"What are we doing here?" Jamaal asked his partner who was busy staring up at the window of the office they were in. Okoye sighed before looking at the entrance to the block.

   "Do you think it took the girl three minutes to kill the principal?" He asked and Jamaal shrugged.

   "Maybe." He replied.

   Okoye began to walk back in but at a pace a girl would take. He looked at his wristwatch as he walked and before he reached the stairs, the three minutes was up. "Even if she ran, she wouldn't have made it to the office and back in three minutes." He muttered. As he reached the top of the stairs, he walked slowly to the office and noticed a broken window. He wondered if it had to do with the case.

    "Okoye.." Jamaal called. He was pointing at something on the ground of the hallway. Okoye stepped closer only to see a red fading substance on the floor. The drops of red substance trailed in a zigzag line back to the office. As Okoye's eyes followed the trail, he looked up at the end of the hall. Just above the large hall window was a camera blinking a tiny red light. Jackpot!

    "Jamaal, check if that camera is also connected to the principal's laptop fast." He ordered and Jamaal ran into the office to retrieve the footage. Okoye continued to trail the fading red substance back into the office and he knew it was blood, the principal's blood.

   "It's connected! I have a video of nine o'clock that night recorded here." Jamaal said after a few minutes. Okoye rushed to his side and they played the video. 

    The camera covered from where the broken window was to the front of the office. Five minutes into the video, the principal was seen walking to his office and unlocking it. Ten minutes later, no one else came up and Okoye's question was answered. Natasha never came up to the principal's office.

    "Jamaal, did you see that? Natasha didn't come up. I knew that the time was too short. That means someone else was here." Okoye explained. Okoye decided to watch till the end, at least till the security men arrived and saw the principal's body. The two detectives watched anxiously and the video continued, the time was slowly passing till it clocked ten. They both knew one thing; the suspect list just became bigger.

****

A day before the murder.

     The class thanked the last teacher of the morning before sitting down in exhaustion. It was Saturday morning so no other teacher would be coming in for the rest of the day.

    "So just like that, Monday will just reach and we'll write that nonsense exam." Sam said sadly. A few students sighed in sadness while others kept quiet.

    "I've even called my father and told him to look for a new school for me." Ella who sat at the front said.

   "If we have a massive failure, the school can't do anything but pass all of us na." Pasim joked and they laughed.

   "Why don't we have a class hangout after this extension?" Gabby suggested, gaining her classmates attention. 

   "An outing to rest our head from the stress." Nini added, fanning her face with her hand.

   "I like where this is going. Where do we go?" Kelvin asked turning his chair to the back.

   "Maybe that cinema beside the mall. A new movie is coming out on the first of September, we can go and watch it before school resumes." Gabby said and majority of the class agreed.

   "We can even drop by the game house on the first floor of the cinema." Nnennal suggested. The class made a noise of approval at the idea.

   "To top it off, I could pull a couple of strings and get us a bus that will take us to that waterpark and back. Don't worry, I'll sponsor that one." A plump girl, Nora, said and the class hollered.

   "Oshey!! Sugar mamacita!" Kelvin yelling, banging his hand against the desk.

   "Kelvin before you start shouting, ask golden boy if he's going o before you'll end up lonely." Gabby mocked. Kelvin gasped before turning to the boy beside him who was engrossed in the novel he was reading.

   "Sweetheart." Kevin purred playfully and Damien shot him look of disgust.

   "Eww never say that word in your life again." Damien gagged, scooting away from his friend.

   "Are you going for the class outing? If you don't go I'll feel incomplete, empty, lost-" Kelvin was cut short of his dramatic speech by his friend.

   "Yes, I'm going. Now shut up before I punch your teeth." Damien snapped. Kelvin grinned victoriously and the class laughed.

   "I remember when we were in JSS1. Kelvin was round like buns and he was always bouncing around boasting about his father's wealth." Natasha reminiced with a smile on her face. The whole class shook in laughter as Kelvin narrowed his eyes at her.

   "Till he bounced to Damien's side and Damien slapped the living brat out of him." Brume said, barely containing her laughter.

   "At least it was the slap that made us best friends." Kelvin pouted, looking at Damien who had a smile on his face although he was still looking at his novel.

   "Yeah right." Sam mocked, dodging the book Kelvin flung his way.

   "It's more like a slap of sense. To knock sense inside your head." Damien said and Kelvin whined.

