Huh? I guess OMG is still hell bent on making Mary suffer

Pukka36:
Huh? I guess OMG is still hell bent on making Mary suffer

Are you a detective? How do you know it's OMG at work?

SammyO4real:
Are you a detective? How do you know it's OMG at work?

Choi



That was the first thing that came to my mynd


I hope am wrong

Pukka36:
Choi


That was the first thing that came to my mynd

I hope am wrong

You'd rather hope u're right.

wot apen to miss mary? ah!! Dat maybe the handiwork of OMG or lucia nd blossom benson

[b] CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

THE KID DETECTIVES

Fiona was worried when she heard of her friend's disappearance. She had to report to the police station at once and then they swung into action.

The police began to interrogate the staff and students of MBC, thereby interrupting their examination. They collected a lot of information and promised to set out to find her.

Fiona reported to the police station every day after school to know how it was going. The policemen kept on demanding more money.

"Madam, calm down, we will find her," they assured. "But you need to give us more money?"

"More money?" Fiona exclaimed. "What about the #30,000 I just gave you three days back?"

The policemen laughed and then said, "Do you know how many places we have visited within these one week we have been looking for her? We have gone to the North, East, South and West looking for her. Now we don't have fuel in our vehicle again to look for her.

Fiona was very angry. She had spent enormous cash over the week in an attempt to make sure that she was found. She had made posters carrying the title 'Missing Person' and had also paid many bloggers to help put her pictures on the social media for everyone to see. She had even promised to pay anyone who saw her as much as #200,000.

"Madam, wetin you tok? We need to fuel our car if we wan continue looking for ram."

"My friend isn't a ram!" she shouted at them in annoyance as she began to search her purse for money. She gave them #10,000 which she had in her purse but they demanded for me.

"Madam, if you don't add something on top, we no go fit do our search pass this local government."

Fiona promised to give them more money, which she would obtain with her ATM card. She kept to her promise eventually, giving them #10,000 more.

Frank was annoyed when he heard that the policemen collected such amount even after collecting what they called consultancy fee of a sum of #50,000 before they accepted to take up the task in the first place. In all, she had given the policemen #100,000 without her friend in sight.

Meanwhile Bella was writing her examinations, Mrs Lucia was busy taking Blossom out for shopping during the early hours of the day. She was doing these all because she didn't want Bella know that Blossom and herself were shopping behind her back.

Bella had lately asked Mrs Lucia to take them out for shopping, but she had given her the excuse that her father hadn't sent any cash home for a long time.

On a particular morning while Blossom and her mother were shopping, a girl suddenly confronted her. Her mother was not aware because she had gone far into the large boutique in search of nice clothings for her children.

"You wicked girl! Here you are!" the girl spoke angrily.

"Where do I know you?" Blossom asked critically.

"I am Christie's friend, you fool!"

"Christie? That proud girl?" Blossom said and hissed.

"Shut up your mouth you plonker! You let the school authority expel my friend, didn't you?"

"And you shut up too!" Blossom screamed at her. "Give way let me go and meet my mother."

"Do you call that shameless thing your mother? Mother indeed!" the girl said with disgust. Blossom was annoyed. She made to slap the girl on the face but she grabbed her hand and quickly gave her a punch on the face. Blossom screamed in pain and her mother heard her and began to rush towards them. However, the girl didn't let it end like that. She had upended Blossom, kicking her ruthlessly. She fled when the cashier and Mrs Lucia were approaching to intervene.

Blossom's face had swollen up. She could not stand on her own due to the serious kicks she got. Mrs Lucia had to abandon everything and carry her into her car. She took her to the hospital.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Michael was Bella's classmate and the most brilliant student in the class. Mr. Tony had told him that he would be good as a detective. Everyone had expcted to hear Mr. Tony say he would be good as a Doctor or as an Engineer, but they were shocked to hear otherwise.

Shockingly, Michael had promised the man he would love to be just that. Since then, he had linked up with Bella's friend and seatmate called Jennifer, who was also discovered by Mr. Tony to be a very observant person.

Jennifer was Bella's best friend. She was always very inquisitive. She was the one who first told Bella that she was noticing that Blossom was changing towards her (Bella).

Why is your mother not taking you in her car to school anymore? Why is Blossom not joining you to take the South Gate during closing hour? Why is it that she now has someone bringing her to school and taking her back home just immediately your mother stopped bringing you to school? Don't you think your mother and Blossom planned it together? Why did your mother stop taking you to school in her car just immediately your father left Nigeria?

