ALIYA AND THE WITCH SYNDICATE

“Knock!, knock! who’s there?”.

Dorcas asked, as she accompanied her words with several knocks on the door of Aliya’s house in enthusiasm.

Aliya sat in the half dark living room with her legs crossed to each other, as she was intrigued by the romance novel she was reading.

“Who’s that one again?” Aliya retorted giggled at the familiar voice of her best friend.

“It’s the boss lady?” dorcas anticipate the joke with a glee on her face.

Without wasting much of her time, aliya tossed the novel she was reading on the dining table in front of her as she beckoned the door.

“Who dash you boss lady?” Aliya chipped in sardonically as she beckoned her friend outside, this story is written by remi the writer.

Both girls laughed at their mild jokes as they tangled themselves in a warm hug.

“Aliya, have you heard about our Common Entrance Examination results”,

Dorcas queried her friend abruptly after they had exchange pleasantries and engaged in their girly gists.

“No, but I hope before the end of next week it will be out”. Aliya replied.

“I hope so, I want them to post me to New Era Girls”, dorcas said wistful.

“I also wish to be posted to a good school but are you sure we will pass?”, Aliya queried.

“Of course babe, we will pass, in fact more than flying colors, I don’t believe in failure, I know that with God all things are possible.

She assured Aliya accompanied with her head nodding simultaneous.

“I have to go now, my grandmother doesn’t know I came to visit you,

I had to sneak out of the food canteen unaware”.

Dorcas said as she hurried to take her leave back to her grandma’s restaurant.

“So soon? what can I offer my flying color boss lady?,” Aliya asked mockingly.

“Nothing”

“Why? “.

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“I am okay, your corrections alone already made me feel like a guest,”

“Lol, I was just joking”.

“But seriously babe am fine, already eaten at my grandma’s earlier”.

“Okay then, let me escort you,”

Aliya said, she went back inside to lock the door of her house.

Both girls strolled down the busy Lagos road where vendors, merchants were passing by.

Hawkers head were filled with basket of goods ranging from snails this story is written by remi the writer trays of over riped plantains and also caged emaciated chickens.

Aliya and dorcas squeezed themselves through the narrow market selling point colliding with one of their classmate during the slow human traffick.

“Miriam what’s up?”, dorcas said.

“Hey Miriam! why are you smiling like someone who had fallen in love?” Aliya queried with her eyebrows furrowing.

“Peter probably sent her a love letter, am sure that’s why she’s smiling, arrrrrgh disgustìng!!”

Dorcas m0cked sardonically as she shook her head, causing Aliya to anticipate with her laughter.

“Nope it’s not about that one, it’s a good news this time”.

“Tell us the news we’re listening”.

“Well, yesterday I saw the head mistress on my way to fetch water for my mum, she announced that our Common Entrance Examination results is out,

She said our sets really performed wonderfully and we should come with our parents to come collect our results slip”.

“THANK GOODNESS!!! that’s a good news indeed”. Aliya and dorcas chipped in with smiles on their countenance.

“But there’s also a bad news……”.

“But there’s also a bad news……”.

“Bad news?”.

“What bad news? Did anyone fail? I thought you said the head mistress told you we performed wonderfully?”

Aliya and dorcas both queried miriam abruptly in unison.

“No one failed, everyone passed their exams, but we’re all assigned to different schools”.

The girls opened their mouths ajar, they couldn’t believe it. How could they possibly be posted to separate schools?

Their arguments lasted for several minutes until Aliya suggested they visit the schools themselves to figure it out.

On Monday, the three friends went to Sharon Nursery and Primary School. There, they met other friends.

As they chatted, more students arrived, some accompanied by their parents. Later, the headmistress handed them their results slips.

The slips showed their scores and the names of the various schools they were posted to, just as Miriam had depicted.

Aliya and Dorcas were posted to Pelican Girls High School, while Miriam and a few others were assigned to different schools.

After being dismissed by the headmistress, the friends lamented the fact that they were not all posted to the same school.

“It happened for a reason,” Miriam said.

“I believe God knows why he did not allow all of us to be posted to the same school. I believe he has his purpose.”

“Well,” Dorcas added optimistically, “I accept my posting. I look forward to entering this Pelican Girls High School,

At least Aliya will be there with me.”

© Written by Remi the writer

“But we can always see each other on the streets, it’s not as if we’re all kicking the bucket,” Miriam retorted playfully, causing the girls to burst into laughter.

“True,” Dorcas continued the banter,

“After I have gotten my degree as a lawyer, married my prince charming,

Given birth to my children, and already lived for two hundred years, then I can think of kicking the bucket.”

The girls resumed their laughters, excited about their future, as they finally departed to their various homes.

Aliya reached home and gave her parents her Common Entrance Examination result slip.

Her father went to PELICAN GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL and got the prospectus.

Aliya’s father, Mr Azeez was a cab man who will drive tiredlessly day and night just to provide for his family, while his wife was a trader.

Her father rallied round and bought all the things listed in the prospectus.

Ranging from her school uniform, sandals, desk, locker , books etc, for aliya who felt very happy,

Her mother told her to put on the uniform and see if it fitted her properly,

Aliya put on her uniform walking majestically and pompously imitating the senior prefects she had seen earlier during her registration.

Her younger sister ‘sofia’ teased her, stating she looks like a barbie doll on the uniform.

Few days to the day aliya was to enter the school as a boarder, her parents advised her keenly.

“My daughter,” Aliya’s mother began with tears of joy evident on her countenance.

“In few days time, you will be leaving for the boarding house in your new school, I want you to know why you’re going there.

“You’re there to face your studies seriously, in order to come out as the best, your father and I are ready to make the necessary sacrifices to train you to the university level,

“You have seen the type of life we’re leaving, we work hard with little pay just because me and your father are Less privileged to schooling, so now we depend on you to make us proud,

Remember to stay on your lane because they’re lot’s of bad influence there at school,” Mrs Azeez paused for some while then resumes her speech.

“Move with the right friends whom you can copy good things and avoid those who will lure you to do bad things”.

Aliya thanked her parents for their advice and promise not to let them down, but to follow the rules of good behavior,

Few days later Aliya’s father took her to PELICAN GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL

Mr. Azeez took care of Aliya’s school fees and made sure she was placed in her class.

He advised her to be well-behaved and follow the school’s rules before he left.

Aliya felt lost and lonely after her dad had left.

