I Did Not Want To Fall For You

Chapter 38: Trouble

"Senior Kamsi," Someone called from behind her. She recognized the voice.
"How are you?" She smiled at Nwoke upon turning around. She noticed the bag he held. It was Kaito's bag.
"He said I should give it to you," Nwoke spoke, handing over the bag.
"Tochukwu's h&f?" Ejiro asked as everyone watched.
"Yup," She answered.
"His phone, laptop, and power bank are inside," Nwoke informed her.
"Oh, he wasn't with it. Thank God," she sighed in relief then wondered if she was to be thanking God for a crime.
"He threw the power bank to me before the woman slapped him, and Senior Jude's mp3 player," He said.
"Why did Nonso not throw his phone too?" Cynthia asked and Sarah and Toyo laughed.
"His phone is his baby. He cannot afford even a scratch on it," Toyo said, laughing.
"A scratch is better than it being seized," Cynthia insisted sensibly, "what if they don't give him back?"
"They will," Ejiro said, "but not anytime soon."
"It's not like he would have caught it," Toyo added, referring to Nwoke, "or would you have caught the phone if he had thrown it to you at that moment?" She asked Nwoke.
Nwoke blinked and scratched his head nervously.
"It was in a rush," he mumbled, "I... I don't know."
"You didn't answer the question," Ejiro commented with disapproval.
"Leave him," She intervened, "at least, he caught the power bank and mp3."
She handed the bag back to him and he gazed at her, confused.
"Keep it safe, nothing must happen to it. Not even a scratch," she warned.
"Why are you giving it to him?" Kehinde B asked, confused also.
"Where will I keep it?" She looked searchingly at the rest of them, "They may search classes too and it's not even safe even if they don't search and I can't carry it to the hostel. Right now, it's not safe with me."
"So..." she continued to Nwoke, "keep it safe. Bring it to me after school. You can go."
Nwoke nodded and as usual, he scurried away.
"Why is he always running?" Toyo asked.
She remembered Nonso's answer and she laughed, "Demons are chasing him."
*
They did end up in trouble. Eight out of her fourteen roommates were knelt on the sun-baked assembly ground, she included, along with about half of the SS3 and SS2 population. The assembly ground was rowdy as everyone was either chatting or lamenting or laughing with whomever all at once. Most of them weren't even punished for serious offences, but rather for little contrabands like sweets, sardines, evaporated milk, etc.
They were separated into three groups. Those with minor contrabands, those with foodstuff and lastly, those with electronics. She belonged to the second group. She was lucky though. Two of their mates from the adjourning room had sneaked into the hostel beforehand, ransacked people's luggage for contrabands, and helped to hide it. She was surprised and at the same time, not so surprised. How they managed to sneak in with teachers prowling around and do what they did was intriguing. She wasn't so brave. But unfortunately, her spices had been hidden in a different compartment and they didn't see it. She was kneeling because of it.
"I be smart girl," Toyo boasted when they returned from the hostel, while narrating her narrow escape. She wasn't kneeling.
Daniel was in the minor offence group and he kept making faces at her and throwing funny drawings.
Kaito and Nonso were still nowhere to be found. Toyo said they were still in the staff room serving punishments. She saw some of their roommates and they said they helped them to hide their contrabands and they weren't in any further trouble.
"Though," Gordon, Nonso's roommate, had told her, "Nonso's belongings are in a huge mess on the floor, courtesy of Mr. Peter."
Same with Kaito.