Jennifer's questions were never ending. Bella's answers to all her questions seemed insatiable to her taste. Bella had to cut off from her those days when she (Jennifer) asked if she could follow her home to pose those questions at Mrs Lucia herself.

"Bella, you don't look like your mother but Blossom does. Why?" Jennifer had also asked in her inquisitive manner back then.

"Mind your own business, Jenny!" Bella had yelled at her.

It was not strange to Bella at all when Mr. Tony told Jennifer that she would make a very good detective, someone who had confronted the man herself to ask him for the reason why he picked up the job of a 'talent hunter' at MBC.

"Because talent-hunting is my talent," Mr Tony had replied with a smile. "But why do you ask?"

"Because I like asking questions," Jennifer replied him immediately. That day, Mr. Tony smiled and said, "Come with me, I'm going to try you out as a detective."

Michael and Jennifer met after their last paper to discuss how to find Miss Mary, the missing new teacher.

"Jennifer, what do you discover about her the first day she came to our school?" Michael asked.

"She came in a strange dressing and hairstyle; she was in a kind of Asian attire. Her face looked troubled, her voice rough and faint. She looked sick, unkempt, emaciated..."

"Enough Jenny, you have observed very well," Michael said. "So what do you think that could mean?"

Jennifer began to think deep. At last she said, "Maybe she was in a trouble before coming here that day."

"Good observation there," Michael said. "Her dressing style that day didn't portray her as someone who was coming to look for a teaching job with good salary such as the one of MBC. She should have dressed in a suitable English dressing, knowing she was coming to take up a job here."

"Perhaps she was coming directly from somewhere which wasn't her home. She must have had no time to go home to dress up," Jennifer said.

"Oh yes! I heard her say so that day!" Michael exclaimed. "She even said her attire was a slavery one. Is she a slave to someone somewhere?"

Michael and Jennifer brainstormed. They ended up meeting Bella to take them to Mrs Fiona's home after the school hour.

"Don't bother, she is coming to pick me up herself with her car after the school hour," Bella said.

"Does she now have a car?" they said surprisingly. Bella replied, "Yes! She's been using it for a month now."

Michael and Jennifer were glad to see Fiona ride such exotic car. They jumped in uninvited.



[/b]

Wow,I might be korrect sha






Shorter than short update!

Pukka36:
Wow,I might be korrect sha

Shorter than short update!

Short update? I guess that's an irony or isn't it?

[b] Michael and Jennifer posed questions at Fiona as they had always been doing:

"Ma, how is Miss Mary to you?"

"A friend of course," she replied. "Departmental mates at the University of Lagos."

"Has she had any history of mental illnesses before which you know of?" Michael asked. Miss Fiona looked at them in awe. Even the policemen didn't ask her such question. How come her kids were now posing such at her.

Mrs Fiona replied, "My friend has never been insane."

Michael and Jennifer were very serious about the interrogation, jotting down whatever responses she gave. They proceeded further to ask, "Where do you think she might have been to?"

"I don't know," Fiona said. "Please kids, I'm somehow not in the mood for questions now, okay. The police are handling the case, not you too."

"But don't you think we could help the police?" Jennifer said.

"Maybe, I don't know," Fiona replied bluntly, yawning. She had wept so much for her friend, Mary. Certainly, she was not disposed to attend the Sendforth party that would have held that day, being the last day of examination at MBC. She had earlier asked for the suspension of the party till further notice.

Miss Fiona wanted to drop them off on the way, but they insisted they wanted to remain in the car.

"We will alight at Bella's home," they said.

"My home?" Bella was stunned. However, she did not resist them.

Miss Fiona dropped them all off in Bella's home and left for her home. Bella was shocked to find the house locked. She had expected to see Blossom at home at least, even if Lucia hadn't returned from her sisters' school.

Michael and Jennifer suggested that they strolled. They all had some money with them, so they decided to call at a restaurant to relax. They bought some drinks qnd continued with their chats.

"Miss Fiona said that Miss Mary had not had any history of insanity, so it means she couldn't have walked away by herself. She could have been kidnapped," Michael deduced.

"Kidnapped? But by whom?" Bella asked cluelessly.

"We don't know yet," Jennifer said thoughtfully. "Do you know where she lives, Bella?"

"Y-yes," Bella replied slowly. "Miss Fiona has once taken me there while dropping her off from our school." The two young 'detectives' asked if Bella could take them there. She agreed reluctantly. They got up to leave immediately. When they wanted to pay their bill, the waiter told them that someone had paid for them already.

