Chapter 7 : Welcome on Board Pawn

The crash echoed louder in her mind than it had in the classroom.

The chair. The fall. The thud. The teacher's cry.

I didn't wait.

Didn't look back.

My feet carried me, breathless, down the corridor and into the nearest bathroom. The door slammed behind me, but I barely heard it over my heartbeat. I stumbled into a stall, locked it, and collapsed to the floor.

My hands shook. My chest ached. Tears poured freely now.

This wasn't what I'd agreed to.

Unscrewing a chair leg was supposed to be harmless. A prank. A moment of chaos and laughter. But someone had gone too far. The whole frame had been tampered with. It hadn't just collapsed—it had shattered.

The teacher hit the floor hard. There was blood. Gasps. Screams. And all I could think about was the second note.

"Don't ask questions. Just obey."

Now here I was. On a cold bathroom floor. Crying in silence.

When I finally came out, my eyes red and stomach turning, I heard the gang laughing down the corridor. Laughing. Like none of it mattered. Like they hadn't just sent someone to the hospital.

And me? I felt like I was unraveling.

"I'm not feeling well," I mumbled to the front desk, barely holding it together.

The receptionist didn't ask; she just handed me the pass, and I was out of there. I decided to Uber myself home because I didn't have the heart to wait for my chauffeur.

At home, my aunt's voice met me before the front door even closed.

"You're home early?" "What's going on?"

"I—headache," I replied, eyes averted.

My aunt squinted. "You've been… jumpy lately. Nervous. Is everything okay at school?"

I shook my head too fast. "No, I mean—yes. I'm fine."

But my voice cracked. And the tears threatened again. So I bolted to my room before she saw. During dinner everyone was quiet, and I could feel their eyes on me, like they were looking for something wrong. If I raised my head, they would all take their eyes off me and act like they weren't staring.

"I'm full; I need to sleep," I said

"You didn't even touch your food, Mak," Uncle said. I smiled and said, "There was rice and chicken today at the cafeteria; I ate there."

I felt my aunt's eyes on me, but she didn't say anything since she knew I was lying.

I just left for my room, did my homework, and slept.

That night, as I lay curled in bed, my phone vibrated once.

One message.

No sender.

No trace.

Just four words.

"Welcome aboard, pawn. Someone helped you with the job. Well done."

I dropped the phone like it burned me. I couldn't sleep, thinking about the message and how it all sounded like someone I knew. I don't know how I slipped into dreamland.

There I saw her.

In the corner of my mind, in the dark of my thoughts—Bridget.

Those eyes.

Dead calm, but razor sharp. That unreadable face that never shouted—just stared. She was standing over me, whispering nothing and saying everything.

And then—

I screamed.

Loud.

My cousin burst in, shaking me. "Mak! Wake up! "You're dreaming!"

I was soaked in sweat, shivering like a fever patient.

My aunt and uncle came rushing in. Faces pale. Voices overlapping.

"You were screaming—what's going on?"

"You're scaring us!"

"Are you okay?"

I sat up, trying to smile, but my face betrayed me. I looked and felt haunted.

"Just… a nightmare," I managed to whisper.

They suggested I sleep with them, but I refused. They all left, and they looked really concerned, but they couldn't do anything.

The next morning, I refused to go to school.

 Aunt didn't argue. Just nodded slowly, watching me like a fragile cup ready to crack.

But mid-morning, my phone rang.

Julia.

I let it ring once. Twice. Three times. And finally, picked up with trembling fingers.

"Can we meet?" Julia's voice was quiet. Too quiet.

"I can't," I whispered, my voice breaking.

"Why?"

"I just… can't."

Guilt was a vise on my chest. Julia didn't even sound angry. That was worse.

She didn't ask again. Just hung up.

I spent the whole day locked up in my room, just listening to music and feeling unsettled. I was even afraid of sleeping; no one was home to wake me up from a nightmare if it did happen.

The next day, I forced myself back to school. Eyes down. Ears ringing.

I barely made it through the gates before the gang was on me.

Tanatswa. Ayanda. Praise. Tawana. Tendai. Carol. Bridget—silent, staring.

"You think you're slick, huh?" Ayanda said, smirking.

"What?" I blinked, disoriented.

"You leave school right after a prank goes wrong. Skip the next day. Come back all pale and moody. Everyone thinks it was you, Mak."

"I didn't—"

"You better start letting us know next time you want to vanish. Because right now? You look suspicious."

Bridget didn't say a word. Just look at me. And smiled.

It wasn't a kind smile.

It was a trapdoor smile—wide and empty underneath.

I felt the ground crumbling beneath me.

I was in too deep.

And someone was pulling the strings.

And no one—not even Julia—was safe anymore.

This had to do with something; it's no longer some initiation but something big.

I felt a chill down my spine when she finally spoke, slowly and low, "You need to know which cards to play to stay safe."

My eyes went wide; she was quoting the words on the note. I remembered clearly. Panic laced my voice as I asked, "You are behind the notes?" My voice was trembling, and I was in panic mode.

She smiled, "You truly are smart, aren't you?" She started walking away, and everyone followed. "Be careful," Tawana said as she passed me behind the group.

I didn't feel like school anymore. I turned too fast, and my head smashed on a rock so hard I winced and stepped back to find my worst nightmare. This can't be happening now. Why? Is it bad luck? I felt like crying as the person stood there, eyes looking down on me, flaming with unseen fire.