CHAPTER ELEVEN

Mrs. Smith, the principal of Highlights School, the school Damien and Binta attend, arrives at the school premises at exactly 7 a.m. She parks her car in her favorite spot, underneath a tree with plenty of shade, right outside her office, and steps out.

She checks the time on her wristwatch and nods satisfactorily. She has never been late for once in all her years at her job. She likes to be the first to arrive at school and to set a good example as a leader.

She smooths her hair with her fingers before stepping out of the car and locking the door.

She makes her way to her office and mutters a few words of prayer before opening the door and stepping in. She takes in the environment, and her eyes settle on a brown envelope at the entrance to her office. Frowning, she picks it up. "How did this get here? Maybe it fell out of the other envelopes in my hurry to leave yesterday. I don't remember seeing an envelope like this, among others."

With a frown on her face, she tears open the envelope and takes out the pink diary inside. Still confused, she takes it to her desk and starts to read through it.

She covers her mouth in shock as reality dawns upon her. "It can't be true that the head girl of this prestigious institution is engaging in such dirty and despicable acts, and no less with her classmate and best friend!" She bangs her fists on the table in anger.

She reaches for her phone and dials her secretary's number; the line rings, and the call soon connects as Zainab, her secretary, picks up the call.

"Good morning, ma."

Shaking her head impatiently, "How far out are you?"

"I'm almost there, ma. Hope there are no problems."

"There is, but you are on a need-to-know list for now."

"What can I do for you then?"

"I need you to draft out an urgent memo for all the members of staff to convene in my office upon their arrival."

"Alright. Is that all?"

"I need you to dig out Bianca and Hannah's parents' numbers from their files. Call them and inform them that they need to see me today."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"Nothing else at the moment; I would let you know if there's anything else I need you to do."

"I would get right on it as soon as I got there."

"One more thing, hasten up.'

"I will for sure."

The Alao's, Bianca's parents, and the Akinseloyin's, Hannah's parents, are in the principal's office with the members of staff and Bianca and Hannah themselves.

Mr. Akinseloyin impatiently checks his time for perhaps the hundredth time since arriving at the principal's office.

"Mrs. Smith, you invited us here, and here we are. What is the matter? I'm losing money sitting here as we speak."

Mrs. Alao nods her head in approval. "We have been here for quite some time, and you still haven't told us why you summoned us here. You initially left us on the seat to go and have a meeting with your staff. We are not jobless, you know? By the way, what's Bianca and Hannah doing here?"

"That's just the question I was about to ask," Mr. Alao chips in.

Mrs. Akinseloyin is busy typing away on her phone, oblivious to what's going on around her."

Mrs. Smith clears her throat and looks at her staff for support. They all avert her gaze and stare at the floor as if that's where their next paycheck would be coming from.

Summoning courage, she clears her throat once more: "I'm sincerely sorry for the delay, but I don't know how to tell you this; it's a very serious matter."

"Kindly spare us the lecture, and let's have it. I can't wait here for longer than fifteen minutes anymore." Mrs. Akinseloyin says as she is finally sets her phone down on the table in front of her.

"Well, the matter involves Bianca and Hannah."

The parents of both girls cast questioning glances at them. The girls return the same look, as they have not been told the reason for their summons.

"Mrs. Smith clears her throat once more; I think you should see for yourself." She takes out the pink diary, and Bianca lets out an involuntary gasp, which is in itself proof that the principal is on the right track. "This diary here is the original copy, but I had my secretary make duplicates of it. You can read the original version if you like." She hands over a photocopy of the diary to each parent.

They accept it and start reading.

"Oh, my God! This is the most ridiculous accusation I have ever read. How can you say, My Bianca here?" Mr. Alao points at Bianca, "Wrote all these dirty things? I know my daughter; she didn't write it."

"This is beyond ridiculous, honey. I would sue the school for everything it has for this ludicrous accusation. This looks like a script for porn; I trust my daughter; this is a lie from the deepest pit of hell, although I can't help but wonder what your motive is." Mrs. Alao finishes her statement fuming.

Mr. and Mrs. Akinseloyin hiss together as if on cue. "It's an outright lie. I want you to know that we will be joining our lawsuit with the Alao's. I would make sure I hire the best lawyer money can buy." Turning to his wife, Mr. Akinseloyin says, "Let's go, honey. I can't believe I wasted precious time on this."

"Before you leave, may I suggest you take a look at the original copy? It might help clear your doubts."

Mr. Akinseloyin pauses in his seat and stretches his hand to take the diary. He skims through it in open-mouthed shock and wordlessly passes it to the Alao's.