"Who?" they were surprised.

"Over there," the waiter pointed at a teenager drinking pepper soup with some bottles of beer. They asked her whom she was and why she paid for them.

"Don't you know me guys? I'm Christie's friend at MBC. You may not actually know me because I practise two days on, three days off in school. My dad is a commissioner."

"And why do you have to pay for us? We do have our money to pay?" Jennifer said.

"I'm not paying for you alone kids. I've told the restaurant owner to put the charges of all the customers on me today."

"Why?" Bella asked.

"Bella the magician, go check that out with your evil sister. Of course she's the reason I'm here celebrating," she grinned wildly, chewing a toothpick. "I beat her silly in the boutique today."

"Boutique?" Bella was surprised.

"Yes, herself and her mum were shopping. I guess she'd be receiving some treatments in the hospital right now, ha! ha! ha!"

"How dare you!" Bella was angry. She held her by the collar, yet the girl kept on laughing. Michael and Jennifer helped the girl get rid of Bella'a grip and held her back as they thanked the girl and began to leave.

Bella was not at ease at the news anymore. She wanted to go back home immediately.

"Are you not coming with us to Miss Mary's home anymore?" they asked.

"I have to be home," Bella said. "You can locate her place yourself. I'll tell you how to get there."

Bella gave the home address of Miss Mary to the two young detectives and began to hurry homeward. Her mother and her sister had just arrived from the hospital.

Bella almost didn't recognise her sister anymore. Her face had swollen double and her legs were on bandage.

"What happened to her?" Bella asked. Readily, but in a weeping tone, Mrs Lucia said, "She slipped in the bathroom and gashed her forehead against the tap."

"Really?" Bella was disappointed to hear that. "I thought she was being beaten by a girl in the boutique."

"How do you know that?" Lucia was surprised.

"She told me," Bella said. "I was home, everywhere locked up, so I went to the restaurant down there to refresh myself. There was seated a strange girl who told me this."

Mrs Lucia was speechless as she stared at Bella.

"Mum, is it true you took Blossom out for shopping all alone?"

"Y-yes my daughter, but--"

"But you told me you've got no cash when I asked you to take me for shopping!"

"Not like that Bella. Benson sent some cash this morning. We actually went for shopping on behalf of everyone, not for Blossom's sake alone. Bella, you would need to see some pretty dresses I picked for you before that silly girl came to spoil the day," Lucia managed a smile.

"How soon did you start selecting cloth for me mother?" Bella asked. "I may not like them, you know. Why didn't you wait till tomorrow, Saturday, so we could all go for shopping together? My exams ended today!"

"Blossom suggested making it a surprise package for you and your sisters. But unfortunately..." Mrs Lucia sobbed. Bella was compassionate. She put an arm around her back. Blossom was just looking at them like a toy. She was in grave pain.

Bella adjourned to her sister's side to feel her body. She was running temperature.

"Get well soon, Blossom," she whispered and the weak girl nodded her head like a lizard.

Fiona got the shock of her life when the policemen told her that her friend was probably abducted by the MBC school authority themselves.

"Madam, we can't keep looking for what is not lost. Your friend worked in that school for just five days and got missing. From our investigation, the last time she was seen by those in her house was when she left the home on Friday morning for her workplace. Her students also confirmed that she came to the school on Friday. So she must have been kidnapped by the school herself because she didn't return back home that Friday."

"How do you know she didn't return home?" Fiona queried.

"Because her neighbour said she didn't see her since that Friday. We even met her door shut when we got there. We had to break the padlock to get in."

Fiona was disappointed in the police. She knew that Frank would not take it cool with them if he heard that. She was worried because it was two weeks already without anyone seeing her friend.

Fiona was contemplating on whether it was the right time to tell Frank what the police said or not. Her doorbell rang. She was surprised to find Michael and Jennifer at the door. They told her they got her home address from the Secretary of MBC.

"I was smart enough to occupy her in a conversion while Jennifer was going through the staff's files, unknown to her," Michael said, smiling.

"So Miss Fiona, you are 27," Jennifer said. "May 2."

Fiona looked at them in awe. They had all her profile now.[/b]

[b] CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

THE E-MIC CONTEST (ROUND TWO)

The Monday after the Friday MBC ended their examination was the day scheduled for the Local Government round of the Music Competition. Only two schools from the same Local Government would qualify for the next round of the competition.

Miss Fiona, in the company of other teachers in Crestland College arrived the venue. They came in the school bus.

