The evening felt hazy, like a thunderous wind would hit the school in a mighty wave but the packed up clouds had quickly distilled and spread apart, revealing a clear light blue with white patches in the sky. It was sports day; the day the students caught up on their old stories left on hanging, played about and for few others, actually involved themselves in the sporting activities.

The students walked towards the main entrance gate and through it to get to the large field designated for sports. There was a large space whose edges had been mapped out by the corn farm that  stood in a tall grace around the green grasses on the field.

Their sports master, Uncle Friday as he was fondly called, had initially thought of dividing them on the basis of house colour but when he remembered the inclusion of the boys, he quickly downed the idea and replaced it instead with a division on the basis of class. The rustling and reshuffling to align according to their classes took off and with the assistance of his fellow house master from King's college, they were able to restore the calm while still sharing them based on the sport they had declared interest in playing.

A very large number of the boys indicated interest towards football. The rest of the others were stuck between tennis and basketball since most girls declared interest towards volleyball and badminton. Kelvin however, would have ordinarily keyed in towards football like Dayo and Martins did, but he had chosen to remain with Mary, as he questioned her in preparation for the quiz. Once, Dayo had asked what their sudden closeness meant and reiterated asking again if he was in love with her.

"I don't love her!" He had bluntly refuted. It was during the heat of a very busy day. Classes had died down and everyone expected the bell for lunch. "I just pity her," he said.

That was it. He had denied whatever was existent and boiled it back to the main event that led to their meeting, pity. She was an object of pity deprived of pride and an object of shameful ridicule with her worn out sandals and white body as her Vaseline had finished. She had been drawn to the level of scrapping the oil remains and extracts from her meal in school and storing them in a white leather. It was her cream and moisturizer. Kelvin quickly added so it didn't seem too demeaning, "I mean, if Martins was going to rape her, at least I needed to get to know her before she stops talking to us."

"Who said rape? It's not rape if the consent is there," Dayo replied, bursting into a sly laughter and his white dentition glistened in contrast to his skin.

In all of this, Martins said nothing until he had finally had enough, "I'm not raping or doing whatever. The title is all yours."

"I knew you would say that," Dayo stuck his hand into his back pocket and brought out a stylishly crafted pen. It had a button on the top which would reveal a tiny camera when pushed in but it was impossible to have known that on first sight, "Remember this?"

Kelvin parted his lips in shock as he quickly said, "Dayo! You could get us in trouble with that pen."

"This is what you would use for the dare for proof. Unless," he stuck his hand into his bag and brought out a sim card pack and sliding out a black small card, he revealed a memory card. "I'll post the contents of this card on our group chat."

Martins sat up. His heart slowly raced in a startled frenzy. He knew what was in that card, a secret shame he had wanted to keep hidden. Dayo was very manipulative and the fear his silly pranks instilled on his friends, gave him some joy. It was taking a different dimension however. Something more valuable was on the line and he badly wanted to protect it.

Martins had been seated on a pavement cemented to perfection and settled his eyes on the far end of the wide field to spot Kelvin and Mary together. Thoughts about his encounter with Dayo in class that day ate him up. If his parents saw that video of him and Ashley, he would be punished for a long while during his senior year. He might lose his post as the senior prefect and head boy, a dream he envisioned since birth.

It was his dream and Ashley's though. They had always been a pair since childhood, going to the same school and church all through Nursery and Primary school until Martins' parents insisted he went to an all boys school for better grooming and so Ashley's parents decided it was good enough for their daughter to also move into an all girls school. Alliances were being formed using their children as bait. Once, Ashley's mother joked about Ashley becoming an Adenuga, but Mrs Adenuga had joked back as well and repeated that her son was getting married to a proper Yoruba woman.

They had laughed and shared drinks, clanging their cups and savouring the delicious spicy peppered chicken. It was impossible not to take note of Maureen's distinct laughter, but deep down, they had revealed the truths to themselves. It was going to be impossible for their children to end up as actual couples in reality due to their cultural difference. Maureen had so desperately wanted that union to exist. It would be so grand to have an affiliation with an Adenuga. It could mean so many contracts for her husband Dominic. There was so many ways everything could go well and also very wrong.

When Ashley had announced her breakup over the family dinner, Maureen was devastated and advised her to rekindle the flame. Dominic was entirely against the whole idea of dating and was silent through out the dinner munching slowly at the head of the table.

