Your days Here are Numbered

That girl has become a thorn in my flesh. Every day I see her in this school, I am irritated. I am worried that at any moment my mum will call me to her office to ask about what I did with Cli…I mean, Mr. Jonathan." Gloria grunted as she paced around their noisy room.

It was evening just before prep time and other girls were scattered around the room chatting, dressing their beds and playing around their dorm room. But Gloria and her friends had no time for such luxury as they plotted Anna's downfall. There could be no peace for them, not when Anna was still a student at Bishop Evangelical College.

They had to keep their conversations low to avoid being overheard by other girls, as they huddled around Gloria's corner, dressed in their day wear.

"We need to get that little snitch expelled as soon as possible. I can't bear seeing her face every day in school, with her loose mouth and ever curious eyes." Goodness spat angrily.

Gloria stared at her in confusion, wondering why she was suddenly filled with a strong desire to punish Anna.

"I thought you both were reluctant to help me out. What changed? Does she know of your secrets?" Gloria asked. Her dark face looking skeptical.

"Of course not. What secrets could that be? We are all fighting for you, Gloria! I am angry on your behalf. We need to deal with her." Goodness lied, even though taking Anna down was now personal for her.

"And her friend, too! Don't forget that! I still can't believe a junior stole Clinton from me." Edith fumed.

"Hey… you are better than that. Let that silly boy go! We are not at his level. He is a child," Goodness said. Edith nodded reluctantly in agreement.

"If Clinton, the hottest boy in our school, isn't your level? Who is then?" Gloria paused her pacing as she questioned her friends.

"Well…We don't…" Goodness muttered, not knowing how to answer Gloria's question without spilling the truth. She looks nervously at Edith, hoping she can say something to save her from the confusion.

"You sound like you like him? Gloria, is he really the hottest boy in school? Do you like him?" Edith asked as she looked at Gloria with her eyebrows raised. Gloria opened and closed her mouth without saying any word, suddenly at a loss for words. At her confusion, Edith and Goodness exchanged glances, smiling at each other while Gloria watched them curiously, wondering what secrets her friends were keeping from her. She shook off that thought as she focused her attention on how to take Anna down.

"We need to focus on the task ahead. I know just what we need to do to get that little snitch expelled. We just need to get her to do something so terrible that my mum wouldn't think twice of expelling her. Here's the plan." Gloria smiled as she motioned to her friends to come closer so she could tell them the plan without being heard by the other girls. When Gloria was done explaining the plan, the three girls smiled at the brilliance of the plan. This will definitely work, Gloria thought as she high-fived her friends.

Minutes later, Queen walks to the door of the Seniors room, and waits outside as she searches around for senior Gloria and her friends. Gloria then walks to the door as she leads her through the room, holding her slim hands as they walk together to stop any senior from harassing her. As they walk through the noisy room, the other seniors' curious and vicious eyes are fixed on Queen. Queen keeps her head bowed to avoid looking into any senior's eyes for fear of being targeted later. Once at senior Gloria's corner, she feels relaxed because her friends are not glaring at her like other seniors.

"Good evening seniors," Queen greeted her seniors as she smiled sheepishly, feeling important because the seniors had called her specially to their room.

"Enough with the greetings. Listen carefully to every little detail we are about to give you and follow everything we tell you. If this doesn't work, you will be in deep trouble. No more immunity for you! Seniors can punish you anytime they want. So you must get this right!" Goodness warned, her eye lined eyes bulging out viciously, making Queen swallow hard in fear.

"Now, do you know Anna? Good, she's your classmate and roommate, and we want her expelled at all costs." Gloria explained in a low voice to a nervous-looking Queen.

Why? That was the question Queen wanted to ask. Why their seniors wanted Anna, an insignificant junior expelled. The question was written all over, but she didn't dare ask it.

"This is what you need to do. You will walk into your room and start a fight with Anna. Find anything at all to start a serious quarrel and make sure she hits you. When she does, pretend you are having a panic attack… everyone will gather around and we will rush into the room, and drag Anna to the matron's office. Once we are with the matron, we will lie that we saw everything and how Anna attacked you. We will make sure she gets expelled today!" Gloria said, as she watched Queen wring her hands in distress.

"Can you do this or not?" Edith asked, her small lips curled up.

"Senior, please… I don't want to. My health is at stake." Queen said fearfully in a low voice.

Goodness suddenly gets up from her sitting position and drags her by the collar as she looks into her eyes. Queen trembles, scared that the senior will hit her.

"If you can't do this little task for us, then you become our number one enemy! Do you want that?" Goodness growled at her. "Can you handle having us as your enemies?"