Mrs Dorcas also came with her students but they were not prepared for the contest due to the examination period which had dragged itself deep into the time scheduled for the music. They had to rush things up that same Monday morning.

In the bus, Bella sat close to John who had already dozed off. Bella tapped him back to life.

"John, are you sure of what you told me?" Bella asked.

"What?" the boy asked.

"That you sleep within a minute of lying down on your couch."

"Of course Bella," John replied. "Why asking me this again?"

"Because I'm scared," Bella replied. Her face showed how scared she was indeed. Obviously, Bella wasn't scared of John but something else which the boy himself seemed to understand. In his sleeping realm, John said, "You don't have to be scared Bella. It will..." he spoke drowsily and began to snore.

The stage was soon ready for the contest to commence. This time around, the song to render would be an Acapella. No musical instrument would be used. Only human sounds would be improvised as musical instruments.

Crestland College, Opebi, commenced with a very beautiful Acapella song and they got a standing ovation for it. Four other schools also performed; in all, there were six schools.

"Wow! What a day!" the moderator said excitedly. "Five gone and one left--Morning Bell College of Magodo. Let's give them a hand!" Everyone clapped to welcome them upstage. Fiona smiled when she saw Bella and her colleagues filing out.

Fiona looked around, scared. Her colleagues were not different in composure as well. Mrs Dorcas' heart thumped where she was seated. She was unsure of securing a qualification spot, going by how all the other contestants had performed already.

"Em...I don't know if we could be permitted to use just one musical instrument," Bella spoke into the microphone and there was an outburst of laughter.

"Musical what? Aren't you aware this is going to be an Acappella?" the moderator queried.

"Yes we know...but maybe we could use just one...just one instrument..."

"Not at all," the moderator said.

"Maybe you should see the instrument first, perhaps you would consider it."

"Sure I won't accept any but where is it, let's take a look."

"He's coming with it," Bella said, smiling.

John entered the hall, carrying a huge mattress. The hall roared in laughter. It was a funny sight to behold.

"Is th--that the musical instrument you are talking about?"

"Yes," Bella replied. "Is it allowed?"

"As long as it performs it primary function, then it's allowed," the woman said, still unable to recover from her shock.

"Alright then, John go ahead!" Bella spoke into the microphone. John set the mattress and lay on it. Everyone in the hall was yelling in excitement and suspense. "Please stop yelling!" Bella yelled into the microphone herself and there was relative silence in the hall.

Within one minute, John had slept off. Bella and one of her colleagues gently tiptoed to his bed with a small microphone and its stand. They set it between his mouth and nose and the sound of his snores engulfed the hall immediately. The laughter knew no bound such that Bella feared that he would wake up, but he didn't.

Bella joined the rest of his band. They were going to sing to the rhythm of the snore. She had earlier studied his snore rhythms to discover that there were two different rhythmic patterns and any of them could come up at the expense of the other at any point in time. Bella had composed a song each to the tune of the two rhythms, so all she needed to do was to listen to the rhythm and start the song.

"Rhythm 2!" Bella said and then they started singing. John's snores sounded like the sound of the combination of a drum and a tambourine and rhymed very well with the music rendered by his colleagues. The song lasted for five minutes before John suddenly stopped and woke up.

"Where am I?" he said as if he was dreaming. The microphone carried his voice and everyone laughed and clapped.

The moderator smiled to the microphone and said, "In five minutes time we shall announce the two schools that qualify for the second round. Just relax a little while."

Bella was satisfied with their performance. Mrs Dorcas was glad about it too. John kept asking Bella how it went, because himself was not aware of what was happening.

"Sincerely I was having a bad dream," John said. "Maybe you sang a bad song."

The moderator was up on the stage. She set the microphone close to her mouth as she said, "We have the runner-up and the winner of this contest: and the runner-up is..."

Fiona hoped it was either her school or Bella's. Bella held her breath. John almost collapsed. Mrs Dorcas was sweating. Everyone was silent.

"Crestland College!" she announced. The students of the school thumped for joy because the performances were so close that it would be very difficult to conjecture which two school would make the cut.

"And the winner of the Ikeja Local Government E-MIC Contest 2014 is...Morning Bell College!"

The hall was set on fire as the students of MBC ran helter-skelter in joy. Earlier, they thought they would lose out because they had no time to prepare for it due to their examination which ended just three days back. The only day left for them to do the practice was Saturday. Many of the school students and staff didn't show up because they feared they would not make it.

Mrs Dorcas went straight to John and said, "Precious snores those you made. Never knew snores could be useful in music. They really helped."

