Revelations

Amari's residence...

Amari Themba Johnson! mum yelled marching towards my room while I was getting ready for school, calling me by my full name can only mean one thing...I'm in trouble...what exactly did I do wrong this morning? or was it yesterday, I started to think

Amari! she called on getting to my room

Good morning mum, I hurriedly said, is something wrong?

What time did you get home yesterday, and don't you dare lie to me! She instantly questioned

judging by the look on her face, she's already aware of the time I got home yesterday, so there's no point in lying

7:00pm, I replied scratching the back of my head

And what time did you close from school? She asked

4:00pm, I replied staring at everything but her

So where did you go after school, and what were you doing for three hours? She asked again

a friend's place, we hung out for a while, I replied

and did you tell me you were going somewhere? She inquired further

No, sorry about that, I apologized

Oh no don't apologize Amari, I'm not finished yet, she continued, I caught you the other day slipping out your room window, you would've left in the middle of the night without my knowledge, and before I let you go, I told you to always let me know when you're going somewhere because I'm responsible for you, both your dad and I are, but you still didn't, so you know what's gonna happen now?

I'm getting grounded aren't I?, I asked knowingly

That's right, you are, she replied, and for a week, which means you better be here latest 5pm after school or you get two weeks, you have limited screen time, extra chores and a 5 percent decrease in your allowance, is that understood young man?

Yeah, I mumbled

good, have a nice day at school sweetie, mum replied like she didn't just ruin my morning.

As I walked down the stairs towards the living room, it suddenly hit me, mum wasn't home till 10pm yesterday cuz she had a late night shift at work and dad's still out of town, which means she could only have found out about my coming late through one person...

I barged into Alaya's room without thinking, immediately regretting my actions, I really should've knocked first, thankfully she was already fully dressed for school, staring at her reflection in the mirror

Do you want something? She asked still checking herself out

You got me grounded, didn't you,I replied

She confirmed with a smile

Why? I asked annoyed at her antics

Vengeance... Obviously, she replied, I did warn you

I stared at her for a while, wondering how I ended up with such an annoying sibling, I take back every nice thing I've said to you, I retorted childishly as I walked out making sure to slam her door for effect.

Cedar Creek High...

Kai was absent at school as expected, well like my mom would say " if the mountain does not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain" that's a popular African saying which in this case means, if Kai won't come to school, then we'll have to leave school and find Kai, well more like my friends will, since I have to be home on time.

You know, I got grounded today, I mentioned to Piper and Sebastian as we worked on a class assessment

and what'd you do bad boy? Piper joked

Nothing, it's Sebastian's fault, I replied

Me? He exclaimed

Yes you, I replied, you're the one who took a long turn to that pizza place after we left Piper's yesterday , making us wait for freshly made pizzas and ate e'm there.. slow..ly, i empasized

I was hungry, he defended, you know they had nothing good left on the menu and I couldn't eat fast while it was hot, we all enjoyed it.

Whatever, my mom grounded me in the end for getting home late without permission, I replied, which means I can't come with you guys to Kai's later

Oh, I forgot about that, Sebastian exclaimed

why didn't you just tell your mom you were with friends? Piper asked

I did, but where I was isn't the problem, problem is I didn't ask for permission, so that didn't change a thing, I replied

Okay, so ask for permission this time, she suggested

It's too late, I'm already grounded which means I'm getting punished for what I already did, I can only ask when I'm ungrounded in a week's time, until then it's more chores and less money for me

Wow, your mum sounds really strict, Sebastian said 'matter- of- factly'

Yeah no kidding,.. she's black, I replied still pained

Sorry man, Sebastian said noticing my tone

don't worry we'll let you know how it goes with Kai, piper added

any info from the police about him?, I asked

Nope, still nothing, Sebastian replied

Well since I won't be there, I should add, while you're at kai's, let Liana do whatever she needs to make him talk, don't stop her,... unless she tries to kill him, then you have to stop her...

that's why you really wanted to come right? Piper cut in, you wanted to see her in 'action', she said with a weird smile

That reminds me, Sebastian added, when you said 'so hot' yesterday, were you referring to Liana or her choice of words? he asked wiggling his eyes, Piper chuckled at his question while I returned to my classwork struggling to keep a straight face.. I'm really glad they can't read faces...

Kai's residence....

We're here Liana said getting down from Seb's car

I still wish Amari were here with us, piper said

Yeah, I'd happily trade Sebastian for him, Liana replied gazing at Sebastian who was visibly flabbergasted by the girls' unhindered thoughts of him,.. I'm kidding Seb, she added.

Do we knock?, piper asks as they arrive at the front door

Why not?, Sebastian replies as he began to knock repetitively, no sound is heard

Maybe noone's home?, Piper wondered

They went round the house to confirm, all doors leading into the house are firmly locked, all windows jammed shut... noone's here, Liana agrees

Kai may not be here now, but he was here this afternoon, piper said pointing at the foot mat, if you look closely, you'll notice fresh bread crumbs mixed with the dirt... he left after lunch, she added

This is 4:45, Sebastian said glancing at his phone

so approximately, 2-3 hours ago, Liana said

and how do we know where he went? Sebastian asks

They went silent, thinking for a while,..

we could find a clue if we pick the locks and get in, Liana suddenly said and with that she pulled out a paper clip and began to fiddle with the locks

we're breaking in?...I feel like a criminal, piper and Sebastian said simultaneously

If it makes you feel any better, so do I, Liana replied as the lock clicks, opening the door successfully, they walk in...

...............

Hey Amari, piper says making a video call

Hey, I replied, Where's Liana and Sebastian?

over here, Liana replied waving, Sebastian's on the lookout

lookout?, where are you guys, I asked

Oh Kai's not home, so we broke in to find a clue to where he might've gone, we're in his room right now, Liana replied

Her idea, piper added while going through some stuff

Okay? I replied questionably, just make sure you don't get caught and let me know if you find anything, like seriously I'm dying of boredom here

No problem, Liana replied ending the call... well we've looked around and found nothing helpful, just school stuff, she exclaimed displeased

I think he took the word 'bedroom' literally, there's nothing but a bed in here, Piper added

Yeah, Liana replied, his bag's here though, do we check inside?

Amari's residence.....

Amari sat on his bed, scrolling boredly through his phone..stupid grounding! I should be with my friends right now breaking into people's houses, instead I'm stuck here..

My phone suddenly beeped,..a voice message; Hey Amari, it's Sophie, I wanted to ask how things are going with your investigations, were you able to make something out of our previous discussion, I hope so, wishing you good luck anyways, also I sent you a pic of squad six just in case you might need it, and let me know if you have any more questions, take care.

I clicked on the picture and zoom in, six young smiling faces greet me....wait!, six faces? I sat upright counting the people in the picture, I'm correct, six faces...squad six, they're six in number, that makes sense but aren't there five victims only? James, Chris, Sierra, Raj and Taylor, I listed out, so who's the sixth person in the picture?.... they had one more friend?, and only five members of squad six were found dead,... that means he's still alive!, my eyes went wide open upon realization, oh No!, If Kai knows this then...then his life's in danger!

Evergreen Private Hospital....

Kai sat close to his mum sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, he held her hand tightly, I've found him mum, he says, I finally found him, this would all be over soon he adds as he pulled out a piece of paper and red marker and drew an 'X' on a certain name.