The excitement of entering secondary school had vanished into thin air, leaving her dishèartened.

She shed a few tears, wondering how she would navigate this new environment.

But then, like a beacon of hope, she spotted Dorcas. Dorcas, too, seemed timid and bewildered amidst the bustling school premises.

Immediately aliya spotted dorcas, aliya ran towards her direction as both girls

embrace each other, even through they’re not familiar with their new school at least they’re both familiar with each other.

A kind teacher, sensed their disorientation and guided them to the sanctuary of their hostels,

The first days of classes were a blur of new faces and unspoken rules, but soon, the girls found their rhythm, their place amidst the chaos.

After two weeks of their boarding at pelican girls it felt like a ticket to hell,

Whenever it was time to eat, most especially in the evening, the senior girls will rule the dining table,

Telling the junior girls to go to bed while they help by cleaning up, but the junior girls will protest they weren’t done eating yet, so why would they have to leave their dinner to the prefects,

Evenings became a battleground, the dining hall was a theater of war where senior girls reigned supreme, dictating when the juniors could eat. Protests were met with cruelty, and pleas for justice fell on deaf ears.

The fat trio prefects seniors will beat them merciless for protesting,

Some even try reporting to the school authority but it was futile, it’s almost as if the school authorities are taking orders from the three seniors.

However, the harsh reality of boarding life at Pelican Girls’ soon reared its ugly head.

One fateful night, as hunger gnawed at their bellies, Aliya and dorcas walked down the dark corridors, with tears evident on their countenance,

It was no dinner once again, everyone drank water to quench their hunger as the girls scampered to their beds with great fear from the prefects.

©️WRITTEN BY REMI THE WRITER

“Aliya I didn’t pray for this kind of school, I had wish to be in the secondary school since I was a little girl, but now, I just don’t feel like again, am getting tired,”

Dorcas said with regrets evident in her speech.

“If you’re saying that, what do you want me myself to say? the school itself had turn deaf ears on our cries, we only eat in the morning, we hardly eat lunch, and we don’t eat dinner,” aliya continued.

“What can we even say? We’re ignored, starved, and bullied by those… those m0nsters parading as prefects. Our parents’ hard work, our dreams… all for nothing.”

“That’s not hurting right now, what’s hurting me the most is all my pocket money my grandmother had giving me,”

Dorcas cut briefly with a paused as tears trickled down her cheeks,

Their conversation halted as Dorcas’s eyes widened in alarm. “Did you hear that?” she asked, with a tremor in her voice.

“Hear what?”

“The screams, it’s coming from the backyard of the school”.

Aliya freeze for some while as she tried paying attention to the noise dorcas was hearing.

“It’s just a trick, from those senior girls, perhaps it’s another way of punishing us to clear the backyard bushes for them”,

Aliya said while staring at dorcas suspiciously, has she tried to grasp what was happening.

“I don’t think so, someone is being battèred, we need to help,”

Dorcas retorted, she didn’t waste much of her time running to the scene, where the noise was coming from.

Aliya was reluctant to go but then, her friends curiosity summoned her courage and they both ran to background exit door, with curiosity of the ongoing scene.

A student cries pierced through the air for help, it was all coming from the backyard,

The two girls wasn’t sure of what they had seen, because darkness already filled the scene, but definitely it was the three figures of the fat prefects beckoning a helpless junior girl on the floor, whose cries persisted in tears.

Aliya and dorcas couldn’t believe their eyes, it’s almost like the prefects were fèasting on her, but they weren’t sure of what they were doing to her,

In a moment of panic, they fled, the creak of the door marked their escape.

Had they been seen? They couldn’t be sure. All they knew was that they had to hide, to protect themselves from the nightmare they had just witnessed.

The bell at Pelican Girls High School rang unexpectedly during class periods.

Both the senior and junior students were summoned to the assembly area at 1 PM .

It was unusual as the principal had not scheduled such a meeting.

The principal looked upset as he addressed both senior and junior student.

“Good afternoon students” He greeted

“Good afternoon sir” the whole assembly replied in unison.

“What’s really going on in this school?

Recently, a young junior student was found deād in the school backyard the other day,”

After a pause, he continued, “Now, it has happened again; another student has been kîlled. The security guards were asleep when it occurred,

The principal beckoned the assembly ground passing each junior and senior as he precedes his speech.

“I believe the culprit is among you. This is serious; our school’s reputation is at stake.

I still have a bigger fish to fry with the parents of the dèad girls, and it won’t be an easy one,

Please and please if you find your fellow student strange or bizarre kindly let me know, so we can finally eliminate those kïllers,

After the assembly, Aliya felt compelled to look to her right, where she saw the three fat seniors staring at her menacingly.

She signaled to her friends, and they left together.

“I can’t stay here anymore, I don’t think I can school here any longer, what’s this school becoming?,”

Sammy retorted as she walked back to their hostel with Aliya and dorcas.

“Me too, am scared, I don’t want to be the next victim, no doubt it’s those senior girls that had kìlled her,” Dorcas added.

As the three girls precedes their conversation, they found a threatening note hanging on Aliya’s bed, it reads

“We know you saw us, the other day, we’re not stupid, but we shall pardon you three for lying.

We won’t spare your lìves if you run your mouths to the Principal.

The room grew colder, as soon as they had finished what they message of the letter holds.

“What do we do now?” Dorcas’s voice broke the silence, with her eyes unable to meet those of her friends.

“We can’t just keep quiet. What if they’re coming for us like they said?” Sammy’s voice quivered, as her hands clasped on top of her head as if to hold together her fraying nerves.

“I don’t want to d!e now,” she whispered.

“No one is dyïng,” Aliya declared, furrowing her eyebrows, her resolve hardening as she crumpled the note and tossed it into a nearby the waste bin.

“We will pretend as if we didn’t see anything. In fact, let’s just forget we read a thrèat letter.”

Her words were meant to be reassuring, but they only caused Dorcas and Sammy to exhale deeply.

“Let’s just tell the principal. This is what he was talking about earlier at the assembly ground, about the strange students and…”

Sammy’s plea was cut short by Aliya’s interjection.

“And what will you tell him? That kìller seniors are in his school? Do you think he’s going to believe us, the junior students, over the seniors? If you try that, you’re already dïgging our grave.”

“But what about our parents?” Sammy countered, her brows furrowed in frustrati0n.

“At least if the principal and the school authorities turn a deaf ear to our crîes, our parents will surely believe us,” she argued, with her gaze challenging Aliya’s.

