I took one last glance at the bulb hanging above my head before finally opening the door.
The Principal was standing outside a bit far from the guards at my door. Though it is a bad thing but is quite nice to have guards right in front of my door.
I walked over to the principal, Mr. Thompson, he had a very serious expression on his face, but the moment our eyes met, his features softened almost immediately as though he had been trying not to appear too intimidating.
"Jane," he said calmly, "thank you for coming out."
I gave a small nod and followed him quietly down the walk way to the school area.
The walk to his office felt strangely uncomfortable. The school corridors that were usually noisy now seemed unusually silent, making every sound around us feel louder than normal. Even our footsteps echoed faintly, it somehow only worsened the tension sitting heavily in my chest.
When we finally arrived at his office, he opened the door and motioned for me to enter first before following behind and shutting it carefully.
"Please sit," he said politely.
I sat down slowly while he moved toward his desk. I scanned his office to be sure the CCTV camera's are in place and working. I relaxed when I saw the red light on the four cameras.
His office carried the scent of old books mixed with coffee, and the shelves behind him were crowded with files arranged so carelessly that some looked close to falling over.
For a few moments, he remained silent like he was studying me carefully. In a way it made me slightly uneasy.
"You have been through quite a lot recently, Jane," he finally said as he leaned back in his chair.
I lowered my eyes quietly, unsure of what exactly to say.
"I am aware that several students are beginning to suspect you because of Emma's incident," he continued, his voice calmer now, "but I want you to understand something clearly. I do not believe you are involved."
My eyes slowly lifted toward him.
"I am currently doing everything within my power to clear your name and get you out of this situation before it becomes worse."
There was something strangely comforting about the way he spoke, almost as though he genuinely cared about what happened to me, although a small part of me still could not completely trust anyone anymore.
"Thank you, sir," I said softly.
He nodded once before the expression on his face shifted again, becoming more serious.
"However," he continued carefully, "there is another matter we need to discuss."
Immediately, my stomach tightened like it was being tied with a very strong cord,
He opened one of the files sitting on his desk and glanced down briefly before speaking again.
"We recently discovered that Emma received a letter, threatening her with a timer. 100 hours, 50 hours, 25 hours. Do you know anything about this?" He said reading from the letters.
"No sir!" My replied was so sharp and firm.
The moment he said that, my entire body stiffened slightly.
Another letter?
My thoughts immediately became restless.
"Does Fitball take two people at once now?" I wondered silently naming the culprit fitball.
Ever since this entire nightmare began, it had always been one victim at a time.
So why was Emma suddenly connected too?
The Principal sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead briefly, clearly exhausted by everything happening inside the school.
"This situation is becoming far more dangerous than I initially thought," he admitted quietly.
My fingers tightened against the fabric of my skirt as another thought suddenly crossed my mind.
"Nafisat," I said quickly. "Please sir… can I see her?"
He looked at me almost immediately.
"I do not think that would be appropriate right now."
"Please," I begged before he could dismiss the idea completely. "I just need to talk to her for a little while."
"Jane!!"
"Please sir," I repeated more desperately this time.
He hesitated after that, his silence stretching long enough to make me nervous. For a moment, it genuinely seemed like he was considering refusing again, but eventually he released a tired sigh and nodded slightly.
"Alright," he said at last. "But briefly."
Relief washed through me immediately.
"Thank you so much, sir."
After leaving his office, I practically hurried back toward my room with my thoughts spinning uncontrollably inside my head.
Vivian claimed Nafisat had received another letter, now the Principal had now confirmed Emma received one too…
I could not understand the whole situation...
Nothing about the situation felt normal anymore.
On my way to the hall I kept thinking about it…..Fitball, (culprit) only takes out his victim on a Wednesday….if he starts from 100 days that means his first letter would be sent 8 in the morning on a Saturday. Nafisat found her letter on a Saturday.
By the time I got back to my room, anxiety had already settled deeply inside me. I paced around restlessly for several minutes before a sudden knock landed against the door.
Without wasting another second, I rushed toward it and pulled it open immediately.
"Nafi!"
The moment I saw her standing there, relief flooded through me so quickly that I pulled her into a hug almost instantly.
She laughed softly in surprise. "Okay… easy."
I pulled away slowly and examined her face carefully.
She looked completely fine.
"You are okay, right?" I asked almost immediately.
"Obviously," she replied with a small laugh before stepping inside the room.
The moment the door closed behind her, my curiosity returned instantly.
"So…" I started carefully while watching her closely, "about the letter situation…"
To my surprise, Nafisat immediately laughed.
"Jane please, that thing was obviously a prank." She sat on Emma's bed which is so weird because she hates her. "I fell for the prank."
I stared at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said," she replied casually as she sat on the bed. "I did not receive any other letter."
My brows slowly furrowed.
That answer did not sit right with me at all. The message I got from Vivian was that she got another letter, but that is not the issue. The issue is that, Nafisat never takes things well even if it is a prank. I could still clearly remember the state she was in after the first incident. Nafisat had been terrified to the point where she could barely stay alone for long periods, so seeing her suddenly this calm felt unnatural.
"Are you sure you are actually fine?" I asked more carefully this time. "Because ever since the first incident happened, you really have not been yourself, and you are not exactly the kind of person who gets over things easily."
"I am fine, trust me," she replied quickly smiling, then she shrugged lightly.
"Look Jane, we probably are not going to make it out of this anyway, so what exactly is the point of stressing ourselves over some stupid prank?"
The statement immediately unsettled me. There was something deeply wrong about how casually she said it. Before I could respond properly, Nafisat suddenly brightened again.
"Besides, Andrew's cupcake was actually really nice."
"Cupcake?"
"Yeah," she replied. "After hearing everything that happened between him, Emma and Nathan, I honestly would not even be surprised if Andrew poisoned Emma."
I stared at her immediately.
"Nathan?" I asked curiously.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Wait… you seriously did not know?"
I slowly shook my head.
Nafisat quickly glanced around the room first as though she expected someone to suddenly appear and overhear us before lowering her voice.
"There was apparently a huge fight between Nathan and Andrew because of Emma," she explained quietly. "Nobody knows exactly what happened between them, but rumour has it that Nathan was in love with Emma while Emma herself was completely obsessed with Andrew."
I stayed silent and allowed her to continue.
"When I say obsessed, I mean real obsession. The problem was that Andrew did not even like Emma back," she added. "Apparently Emma kept forcing herself around him constantly, and Nathan got angry because of it."
As she spoke, confusion slowly built inside my head.
"How come I have never heard this story before?" I thought quietly.
Something about the entire situation felt hidden, almost like everyone around me knew pieces of a story I had somehow missed completely. And these pieces were like puzzles that were very hard to fix.
I looked at Nafisat again carefully, still no fear, no panic, no anxiety, just that same strange calmness.
"Is she really over this?" I thought.
"Nafi," I said slowly, "I think you should leave now."
She blinked in confusion. "What?"
"You should go."
Before she could question me further, I gently pushed her toward the door and led her outside. The moment she left, I shut the door immediately and began pacing around the room again.
"Someone has to be lying," I muttered under my breath while dragging my fingers through my hair and pacing around the room.
Nothing was connecting properly anymore.
Vivian insisted Nafisat received another letter, Nafisat completely denied it, the Principal confirmed Emma had a letter too.
Andrew was somehow tied to Emma.
Nathan was involved too.
My head hurt the more I tried arranging everything together.
I screamed into my pillow. It felt like I was loosing my mind,
because at this very point...
I am.