CHAPTER NINE — Conversations on a Verandah
1418 Words
The sun in Victory Girls had no mercy.
By the time I picked up the long wooden scrubbing brush, the verandah was already hot enough to fry egg. My arms ached just looking at the wide stretch of concrete we were supposed to scrub. The scent of Izal floated in the air—sharp, hospital–like—mixing with the dust and faint smell of beans drifting from the dining hall.
Tomi arrived a few minutes after me, holding her own bucket, her expression halfway between annoyed and excited. She dropped the bucket beside me and stretched like she was preparing for gymnastics.
“Well,” she said, hands on her waist. “If they want us to suffer, we’ll suffer in style.”
I let out a small laugh even though my chest still felt tight from yesterday. “Is this ‘style’ supposed to make everything better?”
“Of course,” she said with fake confidence. “Everything is better with style.”
She knelt down beside me and dipped her brush into her bucket. I noticed her nails were cut neat and short, probably dorm rules for seniors. Her plaits were tied in a ponytail, swinging like they had their own attitude.
For a while, we both scrubbed quietly.
My brush scraped in long lines. Hers moved in harsh circles.
Students passed occasionally, glancing at us with that classic Victory Girls “chai, sorry oh but I’m glad it’s not me” expression.
Then, finally, Tomi spoke.
“You know,” she said casually, “this verandah punishment is actually an advantage.”
I looked at her sideways. “How is scrubbing floor in the sun an advantage?”
“Because”—she lowered her voice—“we can talk freely without seeming suspicious. No one will think anything of two punished girls whispering. Perfect disguise.”
I blinked. “Disguise for what?”
Tomi didn’t answer immediately. She scrubbed three more furious circles then sat back on her heels.
“For everything,” she said slowly. “For the truth. For Dorm 7. For why I was removed from there earlier than expected. And most importantly… for why you shouldn’t ignore what’s happening.”
Her tone made my heartbeat pick up speed.
“Removed?” I asked. “I thought seniors naturally leave the junior dorms.”
Tomi shook her head. “I left earlier than everyone else. They didn’t want me to uncover the story.”
I paused my scrubbing. “What story?”
She looked around, checking if anyone was coming. When she was satisfied, she leaned closer.
“Hallie… I know what the principal said to you.”
My stomach tightened instantly.
“What?”
“She always says the same thing. ‘Stay away from Tomi. Don’t trust Rita.’ She even throws in the ‘nothing strange is happening’ line.” Tomi imitated the principal’s voice so accurately I almost choked.
I stared at her, shocked. “How did you know she told me that?”
“Because that woman is predictable,” she said with a shrug. “And because she told me similar nonsense when I was in JSS2 and started asking questions. She wants you scared. Confused. Distracted.”
I swallowed. The brush felt heavier in my hand.
Tomi touched her bucket absentmindedly, tracing the rim. “Listen, Hallie. I’m not trouble. I’m not trying to drag you into anything messy. I’m trying to help you so you don’t disappear.”
Disappear.
The word felt cold. Sharp. Like a stone thrown straight into my stomach.
“That’s not funny,” I whispered.
“I’m not joking.”
The air suddenly felt too still.
Tomi lifted her brush and continued scrubbing, but she spoke softly, her voice shaking just a little.
“Girls vanish here, Hallie. Not many. Not often. But enough for the school to hide it. Enough for the principal to panic anytime someone starts digging.”
My mouth felt dry. “Disappear… like… run away?”
“No.” Tomi wiped sweat from her forehead. “Disappear like vanish. No footprints. No stolen school items. No note. Just… gone.”
I felt the verandah sway slightly. “Why are you telling me this?”
She turned fully to me now, her expression open, almost desperate.
“Because I think you’re the key,” she said. “I think you know something—even if you don’t realize it yet.”
“Me?” I whispered. “I just got here.”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “And that’s why you’re important. New eyes. Fresh. Untouched by all the lies everyone here has grown used to.”
“But Rita—” I began.
Tomi rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Ignore Rita.”
I hesitated. “You two were friends.”
“We were,” she admitted. “Best friends actually. Until we weren’t.”
“What happened?”
Tomi sighed. “She thinks I’m obsessed with all this. She thinks I’m weird. She told me to leave the ‘mystery’ alone. But I can’t. Not after everything I’ve seen. And now that you’re here…” She gave me a small, sad smile. “I feel like I have someone who can finally help me finish what I started.”
I shook my head. “Why me? I don’t understand anything yet.”
“You will.” She nudged my shoulder with hers. “Trust me, Hallie. There’s something different about you. Something sharp. You catch things other people miss.”
I felt my cheeks warm at the compliment, even with fear still swirling inside my chest.
“And,” she continued, “you live in Dorm 7. That makes you the only one who can see what I saw and what they tried to hide. The place changes at night. You’ve felt it, haven’t you?”
My throat tightened.
I had felt it.
The cold spots.
The weird silence.
The way shadows seemed to stretch where they shouldn’t.
But saying it out loud felt too dangerous.
Tomi noticed my hesitation and smiled faintly. “See? I knew it.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “Say I believe you. What now?”
“We have until the end of this term,” she said. “That’s how long it took the last time. If we don’t figure out what’s happening before then… you’ll probably be taken too.”
I stared at her, stunned.
She gave a little shrug. “No pressure at all.”
“Tomi!” I whispered harshly. “This isn’t funny!”
“I’m not laughing.”
She looked straight into my eyes.
And for the first time since meeting her, I saw something raw and terrified behind her confidence.
She was truly scared.
But she was also determined.
“We can solve this,” she said quietly. “I know we can. I’m not letting Dorm 7 take another girl. Not on my watch.”
I felt something shift inside me.
Fear, yes.
But also… strength.
Possibly curiosity.
And something else I couldn’t name.
“So what do I do?” I asked.
Tomi smiled—small but proud. “First? You tell me everything strange you’ve noticed so far.”
I hesitated again… then nodded.
The words spilled from me like water from a broken pipe.
“The cold corners near my bed. The sounds at night. The way the window keeps sliding open even when I lock it. The missing hair tie. The… the feeling that someone is watching sometimes.”
Tomi didn’t laugh. She didn’t even blink.
She just nodded like everything I said made perfect sense.
“That was how it started for me too,” she whispered.
We scrubbed while talking, the verandah slowly turning white and foamy beneath our brushes.
Two punished girls.
Two unlikely allies.
Two people the principal had warned me about.
But in that moment, standing under the sun with sweat running down my face and fear curling in my stomach…
Tomi was the only person who felt like she might actually be telling me the truth.
When the senior prefect finally dismissed us, Tomi leaned close and whispered:
“Meet me tonight. Second toilet. After lights out. Alone.”
My breath caught.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because,” she said, her eyes gleaming with a mix of excitement and something darker, “I’m going to show you the first real clue.”
- Writer