“My parents are no more. The only family I have now is my aunt from my dad’s side,

And she doesn’t give a dãmn about me,” Dorcas interjected, as her voice laced with bïtterness.

“She doesn’t care if I go to school or eat. Plus, I get maltreatment from my cousins.

I had to go live with my grandmother from my mother’s side instead. I wouldn’t want her to worry about this whole issue. This school was her dream for me.”

Aliya nodded, understanding Dorcas’s plight. “Aliya is right. Telling our parents and guardians isn’t the best move.

We have to learn to grow up. I don’t want us to be ‘cry babies.’ We can take care of ourselves,” she affirmed.

The debate settled into a tense silence as the girls dispersed to their respective classes for the evening lessons.

The teacher’s arrival brought a temporary reprieve from their troubles, but as the day waned and they returned to their hostels, the gravity of their situation loomed over them.

Aliya and Sammy, we’re not in talking terms, Dorcas attempted to bridge their grudges against each other, but her efforts were no use.

~THE NEXT DAY~

The bell’s chime echoed through the corridors of Pelican Girls high school.

Signaling the start of the most anticipated sports awareness event.

Excitement buzzed in the air as both the junior students from all houses gathered around the school premises, clad in their vibrant house colors.

Aliya and Sammy, both members of the Yellow House, stood side by side, yet the chill of their unresolved conflict hung between them,

Dorcas, adorned in the Green House’s hues, watched her friends from a distance, her heart was heavy with concern for them,

The competition was fierce, with the Yellow, Red, and Pink Houses claiming medals in the marching and racing events.

Aliya and Sammy, despite their strained relationship, were crowned queen and princess of the marching competition.

As the day progressed, the soccer field became the arena for the next challenge.

Aliya and Sammy, who shared a mutual disdain for football, watched with trepidation as Dorcas was selected to participate, soccer wasn’t a feminine kind of sport but the school had no choice than to make it mandatory.

The seniors’ sudden interest in joining the football match sent a chill of fear down the junior girls spines,

Aliya and Sammy exchanged worried glances as the fat three imposing senior girls took to the field, their intentions clear as they eyed the younger players with predatory focus.

The match commenced, and the field was soon filled with laughter and shouts as players stumbled and chased the elusive ball, most junior girls fell down easily while the ball rolls freely.

But the humor faded when the senior girls targeted Dorcas, their tackles were more malicious than competitive.

From the sidelines, Aliya and Sammy became guardians, signaling warnings to Dorcas as the seniors closed in.

The first collision was inevitable, but what followed was nothing short of miraculous.

It turns out whenever Dorcas is with the ball, the seniors tend to slide beneath her so that they could both get their legs towards Dorcas’s legs so that they could înjure her but then something happened.

One of the seniors brought out their legs with power to break down Dorcas’s legs but then, to everyone’s surprise dorcas lifted up herself together with the ball and then the three seniors clashed into each other sprawling to the ground.

The whole school erupted in cheers,

“Dorcas! Dorcas! Dorcas!”

The sports master’s whistle pierced the air, granting a momentary pause to the frenzied game.

The Green House erupted in adulation, surrounding their newfound winner.

“How were you able to do all that?” they marveled in unison.

Aliya and Sammy, united in their admiration, rushed to embrace Dorcas.

“You’re fantabulous, my friend, our future Messi bride,”

Aliya exclaimed, her earlier animosity

“Noo, football isn’t my thing, oo?” Dorcas laughed, deflecting the praise with a humility that only endeared her more to her peers.

“How were you able to do that? You’ve never played football before, even while we were in primary school”

You’re now a celebrity overnight!”

Aliya interjected, as her curiosity piqued by Dorcas’s unexpected prowess.

Before Dorcas could reply, Sammy”s sharp intake of breath drew their attention.

“Hey guys, turn around.”

They turned to see the three seniors, now joined by a larger group, their gestures were menacing as they pointed toward Dorcas.

In the grand hall of Pelican Girls High School, the air was thick with anticipation.

“Today, we witnessed a spectacle of true athleticism,” the sport master began, his voice spread across the hall.

“The blue and pink house, valiant in their efforts, sadly they secured the fourth position.

The red house, fierce competitors, claimed third. The yellow house, with their unwavering spirit, took second.”

A hush fell over the crowd as he paused,

“But it was Dorcas,” he continued,

“Whose prowess on the football field led the green house to triumph, despite their struggles in other events.”

The green house erupted into cheers, chanting Dorcas’s name in a rhythm that matched their beating hearts.

The news of Dorcas’s triumph spread through the school like wildfire, the principal was marveled at the junior girl’s agility and made a decision that would send shockwaves through the halls of Pelican Girls.

First time in Pelican Girls High school a junior student was made a sport prefect at jss1,

Dorcas became the talk of the school

replacing Christabel, the n0t0rious leader of the fat girls that had once thrêatened dorcas and her friends.

Aliya and Sammy, could hardly believe the news. Fear etched their faces as they approached her with trepidation.

“Dorcas, you’re the best in football, we know,” Aliya said, as her voice laced with worry.

“But to be the sports prefect? Do you understand the weight of that title?”

“Accepting this… it’s like signing our own d00m. Christabel and her followers will come after us,”Sammy chimed in.

Dorcas’s heart sank. The offer was rare, a chance to shine, but at what cost? Her life and the lives of her friends were at stake.

Meanwhile, Christabel fought t00th and nail to keep her position as the sport prefect.

But the principal stood firm; this was his domain, and he could make just anyone to replace her,

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Christabel had already repeated ss3 thrice, and her mean parents don’t care if she spends her whole life in secondary school, so it’s time he replace her with the junior students.

Dorcas found herself among the senior prefects, The senior girls’ cold demeanor at meetings made her feel unwelcome,

And fear took root in her heart. She confided in the principal, who reassured her with a firm resolve.

“She might be small, but she’s mighty,” he would say. “She’s one of you now, whether junior or not.”

Gradually, Dorcas began to find her place among the seniors. Even the other fat girls who had once scorned her now extended the hand of friendship, albeit under the principal’s authority.

Dorcas hardly get the chance to play or gist with aliya and Sammy, she would return to her bed late at nights, eating surplus foods the seniors had giving her.

The whole thing kept Aliya and Sammy worried,

“Dorcas what’s happening with you, we thought we’re best friends, while associating yourself with those êvil girls,” aliya and Sammy question her unusual behavior.