Queen shakes her head vigorously, afraid of the dangers of being the seniors' number one enemy. Her position as the seniors' pet was the best option for her and if Anna had to go down for her to continue to have that position, so be it.

"Can you get it done?" Gloria asks. Queen nods in agreement, since she has no other choice.

"Good! You have just 30 minutes before prep time. Put this hostel on fire and get that little brat expelled." Gloria commanded her.

"That little snitch is about to go down!" Goodness announced as they watch Queen walk out of the room reluctantly with her shoulders slumped, while they waited for the moment they would get their hands on Anna and drag her to the matron's office.

"Where are you off to? It's 30 minutes before prep. You know you will be punished if you don't leave the hostel on time and reach the reading room on time, too." Anna chided Sylvia, who was busy applying lip gloss before zipping her skirt and unbuttoning her shirt to reveal her fancy innerwear.

"Is my uniform looking short enough? Can you see my fine laps? Do I look okay with my lip gloss?" She asked, pouting her lips and arching her hips seductively as she ignored Anna's warnings.

"Where are you going to? Why are not listening to me? This is the wrongest time to leave the hostel. There will be a head count during prep and if you are not there, you will be in deep trouble." Anna yelled at Sylvia as she watched Sylvia from her bunk, smoothening her uniform and smacking her lips.

"Don't tell anyone, but senior Clinton asked me to come see him at the back of the cafeteria. It's usually quiet now and none of the teachers will be there. I am so eager to kiss his fine lips again." Sylvia said, smiling to herself.

"Are you crazy? You are going to meet a boy alone in a missionary school. Do you know what will happen if they catch you with him? Sylvia, don't go anywhere. Besides, you heard Stanley say Clinton is a dangerous boy. Stop this obsession you have for him. Stop it!" Anna almost screamed at Sylvia.

"Enough Anna! Stop being jealous… and stop acting like you are my mum. I know you are saying all these things because he asked me out and not you!" Sylvia snarled at Anna, before checking her appearance one more time and walking out without sparing her friend a glance.

Her friend's words shocked and hurt Anna. She wanted to say something else but Sylvia was already at the door. Sulking, she folded her hands as she watched her leave. Had she been wrong to look out for her friend? She asked with her face squeezed in anger as she promised herself never to speak to Sylvia again.

Anna was still boiling in anger as she lay on the bed waiting for the school bell when someone tapped her violently. She jerked herself up to see who was hitting her and it was Queen. "What did this devil want with her?" She asked herself as she glared at Queen.

"I heard what you were saying about me. I heard everything you and that stupid friend of yours were saying. How dare you say such horrible things about me? What did I ever do to you? Now, say to my face if your name is Anna. If your parents gave birth to you, well, say it to my face!" Queen fumed, playing by the script the senior had written for her.

"Are you okay? Queen, are you okay? Better leave me alone. As you can see I am not happy and certainly not in the mood for nonsense." Anna snapped back at her before going back to her lying position.

"Me, nonsense? You are stupid!" Queen growled as she gave Anna a resounding slap.

"What?" Anna screamed, shocked by the unexpected slap. Other girls in the room suddenly started gathering around them, waiting for Anna to retaliate.

"I said, you are stupid!" Queen said as she dragged Anna's bed sheet from her bed and flung her pillow away. "And I will give another slap to teach you a lesson about gossiping about people's names. Do you hear me?" Queen yelled at her, dragging Anna up from the bed.

Anna wanted to hold herself, but it was all too much for her to bear and she had no idea what pushed her to slap Queen heavily on the face. Queen jumped on her even though she knew she was skinner and weaker than Anna. Anna pushed her and the next thing they heard was a loud thud as Queen landed on the floor, shaking and holding her throat like she was dying.

"You have killed her! Jesus! She's dying"

"What have you done to her?" The girls in the room screamed, while others rushed out to call for help. The quiet hostel was suddenly filled with commotion as girls moved up and down screaming and clapping their hands as they pointed accusing fingers at Anna. Anna stood frozen at a spot, afraid that she had killed Queen, while Queen lay there shaking like she was losing her breath.

When Gloria and her friends rushed into the room and started dragging her out, Anna had no idea because she was petrified. The seniors dragged her from the bed, giving her dirty slaps and hitting her as they dragged her to the matron's office. Anna couldn't even cry because she thought she had killed Queen. She looked behind to see an unconscious Queen being carried out. "Oh God! I am in trouble" she swallowed hard, shuddering.

