Barrister Ada

Chapter 7: Second Envelope*

The photo was still under my pillow.

I took it out every night. My mother’s smile. Baby me in her arms.

No name. No words. Just her eyes.

Who sent it?

A week later, It was Sunday evening at the shelter. Bead work was over.

Aunty Ngozi was counting money in her office when security knocked.

“Ma, another envelope for Ada Okafor.”

My stomach dropped.

Not again.

Aunty took it from the man. Same brown envelope. No stamp. No address.

She opened it right there. Me and Tolu were the only ones she trusted.

Inside: One small folded paper.

The handwriting was rough. Block letters.

*“DON’T TRUST EVERYONE AT SCHOOL. -A FRIEND”*

Silence.

Tolu grabbed my hand. “What does that mean?”

I couldn’t breathe. Chika’s face came to my mind. The way she laughed. “Let’s see if aunty will pay till SS3.”

Aunty Ngozi’s face went hard. She read it twice.

“This is not a joke,” she said. “Someone is watching you, Ada.”

“Maybe it’s someone who wants to help,” Tolu said small.

“Or someone who wants to scare her,” Aunty replied. She looked at me.

“Resumption is Friday. But after this... Ada, maybe you should not go back to hostel yet.”

My chest tightened.

Not go back? But the scholarship form. Mrs. Ade. 70% next term.

If I miss resumption, they can replace me.

“But ma... the test. The scholarship...” My voice broke.

Aunty sighed. She sat beside me.

“I’m not saying no. I’m saying be careful. Someone knows your name. Your school. They came here twice.”

She folded the paper and put it in her drawer.

“We don’t know if it’s a friend... or your father.”

The word _father_ hit me like cold water.

That night I couldn’t bead. My fingers shook.

Tolu stayed back from school to be with me.

“Who would warn me like that?” I whispered.

“Someone who sees you,” she said. “Maybe a teacher. Maybe a girl. Or maybe...” She didn’t finish.

I looked at the photo under my pillow again.

Mother was gone. Father said he was done.

Now a stranger was telling me: _Don’t trust everyone._

I wrote in my book that night:

_First envelope: My past.

Second envelope: A warning.

I have 4 days to decide. Go back to school and risk it. Or hide at the shelter and lose everything._

I don’t know who sent it.

But for the first time since I ran, I was afraid to go back.

Does Ada go back to school, or stay?