Jazz It Up

CHAPTER 17

Everyone turned to stare at a perplexed Kelechi. She stared at the phone in the teacher's hand, shocked that it was in her bag. She wondered who put it there because she was absolutely sure she had not entered the room after sports time when Miss Toke had asked her to get her bag.

"Kelechi, do you care to explain yourself?" The teacher asked.

"Ma, I really don't know how that phone got in my bag, I swear. I have not even opened that bag since Saturday when I was looking for my phone," Kelechi said and Jazz facepalmed while Ronke shook her head.

"Did you just say that you were looking for your phone?"

"Yes ma, but I didn't lose it in school."

"So because you lost your phone, you decided to steal Miss Toke's phone to compensate for your loss right?"

"No ma, it's nothing like that I promise," Kelechi said, trying to control her shaky hands.

"No, it is exactly like that. I cannot believe you did this to your own class teacher, you will be punished for this. You, go and call Miss Toke." Amarachi nodded and left the room.

"Ma, I think this is just a misunderstanding, Kelechi never steals no matter how tempting it is. Maybe the phone doesn't belong to Miss Toke, why don't you turn it on so we can see if it really belongs to her," Ronke said and the teacher turned on the screen which displayed a picture of Miss Toke in the background.

Ronke was stunned, she didn't have anything to say after that. She knew Kelechi was innocent and someone was probably trying to frame her but she just couldn't figure out who it was. It couldn't be Jazz, obviously, and it couldn't be Amarachi and Fatima, they loved Kelechi to bits and would never think of doing such to her. Whoever did this must hate Kelechi very much to be able to do this to her. But who could this person be?

Something didn't seem right to Ronke. How did that person even get hold of the phone when Miss Toke's bag was in the teachers' office and how did they enter their room without anyone seeing them?

Amarachi returned with Miss Toke who gasped when she saw her phone in the teacher's hand.

"That's my phone!" She said, collecting it from the teacher. "Where did you find it?"

"In your dear student's bag."

"Who?"

"Kelechi."

"What?" Miss Toke was bewildered. Her eyes widened in shock at what she just heard. Kelechi was the one who stole her phone? She couldn't believe this.

"Are you sure you found my phone in Kelechi's bag?" She asked, just to be sure.

"Everyone here is a witness to that. She even admitted that she had lost her phone three days ago, maybe that is why she stole yours," The teacher offered.

"I still can't come to terms with the fact that the thief is Kelechi. She is such a good girl," Miss Toke said.

"Well, the proof says it all; Kelechi is a thief. Sometimes the people we think are good are in fact just wolves in sheep's clothing and one day, their true nature will be exposed."

"I am not a thief and I didn't steal Miss Toke's phone. Please, you have to believe me." Kelechi broke down in tears.

"Don't try to fool us with your crocodile tears. You should've thought of the consequences of your actions when you were doing it. Stealing is a punishable offence and you must be punished for having the audacity to steal a teacher's phone."

"I didn't do anything, please. I don't know how that phone got into my bag."

"Just keep quiet and come with me, we are going to the principal's office." The teacher dragged Kelechi out of the room, Miss Toke and the other teacher following behind.