Ashley had heeded her mother's selfish advice and clung unto the part of her that wanted her relationship with Martins to blossom back to life. She consoled herself with the fact that he didn't exactly use the word 'breakup' with her.

"I want a breakup," he had said, not mincing words. He had used the exact words and she felt silly for trying to block out the truth in her head.

"W-What?" She asked, confused. He stood her up for a date for what seemed like the hundredth time but five times in a row if one was being accurate. Her red floral patterned dress gave her an A shape with the belt she had locked on her waist. It was supposed to be their Valentine make-up day and her birthday since he had missed the actual Valentine's day under a false pretence of sickness which she had discovered later.

It was supposed to be a perfect evening for the both of them. Schools had temporarily shut down due to the outbreak of a foreign disease and so they were supposed to have enough free time, together. They were supposed to lock hands and exchange love pledges in the park on a rollercoaster, taking pictures to post on social media, eating snacks and being the model couple.

She remembered being devastated on the night of her sour breakup. She remembered not leaving her room for three days straight. Three days of eating the left over junks in her bedroom. Three days of her mother placing her mouth watery favourites on the base of her door to lure her out, but she refused. On the third day, her father thought he had had enough and whipped her out of her devastation with the flapping ends of his belt.

She had yet again not given up with her bid to restoring their sour bond and for the sake of clarity and closure, she at least felt she was entitled to knowing what went wrong and so she walked up to his end during sports to ask.

"Hey," she started. He swept his eyes towards her direction and then back unto an unsettling object. She however pursued, "What did I do wrong? Why are you giving me dirty looks and foul faces? All I've ever done is try to be perfect for you! Everyone is starting to question why we aren't close anymore-"

"You see that's the problem with you, you care so much about what people think! Trying to be perfect is not what I want! By all means I want imperfection! I want you to live like you have a screwed up life like the rest of us. I want to be head girl, get first position throughout, go to my dream university on scholarship. I'm tired of your perfection!" he yelled. He walked his way past her ensuring he brushed his muscular bicep past her feeble one.

Tears seeped out in long trails from her eyes after clogging up within her eyelids. Everyone present at the field seemed to have turned towards their direction in an awful stare and so when she couldn't bottle up the embarrassment anymore, she ran. Running back in through the school gate and not stopping until she reached her class. Stella stood by a mango tree and watched the word exchange  between them wondering if she should run after Ashley and comfort her, or give her some space.

The class was calm and the noise at the field seemed very far away. She laid head bent on her desk, resting her throbbing head on her smooth skin. The tears poured out easier that way, wrenching her heart and choking her such that her breathing was hindered and she took in loud gasps of air.

Kelvin and Mary were seated beside a broken hoop at the basketball court inside the school and so didn't see what had unfolded. She had been so engrossed with studying, that she missed the long stare Kelvin shot at her. He felt absorbed by those little facial details on her skin. The cherry eyes of hers that burned with determination and her dried lips that had cracked. When she finally looked up and caught it, she called his name and it was only when she yelled it the second time that he shook back to reality.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, raising the corners of her lips to a smile.

"I'm just amazed at your dedication. At this rate, you could beat Ashley Okafor at the competition," he replied.

"It's not just about beating Ashley. I just want the scholarship," she replied, feebly. "Well I guess since the sports isn't serious today, I'll go to class and study more."

"...and what if you're caught?" He asked, leaning closer and grabbing her hands.

"I'll hide," she whispered and he released a short laughter. A short memory of them hiding from a teacher before hit him and he released his hands from hers allowing her to leave. It was as though he gave her permission to leave. He was like her guardian angel, guarding and guiding her at school from his friends. He wanted to be all around her, making sure she was safe from Martins and Dayo.

It started off as just merely looking after her, until it metamorphosed into something stronger but he feared terming it love was too defining. The other students did however, and had coined their couple name as 'Kelry' because 'Melvin' already existed.

Mary hopped into class and immediately spotted Ashley at the far end still with her pink sports top and white skirt like a rose flower amidst thorns. Mary heard the sobs and the drawing in of forming mucus that clogged her nostrils. She wanted to stay by her side and pat her by the back, but feared Ashley would bark at her. It was like a wounded dog, try to pat it, and it might turn against your good intention and tear off your skin. She remained resilient though and moved closer.