"Lol," John said, feeling shy.

"I'm sorry for not permitting you into the music club at first."

Fiona came to rejoice with them. She had screamed for joy at the mention of MBC as the winner. Mrs Dorcas was glad to see her colleagues again. They hugged.

"Mrs Dorcas, you are hereby sued for piracy and plagiarism for making a second version of my love poem," Fiona said playfully.

"Who told you that?" she asked shockingly.

"Mr Akin," Fiona replied. "He said yo gave it to him to fix his marriage."

"Hmm. All the credit goes to John who actually wrote the second version. You can arrest him instead." They laughed.

Fiona never had an inkling that John could compose poems or songs at all. She was happy John had finally discovered a talent too.

"Congrats John!" she said. "Congrats MBC!"

"Congrats to you too," they said as she got ready to join her people from Crestland.

A little trophy each was awarded the winner and the runner up. They also got some material prizes.



[/b]

Amazing I must confess. been a silent reader all dis while. u're doing a great job sammy

Eeshfar779:
Amazing I must confess. been a silent reader all dis while.
u're doing a great job sammy

Thanks and u're welcome

nice 1 keep it up

[b] Benjamin called Bella through the phone to ask how it went in her school. For his own school, DoubleSpring International School(DSIS), it was a good news. They made it as the champion of their local government.

"We made it too!" Bella said in excitement. They yelled over the phone.

"How about Crestland College? You know they won this competition nationwide consecutively?"

"They made it too, took second position."

"What! So your school took first afterall. I thought you said you were not prepared for it."

"Yes we didn't, but we employed a nice concept."

"Okay Bella, I'm coming over to your home now."

"Maybe not today," Bella said. "I'll be busy taking care of my ill sister Blossom."

"Alright then, let's meet in church tomorrow, okay! Wish your sister a good recovery for me. Bye." He hung up.

Meanwhile Bella was having the contest, Michael and Jennifer were making waves with their investigation. They had been to Miss Mary's house. Surprisingly for them, the door opened when they turned its handle. They got in and found the room without a soul.

Jennifer spotted an exercise book on a stool close to her bed. She picked and looked into it. It seemed she was writing a story.

"Michael, come and see what I saw," she said as Michael adjourned towards her. Michael began to read the first page of the book.

"Oh My God! This is unbelievable!" he cried out after few minutes.

They decided to see Fiona immediately, taking the book along. She had a lot of questions to answer," they said as they closed the door again and left without anyone noticing them.

Miss Fiona yawned as she stepped out of her car. She climbed the staircase and got to her apartment. She was wishing to just be on her bed. She inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it. The door opened.

Fiona was surprised. She didn't meet her living room exactly how she left it. The EBIAG magazine she left on top of her table was now on the chair. The calendar on the wall, which was earlier displaying JULY 2015 was now displaying JUNE 2015 which was on an entirely different page.

"What's happening here," she whispered to herself and held her head in pain. She had headache.

Fiona felt she was hallucinating, so she decided to clear her head under the shower. She was shocked when she opened the door of the bathroom and found someone there.

"Aaaaaargh!" she screamed. It was Jennifer.

"Surprised?"

"How do you get in?" she asked critically because she was sure that she locked the door with a key while leaving in the morning.

"Abracadabra!" Jennifer said, laughing. Fiona was still scared.

"--do you h-have magic?" she asked. Jennifer burst into laughter.

"I used a key, your key," she said.

"How?" Fiona asked. She still didn't get it. She walked back to the sitting room to check her bunch of keys which she just used for opening the door. She gazed down at the bunch of keys and discovered that one of the three keys for the living room was missing.

"Oh! You pulled out one of my keys and put these?" she said, holding up another key which was strange. It didn't belong to the bunch originally.

"Yes Miss Fiona," she said. "That was yesterday in the car."

"Criminal," she said and began to leave for the bathroom again. She heard a sound from the kitchen and quickly went there to check it out. She was shocked to see Michael drinking her beverage.

"So you are here too," she pointed at him. Michael was sipping an orange juice when she got in. He could not talk back. "Out of there, thief!" Fiona acted as if she was coming for him and he fled.

"This children won't kill me, I hope," she whispered and then began to go to the bathroom again.

Jennifer and Michael had read Mary's manuscript halfway already.
It was an autobiography.

When Fiona returned to the sitting room, they sat her down and questioned her:

"Has Miss Mary had a fiance in the past?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"Did we say we know?" Jennifer said. "We are only asking."

"Okay, she has," Fiona reiterated.

