Clapping Monkey

Chapter 4 The Clapping Monkey

"Hi Claire, How are you? I knew you will definitely come to visit me. Trust me I am as much shocked as you are. What a coincidence that I became the principal of your school" I replied trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Sir. I don't believe in such coincidences. I don't know what kind of foul play you brought along with you but I won't be a puppet in your play ". As expected of her, she is really clever. I need to be careful, I can't blow my cover.
" My child, I think you are exaggerating. But you are right, it's not a mere coincidence but God's will. He wants me to be near you and protect you".I hope she takes my bait and leaves for now. She was about to ask another question but the bell rang.

" I will have to leave for now father, but this conversation is not over".She left before I could say anything. Well, I will wait for you next time.

"Alina! Where were you? What happened? And please for god's sake explained the new plan to me" I guess I will have to tell Claire the truth.

"Actually Claire, I thought if I made an excuse to not come to school today, Robert will get suspicious. Hence, I asked Karen if she could send me screenshots of the text messages between her and Robert. I used a spare sim and texted her the location. Now, I hope this plan works".

I want to show Robert that he messed with the wrong girl. He thought he could fool my mother and silence me.
I might be on medication for depression but it still does not mean he can take me for granted.

I was so immersed with the possible outcomes of this supposed plan that I did not even realize that it was already time for lunch.

"Did you hear about the death of Sister Gina. They say that the former principal died under mysterious circumstances".

"I don't like when people spread rumours around, Miss Claire Rodgers" an agitated voice of Sister Theresa. Claire is going to get under trouble for that.
"I think you should put more effort into studying rather than on spreading rumours. Hence, I want you to submit an essay on the dangers of misinformation".
Finally, the school ended, I rushed through the gates and saw that my mother was there to pick me up. I could make out through her face that she was crying earlier".
I said my goodbye to Claire and promised her that I will call her after reaching home.

" Claire, would you like to go to the beach with me. I want to talk to you regarding Robert. You were right, he was a perverted disgusting man. I am going to part my ways ".

We reached the beach and listened patiently and my mother told me the whole story. I was sure now that my plan was a success.
Mom and I talked for hours. It was the best day of my life. My relationship with my mom worsened because of Robert.
We reached back home at around 10 p.m. my mom went into the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Turned out Robert left some takeout as a form of apology. Mom had not prepared anything and she did not want to waste any food. Hence, we ate it.

After scrolling through Netflix for a while, I went to bed. After so many years, I was happy to get my old mom back.
I again woke up late the next morning. I decided to ditch school and spend some more time with mom. It was already 10 o'clock in the morning. Hence, there was no point in leaving for school now. I guess mom did not wake me up for the same reason.

" Mom, Can I have Pancakes for breakfast today?"

Mom! Mom!

I made my way through my bedroom to hers, she was not there. Then I moved towards the kitchen.
I saw droplets of blood and traces leading to the kitchen.
I finally found her lying on the floor with blood everywhere. My whole world shattered. I called the ambulance and was screaming at the top of my lungs, telling my mom to wake up.

Even among such chaos, I could still make out a small clapping monkey toy keychain

Author's note
Due to my exam, I won't be posting tomorrow. I hope you understand. I will again post 2 chapters continuously to make up for tomorrow on Friday.
Please leave a comment