CHAPTER EIGHT26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ESAsjrQ1g
Kim26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCNrHnXjGS
Everyone at school thinks they know me. The case-my case-was posted on the deputy’s notice board for weeks, my name circled in red, a warning and a spectacle. Even now, two weeks later, the whispers haven’t died down. 26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mhz4Xs8dQ
I see the way teachers’ glance at me in class, how classmates pause when I walk by. I’ve learned to keep my head low and my secrets closer. Trust is a currency I can’t afford, especially with people in power.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRaHYdKAwg
That’s why Mercy Kipkirui Rono is a puzzle. The new School President, beautiful and beloved, could have ignored me like everyone else. Instead, she seeks me out. Maybe she’s curious, maybe she wants to play hero, or maybe she just wants to keep an eye on the girl from the deputy’s notice board. 26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsb3md93HKB
I don’t need her help-I’ve survived the fallout of the case on my own. But I’m not stupid. I know she’s got influence, and with my class prefect position suddenly vacant after the last person who previously occupied the seat suddenly transferred, I see an opening.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9r13pQnzZy
I want that badge. Not to erase my past, but to prove I can lead, that I’m more than the scandal everyone remembers. I’ll do what it takes to get it-even if it means letting Mercy believe she’s helping me, even if it means playing the game by her rules, for now.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPaTJCDk3YG
But then, the game changes. The morning after Mercy and I talk, I find a note in my locker-no name, just neat handwriting:26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡml44rxir3R
” If you want the prefect position, meet me behind the old science block at lunch come alone.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDScwhL2jj
-A Friend”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuUiZ9sdNn
My pulse quickens. The science block is off-limits since the fire last year. Is this Mercy, testing me? Or someone else, trying to warn me off? I can’t trust anyone, but I can’t ignore this either.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkCpDlSh6e
At lunch, I slip away. The air behind the science block is thick with burnt wood and secrets. I wait, tense, ready for anything. 26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZzAA4pBJ7
Out of the shadows steps Mary Achieng-the quiet girl from my class, the one who never speaks up, never gets noticed.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtR0iXXWPF5
She glances around, then whispers, “They’re not going to let you have it, Kim. The teachers already picked someone else. But there’s another way in. I can help you-if you help me.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡty5xKCtkq5
I stare at her, surprised. For so long, I thought I was the only one fighting for a place here, the only one marked by the deputy’s red pen. Maybe I’m not alone after all. Maybe the real power at Kisumu Girls isn’t on the notice board or the assembly stage, but in the shadows where alliances are forged and secrets are kept.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ97lHPksoEN
For the first time since the case, I wonder if I’m ready to trust someone again. And what I might have to risk to finally step out of the shadow of my own past.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY1i1FTzyuh
Mary glanced around, then pressed a folded note into Kim’s hand. “Listen carefully. In the old locker section, all the lockers start with 14-they call it Section 14. Mine is 14-07. It’s the one with a blue sticker under the number and some scratches near the lock. Inside, there’s a small green notebook. Bring it back to me, unopened. If you do that, I’ll show you which locker in Section 14 has the proof you need for your case.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNuhmgiGyA
She looked Kim in the eye. “Don’t take anything else, and don’t let anyone see you. Only the green notebook from locker 14-07. That’s the deal.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlhSitrGdB
Kim nodded, understanding the stakes. The instructions were clear, the challenge real-and now, the path to the truth ran straight through Section 14 and Mary’s secret.