"Is he dead already?" Michael asked.

"Two years back!" Fiona said. "Did Mary tell you all these? I guess no because she hasn't known you guys so much to tell you these."

"How did Chuks die?" they asked.

"Enough of these pranks and tell me if you have found Mary already!" Fiona said and rose up in haste to call out her friend. "Mary! Mary! Come out here and stop playing pranks on me with this kids!" Fiona was expectant. She was exasperated when they told her they were yet to find her.

"So who gave you all these information?" she asked.

"This book," they said simultaneously, pointing at the exercise book.

"Where did you get this from?" she said as she collected it from them to glance through.

"Miss Mary's room," they said.

"Oh! Those policemen must be very wicked. Didn't they padlock the room back after forcing it open?"

Jennifer and Michael looked into each other's eyes and laughed.

"Don't tell me you guys also stole a key from her. Did you do that?"

"No we didn't," Jennifer said.

"We were laughing because you have been deceived by the police," Michael said. "There was no sign of any force used to open the door earlier."

"And there isn't any space for padlock at all at Miss Mary's door. So they must have lied to you."

Fiona opened her mouth and could not shut it back. She had just realised that what the kids were saying were the truth. Mary's door wasn't making use of padlock at all, but the policemen had testified that they broke her padlock to get into her room.

"Police are thieves!" Fiona generalised in anger when she remembered that she had lost #100,000 to them already.[/b]

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

OUTSMARTED

Jennifer and Michael had read much about OMG! from Miss Mary's book. They shared it with Fiona.

"Did you know the school, OMG!"

"Oh My God! That damn school?"

"Yes," they said. "Don't you think we should find out if it was the one who kidnapped Mary?"

"They are untouchable," Fiona said. "I just hope it is not OMG that kidnapped them. If it is, then I'm sorry we may not get Mary back," Fiona said. She dreaded the Asians so much.

"Miss Fiona, relax," Michael said. "According to what we have here, they school owned by Japanese. But that's nothing to be feared. I thought we are no more in a colonial era."

Fiona was not satisfied. She didn't want the kids to run into trouble with the dreaded foreigner.

"Please kids, don't go near the school of Mr and Mrs Oro!" she said pleadingly. "Let's just hope they have no hands in this."

"What if they have a hand in it?" Jennifer said. "Michael, let's go!"

The kid detectives began to take their leave. It was already 2pm, yet they still wanted to get to the school, because according to what they had read from Mary's book, Orochimaru Montessori Gakkou would not be closing till 6pm.

Jennifer and Michael were not obstructed at the school gate because the security men thought they were coming for extramural lessons. At OMG, there was no lateness time for students. They could join the teachings anytime as long as they had enough money to pay.

Mrs Orochimaru was the one collecting money from the students.

"What you come learn?" she asked them.

Mrs Orochimaru had two long teeth protruding out of her mouth like a vampire teeth. She had a narrow face and a small head. Her eyes were so small that one would hardly see them, yet the flesh fold beneath their eyes made sure they were almost covered. Her neck had a big Adam apple.

"Anything," they said.

"Anything go cost #3,000," she said. It was already #3:30pm, yet she wanted to collect such amount. They gave it to her. She directed them where to go.

Jennifer and Michael began to explore the whole environment instead of staying in a class to learn something. They began to take selfies and also unending snapshots of the school vicinity.

Jennifer and Michael met a school teacher sitting down isolated in a classroom. They decided to approach her. At first she thought that they were being sent by Mr and Mrs Oro themselves. But in no time, she realised that they came independently. She was willing to speak with them, having seen the touch of wealth on them.

Why are you here today?

I am here today because there is school on Saturday here. We close 6pm on Saturdays.

What is your name?

I am Zainab.

Are you from Asia? Why are you dressed up like this?

Because that is how the school authority wants it. Today this is the type of uniform we must put on.

And the hairdo too?

Yes, definitely for this week.

Why are you still working here despite all these tedious conditions

Because there is no job out there. I don't want to leave because I am afraid that it could be more difficult out there. I would rather stick to the rules here, save money and then get my shop and be an entrepreneur.

The children laughed and then asked, "
And how much do you think you can save every day from your #30,000 meagre salary? And since when have you been teaching here?

This is my fourth year of being here. As for how much I save daily, I don't know what to say because it is not regular and since we are not paid daily, I do save monthly. Sometimes I save up to #20,000 in a month but you know, commitment here and there, the money is gone.

