Chapter 3: The Plan ( BRACELET TRAP)

I never thought someone had taken a video. I thought it was a clean job. Why now, after so many months, would Julia show me this video? And why was I the only one in it? We did it as a group.

I couldn't wrap my head around it—the fact that there was a video and, worse, that Julia was the one showing it to me.

"You need to stop this before it gets worse," she said quietly. Then she turned to leave but paused and looked back.

"Also… make time to visit your family. They miss you."

I walked back to my car, feeling like the ground beneath me had shifted. I was driven back to Burnside, but my mind was racing.

Why was I the only one in that video?

Who even gave her that video?

When I got home, my uncle and aunt weren't around. My cousins said they'd gone on a company trip, so it was just us and the workers. I couldn't sleep all night. That video kept playing in my mind like a curse I couldn't escape.

At 2 a.m., I finally made a decision. I texted the gang.

"I think we need to stop with the vandalising."

I stared at the message for a long, tense minute. Finally, the dots appeared.

"Why?"

"Are you being a scaredy-cat again?"

I took a deep breath and replied:

"No. There's a video. Someone took a video, and it only shows me. If anyone sends it to the admin, we're done."

That changed the tone instantly.

"What video?"

"Who has it?"

"Are you sure?"

I explained everything—the meeting with Julia, what she said, and the fact that I was alone in the footage. That's when they came up with a plan. A terrible, desperate plan.

I regret listening.

But at that moment, I was thinking about survival. About not going back to Mpopoma. About not disappointing my uncle and aunt. About protecting the life I had clawed my way into.

So I agreed.

The gang's plan was cruel but cunning—and I was desperate enough to go along with it.

Julia had the video, and it showed only me, clear as daylight. That meant if the school found it, I'd be the one blamed. Expelled. Maybe even have the police involved.

So the plan was simple: I would befriend Julia again. Gain her trust. Then, I'd give her my bracelet—the one everyone could recognise as mine, the only clue that could link the video to me. With that bracelet on her wrist in a new video, the blame would shift to Julia.

The gang wanted Julia to take the fall. Lose her scholarship. Get arrested. That way, the police and school would focus on her, and I could keep my life in Burnside.

I hated the idea of betraying my childhood friend, but I was trapped. I needed to protect myself.

A few days later, I found Julia alone in the schoolyard.

I smiled weakly and handed her the bracelet.

"Here", I said, "keep this. It looks better on you anyway."

She didn't say much, but I caught a flicker of confusion in her eyes.

Meanwhile, the gang staged a new video. This time, Julia was the one holding the spray can, tagging the wall with my bracelet clearly visible on her wrist. The camera caught every second.

When the video leaked, the school and police saw Julia vandalising—not me.

It was a cruel trick. But it worked.

I still remember the pounding in my chest when the police came to the cafeteria that day.

They wanted to cuff me—but I shook my head and said, "No, I didn't do it. She did." I pointed directly at Julia.

That moment, my world shattered. The guilt I felt was unbearable. But I knew I had to keep going or lose everything I had gained.