Failed Mission: Next Move

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, while Anna and Naomi continued to wait for Gloria to be expelled, but that never happened. And Mrs. Gracious, who was supposed to have reported her, was nowhere to be found. Even though she wasn't everyone's favorite, many girls were concerned about her sudden absence from school. Anna was one of those deeply disturbed by this awful development. Never in the history of Bishop Evangelical College had Mrs. Gracious ever missed a day in school. It was indeed strange and everyone was worried except for Gloria, who relieved that the annoying Mrs. Gracious was nowhere to be found.

Anna suspected foul play when the Deaconess gathered them in front of the hostel the following week after her absence and announced Mrs. Gracious' resignation. Mrs. Gracious wasn't the type to just wake up one day and decide to resign, and why would she do that just after discovering condoms in Gloria's bag? Was there no end to the Deaconess's play of politics? Anna wondered as she glared at the Deaconess from the back of the line where she stood.

After the announcement, there was a loud murmur as everyone wondered why Mrs. Gracious would resign from a job she clearly loved.

"Silence!" The Deaconess commanded, and every lip went mute and all around became as quiet as a burial ground.

"This is Miss Clara, your new matron. She's here to replace Mrs. Gracious. Respect her the same way you respected Mrs. Gracious. If you disrespect her, you are disrespecting me and the school. She is now in charge. Good day, young ladies." The Deaconess announced before taking her leave.

As she walked back to her office, the Deaconess' mind travelled back to that terrible Monday morning when Mrs. Gracious caught her with Pastor Jude. Sacking Mrs. Gracious had been risky but necessary move to take. But it was only the choice, since Mrs. Gracious had insisted on leaving the school since it was no longer pure or holy enough for her. She could still remember the frightened look on Mrs. Gracious' face when they forced her to promise not to say a word of what she saw. They had threatened her and her family, which was a horrible thing to do, but it was the only way to make sure she didn't expose their secret. But even if she did,who would believe her over a prestigious Deaconess and a holy pastor? She stood no chance against them. But with their threats, they had made certain she wouldn't dare open her mouth to anyone.

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"The Deaconess has already introduced me to you girls. And I hope you do as she says. I am Miss. Clara Ejeh and I believe we will all get along fine if you follow my instructions. Gradually, I will also get to know each of you. Now, you can head back to your rooms, girls. Have a pleasant morning, girls." Miss Clara said in a friendly tone as she smiled at the girls. From the smiles on the faces of most girls, it was obvious she had won the hearts of many.

While others walked back to their rooms, Anna took her time to study the new matron. She was very young, fashionable, and friendly, unlike Mrs. Gracious. Even though Anna wanted to like her, she just couldn't because of the circumstances of her arrival. Anna sighed, reluctantly walking back to her room, disappointed that their very first plan had failed. Gloria was still walking freely around the school. Why? She whimpered in her head. Why couldn't they just get justice for Sylvia and Stanley?

With slumped shoulders, she trudged to her room only for a hand to clasp her shoulders from behind. Quickly, she turned around in fear and saw it was Naomi.

"The T-end now…" Naomi whispered as she walked ahead of Anna, who followed her immediately but stayed just a distance away, so no one would know they were together. But someone was watching them go. It was Goodness, and she wondered what the two girls had in common. But the thought didn't linger as she continued with her activity for the day.

Once they got to the T-end, Naomi peered around to make sure no one was coming towards the T-end. Satisfied that no one was headed in their direction, she began to speak with Anna.

"I don't understand. What happened to the matron? Why would she resign?" Naomi asked, her eyebrows quirking up in curiosity like she expected Anna to have the answers.

"I have no idea. But the Mrs. Gracious I know would never resign from Bishop Evangelical College. It was her life. I smell a rat. The Deaconess's hand is in this." Anna retorted, her oval face squeezing into a frown.