Dorcas’s response was sharp against their accusations.

“Nothing is happening to me, am just doing my job as a prefect, that’s all”.

“But the closeness is much……”. before aliya could finish her statements, dorcas shut her up.

“I see, both of you are just jealous, am excelling, why can’t you guys just be happy for me,

That’s what true friends do,” dorcas snapped at them once again as she beckoned her bed angrily,

Leaving Aliya and Sammy staring at each other with surprise rulling their countenance.

She collapse on the bed with her eye brows furrowing, just then she remembered the food she had hide under her bed, specially made for prefects.

Without wasting much of her time she brought the food container out and began to eat it ravenously, after she was done, she collapsed on her bed.

Laughters echoed in dorca’s eardrums as she laid down on her bed.

Her eyes snapped opened with fear on her countenance, her heart raced,

As she surveyed the dormitory. Aliya and Sammy lay in their peaceful slumber, oblivious to her disturbance.

No one was there apart from them, and no trace of the mysterious laughters she had heard in her sleep.

With a sigh, Dorcas retreated beneath her blanket, calming her nerves, perhaps she had a nightmare, coaxing her mind back to sleep.

As soon as she had closed her eyes, she found herself transported to a place of nightmares.

Red cloth hanged around the walls, bl00dstains splattered across the floor like macabre art.

The seniors of Pelican Girls High School encircled her, their laughter was a cacophony of mådness.

Confusion and terror warred within dorcas.

“What’s happening? Where am I?” The questions reeled in her unconsciousness

She tried to run, but an invisible force dragged her back to their mist.

“You can’t escape, sport prefect. Did you really think you could leave? This is where you belong now.”

They held a black pot forcing her to drink from it,

Initiating her into their secretive coven, Dorcas stood still right in front of them, staring absentmindedly like a doll,

The witches dressed her in their red garb, painted her face with powders, and welcomed her into their mists.

“……Dorcas! Dorcas! Wake up, for heaven’s sake!”

Aliya and Sammy retorted with a rhythmic tapping on Dorcas’s shoulder.

“It’s past ten in the morning, and you’re still sleeping.

The principal told us to call you”.

“What? It’s that late?” Dorcas yawned, got up, and headed for a bath, ignoring Aliya and Sammy as if they where gh0sts

They both exchanged bewildered glances at each other and they left Dorcas to her sort herself out.

Later in the evening it was no dinner again.

The junior girls drank water to fill their bellies,

Aliya and Sammy were among the others who drank water as they precede to their dormitory,

They navigated the maze corridors as aliya halted, her gaze scanned the entire school if someone was coming

“What’s going on with dorcas lately?

Aliya brow furrowed in thought,

Dorcas have always been our alarm clock, saving our skins from charity’s brutal strokes, and she’s the one waking up late, and it’s highly unusual.

She have been acting strange ever since she became a sport prefect,”

Aliya, sensed Sammy’s silence demeanor, and she probed gently,

“What’s on your mind?”

“Something isn’t right in this school,”

She retorted, staring daggers at aliya in such a way that demands great concern.

Aliya’s heart skipped a beat.

“What do you mean?”

“This morning around 3AM i woke up to urinate but to my utmost surprise I saw dorcas talking in her sleep”.

“Talking in her sleep? when did she start talking in her sleep, that’s strange?”

Aliya furrow her eyebrows with the anticipation of her head shooking.

“What did you hear her saying?”

“Not mere words actually, but I remember vividly she was saying

“I choose kate, take her instead”.

Aliya casted her gaze to the ground as they proceed to their dormitory.

“What happened? did you know the person?”.

“Aliya’s gaze fell to the ground,

“Poor dorcas, she’s probably having a nightmare, kate was her cruèl Aunt she was talking about with us the other day,

Who used to maltrèat her with her older cousins, but why is she…..,” aliya paused,

Their conversation trailed off as they caught sight of Dorcas solitary figure passing through the exit door with a red candle.

“Where is she going?” they wondered, their hearts became heavy to their unanswered questions.

Dorcas hurried herself to the backyard field where the horror of the déad girls was evident to the school

“Where’s dorca’s going in the middle of the night?

“Red candles… I didn’t even know those candles still exist, and how did she get them,”

Sammy retorted, as she wet her pant with urines.

They set out to follow Dorcas, with their hearts pounding in their chests.

The darkness enveloped them, they hide behind some brushes and trees,

Watching with bated breath as Dorcas’s figure illuminated with the flickering red candle.

The two girls tiptoed quietly to track where she was going but they lost tracks with her,

The sight of the candle flame in the darkness was as unsettling as dorca’s destination itself.

Let’s just go back inside, this place is dark”.

“Not without dorcas, we can’t live her here, no matter what she still remains our friend,” Aliya interjected strongly.

“But we could barely see what is coming our way, I am too young to d!e,

We will see her when she comes back by herself let’s go back inside”.

They were about to take their live, but what they saw made them drop their jaws in shock!!!.

“But we could barely see what is coming our way, I am too young to d!e,

We will see her when she comes back by herself let’s go back inside”.

They were about to take their live, but what they saw made them drop their jaws in shock

From afar, multiple candles flickered, alighted by the hands of the seniors,

Aliya and Sammy, quickly hid themselves behind a nearby tree,

As they watch Dorcas approached the illuminated gathering.

She exchanged greetings with them, blending in their mists, as they danced with the candle flames.

And before Sammy and Aliya could grasp the unfolding enigma, they had already vanished into thin air.

“…a…a…liya!! Did you see that?” Sammy stammered, her words stumbled over each other as she managed to gather her wits.

Both girls took to their heels, racing back to their dorm, shutting the door behind with their hearts beating so fast,

They feared they might burst from their chests.

“Are we both drunk? Or what happened a while ago?” Sammy queried Aliya, tears already evident in her eyes.

“I don’t understand. I know we missed Dorcas the other time, but we regained our tracks back with her…,

Those seniors too were there. They all disappeared in front of us,”

Aliya replied, confusion and fear evident in her voice.

As both girls debated the whole issue, Aliya’s eyes went to the wall clock.

It was already 11:30 PM. With a sense of urgency, Aliya persuaded Sammy that they should both go to bed to avoid being pun!shed by the prefect for waking up late.

And as for Dorcas, she needed to explain herself better for possessing such an unusual ability with the prefects.

The next day, Aliya and Sammy were surprised at the absence of Dorcas, her bed was empty, no sign of her.

