August 29th, 2022.

   Detective Okoye stared at the closed door of the classroom. The material that was found in the principal's office the previous night was identified as the school's day wear, worn mostly to night preps. That made the top suspect of the case, a student.

   "Oh detective." A voice said and the detective stared at the teacher in front of him. The class door was now open and the students fixed their gaze on the two men.

   "Good morning sir. I'm Detective Okoye." He introduced and they shook hands. The teacher nodded and glanced at the class one more time before walking down the hallway.

   Okoye walked into the classroom and briefly studied them. They were all quiet and stared at him with wide eyes. They must've heard the news. He cleared his throat before introducing himself.

   "I'm Detective Okoye. Some of you must've seen me last night." He said and they sat still. "I just want to tell you not to be afraid. The criminal will soon be caught and you all can go back to your normal activities when that is done. For now, nobody is allowed to go out of the school compound and nobody is allowed in. I heard your teachers stay in the staff quarters so this should not be difficult." He added and the students looked more terrified than they were before he came in. "If you saw anything last night or heard anything, don't hesitate to inform me." He said, giving them a pointed look. They shakily responded and he left.

   He could not believe a student was the prime suspect of the case. But the current events in the country made the story not far-fetched. He walked back to the building where the principal's office was located and unchained the door. His officers had made sure to restrict every entrance to the building the previous night so as to avoid missing any clue.

   Two officers followed him as he walked up the stairs leading to the office. Detective Okoye wore his gloves and face mask and the officers with him did the same before they opened the door.

   He took in the messy state of the office and figured that whoever was there was looking for something but what would that be?

   "Sir." An officer called and Okoye turned. The officer was pointing at a metallic cupboard that was wide open. The cupboard was waist length and was filled with white papers. "These are questions for the mock exam which was supposed to be written today." The officer said. 

    "So whoever messed this place up and possibly killed the principal was really a student.." Detective Okoye mused and the officer nodded.

   "It's likely Sir."

   'What in the world happened on Sunday night?' the detective wondered.

***

10 days before the murder.

   The class was noisy as usual. It was the short break after lunch and the teens were very much hyper.

   Kelvin kept on trying to climb his friend's back as they both headed back to their seats but Damien successfully avoided him. Kelvin decided to try one last time before tripping on a desk and falling face flat on the floor. 

   "Ouch.." a couple of students hissed as they heard the impact of Kelvin's body on the tiled ground. Damien sighed before walking back to his friend and kicking his shoulder lightly.

   "Guy, stand up abeg." He said in a bored tone. Kelvin raised his slightly bruised face and glared at Damien.

   "It's your fault." He blamed and Damien raised his eyebrows.

   "What did I do?" He asked amusedly. Instead of getting a response, he felt a pair of hands grab his legs and drag him down. He groaned as his buttocks collided with the hard floor.

   "Golden boy, what are you doing on the floor?" Gabby said, crossing the both of them in order to get to her seat. Damien stood up and dusted his uniform. Kelvin tried to stand up as well but Damien kicked him back down.

   "I'm tired of this school food!" Nini yelled as she stormed into the almost empty classroom slamming the door. 

  "Me too." Gabby pouted, sitting on her desk.

  "Who wants shawarma and drink?" Kelvin suggested, finally standing from his position.

   "Yes please." Nini said, quickly. A handful of students in the class quickly agreed.

   "Nobody should order more than one of each or they'll go and buy the stuff themselves." Gabby said, tearing a sheet of paper from her book. She went round and the students who were interested wrote their names and what they wanted down.

   "So how many do we get?" Kelvin asked his friend, taking a seat on his desk.

   "I'm not interested." Damien said, looking through the textbook in his hands.

   "Should I buy your chocolate biscuit for you instead?" Kelvin said smugly. He knew his offer was irresistible. On cue, Damien raised his left brow and Kelvin laughed before taking the paper and writing their order.

   "So who is going?" A boy asked from the back of the class. Kelvin raised his hand with a cheeky smile on his face.

   "Obviously I am." He said taking the money Gabby gathered. "If I leave this afternoon, I'll be back before dinner." He added, counting the money.

   "How do we separate the stuff na? It will be easier to share in the hostel." A tall boy, Pasim, said while playing catch with another boy.

