I leaned back on my chair, lips in a straight line.

Make sure the deal favours you, I repeated constantly in my head as the principal opened a file.

His mobile phone rang. He lifted his index finger and said, "Excuse me."

“Yes. Give me a few seconds,” he said into the phone. He walked out of the office and shut the door.

After several minutes of sitting and staring into space, I took a book from the shelf. I mindlessly leafed through the pages, taking care to stand closeby in case the principal came in. My elbow hit the awards and they fell to the floor with a racket.

I picked them up. As I placed a golden trophy at the deepest end of the shelf, I noticed something.

The wall behind the shelf looked different from every other part of the office. It was pure white and newly painted. It had a different texture too. It was smooth and cold to the touch  unlike the other warm, rough, concrete walls.

My bet was that it consisted of a thin sheet of metal.

My mind went back to the last detective movie I had seen at the cinema with Otis and I decided to find out the mystery behind the ‘different wall’.

It could be my ticket to stopping the principal when he came around to telling me about his deal.

I noticed that the floor-length shelf wasn't attached to the wall and tried to move it to the side, but it was too heavy.

I climbed to the first row. A cracking noise emitted from the wood as it developed lines that stretched from under my feet. I climbed again and it shook violently.

I lifted my hand to see if it would get to the last row where I would start looking for clues. It didn’t. My right foot stepped on the third row. As I lifted my left leg up and my right hand touched the top of the wooden shelf, it shook back and forth.

I missed my grip and quickly tried to grab anything. My hand landed on a button, pressing it hard. The shelf slid backwards, shaking and rattling. My right hand flew out with some books and I fell.

I landed hard on my butt. Some dusty books hit my upper torso with a thunderous noise, making me lie flat on the bare, cemented floor.

I groaned and sneezed loudly. I removed the books and sat up.

The shelf was still standing but most of its contents had fallen. However, it was no longer resting against the wall. A golden, star-shaped button shone on the floor behind it.

I stood up and pressed it.

The smooth, thin-surfaced metal slid into a hole in the concrete wall and revealed a hidden room.

I smiled. This looked more like an office Principal Gerald would have. If the principal’s main office looked like a dilapidating room in a slum, this secret room looked like the dream of every tech-loving person.

Surrounding the room were technological equipment on raised desk-like platforms. At the far end of the room, there was a  stage with a projector screen showing several parts of Madeline in small squares. A computer and projector were in front of the screen.

I walked round the room, trying to make out the gadgets. I tapped the power button of a machine and a laptop screen beside it came on, saying ‘You do not have access to this folder. To gain access, input password’.

I tried some others but couldn't decipher how to use them. Most of the equipment reminded me of how I had failed woefully when I enrolled to learn foreign languages.

After tinkering with them a bit, I moved to the stage and watched the projected images. They had to be from the security feed of the cameras because they displayed every nook and cranny of Madeline except the hostels, toilets and bathrooms. These exceptions had no cameras.

In an image, the principal addressed the kitchen staff. From a bigger image, I could see Tavy pacing up and down in front of the office. Tony was nowhere to be found.

I minimised the tab on the computer that projected the images, and searched for anything that I could use as evidence against the principal. A video file titled Mr James caught my attention and I clicked on it.

The hacker’s mysterious video appeared on the screen.

I willed myself to be strong and pressed play.

In the video, it was still 5am and dark. Mr James still walked on the roof. There was no difference between what I saw on the projector screen and what I had seen on Tavy's laptop.

Since I had watched it before, I didn’t pay much attention until I saw a mohawk head peeping from behind some construction blocks. They were at one side of the roof.

Tony stepped out and smiled, after Mr James had gotten to the edge of the rooftop.

“Hello, James.”

Mr James whirled round. “Tony?”

“Yes, that’s me. Did you get my message?”

“You’re just a student. How did you send it?"

An evil laughter came out of Tony's mouth. “I would change my thoughts about that if I were you.”

Mr James took a few steps back. The back of his foot was smack at the edge of the roof. “What you saw, what I admitted to was a mistake.”

“Which part was a mistake? Was it last year’s episode when I caught you riding Kat? Or was it this year’s episode when I found out you are part of Madeline’s exam cheating squad?”