“She didn’t sleep here?” Sammy retorted.

“Indeed, Dorcas isn’t our friend anymore; she’s a total stranger to us,” Aliya chimed in, shaking her head in disgust.

As the two girls lamented, they prepared for the day’s lessons, rushing to their various classes.

The Pelican Girls High School bell rang for the midday break, causing the school to buzz with boisterous activity.

Both senior and junior girls huddled in clusters, sharing secrets and gossip.

Aliya and Sammy spotted each other at break time, engaging in the girly gists.

“Hey babe, what’s up with the long face? Why are you sad?” Aliya noticed Sammy’s sad countenance while approaching her.

“…There’s bad news, and I’m sorry I need to share it with you,” Sammy replied, casting her gaze to the ground, trying not to meet Aliya’s eyes.

“What happened? Have you seen Dorcas yet? What did she say? Talk to me, babe,” Aliya retorted, curiosity evident in both her face and tone.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it’s for the best”.

“You didn’t mean for what to happen? am lost….”.

Sammy continued with her eyes already evident with tears.

A school where we only eat breakfast, rarely eat lunch, and we don’t eat dinner,”

Sammy’s eyes finally met with Aliya’s.

“And now our best friend has been acting weird since she became one of the school prefects, disappearing into thin air, with those èvil girls….”

“But I still don’t get it. What’s wrong? Did the prefects threaten you or what?

You’re scaring me with what you’re saying,” Aliya queried promptly.

Before Aliya knew what was happening, Sammy had already thrown herself on her, hugging her so tight, weeping profusely.

“My parents are withdrawing me from Pelican Girls High School. We won’t be seeing each other after the holidays.

I’m going to miss you so much. I won’t be here any longer; my parents have already agreed to change my school…”

Aliya widened her eyeballs, tears, trickled down Aliya’s face.

“What? I don’t understand? How? When?” she retorted, her voice breaking with the weight of her emotions.

The tears streamed her eyes like unrelenting tears with an expression of sorrow.

“You’re leaving so soon, but what about Dorcas? She needs us so badly.

We need to help her. I can’t fight this on my own,” Aliya continued, her words glitched with the anticipation of tèars.

Sammy’s eyes were also brimming with tears,

“I can’t endure any longer, the starvåtion, the fat girls, seeing dorcas turning her backs on us…”.

Aliya shook her head, trying to make sense of it all.

“Dorcas need both of us…. she’s caught up in something bigger than us.

Those seniors, the way they disappeared… it’s not normal. We have to find out what’s happening.”

“No….., this isn’t my battle to fight, it’s yours now…aliya….

“No….., this isn’t my battle to fight, it’s yours now…aliya….

As the girls exchange warm hugs through their emotional bond, the school bell chimed again, alerting the end of mid break.

Aliya and Sammy noticed Dorcas in the distance.

She was surrounded by the fat senior girls, aliya volunteered to talk to dorcas leaving Sammy behind.

“Good evening seniors……emmh, ..dorcas I want to talk to you for some time,”

Aliya retorted as fear gripped her.

“What ever you want to say, you can say it right here,”

Dorcas shook her head out of disagreement, the fat seniors told dorcas it’s fine,

They all excused themelves telling dorcas to join them when they’re done talking.

“Dorcas, what’s happening? You’re distant, absent from our dorm, absent from us,”

Aliya retorted her brows were knitting together expecting a reply

“Just like I said, am a prefect, so i will be at every meetings meant for prefects”.

“But last night, where were you? Prefects don’t vanish like shadows,” Aliya pressed, only to be cut off.

“I owe you no explanations,” Dorcas retorted, her patience began to wear off.

Aliya shook her head, desperation colored her touch.

“This isn’t you, Dorcas. We’ve been friends since childhood. Why push me away? why push us away?”.

We saw you… with the seniors last night, with red candles…,” Aliya confessed.

“Ohh….so you guys are stalking me now, are you?”

Dorcas’s anger flared, her brows furrowing with range.

“It’s not stalking; it’s caring. We’re your friends, it’s our duty to worry about you,” Aliya replied in the most pitiful tone.

“We’re no longer friends, ever since the day you and Sammy’s jealousy was evident to me,

You guys aren’t w0rth to be called friends, it doesn’t fit you both”.

“And what do you mean by that? you’re not my mother, keep your worries to yourself.

I can go where I like, sleep anyway it’s none of your business?”.

Tears traced paths down Aliya’s cheeks, mirroring the rain that threatened to fall from the heavens.

Sammy watched from afar, tèars hanged on each corner of her eyes,

The once jovial friends she knew and cherished traded words sharper than knïves, right in front of her.

“Sammy’s leaving us… she wouldn’t be coming to Pelican Girls anymore, she’s going during the holidays……,”

Dorcas froze, her anger giving way to the shock.

She glanced at Sammy, made a loud hiss then made her way to catch up with the rest of the prefects..”.

~THE NEXT DAY~

Monday dawned, cruel and unyielding as usual, Aliya’s class, Jss1A, faced the daunting task of mathematics,

A Chinese movie without subtitles, there were having Mr Eugene’s most håted subject during first periods

As he prepared to begin his lesson, the noise from the adjacent class (Jss1B) Dorcas’s class, disrupted his teaching.

Without hesitation, Mr. Eugene ushered the noisy class into his own, his stern demeanor promising discipline to any who dared defy him.

The girls hurried, eager to escape the stïng of his cane to pëël their ebony skin.

“Good morning, girls,”

Mr. Eugene greeted.

“Good morning, sir,” the whole class greeted in unison.

“I’ve merged the classes because your playful behavior is getting worsen each day,” he continued, his gaze scanned the thin face of the girls.

“The exams are looming, after you girls have failed, the school authorities will pin your f00lish performance on me……

“No ….it won’t happen, and apart from that, we have a lot of work to do because we haven’t really covered a lot in this simultaneous equations..”

He paused, his eyes landing on Dorcas, who had succumbed to slumber with her head resting on the desk.

“Who’s that f00l?” he barked as a white board marker sailed through the air, jolting her hèad causing Dorcas to wake up from the påin

Laughter rippled through the classroom, but Mr. Eugene was not amused.

“Stand up, idi0t!

“What were you doing last night and during your leisure period, that you could not sleep?”

“Can’t you speak? have your village people cut your t0ngues out!”

Mr Eugene continued causing a bout of laughter from the other girls.