They eagerly took it and read through it together for many minutes. "This is Bianca's handwriting without a doubt, but there must be a logical explanation for it. Bianca, won't you say something to defend all these lies? I know it's not true; just explain yourself." Mr. Alao says, staring venomously at the principal.

Bianca shifts her legs uncomfortably before blurting out, "I'm sorry, Dad. Mummy, I'm sorry too, but it's true." She looks away from her parents' gaze, filled with disappointment and betrayal.

"Someone just wake me up, 'cause this has got to be a dream." Mr. Alao slumps back in his seat.

"Hannah, is it true?" Mrs. Akinseloyin asks, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

"It's true; Bianca and I are like that."

"My goodness! Just tell me she lured you into it; you didn't know what you were doing."

"Don't you dare try to blame my daughter; we raised her in a godly way, and I'm sure the devil used your daughter to make mine go astray." Mrs. Alao fires back immediately.

"The godliness sure is obvious in her. I could feel the godliness emanating from the rubbish she wrote."

"My daughter was not like this before she met your daughter; seeing you now has made me realize that the apple did not fall far from the tree. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Excuse you!" Mrs. Akinseloyin stands and is about to make her way to Mrs. Alao but is stopped by her husband.

"Please, ladies, fighting doesn't solve anything; we need to cooperate and discuss what to do about this whole mess." Mr. Alao mediates as the voice of reason.

Mrs. Akinseloyin sits back down, fuming from the recent exchange and casting venomous looks at Mrs. Alao.

"Mrs. Smith, kindly ignore the women; what's the way forward?" Mr. Alao asks, his voice quivering.

Mrs. Smith clears her throat and shakes her head. "What a pity; Bianca is the brightest student in this school. I don't have to remind you that she has done this school proud by winning lots of competitions against other schools. Hannah is a good girl too, with an enviable character as a student, until now. Anyway, that aside, the staff and I had a meeting before your arrival, and we made a decision already."

Mrs. Alao nods in support. "That's good; I promise you that such will never repeat itself. Going forward, Bianca will be put on a very tight leash. I am sure she has learned her lesson, though the devil is the one that pushed her."

"How many days of suspension are we talking about? I hope it won't affect their oncoming examinations." Mrs. Akinseloyin comments, looking straight at the principal.

Mrs. Smith clears her throat one more time. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. This matter is beyond suspension, and I want you to know this decision wasn't made lightly."

"What decision?" Mr. Alao asks eagerly.

"Well, in lieu of what these students did, we have concluded that they will both be expelled and Bianca stripped of her title as the head girl immediately."

"Is this what I get for all my donations to the school? Surely, there has to be another alternative. Their exams are coming up soon, you know." Mr. Akinseloyin blurts hotly.

"The management of the school sincerely appreciates your donations, but that's not the issue here. The offense is a very serious one, and we don't want them to taint other students with such loose morals. In regards to their upcoming exams, they will sit for them as part of our consideration for their future. Mind you, they are not to be seen around the school premises until then. There are no more students at this school, unofficially."

Mrs. Alao bursts into tears and points at Bianca, "Why did you let the devil use you? God knows I tried to raise you in his way. Why, Bianca, why? Why would you disgrace me like this?"

Bianca bursts into tears too. "I'm so sorry, mom; I don't know what came over me."

"This has got to be the most hypocritical judgment ever. You let a student who tried to rape his classmate resume school after suspension, but you can't extend the same courtesy to these little girls. Thank you so much for caring about your students. Which is worse, the attempted rape or what the girls did? Even though we are not in support of what they did, they didn't hurt anyone." Mrs. Akinseloyin rages on hotly, not even stopping to catch her breath.

Mrs. Smith smiles disarmingly. "I understand your anger, madam, but this decision wasn't made lightly, as I said earlier. It was made after careful deliberation. I don't mind telling you that I've been sad since I read the diary. I suggest you use the free time on their hands to help them study and move closer to God, so the devil won't use them as his tool anymore."

Mr. Alao stands and motions for his wife and daughter to follow him; he exits the principal's office without saying anything.

Mrs. Alao stands and picks up Bianca's diary on the principal's table. "I believe this belongs to my daughter."

"Yes, madam, but it's the school property now." Mrs. Smith says, stretching her hand to take back the diary.

"How about the school come and get it from me? I would love to see you try to take it away from me. You made copies; that should be enough."

"Yes, madam, we did, but that's the original copy with you."

"I suggest you choke on the copies you made." She exits the office, followed by Bianca, who drags her feet reluctantly to follow.