"Hmm," they sighed. "Can you work for my mum? She will pay you well," Jennifer said and Zainab thumped up for joy. Her countenance fell back when she pondered upon something.

"I could be jailed for leaving this place," she said sorrowfully.

"By whom?" Michael asked angrily.

"The school owners."

"What the hell!" they yelled. "Why can't you involve the police? Are you going to be working here forever?"

"Involving the police would worsen the issue. They are more connected than even the president of this country. You won't be surprised that the police you involved would be the one to jail you eventually."

Jennifer opened her pause and gave Zainab a business card.

"That's my mum's. Come to the address below tomorrow, right?"

"That's right," Zainab said humbly.

The children left her. They had heard too much already. Jennifer suggested that they should speak with the proprietress herself.

Mrs Orochimaru felt like a celebrity when the children came to her, demanding the secret behind her success.

"Sit my children and hear," she said as she began to open up.

Mr and Mrs Orochimaru were almost beggars in their own country. They were not recognised at all in the society. However, they began to think of how to relocate to Nigeria when they began to hear how their colleagues were making waves there. They sold their property and came down to Nigeria to settle down. Things were very easy for them as the citizens of Nigeria treated them like kings. They were being easily attended to by all the government officials and had more security than the citizens themselves. They were regarded as first-class citizens of the country by the first-class citizens themselves.

Mr and Mrs Orochimaru had enough things on credit from the Nigerians because they believed in them more than their own people. They believed that a foreigner would never steal or tell a lie. They believed the lies of the foreigners than the truth of their fellow citizens. Mr and Mrs Orochimaru capitalized on the weaknesses of the citizens to acquire everything they needed. The land on which they founded their school was acquired by a loan they got from a bank, which was ready to grant it to them without any collateral security, believing that they were honest people.

Mr and Mrs Orochimaru began to have friends who were very rich and then they had great connections. Rich parent would prefer to send their children to the school and pay two million naira in a session rather than sending them to a better school owned by a Nigerian and pay two hundred thousand naira per session.

Mrs Orochimaru thought that she was sharing her secret with some rich kids who were going to be bad like themselves but never knew she was telling it to some kids detectives.

"Thanks a lot Mrs Orochimaru," they said. "So have you paid the bank loan?"

She laughed and said that she only paid to make sure that the bank loan was erased from the database of the bank.

The children finally asked if she disciplined her teachers. She told them that she would not joke with that. Then she cited three examples. Miss Mary was the last example she gave:

"Mary shout to me. She leave the Gakkou. I find her with my police friends. They carry her, keep her inside cell. She will die there."

The kids laughed and she laughed with them for a long time.

"The cell, can you tell us where? We wish to go their and torment her."

"Alright, I go give you. My friends, Ganiu, my friends Lawrence, my friends Uche, my friends Gbenga. They work all for the police station down the road. Tell them me say you to see Mary. Help me slap am face my children."

"We will do that," they said happily. The woman called them back and gave them their money back.

"Take your money back because you two is good for bad. I like
people who is good for bad. Please make you come here everyday."

Fiona was shocked when she heard the audio played to her by the students. It was unbelievable! The children were smart enough to have recorded everything they heard with their phones.

[b] CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

FREEDOM FOR MISS MARY

Fiona showered much encomium on the children. She didn't believe it. The children took their leave while she drove to Frank's home to tell him everything that happened, including what the policemen told him.

"Ah!" Frank got angry. "Who are these Orochimaru? Ah! They must smell hell!"

It was already late, since it was 9pm already. They would take action the next day.

"Frank, could you believe that the police station is the same one we reported the case to?"

"What!" Frank bleated. It was incredible. "All these policemen must be arrested."

"By whom? Who shall we arrest police with?" Fiona said ignorantly. Frank glanced at her and said, "Don't worry. I know how to handle the issue."

Fiona could not hold back her joy. She had called Bella on phone to tell her that Mary had been found. Bella almost threw off the phone in excitement. She met Fiona at the church and asked to know more. She told her all and asked her to join the two young detectives who would be visiting her cell later in the day.

Benjamin and Bella met Michael and Jennifer at an agreed point and they all moved down to the cell to see Miss Mary. A policeman asked them what they wanted.

"We are from Mrs Orochimaru of OMG."

"Oh Madam! Twale for madam oyibo. What did she say you should come here to do?" the young man asked.

"Are you Gbenga?" Jennifer asked, pronouncing the name as 'Bengba'.

"No, do you want to see him?"

"Not really, but madam said we should give either Gbenga or Uche this money," Jennifer produced #5,000 from her pause. The man appeared not to be any of the two names mentioned.