   "I'll go with him." Gabby suggested, "I'll buy the girls' stuff and you'll buy your gender's. When we come back, we'll share it in our respective hostels." She said and Kelvin nodded in agreement.

      "When will you leave?" Brume asked and they decided on the time they were going to go out.

   "Kelvin, the paper please." Natasha said and Kelvin handed it to her.

   "Chicken or beef?" She asked the boy beside her and he shook his head.

   "I don't want anything." He replied and she frowned. She dropped the paper on her desk and turned towards him.

   "Are you sure?" She asked and he nodded. "I'll just order for you. If you don't want it, throw it away." She insisted and wrote down the order.

   "Nat.." Tobe protested but his girlfriend had already written down what she wanted to write. "Thanks." He said gratefully and she smiled.

   "You're welcome." She said, giving the paper back to Kelvin with the money that'd cover the bills.

   "So we fake sickness, leave afternoon class with Miss clinic," Kelvin said nodding towards the clinic prefect, "buy the stuff and run back." He concluded proudly and they all nodded.

   "Make sure the principal doesn't see you abeg. This one expulsion dey shine for his eyes these days." Pasim warned and Kelvin scoffed.

   "You think say na my first time? The pizza you ate during the last social night, where is it from? School dinning?" He mocked and Pasim raised his hands in surrender. As if on cue, the door opened and Joy slowly entered the classroom but nobody took notice of her presence. The rest of the students eventually filled the classroom.

   The bell signalling the end of recess rang and they all took their seats. Their Vice Principal, Mrs Isioma, who was also their English teacher came into the class. She was more on the plump side so walking was a bit difficult for her.

   "Class greet." Sam, the class prefect, announced and they stood up and greeted. It was probably her motherly figure that prompted the little respect in them.

   "Which sickness will be more believable?" Kelvin whispered to Damien and his friend shrugged. "Dammy.." Kelvin whined with a fake sweet voice. Damien shuddered and shifted his chair away from his friend.

   "Just use one of your usual excuses. Puke or something." Damien said, already getting irritated. Kelvin huffed and cleared his throat. 

   "Excuse.. excuse me ma'am." Kelvin stuttered in a quiet voice. Damien had to do a double take to be sure it was his friend. The boy before him looked so fragile as if the next wind would blow him away. "I'm feeling nauseous. I think I'm going to-" he paused before making weird sounds.

   "Ma, I think he's going to vomit!" Someone exclaimed from the back.

   "Damien, Nnenna take him to the school clinic." Mrs Isioma said. The clinic prefect stood up immediately while Damien glared at his best friend. The three students left the classroom. Kelvin quickly turned and winked at Gabby. She quickly caught on to the signal and wondered how her acting could top Kelvin's. 

   "Gabby, you need to leave soon." Nini whispered and Gabby nodded. 

   "I know that." She hissed.

   "Uh.. Ma, Kelvin forgot his medication with me. I need to give it to him." She said quickly. The woman was already exhausted from the first student so she just waved Gabby off without thinking twice. She turned back to write on the board and Gabby did a little happy dance before rushing out of the classroom.
**

   The school cafeteria was barely filled with students. The prospective senior students were forty in number so the cafeteria looked almost empty. Gabby and Kelvin walked into the cafeteria looking smug. 

   Twenty minutes later, the principal strode into the cafeteria and the students froze. Damien glanced at Kelvin and saw him looking at Gabby. Joy walked into the cafeteria and took her lunch tray to an empty seat.

   "That snitch." Nini cursed under her breath.

  "Gabrielle, Kelvin and Damien follow me." The principal said and left the cafeteria. The students that were called slowly stood up, abandoning their half eaten dinner.

   The journey to the administrative block was longer than usual. The three students fidgeted lightly as they followed the man into his office.

   "I got a report this evening about two students that left the school premises." The principal said, leaning against his table. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes slowly. "Damien, tell me the truth. Did these two students leave this premises or not?" He asked his son but the boy in question stared blankly at his father.

   "I have no idea Mr Martins." He replied and the principal nodded. 

  "I knew you'd say that." He said before turning to the other two students. "If I find any solid proof that you left this premises, I'll have you sent home instantly including those that are covering for them. You are dismissed." He said, walking behind his desk.

