***
Raheem and I burst into the sickbay, with Sir Amadi right behind us, his breath erratic. With a weight like his, I wondered how he managed to keep up with us.
The room, quiet as a graveyard, held no sign of the drama we had missed, save for the student sat in bed with her back to the door. Wrapping her fingers around her thin ankles, she propped up her head on her raised knees.
"What happened?" Sir Amadi asked, advancing to her.
"It's no use," Stella said. Her nonchalance baffled me, but I barely had a moment to dwell on it. "She won't speak to you. She's been like this ever since she came to. She says to only speak to Victoria and a certain Raheem Kadir."
"I am he," Raheem said.
Stella didn't turn to acknowledge him. "If these crazy kids don't quit this Bloody Miri act, I swear, the me they'll be seeing will be way scarier than any so-called ghost."
"I understand how you feel," Sir Amadi said. Did he? For a man who could crash into someone and not feel sorry, I doubted he knew the ABC of sympathy. "But you must calm down."
Raheem walked to Stella, his eyes mirroring her pain. "I can't pretend to know how you feel. But know that I will not let this game continue. You have my word."
His words, like a charm, danced their way into her heart, shutting the door out on Sir Amadi's words.
"But what can you do?" Stella asked.
"Whatever it takes," Raheem said. "Once I talk to Mark Etto, he will see the need for CCTVs in the restrooms, and whoever goes on to Bloody Miri will be expelled."
I cringed at the thought of having cameras in the restroom. Weren't restrooms meant to be private places
I voiced out my indignation. "Cameras? Are you crazy?"
"Do you have a better option?" Raheem asked, although he apparently didn't expect me to have any.
"The idea of cameras in the restroom just unnerves me," I said. "It's a restroom for heaven's sake!"
"His idea is perfect," Sir Amadi said. "The CCTVs will only be installed outside the stalls. So everything is fine as long as nobody leaves her stall undressed."
"Hell, my idea is perfect and I don't need you telling me that," Raheem said.
Nengi sniffled, drawing our attention to her. Shooting Sir Amadi a cold stare, Raheem wordlessly ordered him to back off. Sir Amadi complied, giving Raheem and I room to approach her.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Raheem asked.
"I was a fool not to believe Dory," Nengi said. Her body trembled as she sobbed, and I feared she would break down. "I was a fool."
Raheem reached out his hand as though to touch her. But he never did. He just let his hand hover in midair as though that simple gesture could halt her tears.
In a decidedly slow voice, he said, "Please calm down. We need you to calm down."
Shuddering, Nengi raised her face to look at us. Her eyes were puffy from crying. She smoothed her palms over her legs and swept frantic eyes around the room.
"She'll be back," she said between hiccups and gasps. "She'll kill me. She's pissed off because I saw her. She wants to kill me. Help me. Please. I don't want to die. I don't want to."
I lowered myself to the bed and pulled her into a hug. "You're safe. It's okay now."
Clinging to me like a child, she trembled in my arms. Her innocence, her pain, her distress, it all melted my heart. I felt horrible for suspecting her of attempted murder. A girl with such innocence could never hurt another.
She gulped down her fears. "What if she comes back?"
"Did you see the person who attacked you?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Can you tell us what she looks like?"
"It's Bloody Miri. I swear. She's real. She-" With an ear-splitting shriek, she sprang to her feet and hid behind Raheem as Stella launched at her. Sir Amadi gripped Stella's arms, restraining her. She writhed to break free, but he held on to her.
Stella's nose flared with indignation. "Say one word about my sister, and you're it."
With Raheem as a shield between Stella and her, Nengi felt confident enough to speak again. "I swear it. I saw her. I saw the girl in the picture."
"Not one more word!" Sir Amadi said. "Have you gone crazy or what?"
Bursting into tears, Nengi darted out of the sickbay. I rose to my feet and made to follow, but Sir Amadi held out a hand to stop me.
"I'll handle this," he said. Hush descended upon the sickbay as he dashed after her.
Moments passed and I waited for someone to break the silence, but nobody did. Nobody but me. "I can't believe she struck again. What's she aiming at, serial killer wannabe?"
A wave of silence accompanied my question. Raheem folded his hands and sauntered to the other side of the room, his face pensive. He stood motionless, digging deep into his thoughts. I looked over to the counter where Stella stood, fuming over the twenty-one-year-old game.
"Rah-" I called.
"I'm trying to think," he said, his voice slightly raised.
Our number two suspect had become a victim. Just when I thought we were making progress, this happened. I should have known our sleuthing only turned easy because we were headed in the wrong direction.
"What is your observation thus far, Miss Brown?" Raheem's asked, his voice like the calmness of the oceans. "What does today's incident add, or take away, from our case?"
"Nengi is definitely not the culprit," I blurted out. How was that even a question?
Raheem nodded. "Typical observation. What gives, though?"
"Isn't it obvious?" I asked. "She was attacked. Surely, she couldn't have hurt herself. What would she gain?"
Once the question left my lips, Raheem turned around and his eyes met mine. He seemed ready to flaunt his intelligence. I could tell from the smug smile on his face and the twinkle in his eyes. The expression that said 'I know something you don't.'
"Self-victimization is a word you should look into, Miss Brown," he said. "Allow me be your lexicon for now. It refers to the fabrication of victimhood for reasons such as diverting attention, manipulating people, soliciting sympathy, and the rest of them. If you want to sleuth and sleuth right, you must never wave off any possibility unless there is proof of its unlikelihood."
Of course I didn't know the ABC of sleuthing. What did he expect? Hadn't he known this from the start? Even if he had, he'd ignored my amateurism and asked me to be his sidekick anyway. Why had he chosen to work with me when he could go it alone and do it right? So far, I didn't even see how I contributed to his crime solving exercise.
"She's a suspect?" Stella asked. "Even after she's been attacked?"
"I don't see why we should get her off the list just yet," Raheem said.
"Shouldn't this be handled by the police?" she asked. "I'm not saying you aren't capable of finding the culprit on your own, but I'm not okay with you two putting your life on the line."
"We've been told this a million times," Raheem said.
"If Victoria comes to any harm because of this-"
Raheem cut in. "I will keep her safe.
I rolled my eyes. Who said I needed his protection?
"I shall hold you to your word," Stella said. She fetched my bag of drips from the counter. One down. Two to go.
"Give me a moment," I said. I needed to visit the restroom, but telling them would only break them into panic, since a potential killer lurked around that territory. No harm would come to me, though. The serial killer wannabe only struck during recess.
"Where are you going?" Stella asked.
According to Raheem, to sleuth right, one must never wave off any possibility unless there exists proof of its unlikelihood. And for this reason, I would play Bloody Miri and see for myself.