"Hey Ash! Are you OK?" She asked.

"Don't call me that. I'm fine," she sobbed.

"You don't seem fine," Mary said, aiming to place her hands on Ashley's back. She did and noticed a scar on the tiny bump a part of Ashley's spine made on her neck. She pushed apart the hair locked into braids that settled on her neck and saw the marks glowing a pale red. You'll have to hit someone very hard to see marks on the neck. "Has Martins been hitting you?"

"Leave me alone!" Ashley pushed Mary's hand away, breathing heavily. She quickly wiped her tears towards her ear and drank a mouth full from the pink floral water bottle she had kept beside her desk. They could hear Mr. Friday's voice as he had neared their classroom. Mary was quick enough to delve under a desk, but Ashley wasn't so lucky.

"So you are hiding in class when your mates are out in the field right?" He asked. He was a man of petite structure and he had a mark on his hard dark cheeks that cut from his cheek bone down to his jaw.

Mary quietly stood up from hiding and discovered that she wasn't the one he referred to. The word hiding gave her away.

"I'm sorry sir. I was having a headache," Ashley said. It was easy to buy her story since her eye bags seemed to darken and appeared really sore. Her eyes shrunk within those lids and she still released light sniffles. Mary had nothing. She prayed silently that he did not punish her by asking her to wash the teachers toilet. The last memory still churned her intestines.

"Go to the hostel and get some rest. And you?" he said, turning to Mary. He examined her on her blue sports top and white skirt, the ones Stella generously gave her and settled his eyes on her toes. Mary folded her toes and curled it in when she noticed his stare. Her shoe had the soles peeling out because the weak glue keeping the sole together was wearing off. "Why are you not in your full kit?" He didn't wait for a response and then added, "make sure you tell your parents to buy a new shoe for you during visiting OK?"

She was grateful and nodded repeatedly. She knew she was not going to tell her aunt but she nodded anyways. Ashley had gone and so did the teacher after a while. Mary then proceeded to studying, but couldn't seem to get her head over the marks she saw on Ashley's neck.

*****

Kelvin had been seated on the hot seat awaiting his fate. It didn't matter how long or how many times one was being questioned, it always seemed fresh when one would take up  the seat on that plastic chair and sat face to face with the detective. It didn't matter if one was guilty or innocent, the room always made everyone guilty.

There was no fan or air conditioner, but he felt cold. His legs shivered lightly and so did his lips. He rubbed one hand over the other and watched as the detective prepared to question him.

"Kelvin," she finally spoke up.

"Ma!" He replied.

"Do you know anything about Mary's disappearance?" She asked.

"I don't. I wouldn't do anything bad to her, I really loved her."

The detective reclined back on the office seat and rolled about to the left and back to her position. She stuck up her pen into her mouth as though examining his words and looking for what to use against him.

"Where were you at the night of Mary's disappearance?" She fired.

"At the party just like every other person. I was actually mad at her because she spent more time with Martins and I only left the hall to look for her when she was declared missing," he replied.

"Martins you say? Is he your suspect?" She asked.

"I didn't want to say this before but yes! He drugged Mary and then raped her."

The detective slowly sat up from her relaxed position and released a light squeak with her adjustments on the leather seat with iron legs woven as one which had plastic rolling balls. She locked her hands with interest and relaxed her elbows on the fine mahogany desk.

"Are you sure?" She asked, interested. The story was taking a different dimension.

"Yes ma!"

The detective nodded and turned to her right to draw out an evidence sealed within her desk. It was the pencam in a plastic bag.

"Where is the memory card that goes in here?" She asked.

"I-I don't know," he replied.

At the hostel, Stella rushed in before the troop of the others flooding in from the evening rosary at the basketball court. She had seen something at class during prep and the thought about it filled her mind throughout the moment reciting the rosary. Her mouth mimed in unison but her thoughts were far off. When they had shared the grace and crossed themselves declaring the end of the prayer, she rushed in towards her bed and drew out the books from under her pillow.

One was Ashley's and the other was hers. Slowly opening Ashley's book, she saw a memory card seated at the middle page. She picked it up and looked at it with interest. It had to be the same memory card she knew Martins searched frantically for. It was a major piece of the puzzle and contained something Martins tried so hard to hide which had a connection to Mary's whereabout she thought. She knew what she had to do. She was going to see what it held and then hand the card over to the detective.