"I also suspect foul play. Why else would she resign just after finding out those things in Gloria's back? Just when Gloria was supposed to be expelled…I should have known that evil Deaconess wouldn't expel her own daughter." Naomi fumed.

"So, what do we do now? How do we defeat them?" Anna inquired.

"We need to keep trying; we need to apply pressure on Gloria till she confesses the truth. In this school, we have to make her life miserable. Even if we can't get her expelled, we will make her miserable." Naomi said with determination.

"Can we really pull that off, especially with her mum backing her up? And the new matron, I don't know about her… what if she is working for the Deaconess?" Anna asked, in her usual doubtful manner.

"Calm down, Anna.You are being paranoid. We can do this! Two of us! And they won't even see it coming. We will bring all of them down!" Naomi stated with confidence.

Anna wanted to believe her and in their mission. But her doubts were weighing her down. She had tried severally to take the villains in her school down, but every time, they kept escaping punishment. "Why do the evil ones always go unpunished?" "Why?" She pondered, her eyes suddenly turning red with tears.

"Anna, this isn't the time. Pull yourself together." Naomi shook her.

Anna sniffled, holding back her tears.

"I have a plan. We can't stop till they're all exposed," Naomi assured her before their secret meeting ended.

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Gloria was walking to class in her usual majestic catwalk, feeling like the sexiest girl in school, even though her uniform was the most unattractive. She hated it how unattractive it looked, but that didn't stop her from feeling like she was the hottest. Taking one step at a time, she strolled through the passageway that led to her class, but suddenly noticed so many eyes on her. Her beauty probably mesmerized them; she thought to herself at first. But on a second look, she realized everyone was watching her with a judgey look in their eyes. And the girls were murmuring to themselves as they watched her. She tried to shake off the uneasiness she felt from having so many eyes on her, but it was difficult. And it was even worse when she walked into class and everyone suddenly went mute.

There was a pause as they all watched her take her seat before resuming their gossip about her. From her seat, Gloria could see Linda and her friends pointing at her and whispering. Her heart was pounding in fear as she wondered what was going on. Naomi also studied her from where she sat, happy to see the discomforting look on her face. This was just the beginning! She echoed in her mind as Gloria bowed her head in shame at the numerous eyes staring at her. "What was going on?" Gloria's thought screamed in her head.

"The slut of the week just walked into the class." Edith sneered at her, causing other girls to cheer and laugh in response to her jibe.

Gloria ignored her, she had no idea what Edith was on about.

"Pretender! Mere looking at her, you would think she's the holiest in the class while she's busy sleeping around with anything in trousers!" Edith continued. "A whole Deaconess' daughter!"

Gloria stood up then out of anger to fight Edith but Goodness held her.

"Are you stupid? You can say anything but don't involve my mother! Useless girl!" Gloria barked.

"You are the useless one… if you are not, you wouldn't be writing love letters to your teachers. And sleeping with them. " Edith spat, like she had been waiting forever to publicly disgrace Gloria.

"Oh my Gloria… you are such a snake. Look at the dirty words you used to describe Mr. Jonathan. I am one of the bad girls in class but I can't even write something this bad. You have a rotten mind." Linda rebuked her.

Gloria was shocked at what she just heard. When did she write a letter to any teacher? And what letter were they talking about?"

"You think no one would find out about you and Mr. Jonathan? You are just a very useless immoral daughter. And your mum is the Deaconess o! You are such a disgrace!" Edith sneered at her.

"Edith keep quiet, what's wrong with you?" Goodness scolded a raving Edith.

Gloria sat on her seat unable to say a word as Edith and Linda continued to embarrass her.

She had no clue what Edith was talking about, she sat on seat, totally confused until Goodness slipped right beside her and told her what the rumor was about. There was a rumor about her sleeping with Mr. Jonathan and a love letter she wrote to him was already circulating around school. Gloria's heart sank at the terrible news she was hearing about her own self. Darkness suddenly enveloping her as she saw only the faces that jeered at her and her mum's disapproving face. Even Clinton was judging her with his eyes.

