Rats, Roses And Paper Bones

Chapter 20: The promise.

“For the last time, do you understand the consequences of what you’ve done?”

The tall, thin woman towered over me, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

I was bent over on the ground, every movement sending another wave of pain through my body. My uniform was stained with dirt, and my skin burned from the beating I had received.

This was probably the tenth time she had asked me that question.

And, for the tenth time, I gave her the same answer.

“I didn't do it,” I said, lifting my head.

The woman, Principal Collins, sighed heavily.

“All the evidence points to you, Miss Adejare.” She gestured towards the black nylon bag lying on the table beside her. “You were caught trying to climb over the school fence after curfew. You were also caught carrying a large sum of money that was reported missing from the housemistress's room. The money was found in your hands. How exactly do you expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with it?”

I stared at her.

This was it.

No one was going to believe me.

I was the invisible student. The girl nobody knew, nobody vouched for and nobody cared about—until something went wrong.

Then suddenly, everyone knew my name.

“I already told you, ma. It was a misunderstanding. I didn't steal the money. I was framed.”

“Oh, really?” Her eyebrows rose. “So you just happened to be behind the school at midnight, holding thousands of naira that happened to belong to the housemistress?”

I swallowed.

“And cigarettes,” she continued. “Cigarettes that you were supposedly going to smoke with your friends after sneaking out of the school.”

My stomach dropped.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

That was their plan.

They were going to steal the housemistress's money and use it to fund their little hangout. And if they were caught, they would pin everything on someone else. Most likely, Gloria.

They had almost gotten away with it.

Gloria had escaped.

And the person who had taken the fall for them instead was me.

“We spoke to three students who witnessed what happened,” Principal Collins continued. “One of them claims to be your close friend.”

My heart sank.

Gloria.

It had to be Gloria.

I desperately hoped she had told them the truth.

“The girl told us your parents have been having financial difficulties,” Principal Collins continued. “She also said you've been struggling to keep up with your grades because of it. Is that true?”

I froze.

For a moment, I couldn't speak.

I remembered all the times I had confided in Gloria. All the things I had told her because I trusted her.

She had promised me everything would be fine. She had even offered to share her pocket money with me whenever I needed it.

How could the same person now be using my problems against me?