THE BAG SEARCH
318 Words
*EPISODE 3: The Bag Search**
The next morning.
Drama Night rehearsal.
Everyone was in the hall. Scripts in hand. Tension in the air.
"Places everyone!" Miss Jummy shouted. "We perform in 2 weeks!"
Tara was backstage. She hadn’t slept.
Soheeh kept looking at her from across the hall. She looked away.
Then it happened.
"Random bag search!" The Principal walked in with 2 teachers. "Waec is near. No expo in this school."
Panic.
Students started hiding things.
Fikayo was smiling.
Sefirah was sweating.
"Start from the front row," a teacher said.
One by one. Bag after bag. Nothing.
Then they got to Soheeh.
"Open it," the teacher said.
Soheeh frowned. "Ma, I didn’t bring anything."
"Open it."
He opened his bag.
Inside: books, pen, water...
And a small brown envelope.
The whole hall went quiet.
The teacher picked it up. Opened it.
Printed papers fell out.
"WAEC EXPO 2026 - MATHS & ENGLISH"
Gasps.
"Told you," someone whispered. "Soheeh is a cheat."
Soheeh’s face went pale. "That’s not mine! I swear!"
Femi grabbed his shoulder. "Bro..."
The Principal looked so disappointed. "Soheeh. To my office. Now."
Tara’s heart broke. She wanted to run to him. But her legs wouldn’t move.
Fikayo clapped slowly from the back. "Wow. Head Boy’s best friend. A criminal."
Sefirah looked down. She was shaking.
Miss Jummy cleared her throat. "Wait. Before we do anything... check the CCTV."
Everyone froze.
CCTV? In the hall?
The Principal nodded. "Good idea."
5 minutes later, they were in the office watching the footage.
And there it was.
Clear as day.
Sefirah.
Sneaking to Soheeh’s bag during rehearsal break.
Dropping the envelope inside.
Running away.
Silence.
Then the Principal slammed her hand on the table. "Sefirah!"
Sefirah burst into tears. "It was Fikayo! He paid me! He said if I do it, he’ll buy me iPhone!"
All eyes turned to Fikayo.
His smile was gone.
**TO BE CONTINUED...*
- Writer