*********26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ByqJ2n8Tg
Kim’s eyes widened as she read the message. Seline was already thinking aloud, “If we can find out who had access to the staffroom at that hour, and who’s been near Locker 14, we might be able to prove you were set up, Kim.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx71Ls37Pl3
Shiko smiled, feeling a surge of pride. “My dad always says the truth finds a way out, even if it takes time. I think he’d be proud of us for not giving up.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WOz821ARp
Kim squeezed her hand. “Thank you, Shiko. I know this wasn’t easy. But with this, we finally have something real to go on.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPr77Z2t5B1
Kim, Shiko, and Seline set out together, following the clues Shiko had pieced together from her father’s office: the location-Section 14 of the old lockers. As they slipped down the quiet corridor toward the forgotten row, Kim’s heart raced for reasons her friends couldn’t guess.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡapfWdzVkrG
She hadn’t told Shiko or Seline about her secret meeting with Mary Achieng behind the science block, or about Mary’s demand. Kim kept that to herself, unsure if Mary could be trusted or if her story was just another layer in the web of secrets around the case. She needed to see proof before risking her friends or her own fragile trust.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesHgMCCwrN
While Seline speculated aloud about which locker might hold the evidence and Shiko double-checked the locker numbers, Kim’s mind replayed Mary’s instructions: find locker 14-07, the one with the blue sticker and scratched lock, and bring back the small green notebook inside-unopened. Only then would Mary reveal the next step, the exact locker in Section 14 that could clear Kim’s name.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMo5zFzZSvx
As the three girls moved through the dim, dusty hallway, Kim kept her eyes sharp for the blue sticker, her friends unaware that she was searching for something more than they realized. She felt the weight of her secret, but also the hope that, if she played this right, she could finally break the cycle of suspicion and step into the light-on her own terms.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcYKTrF5Pw
Kim26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYL6d61cVrp
I hang back as Shiko and Seline move down the row of battered lockers, calling out faded numbers. My heart beats faster with every step. Section 14. Every locker here starts with “14,” but I’m only interested in one: 14-07, the one Mary told me about.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmJD6KFbiM
Shiko’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Here’s 14-05… 14-06… and-wait-14-07.” She points to a locker with a blue sticker under the number, just like Mary said.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZakJR5bDSh
Seline leans in, frowning at the scratched lock. “Looks ancient.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCV7aoydUY
I nod, trying to keep my voice steady. “Let’s try it.” 26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGNS9F5kqB
My hands shake as I spin the dial-23-7-14. The lock clicks open, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuYjFIBAUU
Inside, there’s only a single, battered green notebook. My fingers itch to open it, but I remember Mary’s warning: unopened. I slip it into my bag before either of them can get a good look.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnio6MCdRHv
Seline looks disappointed. “Is that all? No exam papers?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVz7NAXhvzZ
Shiko shrugs. “Maybe it’s a clue. Or maybe we need to check the other lockers.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFjnTVpbu2
I close the locker, forcing a casual tone. “Let’s keep looking. Maybe something else will turn up.” I can’t meet their eyes. The truth is, I haven’t told them about Mary or her demands. Not yet. I don’t trust Mary-not fully. I need to be sure she’s telling the truth before I drag my friends into another mess.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡau00mttLhA
As I close the locker and slip the green notebook into my bag, I can feel Shiko and Seline’s eyes on me. The silence hangs awkwardly for a moment before Shiko finally asks, “Wait, Kim-how did you even know the combination for that lock?”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGKUjiRWL0
Seline nods, suspicion flickering across her face. “Yeah, you went straight for it. That wasn’t just a lucky guess.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUogPO2zk30
My mind scrambles for an answer. I force a shrug, keeping my voice as light as I can. “I overheard one of the older girls talking about old combinations last term. I figured it was worth a try.”26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFYulen4lT
Shiko raises an eyebrow, unconvinced, but she lets it go. Seline glances at me, searching my face for more, but I keep my expression neutral. I’m not ready to tell them about Mary, not until I know for sure what I’m dealing with. For now, my secret is safe-and so is theirs.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJj0QbzpUFd
We check a few more lockers, but my mind is already racing ahead. I have what Mary wants. If she keeps her word, maybe I’ll finally get the proof I need. For now, I keep my secret close and walk back into the sunlight with Shiko and Seline, hoping I’m not making a mistake26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8DWfg6yaZu
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