“I …..was reading my books with my friend, and rehearsing for my prefect duties.”

dorcas managed to rally out words with few glitches on them.

“Perfect,” Mr. Eugene sneered. “

A prefect who can’t stay awake. You don’t deserve the title.”

His words stunged dorcas, which made tears flowed like unrelenting rivers….

“Stop the crocodile tears….. I didn’t use a cane on y0u, yet you’re crying……

Your friend whom you both read together is she in this class?”

“Ye….s she is” dorcas replied.

“If you are the friend she is referring to please stand up”

Mr Eugene said but nobody got up.

Each girls looked sideways watching who was going to come out, the incident was evident to Aliya.

“So, no one will stand for you,” Mr. Eugene observed. “Point her out here”.

Silence hung heavy. aliya’s eyes met Dorca’s eyes pleading for salvation. But Aliya turned away, feigning ignorance.

She pointed towards aliya who in turn turned and was trying to find who dorcas was pointing at.

“I see that, so you’re friends with her?” Mr Eugene asked Aliya.

“Sir, are you referring to me?”.

“No, I’m referring to your gh0st” Mr Eugene replied sardonically.

“Don’t ever in your lìfe answer my question while sitting down, am I clear?”

“Yes, Sir” Aliya replied as she sluggishly stood up.

“I see you like playing dèad, and that was why you were pretending not to see the fact that your own friend is pointing at you.

So, is it true that you were both studying last night?”.

Mr Eugene asked Aliya, Aliya shook her head.

“Never!!! She’s lying, She’s not my friend!!!.”

The teacher’s attention shifted back to Dorcas.

“Your friend denies you. Who’s lying?”

The room fell silent. Aliya’s gaze lingered on Dorcas, torn between loyalty and truth.

Dorcas had already cast their friendship aside, so why covering up for her now?

He ordered Dorcas to go kneel outside the staff room.

The punishment was harsh, thirty strokes and a week’s worth of sweeping the whole school.

That night, Fear had taken root in aliya’s heart, she locked the dormitory door, guilty of her actions in class earlier.

***

Mr Eugene had finally gotten home, he laid down exhausted from the day’s work he could hardly do anything,

Neither eat, he crashed on his bed, and suddenly sleep took him,

He was surprised, his room was suddenly dark,

Everywhere looks scary to him, perhaps he was dreaming, but everything felt real,

In the darkness dorcas was holding a red candle in her a hand, with ånger evident in her countenance.

“How did you get in…….”.

Before he could say further, dorcas already rushed towards where he laid, strücking him with the br00m,

Mr Eugene tried standing up, but to no avail, almost as if he was glued to the bed, dorcas keeps H!tt!ng him, each bl0w landed on his legs and body repeatedly,

Mr Eugene winced in some much påin.

“Who’s the crying crocodile now?,”

Dorcas retorted, the dream went on approximately three hours, and before he knew what happened, he was awoken from his slumber in serious påin

His b0dy beared the brutal marks of his dream.

Reality and nightmare had merged together leaving him to wonder what darkness had visited him….

“Who gave you the go ahead to k!ll?” Christabel’s voice cut through the dimly lit coven,

“He was being mean to me, so I had to take my revenge on him,”.

Dorcas replied with a defiance that matched the wildness in her heart.

“Revenge?” Christabel’s word hung heavy, her shadow loomed over their gathering.

“Did you just say revenge?,” Christabel retorted at dorcas shifting her gaze back to the rest of the other prefects.

“I believe whenever a witch wants to use her powers we seek permission before we do it, we don’t just go rampage in dreams with a broom fl0gging people to dëath like a psych0?

You need to be punïshed for taking matters into your hands without…..”.

“Spare me your lectures Christabel, what’s done is done, and he earned his fate.”dorcas chimed in rashly,

“Did you just call me by the name? you are indeed a dísrespectful bråt,”

Christabel was about to hit dorcas but the other prefects cut through their arguments.

The coven erupted in murmurs, but it was Charity who silenced them.

“Enough squåbbling. Dorcas, you acted rashly.

Christabel is right, we don’t take matters into our hands, you should have used your powers with caution…

We will pardon you on trial, you will have to prove your worth.

Three lïves, taken by your hand alone. and that will prove to us, if truly you can decide for yourself without consulting us,

Do you agree?”, charity queried, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Yes, I accept the trial,”

With a sly grin, Dorcas agreed, unaware of the weight her choice carried.

Meanwhile, the absence of Mr. Eugene,

kept pelican girls high school worried, he have been absent for two days now without informing the school principal, who had call him countless times but to no avail.

Two days turned to a week, morphing into resignation.

The principal assumed he’s tired of his job and he’s had re-signed without a proper notice.

Other teachers wondered why Mr Eugene didn’t informed the whole staff about his resignation from the school, few of the teachers who knew where he lived volunteered to pay him a visit.

On getting to his house, his door was locked from inside but the windows aren’t fully locked.

They called his name severally but no response, the male teachers decided to break down the door.

But to their surprise there meet mr Eugene appearing lïfelessly on his bed,

Confusion clouded their minds, they immediately rushed him to the nearest hospital hoping to save him.

After passing some test on him, he was confirmed dêad,

His déath was bizarre because the doctors and nurses couldn’t pinpoint what caused his dëmise.

The marks on his legs and abdomen parts became evident to the doctor.

It appears he had been fl0gged brutally but no physical evidence of such, it became a mystery to both the doctor and nurses, they came to the conclusion of spiritual attåck.

Pelican Girls High School reeled from the news of his passing away, it sent a chill down the junior and senior girls spines,

Although they don’t like mr eugene, but they felt his presence, his most funniest såvage words on them.

That night, the coven reconvened, the witches meet at the coven laughing and chucking at dorcas who in turn laughed back, waiting for her first trial to be announced by the prefect.

As soon as they had finished laughing, they handed her a dirty ambiguous looking doll with a rope.

“Invoke the name of a loved one into that doll, then call the person’s name, and then strangle the doll.

Dorcas jaw dropped, she couldn’t believe her eyes, she cried her eyebålls out, begging them to change the trial she’s willing to accept their punishment instead.

But the prefects shook their head strongly she had already accepted the trials already so no going back.

With so much tears on her countenance, she had no choice than to invoke the name of her aunt clutching the doll so tight on the neck.

Even through her aunt was mean to her she’s the only family she had left along with her grandmother,

She wouldn’t love to k!ll her in her right state of mind, but the trials must be completed.

