"Hey, I'm home! We finished studying early today." my sister exclaimed as she entered the house. She was dressed in her favourite white top with blue jeans. 

"Oh. And by the way, Dylan dropped by just now. He wanted to pass you something from his overseas trip during the summer break." I replied, pointing to a brown bag on the dining table. 

"Got it. Have you finished your homework already?" 

"Yes, it's already done. And, did you know about the Pass The Secret game? A boy got shot in the school hallway today. It was scary." 

"That fast? Oh my, thanks for telling me. I gotta post that on my social media real quick. Any special info yet?" 

"Nope, I don't know much. Just that the boy was in Mr Lou's class, I think. Don't post too much fake news, I don't want rumors to start spreading." 

My sister nodded her head and went to her room, her phone on one hand and her present from Dylan in the other. I turned back to my phone and scrolled across ChatApp. My classmates were all talking about the Pass The Secret game in the class group chat. 

It's scary, don't you think? Imagine if one of us get the secret! Johnson wrote. 

If that happens, don't pass it on to me, please!  Liliana replied to his message.

Are we allowed to pass the secret to our teachers?  Michael, the class joker, asked. 

Anyways, everyone, just remember to turn on Channel 7 tonight at 8pm. Today's incident is going to be reported there. I'll be online in ChatApp, just in case yall wanna share some thoughts. Michelle, Michael's twin sister, reminded us. 

I turned off my phone and placed it on the table. Just then, the door was push opened with much force. Mum walked in, face looking gloomy. 

"Mum, what did you do with Dad? Why...do you look so...sad?" I asked, walking towards Mum.

"Your Dad says the he can't afford to pay our rent here at this house anymore. So I have to pay the rent by myself. Well, he wants to come back home with his wife too..." Mum explained, not looking at me in the eyes. "Your Dad spent too much on lottery tickets." 

"That's fine, Mum! I don't need my pocket money, I can bring food from home. I can also work at Uncle Jan's store during the weekends and school holidays to earn some money." I offered. "But I'm not letting Dad come home even if he's paying the rent." 

"I don't wish for him to come stay with us, either. I'll talk to your Dad again when he's in a better mood. And...you don't have to work at Uncle Jan's, I can manage." Mum smiled, bending down to look at me. "Just focus on your studies, my girl. Mum will be happy when you get good grades. I would be overjoyed if you could get the school scholarship." 

Mum turned behind and went upstairs. Sigh. Only if I could do something to help lessen Mum's burden. But she just won't let me. I could only do my very best to win the scholarship that could make Mum happy. 

Mum constantly worried about my sister and my studies. She worried that because we lack of money at home, we could not attend the extra lessons in class and we would miss out on studies. Sis earned her own school fees as she had a scholarship, but I didn't. My scores were average and I could not meet anyone's expectations, including mine. So, I had to work harder and obtain the scholarship by the end of the year. 

"By the way, sweetheart, there's fried rice in the fridge. Heat it up for dinner when you're hungry. Please share with your sister as well." Mum shouted from upstairs. 

"Got it!" I replied, skipping towards the kitchen. 

I got myself a pan and placed the fried rice on it. Then, I turned on the stove and there, the fried rice was starting to heat up. After a long day, I finally get to enjoy my dinner. 

My sister was still on the sofa, looking at her phone. She was mostly on her phone every day, looking through ChatApp and social media sites. Her daily routine always included posting new videos and stuff, which I was never really interested in. Mum allowed her to, ever since she started Grade 8. 

Ding! Ding! A notification beep sounded. 

"Sophie, is that yours?" Sis asked. "It ain't mine." 

I walked towards the dining table, and yes, it was a message. From Mia. 

But the strange thing was, it was all in Caps. Mia never typed like that. 

SOPHIE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW. I GOT THE SECRET, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO SHOULD I PASS IT TO! HELP ME PLEASE, IT'S BEEN MORE THAN HALF AN HOUR AND IM GONNA DIE! 

Shoot. 

Okay, listen to me first. Pass the secret on to me. I'll deal with it. Serious.

You sure? I don't wish to hurt you- 

Just pass it! Type it out, quick. I promise I will pass it to someone trustable if you don't want the secret the spread. Mia, please!

Ok. Gimme a sec, I'll copy and paste from the sender's message. 

Alright. 

Mia had cheated during the scholarship examination last year. She had brought in paper slips and copied answers from them. ~ THE UNKNOWN.

What? Seriously Mia? You cheated?