Hell Mary

Chapter Three

It was another new day at Queens' college and it was the period most people dreaded, sanitation day. It had explained why many of the other students had not returned when due. Many of them would resume that day while many of the others would resume the next weekend.

As for those who resumed as at when due, they were unfortunate enough to clear up the entire school. The holidays before the entrance to a new class was always the longest and the messiest when they returned.

There was a lot of scrubbing, grass cutting, sweeping and washing needed to be done. The Principal enlisted the aid of the head girl, her assistant, the labour and the sanitary prefects to supervise all the work.

Occasionally, one would hear, 'what have you been doing?' 'All these places still need thorough scrubbing,' 'Stop idling about,' 'Do your portions quicker.' But you know you've been scrubbing your life out of it.

Asides the major sanitation, another very important work that had been going on was the lifting of bunks and arrangement of the new hostel for the boys. The older hostel where the girls  stayed had been arranged to fit a larger crowd. Two rooms which were formerly for one class had the girls of one class squeeze into a single room.

The newer hostel was still undergoing application of fittings, paintings and stacking of bunks. The possibility of boys going to an all girls' school still seemed impossible and yet preparations were being made to that effect.

At the end of the vigorous clean up, everyone who had been affected by the hostel displacements had to go through another series of packing and arranging.

There was a loud scream from the upstairs rooms where Ss3 girls had colonized and soon thumping thuds were heard about the whole building. Some accompanied with whistling and within that noise, there was laughter. You'd have to strain your ears to pick up the sound.

"What is going on?" Someone had asked.

"The boys are here!" Another screamed and struggling to put on her pair of rubber slippers and day wear, hurriedly rushed out of the hostel. Mary too had followed the crowd who gawked at the boys as they trooped in on a single file. Their school bus had brought them in groups and it helped that both schools weren't populated.

Another meeting was called for later that day but that time, it had all the students both boys and girls present. Their Principals, A Reverend sister for the girls and a Reverend father for the boys stood beside each other taking turns for their speech. They spent the evening emphasizing on the many do's and dont's they expected every student to abide by.

"We don't accept malignant behaviors," Principal May concluded. They had however stressed on their disapproval and unacceptance towards sexual behaviors. They guided themselves from mentioning the words way too often else it would seem too profane and had crowned it all under the heading of malignancy.

Ashley had her eyes scout the entire hall in between all the boys who had a blue checked shirt and brown trousers in a frantic search for Martins. Her eyes moved rapidly from seat to seat observing the details of each occupant and she hoped silently that he was OK. She found him at the last row and at the middle seat when someone had bent over to pick something. He noticed her stare and immediately she looked away.

*****

The detective watched as Ashley strutted in. Her neck was raised high and her shoulders taken back. She had the perfect build and poise for a model and she continually proved it. Her hair had been loosened and the straight strands fell back stopping at her back bone. It was undoubtedly the longest hair in the school.

For a while, the school didn't permit the keeping of hair for the ladies but dented that rule when they had been in JS3 and so Ashley had grown her hair for roughly two years straight and the black mass was lovely.

She took her seat opposite the detective and stared directly into the detective's eyes, unflinching. There was no fluttering, no quivering just mere composure.

"I didn't kill Mary," she blurted out. Her words weren't accompanied with any form of stutter. They were coherent and confidence radiated evidently from it.

"I haven't asked you a question yet," the detective smiled. "...and besides we haven't concluded that she is dead. Her body is still missing." She knew the cards very well to be fooled. There were many people who stuttered and had been proven innocent while many others displayed confidence and yet had everything to do with the case. It took meticulousness to point that fact out. "How was your relationship with Mary?" The detective asked.

"Rough, I won't lie. I guess we can't all like everyone. I didn't like her but I promise you that I have nothing to do with her disappearance," Ashley said firmly. "Honestly, I think she committed suicide. Mary was depressed as you could see the dark drawings and sketches in her diary. She kept to herself and wasn't performing well in school. I tried to be there for her, but she didn't want my help." Ashley bent her head and a sad expression took over that once confident radiance. A tear or two even slid down her cheeks.

"So you maintain she committed suicide?" Detective Uju asked.

"Yes."

Uju jotted down something in a notepad that Ashley was unable to see but it had to be her report, she thought. She was permitted to leave and call in the next person, Martins.

She left the room and saw her classmates at the reception waiting to be interrogated. Some were occupying the two seaters metal chair while many others walked aimlessly to and fro. The incident still sent cold shivers down their spines.

Ashley sighted Martins, Dayo and Kelvin on a seat and squeezed Martins out from their midst clutching unto his wrist with her firm grip. His build was intimidating and small strands of face beards had erupted from within spreading evenly across his jaw.

She took him away from that crowd and hugged him tightly and when they had been secluded, lifted her glossy lips to his ready ears and warned him.

"Remain calm, don't stutter and maintain that she had committed suicide. Our stories need to coincide. Don't mention anything about the night of her disappearance. Whatever happened was not your fault. We'll get through this together," she said and he nodded walking into the investigation room.