   "You people should keep bullying me. It'll shock all of you when he confesses his undying love for me. You'll see." Kelvin huffed playfully.

   "Love ni, love koh." Sam laughed and Kelvin flung yet another book at him.

   "Joy, he is looking for my trouble o." Kelvin called and Joy looked up from the textbook she was barely paying attention to.

  "Is it my concern?" She asked and Nini cackled.

  "Don't act like you don't understand what he's saying." Nini said, "I just pity your future children. They'll have Sam's big ears." She added.

   "Future children? When did this one happen?" Natasha gasped.

   "Stay there and be following Tobe up and down. Gist has come and passed." Brume said.

   "Abeg there is no such thing happening." Joy clarified but no one listened to her.

   "E dey pain you? You think I didn't see the eyes you were giving Kelvin's older brother when he came the other time." Natasha replied to Brume's statement. Kelvin froze and glared at Brume.

   "You people should leave my family alone na." He whined. He climbed on his desk and was about to say something else when he tripped. But instead of falling off, he fell on Damien and they both landed on the floor. The class became lively as they laughed instead of checking on the two boys.

    The cleaner stood by the window and tried to get Tobe's attention but he was busy talking with Natasha while they both ate from the same pack of salted chips. Gabby sighted her and smirked.

   "Tobe!" She called, "your mother is calling you." 

   Tobe looked at the window and saw his mother in her cleaning uniform and sighed. He whispered to Natasha not to finish the entire pack of chips and left.

    "The compound was looking dirty. Tobe clean it well o." Gabby mocked and her friends laughed.

   "Shut up your mouth abeg. See how the three of you are laughing like rats that licked salt." Natasha fired and the three girls rolled their eyes.

    Tobe and his mother walked away from the classroom block in silence. His mother was looking at her son, her stomach churned in sadness at the remarks his classmates made.

   "Do they bully you every time?" She asked and he shook his head. "Is it because I'm a cleaner? Is that why they're bullying you?" She asked, her voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes.

   "Mum, it's not like that." Tobe consoled, "Gabby and her friends are always like that. They spit stupid remarks at anybody and everybody. That's just how they are." He explained and his mother nodded.

   "Still.. I'm sorry for this life you were born into. If you had a better background then those girls wouldn't have a reason to mock you." She said, wiping a lone tear from her cheek.

    "As long as it's those three, there will always be a reason. Just forget about it." Tobe said as they both arrived at the entrance of the building.

   "How are you preparing for the exam on Monday? I heard from the teachers in the teacher's quarters that it's very serious this time." She said and he nodded.

   "I'm trying my best, hopefully it won't be too difficult." He replied and his mother nodded. She was short and plump but her son was the opposite. Thankfully his chocolate face and every other thing was hers.

   "Keep trying my dear. I bought that scholarship form you wanted. The woman at the business center said you have to do very well in your SAT and this scholarship exam and you'll be off to abroad." She said happily. Tobe looked at her in surprise and hugged her.

   "Thank you so much. Our school has already made provision for the senior students to write the SAT early next year so it won't be a problem." He said, grinning from ear to ear.  

   "That's what I wanted to tell you. If those girls pick on you again, tell me and I'll teach them one or two lessons." She said and Tobe scoffed.

   "No o." He said, "their parents would just lock you up in a matter of minutes." He added playfully.

   "Oya go and read." She said, waving him off. He was about to leave when he saw Damien and Kelvin rush out. Kelvin was gripping his right hand while Damien limped ahead of him.

   "Sorry na. I didn't mean to fall on you." Kelvin apologised but Damien ignored him as he limped towards the school clinic.

   "Damien, see I even broke my own arm." Kelvin pleaded on but it only made Damien limp faster. Tobe laughed at the two of them before heading back to the classroom.

    The air around the school was lively and satisfying as the laughter of students sounded so soothing to the ears. It was very calm, so calm that it felt similar to the calm before the storm.

*******
Sorry for the late update beautiful people 😊

Anyway, the last chapter will be up on Monday so sit tight my loves. Any guesses on who killed the principal?

I'm looking for a ship name for Natasha and Tobe. If you have any ideas, tell me in the comment section.

Thank you so so much to everyone following this book up to this point.

I have a big announcement to make in the next chapter and I'm sure y'all will love it.

~Korisa🧡