Her heart was still pounding erratically when the new matron walked in on the commotion in her class. And Gloria silently wished Edith and Linda would keep their mouths shut but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"What is all this noise about? Don't you know you are in a classroom and ought to maintain decorum? Is this a marketplace? What is going on?" Miss Clara yelled as she stepped into the noisy class. The entire class pointed at Gloria and Edith, and Miss Clara had to call them to front of the class to explain why they were acting like market women. When Edith stood up eagerly to meet the matron, Goodness touched her uniform slightly to get her attention. Edith turned and noticed Goodness winking at her not to tell the matron the truth. Edith paid no attention to her.

"Ma, I am not quarrelling with her. I simply called her out for her immoral behavior. There's a rumor about her writing love letters to Mr. Jonathan. Here's the letter. Everyone knows about it… And when I…"

"Enough!" Miss Clara interrupted Edith to stop her ever blabbing mouth before summoning Gloria to her office. With heavy legs, Gloria walked out of class to the matron's office, feeling ashamed of herself.

"Have a seat… What is your name?" The matron asked in a kind tone.

"Gloria, ma" She answered in a shaky voice.

"Calm down, Gloria… I am not here to punish. I just need you to talk to me. Is the rumor true? Did you write this letter to your teacher?" Miss Clara raised the piece of paper containing filthy words even she as an adult wouldn't even be bold enough to write.

"No ma, never… it's not me. I can never do something that bad. Ask around about me." Gloria shook her head dramatically, trying so hard to convince the new matron.

Miss Clara scrutinized her from head to toe, trying her best to see beneath her innocent-looking face and big uniform.

"But this looks exactly like your handwriting? What do you have to say about that?" Miss Clara asked juxtaposing Gloria's note with the letter.

"I swear ma, I didn't write. I have nothing to do with Mr. Jonathan or any other teacher." Gloria swore.

"Gloria! Gloria!I want to believe you so bad but the evidence in front of me suggests that you are clearly lying. You wrote these letters…"

"No..ma.. it's not…"

"Keep quiet when I am talking! Are you okay? Isn't it obvious that you wrote this letter for whatever stupid reason? This is your handwriting, young lady. How can a young girl like you be using vile words like these? Stroked me… fill me with your…" The matron tried to read the dirty words on the letter but couldn't continue.

"This is bad! Do you know this can get you expelled? Gloria, why would you write this? I just can't comprehend." The Deaconess paused as she watched a tearful Gloria.

"Ma, I swear… it's not me." Gloria shook with tears.

"Look, I don't want to punish you. I will give you a grace of today because I don't want to start with you girls on a bad note. This is your first warning. I have marked your face. If you know you are into any immoral activity, stop it now… stop it now!" Miss Clara warned Gloria before dismissing her.

In class, Gloria stayed quiet all through the day while Edith and Linda continued to throw derisive comments at her. She said not a word to them until she went back to the hostel. She was consumed by thoughts of who started the rumor and who wrote a love letter to Mr. Jonathan using her handwriting. Feeling rather miserable, she was just about to slump into her bed when she saw a letter addressed to her.

 "Your evil will keep haunting you. You will continue to suffer for your sins until you confess the truth to the school board. This is just the beginning. You better watch your back!"

 Signed:

 Your number one enemy.

Gloria was breathing heavily when she was done reading the letter. With shaky hands, she dropped the letter as her eyes roamed about the room searching for the person who wrote the letter to her. But scrutinizing the face of each girl in the room didn't give her a clue about who was setting her up. "Who was her biggest enemy?" She wondered as her eyes wandered off to Edith's empty bed.

While Gloria's gaze were fixed on Edith's empty bed thinking she was her biggest enemy, Naomi watched her with a smirk on her pretty face, her heart leaping with joy at seeing Gloria's misery. Soon, her brother would be avenged.