Eighteen O' Five {ONGOING}🇳🇬

~•Chapter Ten•~

The moment the officers drove my twin sister and I away from the house it felt like the end for me. I was never coming back, they would lock me up in one of their dark cells-full of cockroaches and mosquitoes-and from there to the prison where I would spend the rest of my life. The rest of my messed up life.

It looked like the typical Hollywood movies-the sad ones particularly-where a high school kid gets into trouble that changes his life forever, the trouble he could have prevented.

But this, my story, was not going to be that story...yet. In contrast to our thoughts, Rera's body had not been found by the police. I was still a free man but till how long?

Officer Taiwo and his colleague drove us to the community school where we joined the other students on the assembly ground. There were chatters and noises from the students, no coordination until Mr Olukoya, the headteacher of the programme climbed on the podium and silence reigned.

On the podium with him were seven other men, not teachers, police I guessed, officer Taiwo and his colleague inclusive. They all stood at arm's length, hands folded behind their backs, maintaining straight faces.

"Mmm-Mmm," Mr. Olukoya cleared his throat and said, "Good morning students. I hope you are all well this morning. I know the programme had ended and we have said our goodbyes yesterday. We are all supposed to be resting or doing whatever thing we want to do, I know. We are sorry for the inconvenience but you wouldn't be here this morning if it were not important or urgent. These gentlemen here have something they would love us to do for them, so I'd appreciate it if you guys cooperate with them. I will hand over now to Detective Solagbade. Thank you."

'Solagbade', that must be Dorcas's father, I guessed.

He was high in stature, huge, light-skinned, with no visible hair on his head. He was blessed with bushy hair above his upper lip to complement the reflective bald head, and unlike the other men on the podium, he didn't have a pot hidden in his belly, he looked fit.

While looking around to see students' reactions after Mr. Olukoya's address, my eyes met Dorcas's, it looked like she had been staring at me for a long while. I tried to smile and give a wink to acknowledge her father's handsomeness but I couldn't, there was this way she was looking at me that made me feel so uncomfortable. When I noticed her expression wasn't going to change, I turned my face back to the podium to listen to her father speak.

"Good morning students," he said, his voice thick and loud, "Like the headteacher had earlier said, we are sorry for the inconvenience. We wouldn't be taking too much of your time...if you all cooperate. All we want to do is just a few questions and answers session, that's all, and everyone goes home. Do well all understand?"

The whole students chorused, "Yes sir!"

"Very good," he continued, "So, it's going to be one person after the other. You will all have to move to a classroom which will be announced by the headteacher now, and then we'll call you into another classroom one after the other. Thank you."

After we were dispersed, Dorcas walked up to Olamipo and I where we stood, she still had that look on her face, it was serious, she wouldn't even smile.

"Hey Dorcas, sorry about yesterday, sorry I had to just-" Olamipo chuckled. "-you know...let you leave like that."

"Hey," she replied, her voice low and draggy, "y-e-a-h..about yesterday. What happened yesterday?"

She turned to me.

"What happened yesterday? The festival, what else?" I asked anxiously.

"No, what happened yesterday that you had blood all over your clothes?" she asked.