The next morning, during the morning service, the principal made a very interesting announcement. Rebecca could not say she was too surprised though. Sometime like this was bound to happen after what has happened yesterday...

"It is with great displeasure that I invite Betty Olayinka  to the podium" The principal said. Murmurs could be heard throughout the hall as Betty made her way to the podium.

"Miss Olayinka has been a horrible class mate and has only had bad intentions towards her fellow students. She bullied a particular girl, Sarah Chukwudi into executing her bad deeds.

"That's an effing lie" Tom said and Rebecca have him a nudge in the ribs.

"Not only did she throw away a notebook belonging to one of her classmates, she also locked up two students who she was angry with just to get back at them" The principal continued.

Rebecca turned around and peered into the crowd. Sarah was seated at the very back of the hall feigning sadness and self pity. Then she heard the principal's voice again.

"Her case has been investigated by the disciplinary committee and it is my duty to announce that Miss Olayinka is to be suspended from the school for two weeks" she said.

Gasps could be heard from every direction. Hannah had her headd in her hands and Daniel was shaking with rage. Gabriella just started at the principal with a lost look on her face.

"But that will be on her school record permanently" Rebecca said. Tom shrugged.

"She is to leave the school premises immediately after this service. I brought her out today so that she could serve as an example to other students" The principal said "You may go" he said to Betty who rushed back to her seat grateful to be off the podium.

"We will now share the grace after which the students are to return to their various classes. The teachers however will wait behind for a short staff meeting"

***
"I can't believe you threw me under the bus!" Betty sobbed as she put the last book in her bag. The students hadn't come out of the hall yet, but after everything, Betty hadn't seen the point in staying till the service was over. After picking her bag up from her seat she had left. And Sarah had followed her back to the class.

"It's just so sad..." Sarah said with a smirk

"I was only helping you because you were my friend. I can't believe you lied to the principal" Betty sniffed.

"Please" Sarah said "You were never my friend. I was only using you. Someone as daft as you could never be my friend"

"Look who's talking" Betty said now angered by Sarah's last statement.

Sarah has raised her hand to slap her when a male voice stopped her.

"That's enough" said the voice.

It was Daniel. Standing right beside him was Gabriella who was looking at Betty, clearly feeling sorry for her.

"Your mother sent us to call you Betty" Gabriella said. Betty took this as her cue to leave and ran out gratefully. Daniel turned to Sarah.

"Hello Sarah" He said without emotion.

"Hi Daniel, hi Gabriella, where are your little friends?" She asked.

"They're in the library looking for the answers to their chemistry assignments. Most of our classmates are there too" Gabriella said.

"So Daniel" Sarah said "I heard that you were planning another prank"

"Who told you about it?" Daniel asked calmly

"Betty. The day before she threw Tom's note away" Sarah replied.

"I'm sorry to say this but the pranks I plan to play are none of your business" Daniel said

"Excuse me" Sarah said

"You heard me correctly Sarah. You're no longer a part of the group" Daniel said.

"But I'm the brains of the group" Sarah said

"That's ironical"

"How dare you!"

"You never were smart Sarah. I was the brain of the group not you. You're just a horrible person who finds sick amusement in ruining people's lives" Daniel said.

"Say that again you bastard" Sarah screamed in fury.

"You're not deaf. You heard me the first time. The fact that you're just angry and not remorseful shows me how sick you really are" Daniel said.

After he said this, Sarah got so angry that she threw a dictionary (That Betty probably forgot to pack) in his direction. But the dictionary didn't hit Daniel. It flew right into Gabriella's face and knocked her over. She had been standing right beside Daniel.

"Serves you right" Sarah sneered at her.

Daniel lost his cool.

"Wait till the principal hears about this!" Daniel said.

"You'll never be able to prove that it was me" Sarah said "Betty is living proof of that" And with that Sarah turned on her heels and left the class.