The teacher's face fell. He turned away, looking at the floor. “Kat was a mistake.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about that slut. She’s paying for everything she did to me. Now, it’s your time to pay.”

He walked to Mr James, towering over him. The muscles on his arms bulged as he looked down into the teacher’s eyeballs. “There are some subjects that made me repeat Year Six. You will make sure I get A’s in all of them and get someone to write the exams for me.”

The average-sized Mr James looked up at him. “I can’t do that. I don’t encourage students to cheat.”

“But you can encourage a girlfriend to cheat on her boyfriend.”

“Look, I was only investigating the claims that there is a Madeline exam cheating squad. I met a dead end. There’s no such thing; they're not real. I can give you some money or find a nice, sweet girl for you.”

“The only deal I’ll agree to is your making sure I graduate with A’s.”

The teacher turned to walk away and calmly said, “I won’t participate in such; I’ll report you to the police.”

He dragged the teacher back and punched his jaw. Before Mr James could throw in a punch, Tony had already hit his nose and stomach. They fought and struggled for a while. Tony eventually overpowered the teacher and pinned his arms behind his back. He turned him around to face the school compound.

“You ruined my nice, sweet girl. I will ruin your Fine Art teaching career by painting the ground with your blood and body.”

With that, he pushed him off the building.

"All those hours spent in the gym were not for nothing," he said, walking away as Mr James' piercing scream reverberated through the air.

The camera cut to him driving a motorized tricycle to the gate. He packed it and left the school.

The camera cut to Mr James' bloodied body. The scream stopped and some guards ran to the spot. They put him on a stretcher and wheeled him to the clinic.

After several cuts to blank scenes that read 'This has been deleted', the van I had seen the previous day arrived in front of the school hall. A doctor came out of the passenger's seat. A paramedic and a nurse came out with some medical tools.

The principal walked swiftly to them.

"Welcome," he said, "he's in our clinic."

The doctor frowned and looked at the guards scrubbing the blood off the concrete. "He should be taken to the hospital, Gerald."

The principal fidgeted and plastered a fake smile on his face. "It's a matter of life and death. If we move the body now, Mr James will die."

The doctor shook his head and walked with long strides. "I predicted this situation and warned you. I won't be solving problems like this in the future."

The principal's smile froze.

"If Mr James or his family takes legal action, I never came to  Madeline neither did I give him any form of treatment. Understood?" He gave the principal a paper. "Sign this."

The principal signed and they walked into the clinic.

The video came to an abrupt end.

My jaw was opening and closing of its own accord. My mouth tasted metallic. Pain settled in my chest as shallow breaths came out of my nose rapidly.

Tony was capable of murder? He had tried to kill Mr James! But he was an innocent-looking jock. He was my Tony, my Superman.

I had been with him for a long time. I had been watching him from the sideline for a year. I should know his true character.

I maximised the tab for the cameras. I had to find where Tony was at the moment, then I would know my next line of action.

He was still nowhere to be found but I noticed that the principal wasn't addressing the staff anymore. He was heading towards the office.

Oh no. The office was in too much of a disarray. I rushed to the door with wide eyes and looked outside.

Tavy was talking to a girl.

With my hand, I signaled her to come. "The principal will soon get back to the office," I said when she came in.

She took one look at the open wall, moving shelf and books on the floor. "Clear this place; I'll distract him."

I checked the secret room to make sure everything was intact. Then, I pressed the golden button. The metal slid shut. I pressed the button on the shelf and it slid into place. I picked up the books and awards, and placed them back on the shelf.

After everything was in their proper position, I had barely sat down when the principal opened the door with an irritated look.

He handed me a sheet of paper from the file. "My part of the deal is to absolve Tavy of her guilt."

"And to dispense favours to me." I hoped he didn't hear my shaky voice.

His eyes turned to slits. "Okay, that's included."

He pointed to the paper. "Your part."

On the paper was written:

1) Get the first position or gold award for all external school competitions.

2) Write a series of examinations you'll be intimated on.

3) Become Tony's girlfriend.
   
  

*******
  
  

Phew! This chapter took quite a long time to write. The picture of the scene was in my head but translating it to English Language was another thing altogether.

So tell me,
What do you think about the descriptions?

What about Tony and this new found knowledge about him? Was it expected?

Give me your feedback. I highly appreciate it.