Saint Patrick's College

Chapter One

Adaeze Okoro's first day at Saint Patrick's College was a nightmare. Not because she was the one to get herself into that mess—okay, partly because of that—but because there was a body in the downstairs girl's bathroom room of Veritas Hall, and a killer on the loose.

But she was getting ahead of herself.

Adaeze's story began weeks before her first day. It began the day she got expelled from Nnamdi Azikiwe Secondary School, Abuja.

It was a day she couldn't forget. A day no one in her household would let her forget.

It was a rainy Monday when it happened.

She was in a particularly sour mood. For one reason, she had to attend the general assembly Principal Adebayo made obligatory, and secondly, she was under the rain, Adaeze hated the rain. "You're not salt, you won't melt." Her mother, Ijeoma, always told her whenever she complained about the rain. Adaeze was very different from her little sister Amarachi, that girl lived for the raining season, always eager to dance beneath the pelting drops, never caring about the cold she could get or the fact that she could fall on her butt.

But back to Adaeze and the general assembly.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her legs were getting tired. She was on the SS1 girl's line standing at attention. It always baffled her why they couldn't host the assemblies inside where it was warm and dry. Sure, there wouldn't be enough seats and some unlucky suckers would have to stand, leaned against the walls of the only hall they had, but at least they would be sheltered from the rain.

Her skin tingled, her shoulders were already hunched up, tensed from being drenched. She wanted to leave, to chuck caution to the wind, what was the worst that could happen? At most they'll spank her for her disobedience...

She considered it. Nnamdi Azikiwe Secondary School had a rule, they could only spank the students on their hands and in Adaeze's ample experience it was never that painful.

"I don't like that look on your face." Temitope said glancing over her shoulder. She was standing in front of Adaeze on the line. The girl was Adaeze's best and only friend. They grew up together and have been in the same school since primary school.

Adaeze huffed. "What look?" She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted out her hip.

"That mischievous one." Temi turned fully and wagged her finger in Adaeze's face. "Whenever you look like that bad things happen."

Adaeze resisted the urge to chuckle. Bad things didn't happen, that was an exaggeration. Sure, they got into trouble whenever she wore that look, but it was never anything too bad. Heck, the worst incident Adaeze could conjure up to memory would have to be the time they snuck in their phones and used it in the girl's bathroom to text each other. Of course, the devices were ceased and both girls were spanked for their rebelliousness, but at least they went down in history as the girls daring enough to sneak their phones in.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Adaeze shrugged. She pretended to pay attention to the national anthem even though she couldn't care less.

"Whatever you have in mind, don't do it, I'm begging you—" She paused. "In fact, do it, I won't stop you, but I want nothing to do with it." Temi refocused her attention on the assembly. It was held in the middle of the quad on the grassy lawn facing the main class building.

The school's infrastructure wasn't that remarkable, in fact, some of the buildings weren't even complete. As a government secondary school, it was to be expected, not that Adaeze ever complained. Things like that didn't move her.