"You are everywhere where there's trouble. Why did you hit an asthmatic person? Evil girl! Your evil has finally caught up with you!" Goodness growled at her as they dragged her to the matron's office. Anna was in tears as she stared at the vicious faces of her seniors, who were her worst enemies. She couldn't really make out their facial expressions because she was blinded by her tears, but she knew Gloria was the happiest of the three seniors. "Was this revenge for what she saw that night?" Anna wondered as she was being dragged violently by the seniors through the hostel corridor while other students watched with pity in their eyes.

Sylvia was at the cafeteria with Clinton, feeling nervous that she was all alone with a boy. Wringing her hands nervously as her eyes darted all around the empty backyard.

"Relax, Sylvia, and look at me. Nobody will catch us here. Stop acting like a little girl and come closer! " Clinton drawled as he looked into her pretty eyes. She was really beautiful. Her little innocent face was what he found most attractive about her, even though she had an enticing figure for a girl her age. As he watched her move, he knew she was nervous, but it made him more eager to have her. Innocent girls were always the sweetest.

"Senior, please… let me go back to my room. I don't want anyone to see us here. I am scared. Our matron or someone else may see us here." Sylvia muttered, looking nervously around to see if a teacher or senior was coming in their direction. But everywhere was quiet, and that was even more unsettling for her.

"I said come closer!" Clinton commanded, ignoring her pleadings as he drew her closer to him. "I don't know why you should be scared when you are with me. No teacher can do anything to me. I am untouchable. You know that, right?" Clinton bragged. He held her by the waist as he looked into her eyes, caressing her fine face.

"Look, I can't have my girlfriend being scared of teachers and shaking all the time. Chill, okay… You know what girlfriend and boyfriend do, right? Kiss me!" He ordered, tightening his grip on her little waist making her whimper as he pulled her closer before kissing her passionately. Out of fear, Sylvia tries to draw away from him, but he cups her jaw as he deepened his kiss, making it hard for her to escape from his grip as she gasped for breath.

"Senior Clinton, please… this is too much," she whimpered as he let her go.

"Shh… you need to learn how to kiss properly. And I will be your teacher." He said, ready to kiss her again, but the loud sound of the school bell suddenly prompts Sylvia to stand up and run out before Clinton could stop her.

After Sylvia is gone, Pablo walks out of the corner of the cafeteria with a smirk on his face.

" Bad boy!" He hailed an angry-looking Clinton. "Why are you angry? I told you, you are wasting your time pampering those little girls. If you want any of them, you take them by force. Stop all this Mr. Romantic thing." Pablo said. Clinton stared angrily at his gigantic head for a while, feeling like taking his frustration out on him, but he decided against it because Pablo was stronger than he was.

"You are right! I have tried… That stupid little girl just vexed me. I guess I have to try it your own way!" He says as they walk off.

"Correct boy!" Pablo exclaims as he shakes his friend vigorously. "Those little juniors need to be taught a lesson once in a while!"

Apart from his domineering body size, he was also a bully and both male and female students hated him. He was stocky, annoying, and scary. And many students often wondered how he was friends with Clinton, who was his direct opposite.

Sylvia ran to her hostel as the school bell continued to chime, hoping she wasn't late for the evening prep. But when she got to her hostel, she was surprised to see Girls scattered all over the place, murmuring in groups.

"What happened?" She questioned one of the girls in her room.

"Anna, your friend fought with Queen and almost killed her. She's lucky Queen is now stable now in the sick bay." The girl said.

"Lucky? She almost killed someone, and that cannot go unpunished in Bishop Evangelical College. The seniors have taken her to the matron's office and I think she will be expelled." Another girl said as she rolled her eyes at Sylvia.

"That girl is so evil! Look at the way she pounced on Queen, even though she knows she has health problems." Another girl in the group spat angrily.

The crazy news she was hearing shocked Sylvia. She had just left her room not long ago. How did all this happen in such a short time? She wondered, praying silently for her poor friend.

But Anna was already in hot soup and no amount of prayer could save her from being expelled. She was kneeling down in the matron's office as she was being questioned like a criminal. Mrs. Gracious shook her head in pity as she drilled Anna with questions while Gloria and her friends glared at her like they were ready to pounce on her at any moment.

"Why did you do it, Anna? Tell me why you would do something so wicked to a fellow student? Have forgotten that fighting in school is forbidden in our school?" Mrs. Gracious yelled at her.

Anna's scared eyes moved nervously from Mrs. Gracious to Gloria and her friends as she swallowed hard, already coming to terms with the fact that her days at Bishop Evangelical College were over. No one can save her now!