"Or Lawrence or Ganiu," Michael added and he smiled.

"I am Ganiu," he said. "Help me thank madam."

"No problem," they said. "We came to see madam's slave that is here."

"Oh! You mean one lady who shouted at madam and left her school? That girl will die here for sure. No one dare shout at madam and go scot-free." He began to lead them towards her cell.

Michael instructed that only Benjamin should go and see her while they all remained behind.

"Why?" Jennifer whispered.

"She will scream for joy when she sees us and this police will know our secret."

"Okay, it's the truth," Jennifer replied with a smile.

The policeman brought Mary to a corner. He was surprised when he didn't see the rest of them.

"Where are the other people?" Ganiu asked.

"They are in the courtyard. They will soon come back."

Mary looked lean and unkempt. She was blinking her eyes as she saw the strange boy staring at her.

"You! You were challenging our mentor, Mrs Orochimaru? You will rot in this cell!" Benjamin stood up and pointed at her face.

Ganiu began to take his leave.

"I will slap your face!" Benjamin shouted and then clapped his hands together. Ganiu heard the sound and smiled. He thought Benjamin had just slapped Mary on the face.

"Madam oyibo tormenting her teachers since 1930BC," he whispered to himself.

Benjamin peeped to see that Ganiu had left. He came back to Mary and whispered, "I am a friend, Miss Fiona's friend, your friend."

Mary almost screamed for shock, but Benjamin was fast enough to seal up her mouth with his right palm.

"Keep quiet," he whispered to her. "We are here to rescue you. Bella and two other friends are outside."

Benjamin clapped his hands three times and the three children entered.

"Bella Benson, Jennifer and Michael, how do you get here?"

"We told you we are detectives when you asked us, didn't we?" Michael and Jennifer said. They brought out there phone and put on their video cameras. It would serve as an evidence later.

Quickly, they declared their plan to her and assured her she would be rescued soon. She wept when they were departing.

The next morning, Frank and Fiona were at a TV station. They had just finished telling the story of Mary's undeserved punishment by the foreigner. Mrs Orochimaru's voice was played out for everyone to hear. Then the video of the kids discussing with Mary in the cell was also played.

"We placed Mary's Missing Person's pictures everywhere, not knowing that she is right there in the police cell. The same policemen who collected #100,000 from us and in the end told us that Morning Bell College was responsible for Mary's miss. We, the citizens of this country, treat ourselves like animals and treat outsiders like God. What an irony in the black race!" Frank sobbed passionately.

"My friend must not suffer in vain. If this country is serious at all, it should take action immediately to get my friend out of cell!" Fiona yelled in anger.

Frank had no intention to do anything further. He knew it would be a case of everyone trying to save its head in shame. The police would have no choice other than to bring all the culprits to book. MBC would also want to sue the police for mentioning that they were the one who kidnapped Mary.

Mary was released immediately while some of the policemen were arrested by their superiors. Orochimaru Montessori Gakkou founders were sued by many bodies. Jennifer and Michael were rewarded by many bodies. There was peace for Mary at last!

After then, the Sendforth party/Welcoming party was organised for Fiona and Mary respectively.

[/b]

Now this is unbelievable!!!!!!
Who knows , it might also be the same Police station Fiona has been paying to...

Hmmmm....early morning update,.... scooped it hot....

Well done prof.....

Hahahaha I like smart kids.... Weldon sammy

Smart kids.... SHARP kids .....like this very much.... ....Didn't know another meal was on its way....
Thanks Prof....

dammygoody:
Smart kids.... SHARP kids .....like this very much....
....Didn't know another meal was on its way....

Thanks Prof....

It's my pleasure brother. How u doin?

Whew!

Wow! This is interesting!
Weldone Sammy!

LogoDWhiz:
Wow! This is interesting!
Weldone Sammy!

Oh my gentle friend, u're here. Welcome on board.

SammyO4real:

Oh my gentle friend, u're here. Welcome on board.

Yea I am.
Tnx.
Is this the end of the story?

LogoDWhiz:

Yea I am.
Tnx.
Is this the end of the story?

This is just the beginning

SammyO4real:
This is just the beginning

Wow! This is good!

SammyO4real:

It's my pleasure brother. How u doin?

I'm doing very well Prof... I'm sure you are too..

Kudos sammy!Gud work

Thank God for Mary's life oo

great story, kudos 2 u

Sammy u re a gr8 writer, one of d best in nairaland keep up d good work, # need a welcoming update#