   The three students left the office and the boys heaved a sigh of relief. Gabby stormed out of the block ignoring the sound of the prep bell. Damien rolled his eyes, knowing where she was storming off to. He quickly ran after her and held her back.

   "Where do you think you are going?" He hissed and she pushed him away.

   "Just let me see that basket mouth." She snapped and Kelvin scoffed.

   "And you think that's better. Touch her and you'll only prove to the principal that you're guilty. Just lay low." Kelvin spat, glaring at her. Damien walked out, followed by Kelvin and they left behind a boiling girl.
~~ 

   The night prep began and the students were separated, based on their genders, in two different classes. Kelvin tapped his foot reportedly on the floor nervously. He kept on looking in the direction of the admin block, hoping the principal didn't come out.

   "Someone has to get the stuff out of there." He muttered. "I can't go since I'm already a suspect, you can't either." He turned to his friend who was oddly calm.

   "Just ask someone else to go. After all, if one person is caught then we all go down." Damien said.

   Tobe was underlining a few pointers in his textbook when someone hit the back of his chair. He turned around and saw the note glued to his chair. Scribbled on the paper was a few instructions from none other than Kelvin, telling him to go and smuggle their stuff into the hostel. He quickly turned to Kelvin who was sitting behind him and Kelvin nodded towards the door.

   He sighed. He knew there was no way he could refuse so he decided to get it over with. He took permission from the teacher supervising their prep class and left. On his way out, he passed the girl's class and tried to signal Nnenna, the clinic prefect, who was by the window and luckily, she caught on. She took permission from the teacher and ran out.

  "We need to get the stuff out of the clinic. The principal is already suspecting that something is up." Tobe said and Nnenna nodded.

   "Since it's Joy, she probably told him everything." Nnenna added sadly.

   They got to the clinic and were about to carry the two bags containing what was bought earlier when they heard the voice of their principal.

   "Nnenna? What are you doing here during prep." He asked, opening the door. He saw Nnenna opening random drawers before taking out an inhaler.

   "Sir, an asthmatic student is having an episode. I need to attend to him." She said quickly and he nodded. He looked at the curtain enclosed room and heard a heaving sound. He looked around the clinic and didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

   "If it's serious, just inform the hostel mistress and she'll take the student to the hospital immediately. The school nurse should be back by tomorrow." He said before leaving. Nnenna didn't move till she heard the security man's loud salutations and the big school gate closing. She fell on the floor and sighed in relief.

   "We're safe, we're safe." She breathed out. Tobe walked out of the room and sighed.

   "Even if she's to report later, she won't have a proof." Tobe added.
~~ 

   "Omo that Joy eh. She too dey talk." Kelvin said with his mouth full. It was already prep over and luckily for them, their house master wasn't around that night. The hostel was filled with the boys who were chattering and some eating noisily.

   "Mhmm'' Damien agreed as he opened his chocolate biscuit. The two friends were on Damien's bed, away from the others as they ate.

   "But Dammy, in less than two weeks we'll be writing that mock exam. I just wonder how the supervisors will be." Kelvin said, wiping his mouth of crumbs. "I know it might be nothing but I can't afford to be held back by a year. The only option is to leave this school but that one is like asking me to kill myself." He said, expressing his fear.

   "I know that. That's why I'm reading for two." Damien said and Kelvin chuckled. 

    "How nice will it be if we see the questions beforehand?" Kelvin sighed wishfully, taking a bite of his shawarma. Damien narrowed his eyes at him and Kelvin laughed.

   "It won't be easy. Not with those cameras all over the academic block." Damien said, "Plus when we were in the office, I noticed that the metallic cupboard there was locked. That means that the papers are likely to be in there." Damien said and Kelvin scooted closer. After all their years of friendship, Damien has always been the smartest one of the duo.

    "Your father is always with his bunch of keys, there's no way we can get our hands on it." Kelvin whispered, looking around them to be sure no one was listening in on them.

   Damien shrugged at his friend's response, "And what if we can?"

*******

This week's shout-out goes to Omokehinde_ and kundab for being the firsts to vote and comment in the previous chapter. To be next week's shout-out, drop a vote and comment.

Due to some readers' requests in the comment section and my dm, I'll now be posting a new chapter every Monday and Thursday loves

~Korisa🧡