CHAPTER TWO199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsE6PcSXqoq
Kim notices a shift in the school’s leadership dynamics. Mercy, as School President, has begun pushing for more transparency in academic and extracurricular activities. She’s calling for audits of club finances and stricter oversight of “unofficial” student groups-moves that directly threaten June’s control over operations and her ability to use academic programs. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SIETnb6vf
Kim can’t quite put her finger on it, but the constant friction between Mercy and June feels off-more than just the usual power struggle between school leaders. She notices that Mercy, the school president, and June, her deputy for academic affairs, seem to go out of their way to challenge each other in public settings: Mercy questions June’s decisions in meetings, while June is quick to undermine Mercy’s initiatives, sometimes with a biting remark or a well-timed interruption.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jgYX58APZ
During a tense academic committee meeting, Kim witnesses Mercy publicly challenge June’s handling of a scholarship shortlist, accusing her of favoritism and lack of transparency. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUy5DPqFNv
June, usually composed, snaps back with a thinly veiled threat: “Not everyone appreciates your sudden interest in how things are run, Mercy. Some traditions are best left alone.”199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WccaYD3Vk
What stands out to Kim is how their arguments never seem to be about the issues at hand. Instead, they circle around vague topics- “traditions,” “proper channels,” or “protecting the school’s reputation”-and always end with tense, unfinished sentences or knowing glances. When Kim tries to discuss these incidents with classmates, she hears excessive gossip and rumors about secret agendas, but no one has concrete details.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOJ4F7U0rlW
Kim starts to wonder why two leaders, who should be working together, are so invested in outmaneuvering each other. The way they exclude others from decision-making, their public criticisms, and the sense that information is being withheld all create a toxic atmosphere of suspicion. Kim begins to suspect there’s more beneath the surface-maybe even a hidden connection or rivalry tied to something bigger than student politics.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6opLKN6uF
After the meeting, Kim overhears June and Mercy in the corridor. Their voices are low, but the words are loaded:199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8aVr13GNqG
“You’re making a lot of noise for someone who used to keep secrets, Mercy,” June says quietly.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8c8nd73yFD
Mercy’s reply is icy: “Maybe it’s time some secrets came to light. Not everyone’s afraid of shadows, June. If you keep hiding behind your Order, you’ll lose more than just your title.” 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAAOqROVY3k
June retorts, “Careful, Mercy. Ambition can be dangerous if you don’t know who your real friends are.”199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUsAbD8GoQ
Seline199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdeZdMzSZ6
It started with a direct request from Mercy herself. I’ve always looked up to Mercy. She never seems to break a sweat, even when the rest of us are scrambling to keep up. She was a master at planting ideas. She never told me outright what to do; instead, she’d drop hints in conversation, making it seem like I was the one connecting the dots. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiLEv4gnV6q
She rarely called on me for anything outside the usual club updates, so when she pulled me aside after a morning assembly, I knew it was serious.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQobYqaCbnc
“Seline, I need the journalism club to look into the rumors about phones coming through the wall,” she said quietly, her gaze steady. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeuIA5PXw4
“If there’s a story, I want it brought to light the right way. You’d think with all the phone checks, it would be impossible,” she said, her tone casual, her eyes already drifting to something else.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGgnRuSTpU
I took her words to heart. As editor, it was my job to keep the school informed and to handle our reporting with care and integrity. I gathered my journalism club team and laid out the assignment: we would investigate the whispers about contraband phones, but we would do it by the book. We signed out the club’s official camera, checked the battery, and organized shifts to observe the old wall after games.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiq5pqcpX8F
It took patience and teamwork. We started watching the old section of the wall near the sports field, making notes about who lingered there after games. It wasn’t easy-the girls were secretive, and the prefects were everywhere. But we were determined.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMoZzCjIh5
After a week, we found what we were looking for: a group of girls huddled by the wall, a small packet exchanged, quick glances over their shoulders. Later, we saw them piecing together a phone in the dorm, laughing quietly as they powered it on.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKDvBv2zLs
We documented girls lingering by the crumbling bricks, a quick exchange through a loose gap, and hands tucking away small packages. Our photos were clear enough to show what was happening, but careful not to single out faces without solid proof.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKsywhqDFa
Back in the clubroom, I led the team in assembling a thorough exposé. We detailed how, after games, girls would wait by the wall, receive dismantled phone parts from boys on the other side, and reassemble the devices in the dorms. The story included the photos taken with the school camera, and we made sure to outline the routine and the risks, sticking strictly to the facts and protecting identities.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVE7gXMQLh
When the latest issue of our school paper came out, the reaction was immediate. Teachers launched a full investigation, searching the wall and the dorms. The administration reached out to Kisumu Boys, and soon the prefects on both sides were being questioned. The evidence was undeniable, and for the first time, the boys’ side was directly implicated in a scandal that couldn’t be ignored.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIWv3eT6YWP
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The schools are in turmoil. The journalism club’s exposé has not only exposed the phone smuggling ring but also shattered the delicate balance of power between girls and boys. In the days that follow, everyone is scrambling to regain control-or simply survive.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYueVtuWZi0
Jabari moves through the halls with a practiced calm, but beneath the surface, he’s working overtime. As student council president, he’s the face of cooperation, reassuring teachers and students that the boys’ side is committed to transparency. Yet, as Order coordinator, he’s locking down all communications, warning his members to trust no one, and quietly shelving any plans to recruit new faces-especially, the order now seems too exposed. Jabari recognizes the exposé for what it is: a direct warning from Mercy, an unmistakable challenge to his authority. 199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJZBnRW1Y8
He has since sent a discreet message back, a subtle reminder that the Order’s secrets are dangerous for everyone, and that escalation could bring ruin to both sides.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRKQPv4zFJ
Mercy, meanwhile, is quietly savoring her victory. The exposé has given her leverage and, for now, the upper hand. She’s careful to keep her involvement hidden, letting the journalism club and Seline take the spotlight. But Mercy knows her work isn’t done. June remains a formidable obstacle, so Mercy engineers a new crisis-a discipline scandal that implicates June’s leadership. Mercy’s satisfaction is tempered only by the knowledge that Jabari is watching, and the next move must be even more precise.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8C34x1RQk2
Kim, caught in the crossfire, is wracked with anxiety. She never intended to be at the center of a scandal, but now her involvement with the exposé-and her perceived closeness to Seline-has made her a target. She feels used, unsure whether she was ever truly trusted by Mercy. The possibility of joining the Order, now seems out of reach. Kim keeps her head down, wondering whom she can trust, and whether she’ll ever regain her footing.199Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbi2caf1SGo
In the aftermath, alliances are shifting, trust is in short supply, and every move feels like it could be the one that tips the balance for good. The game has changed, and everyone knows it: only those who can adapt, and strike at the right moment, will survive.
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