Tears blurred Dorcas’s vision as she faced the impossible choice. With her heavy heart, she whispered her aunt’s name, sealing her fate.

The prefects laughter echoed through the coven staring slyly as Dorcas accepts her first trial………

The girls of Pelican Girls High didn’t depend on their school bell before the gathering.

Both junior and senior student summoned themselves to the assembly area, clutching candles close to their chests as they paid their last respects to Mr. Eugene.

The assembly area was a sea of flickering white candles each of their flame was a silent tribute to the teacher who had touched their lives in ways more profound than they could express.

Some tears were real, some not, but all eyes were on the principal and the teachers who stood solemnly at the front.

Aliya and Sammy held their candles tightly, the wax melted against their fingers.

Aliya’s eyes leaked tears, not just for the loss, but for the complexity of feelings she harbored. Mr. Eugene had been harsh, but dëath seemed be an extreme penalty for his stern ways.

Dorcas along with the other prefects glared angrily holding the white candles giving to them,

Her thoughts were elsewhere, tangled in worries about her aunt rather than the somber ceremony.

Christabel read her countenance from behind, she tapped her shoulder with the anticipation of a mockery smile which made dorcas to furrow her eyebrows with annoyance.

“Hey sport prefect are you scared? why looking so worried?,” christabel sneered, but Dorcas ignored her, with her gaze lost in the crowd.

During those happening aliya had been staring secretly at dorcas and the rest of the prefects, furrowing her gaze at them with suspicious.

Dorcas disappearing into thin air without traces the night before along with the prefects, and Mr Eugene’s dèath the next day after he had punïshed dorcas severally for lying,

It couldn’t be a coincidence……

The candlelight vigil stretched on, prolonged by a pastor’s ominous words.

The pastor rally words of the untimely dëath of Mr Eugene stating it wasn’t a ordinary dëath.

He spoke of witchcraft, of hidden evils among them.

Dorcas felt a chill running down her spine.

she immediately excused herself in the midst of the girls at the assembly ground.

“Witches are amongst us, and they’re here currently,” the pastors words keeps replaying in dorcas ears as she increase her walking pace back to her dorm.

Dorcas couldn’t shake the feeling, perhaps he’s going to expose them in front of the whole school.

As she hurried away, Christabel and her cronies blocked Aliya’s path.

“Where do you think you’re going?” christabel demanded furrowing her left eyebrows.

Aliya’s retort was fierce. “I can go anywhere without your permission, this isn’t your coven,”Dorca angrily retorted taking her leave while Christabel dragged her back.

“We didn’t chase you here to exchange words with you,” Christabel explain with anger evident in her countenance.

“It’s time for your second trial.”

“I’m not in the mood,” dorcas snapped, breaking free from Christabel’s grasp.

“We read your darkest fear and we’re going to use that as the second trial,” she paused briefly as she tried bending down to balance Dorca’s short height.

“Go and kïll that pastor running his mouths about wītches he’s going to expose us, if truely you need to be in charge without our permission, you will need to do the needful or …..”

Dorcas’s anger flared. “You’re īnsane,” she spat back.

Christabel got stunged by dorcas turning down their request, she was about to hit Dorcas on the face but she docked it transforming herself into a vulture to escape.

Christabel and her cronies transformed into a vulture, following suit. They went to the uppermost roof of the school, their cries pierced through the night chasing dorcas around every corner of pelican girls high.

The vulture fights with their screams and screeches became evident to the gatherings including the pastor,

The battle was fierce. Dorcas, now a vulture herself, tore at Christabel, gaining the upper hand. Below, the pastor prayed fervently, his prayers began to weaken them.

The fight was brutal, Christabel’s friends were affected by the chanting of Jesus Christ and they flew away leaving dorcas and Christabel to their fate.

Dorcas struggle to escape as well as the other seniors but Christabel knocked her down with her claws, not backing off from their fight.

Dorcas emerged victorious, she managed sending Christabel plummeting to the ground, her form shifting back to human as she fell.

To everyone amazement, they saw a fat girl who had Christabel’s appearance, with marks pierced through her black vulture skin as she fell,

Her eyes were glowing red flames,

sending the crowd scattering, their candles were forgotten in the face of such a mysterious and terrifying sight.

The candle night at Pelican Girls ended not with the ringing of a bell, but with the revelation of a strange breed too dark for daylight.

Christabel lay lïfeless on the cold ground, covering her rëd coal eyes in shame as she breathe her last……..

The whole of Pelican Girls ran in all directions, their faces marked with fear in the mist of the chaos,

The principal, with is usual steady shaking hand dialed an ambiguous number on his phone.

Soon, the wail of an ambulance filled the air, and the rescue team arrived,

They refused to touch the strange human breed with half vulture wings at first but curiosity piqued them, as they struggled to carry Christabel they watched the wings vanished,

And she was just a girl again. The murmurs started, whispers from the students filled the air, confusion and fear evident in their countenance.

The principal’s voice cut through the noise, sending everyone back to their dorms. This mystery was for another day.

That night, the coven gathered, silence hanged heavy on the air,

As they mourned for Christabel, their lost syndicate member.

Charity’s ànger b0iled from within as she turned to Dorcas.

“Dorcas as much as you have brought Joy to this coven by welcoming your arrival, is this how you will pay us back?

You brought nothing but pains to us,”

Dorcas stood firm. “It wasn’t my fault. She started this deadly game, and it ended her,

She was k!lled by the same pastor she told me to åttack as my second trial, it’s not as if she’s…..”

“Silence!” Charity’s voice sliced through dorcas’s.

“Christabel have every right to order you around, you two have nothing in common, just because she is no longer a prefect anymore and the principal had finally giving you the position doesn’t give you the…..”.

“Jealousy took her, not me. She couldn’t bear losing the sport prefect position.”, that’s why she wanted to k!ll me,”dorcas interjected with anger evident in her eyes.

Their argument grew heated,

“Whether you like it or not you must do as she says in the order to honour her dëath….

You must complete the second trials, or else….,”charity demanded pointing her index finger at dorcas angrily along with the other seniors.

“What will you do to me? I’m not scared of you.”

“For leading a rebellious åttāck that claimed the lïfe of Christabel just because of your stubbornness we will have no choice than to kīll your grandmother, starting from your stup!d friends,” charity sneered.

” I made a mistake by joining you guys, even accepting the offer in becoming a school prefect.

