.
Or maybe I was crying because, for the first time, someone believed I deserved something beautiful.
I rested my back on the wall then slide down gently till I sat on the floor.
I let the tears flow..
Before I could think any further, the loud school alarm echoed across the entire compound.
The sharp metallic sound cut through the air, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Students began pouring out of classrooms and hostels, while teachers called out instructions from every direction.
That alarm only meant one thing-
Founders Week had officially begun.
I quickly slipped the medal into my bag, making sure it was safely tucked away before hurrying toward the Assembly Hall.
The entire school looked almost unrecognizable.
Colourful banners stretched from one building to another, fresh flowers had been arranged around the stage, and workers moved about carrying chairs, decorations and sound equipment. Teachers who normally looked strict now wore pleasant expressions as they supervised different committees, while students rushed around excitedly in their assigned uniforms.
Pttfff eyeservice.
As I entered the hall, I immediately spotted Nafisat standing among a group of student volunteers, holding a pile of printed papers.
"There you are," she said with a smile as I approached. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."
"I almost stayed behind," I admitted with a small laugh.
She handed one of the papers to me.
"Our duty list. I picked one for you"
I unfolded it carefully.
"You got an award?" She asked pointing to the Andrew's award in my hand.
"Na, Andrew gave me."
"Why?"
"I don't know." I replied without looking up, but from her tone she did sound off. Yeah I do regret not looking up that day.
"So, I got Guest reception." I said looking up after scanning through the letter. "What of you?"
"I got Grad class preparation. " She replied happily.
That was everyone's prayer while Guest reception is more like a curse. The guest are so annoying and most rude and dirty.
Blahhhhh
Founders Week wasn't just one event. It consisted of several programmes happening simultaneously over five days. There were debates, exhibitions, sporting activities, cultural performances, graduation preparations, guest receptions and countless other activities taking place all around the school.
Every student had been assigned to a specific department. Lucky Nafi, she gets to eat with the grad class.
Or may be it wasn't luck but an intentional act set up as coincidence.
"I guess we'll hardly see each other today," I said before hugging her.
She sighed dramatically.
"I'll be welcoming guests while you'll probably be arranging chairs for people who are about to leave us forever."
I laughed.
"When you put it like that, mine suddenly sounds depressing."
"It is depressing."
We both laughed before going our separate ways.
As I walked toward the Graduating class section, my eyes drifted toward the enormous front gate.
It stood wide open.
Throughout the year, that gate remained firmly shut, almost like it was meant to be a wall. Students entered and left only through the smaller emergency gate whenever there was an unavoidable situation. The front gate opened only during very special occasions, and Founders Week was one of them.
This is the only time annually the main gate of the school is opened.
No one knows why.
Parents, sponsors, invited guests, old students and visitors were allowed inside the school throughout the celebration, but students themselves were still forbidden from leaving.
The only people permitted to walk out through that gate were graduating students receiving their certificates and newly admitted students arriving to begin their journey.
Once a student entered this school, they remained here until graduation.
There were no transfers.
No mid-session admissions.
No exceptions.
Some of us student here don't even remember what our parents look like, maybe just a faint memory.
Well, I don't.
By the time I reached the Guest area, several students were already decorating the stage.
"About time you arrived."
I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.
Vivian.
She stood on a chair, struggling to pin a long strip of blue fabric across one side of the stage.
"You've been here for barely five minutes," I replied.
"Exactly," she said dramatically. "Five whole minutes of suffering."
I couldn't help laughing as I walked over to help her. I put the award inside the her tote bag before joining her.
For the next several minutes, we worked almost silently, arranging flower stands, tying ribbons around the chairs and adjusting the decorations hanging above the stage. Surprisingly, it felt peaceful. There was no talk about mysterious letters, no discussions about cult groups or missing students. Just two girls trying to make a graduation stage look presentable.
It wasn't until we had finished arranging one row of chairs that Vivian spoke again.
"I wasn't the one who spread the news."
I paused and looked at her, she did look sincere.
She continued adjusting one of the ribbons without meeting my eyes.
"I know that's probably what you think," she continued quietly. "After all, I'm known for gossip. If anything spreads around this school, people naturally assume it came from me."
I remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"The truth is, I only told you and Andrew what happened that night. Nobody else."
"If you didn't tell," I asked carefully, "then who did?"
She slowly shook her head.
"I honestly, that, I don't know."
A brief silence settled between us before she spoke again.
"You know, this whole thing didn't really begin with Nathan. Nathan was a confirmation."
That caught my attention immediately.
"Why are you so interested in this matter?"
"There was another girl."
Vivian finally looked at me.
"The incident of fire." she added.
That was the first weird occurrence that happened. It happened few weeks after we started this new term.
"Everyone believed deserved whatever happened to her." Vivian continued.
"Because nobody liked her."
She shrugged lightly before continuing.
"She was rude to teachers, disrespectful to students, constantly picked fights and somehow always found a way to make herself everyone's problem. If she wasn't arguing with somebody, she was insulting somebody else."
"I heard her story. Was she ever nice to you?"
She shook her head.
"Never."
"Were you friends with her?" I asked.
Vivian laughed.
"She was our leader. She hated us but she thought us how…."
"To gossip?"
"Yhh. My girls and I then did some findings about the case."
"Oww!!" Vivian screamed.
"What happened?"
A pair of scissors clattered onto the floor.
Blood slowly trickled from the side of her palm.
"I will take her to the clinic." I said as I helped her up and led her out.