"Oh God!" Daniel exclaimed. Gabriella 's nose was bleeding and it looked bad.

"My nose hurts like hell" she whined as Daniel helped her up.

The time keeper rang the bell for first period and everyone returned to their classes. Rebecca, Tom and Hannah were shocked to see Gabriella seated in a chair with some tissues trying to clean away the blood. A few of their  classmates also stopped what they were doing to watch.

"Who did this to you?" Tom asked.

"It was Sarah" Daniel said.

"No more questions" Rebecca said taking charge. I'll take her to the nurse's office. Daniel and Tom, you guys should tell the principal what happened. Hannah, I need you to go look for Sarah" she said. They all left without complaints. There was no way they were letting Sarah get away with this.

At the nurses office, the nurse, Miss Tina made Gabriella sit on one of the beds in the office. After checking out her nose for a while, she said something that made Rebecca's hairs stand on end.

"Your nose is broken. This isn't something I can fix here. We need to get you to a clinic" She said.

A few minutes later, the principal came rushing in with two teachers.

"I've been briefed on the events that led to this situation" He said "Gabriella is to be rushed to the nearest clinic and her parents are to be informed of what has happened" He said.

On his command, the teachers took Gabriella away and the nurse was looking through a few files probably for the phone numbers of Gabriella's parents.

"Rebecca Roberts" He said

"Yes sir"

"Come with me"

Rebecca followed the principal to his office. It was nicely furnished. Apart from the principal's desk and chair, there were a few portraits on the wall (they were of national figures) and a few trophies in a shelf at a corner. There was a fridge in another corner and a book shelf not too far from It. The walls were white in colour to match the black carpeting.

The principal took his seat behind his desk and Rebecca noticed that they weren't alone. Daniel, Sarah and Tom were with her too. They were standing in front of the principal who looked like she was ready to bite their heads off.

"Now" she said "I have been told that out of anger, Sarah threw a dictionary at Daniel only for her to miss and hit another student, Gabriella Martins. That's what you told me, isn't it boys?" She asked Tom and Daniel. They nodded.

"Explain yourself Sarah" The principal said.

"Daniel is trying to frame me. He's just another bully like Betty. Only this time, his victim is Gabriella"

"Sarah" the principal said " How many people want to bully you in this school, because I don't understand this anymore"

"My class mates are just so jealous. I have been nothing but nice to them since the beginning of the term and this how they treat me"

"Your case is a special one" The principal said "Now Rebecca, I need you to confirm one of these stories. Do you want to defend Sarah's story or Daniel's story?" She asked.

"Daniel's" Rebecca replied

"And why is that?" The principal asked.

"Sarah was never bullied by anybody. She just can't control her anger. I almost missed the debate a few days ago because she got Tom and I stuck in the library. She asked Betty to help her throw Tom's book away and she threw the dictionary at Gabriella accidentally while trying to hit Daniel. Betty was her friend. If you ask our classmates they will tell you the same thing sir" Rebecca said.

"Why do you think she is treating you like this?" The principal asked.

"She just doesn't like Tom and I" Rebecca said.

"In that case, I've made my decision. Sarah, you will be facing the disciplinary committee today. The rest of you can return to your classes" the principal said.

"No sir, it's clear that she's lying..." Sarah cried but Rebecca cut her off.

"Should I call Richard over here to support my case?" Rebecca asked. "Or Hannah? Even Mabel will be willing to say something if it means that you're put in your place" Rebecca said angrily.

That was enough to keep Sarah quiet.

"Thank you sir" Rebecca said.

It was finally over. Sarah was going to learn her lesson.

____
Hi 👋
It's been quite a journey. It is my duty to announce that we are almost at the end. If you're wondering why the book is so short, you should probably check it's genre. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Read on to find out Tom's secret.
And remember,
Leave a comment if you have anything to say,
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Thanks for reading 📚
Stay safe!!!

-Truewriter2020
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