But I will rewrite those mistakes, I will protect my grandmother and friends from you all”.

The coven ended in so much disagreement as dorcas’s soul angrily left.

The next day, the school buzzed with nervous excitement.

Both junior and senior girls were so anxious and excited at the same time,

The excited of being allowed to call their parents on the phone, was a rare treat, and the lines were long.

“Sammy something is off,” aliya retorted dragging Sammy back to their dorm with fear etching her countenance.

“All this occurrences, Mr eugene’s suddenly dëath, dorcas’s disappearance with the senior girls the day before,

The fighting vultures we all saw last night transforming into Christabel right in front of us, we all saw those things and there’s no doubt dorcas was part of those vultures….. she was no where to be found during those occurrence….”

“Why worry about Dorcas?” Sammy replied. “She chose her path.”

“Let’s just forget about her, I will be leaving this school soon, and I don’t want to spend the rest of our time being sad…, Sammy’s speech was interrupted by a familiar embrace.

It was Dorcas, tears streamed down her cheeks. aliya and Sammy comforted her,

At first Sammy assumed it was a prank, but the unrelentless tears streaming down her countenance made it evident to them, she was actually sorry.

She apologized, explaining briefly all that had happened to her, during her explaining

One of the junior girls interrupted their reunion, beckoning on dorcas, It was a call from her grandmother.

Her tears subside hearing her grandmother’s voice on the other end, she wouldn’t want to make the old woman worried .

The excitement and gladness to hear her grandmother’s voice on the phone began to fade,

Gradually replaced with h0t uncontrollable tears, as she learned of her aunt’s dëmise

“What happened?” Sammy and aliya queried, with droplet of tears falling from their eyesight.

They both stood by her, unknown to them the senior prefects watched them mënacing from behind, wondering what other secret dorcas will spoil out……………

The dormitory door creaked open, and Dorcas dragged her bewildered friends inside.

…… This is all my fault, I caused my aunts dëath….”. dorcas retorted.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Sammy chipped in “Your aunt’s death isn’t your fault.

When land calls who are we humans to negotiate with dëath itself….?” Sammy continued in consoling her along with aliya.

“But it is!” Dorcas choked out. “I caused her dëath.”

Sammy exchanged glances with Aliya, both puzzled with concerned. “What do you mean?” Aliya asked with her forehead creasing.

“Sammy’s right, you can’t blame yourself for your aunt’s choice when she was still alive…”.

“No, I k!lled her, she didn’t die a natural death, I had to k!ll her to avoid being punished for k!lling Mr eugene,” dorcas finally confessed shooking her head in shame.

“Huh….am lost…,” Sammy muttered exchanging glances with aliya, adjusting her sitting posture, glaring at Dorcas intensively.

“What do you mean?” Aliya queried along with sammy furrowing their eyebrows longing to hear more.

“What you saw the other day was real, you weren’t hallucinating,” dorcas said with more tears streaming down her cheeks.

“How are we supposed to know what’s going on with you if you keep crying like this, you keep putting us on suspense, just tell us already,

Dorcas sigh, then confessed. She had been initiated into witchcraft by the senior prefects.

Her consciousness was transported to their hidden coven. There, she learned the truth, the real culprit behind the junior students’ deaths.

“I’ve been forced to play along,” Dorcas confessed. “But my aunt’s dëath… I fl0gged Mr. Eugene in his dreams, and she paid the price.”

Aliya and Sammy gasped their jaw dropped in awe.

Dorcas’s tears flowed freely. “I’m a m0nster,” she sobbed. “Girls like me should burn in hëll.”

Sammy and Aliya exchanged pitiful glances. Then, they enveloped Dorcas in a warm hug. “We won’t run away,” Sammy said. “Even we don’t know what to say.”

“But we need help,” Aliya added. “The school authority need to know the set of prefects we have.”

“Huh…are you cråzy? what do you want us to tell the school principal? witches are reigning in his school? no!! no!!

More troubles for us because he won’t believe us,” Sammy continued.

“What about the Catholic church at the next street? maybe they can help, am sure the reverend father will understand us,”aliya queried her friend abruptly which made Sammy to nod her head simultaneous.

They agreed to seek the reverend father’s aid. That evening, as they slipped past pelican girls high school like shadows.

The church loomed ahead as they approached it, a curious sister eyed them. “what brings you girls here?” she asked.

“We need to see the reverend father,” Dorcas said.

The reverend father puzzled by the trio of desperate girls outside beckoned on them, The girls transpired what had brought them and he offered to pray for Dorcas, to cleanse her.

But as the reverend father began his prayers, the air crackled. The whole seniors syndicate were present,

Their eyes were flamed with malevolence. trying to claimed Dorca’s s0ul.

“Repent, for your souls are in peril.”

The seniors scoffed, their defiance were palpable. They circled the reverend.

Their shadows stretced across the marble floor. But as they lunged, seeking to exchange powers with the holy man, the impossible unfolded.

Their forms wavered, screams echoing through the church. The witches vanished, leaving behind only the memory of their malevolence.

Aliya and Sammy, wide their eyed, cowered behind the reverend, their trembling hands clasped in prayer.

“Jesus loves you, child,” Father Elijah whispered to Dorcas. “He grants you a new life.”

Dorcas was purified by holy water as she crumpled to the ground. Fear gripped her, but she felt a warmth, a promise of redemption.

The reverend instructed them to remain steadfast, visiting the Holy Mary when time allowed.

He offered to tell the school’s principal of the darkness pelican girls held, but the girls declined, thanking him for his impact on dorcas.

And so, the three friends returned to Pelican Girls’ High bidding the father a goodbye.

That night, the dorm room recognized the familiar laughs of Aliya, Sammy, and Dorcas as they huddled together in their bunk bed.

The next morning, an alarm pierced the silence. The senior prefects lay still in their sleep dèad.

Shockwaves rippled through the school, and the principal grappled with the inexplicable. The seniors’ dëmise defied reason.

Aliya,Sammy and dorcas exchanged knowing glances. They understood the price paid,

The once-cruel bullies were no more, and the balance had shifted.

Sammy choose to stay with her friends in pelican girls, she learned that running in the face of their threats wasn’t the best way.

What aliya had dreamed for had finally come to pass, no more starvation, no seniors bullying or k!lling the juniors or disappearing into thin air.

Their best friend, Dorcas, had learnt her lesson in the face of darkness, friendship becomes the beacon that guides them together……

THE END….