Hell Mary

Chapter Nine

The detective released Kelvin and for what seemed like forever, she finally stood up from her office chair and left the room; the cold dark room of interrogation. An armed police officer stood in front of the door, guarding and protecting her. His shoulders stretched out and back as he stood in sovereign devotion to his country and work. He was decorated with patches of light green and a darker green; the Nigerian Army colour and a black boot. He was armed in a school filled with unarmed students. The gun alone sent chills to every student clustered at the Principal's reception hall, like he would fire it at anyone, at anytime.

The detective in a professional strut, opened the door and all the students turned her way, awaiting their fates. She exchanged an examining look their way. The mixture of red and blue blazers were scattered evenly about the entire reception. She was looking for something or someone, Martins, but he wasn't there. The office with the short glass card on which the word Principal was screwed to it, was slightly open and so she walked into it, with the police officer still following her every step.

Principal May looked up. Her wrinkles deepened and created an apparent depth on her forehead. She looked from above the gold framed glasses and noticed the withdrawn expression on the detective's face.

"Something is wrong Principal, Mary was raped by Martins Adenuga. He was probably the last to see her before she disappeared."

"What?!" The Principal asked, shocked.

"There is something else though," the detective handed over the pen cam to the Principal and as she observed her confused expression, she added, "there is a camera in the pen and it belonged to him as well. I believe the memory card has implicating pictures and videos and I'll need to find it. I'd still ask him to defend this claim else there's a large probability that he'll go to jail." Her voice was as unwavering as her confidence, without a single dent.

*****

Mary had stayed behind at class, mouthing some unintelligible words to herself while using her right hand to get the words into paper. This time around, she hadn't been with Kelvin. The bell for lunch tripped off, but she had been too engrossed to eat. She had been so used to days without food to feel hungry. Back at home, her every error was seemingly awarded with a retracted meal or watery meal. She could still vividly recall when she ate the remains of their dog's food after missing an errand. It was the sad lifestyle she had gotten used to.

One person had stepped in and was followed by a trail of others in one common harmony. The shuffling of feet had increased in one monotonous repeated activity. The lockers were being closed and opened and there had been few minutes free for the murmurings before the prep prefect would step in in her astute nature and demand silence.

Ashley had walked in too, dazzling in her checked pink day wear. The keys she held jingled in their bunch and she made for her seat at the far end in front. She noticed Mary's absorption into the pages of her book and looked away but then looked back again as though she missed something.

"Mary, have you been here all through? Did you go for lunch?" Ashley asked, seemingly concerned.

"No, I didn't go for lunch why?" Mary replied from her seat, locked in by the wooden table.

Ashley smiled and muttered, "Nothing. Goodluck with the competition."

Mary knew she needed that luck more than Ashley would but she replied, "you too."

A slight tap on her shoulder sent her neck turning backwards to respond to the caller. A fresh scented cologne had been swept into her nostrils and she could feel it close enough.