{"id":1303,"date":"2017-02-27T17:22:12","date_gmt":"2017-02-27T17:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theskrypt.co.ke\/?post_type=jetpack-portfolio&p=1303"},"modified":"2017-02-27T17:22:12","modified_gmt":"2017-02-27T17:22:12","slug":"the-apartment-15","status":"publish","type":"jetpack-portfolio","link":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/portfolio\/the-apartment-15\/","title":{"rendered":"The Apartment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 15: Thief<\/strong><\/p>\n

I must be cursed. This is the worst term of my life\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Mary sat, head bowed, shoulders hunched outside the Matron\u2019s office. Her two, new, favorite companions; SADNESS and DESPAIR, caressed at her heart, willing her to break down.<\/p>\n

I will not<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Upon her, were the condescending, distrusting and angry glares of her housemates. They spoke within ear shot of her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe I trusted her!\u201d said one icy voice with a forced twang.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah! Like, she\u2019s been stealing underwear, deo\u2026 OMG!\u201d another added.<\/p>\n

Mary frowned and clenched her trembling fists.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t do it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWould you believe it?\u201d another excited voice said, \u201cYesterday, her roommate also found the house prefects\u2019 lost watch in her cupboard. I am so shocked!\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary shut her eyes and counted, struggling to steady her breath. Every inch of her ached to fight for her honor.<\/p>\n

Just as she calmed down, she sensed it. The tingling feeling you get when someone\u2019s watching you. A chill ran down her spine. She snapped her head up and looked around. Esther\u2019s face sprouted from the crowd looking directly at her.<\/p>\n

What\u2026is that look? huh! I don\u2019t need your Pity? <\/em><\/p>\n

Turning her face away from Esther, she caught her new roommates\u2019 pleased smile and stare. The girl was leaning against a wall in the shadows.<\/p>\n

The matron\u2019s door flew open and a group of girls walked out,\u00a0 each glaring at Mary before storming off.<\/p>\n

\u201cMARY\u2026\u201d the matron Bellowed.<\/p>\n

She stood up reluctantly. It was the moment of truth.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not a thief! I didn\u2019t steal those things\u2026,\u201d Mary insisted, her palms sweaty, \u201cI swear!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t seriously believe her\u201d, her new roommate chimed in, pointing her finger accusingly at Mary<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s not jump into conclusions\u2026\u201d the Matron responded.<\/p>\n

\u201cConclusions?\u201d said the roommate, incredulously looking at the Matron, \u201cThere is evidence she stole. All those things we found in her locker\u2026what\u2019s more….\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone is framing me!\u201d Mary cut in her voice trailing off, her eyes brimming with tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you have nothing to worry about, Mary\u201d, said the matron in a firm but warm voice. \u201cI will forward this matter\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

The roommate sighed, and interrupted. \u201cHonestly, I can\u2019t believe you put me with such a\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough!\u201d This time, the matron\u2019s voice was icy and forbidding.<\/p>\n

The girl stepped back, surprised at the sudden change in tone<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never stolen in my whole life\u2026. I\u2026I am certainly not a thief!\u201d Mary\u2019s voice quivered.<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow morning\u2026\u201d instructed the Matron, \u201cYou two will accompany me to the headmistress\u2019 office. For now, go to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The girl walked out first. Mary followed.<\/p>\n

As she passed by the bathroom door, she was bombarded with a splash of cold liquid. It was dirty water from the rag bucket in the bathroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cAaaarghh\u201d screamed Mary, spitting profusely and cursing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThief!\u201d a voice accused, amid giggles, snickers and laughter. Stunned and confused, Mary looked around, frantic. These contorted faces used to smile at her. These girls were once her friends.<\/p>\n

She wiped the water from her face and tried to speak. Everyone fell silent<\/p>\n

Her mind was blank. She burst out into mirthless laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? aren\u2019t you going to defend yourself?\u201d someone taunted.<\/p>\n

Mary turned around, searching for the voice and once again, her eyes met Esther\u2019s. A girl snickered to Esther\u2019s Left drawing Mary\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

Must be her. <\/em>she concluded.<\/p>\n

Mary\u2019s frustration was boiling over. Her iron clad control was failing. She clenched her fists, ready for a fight and looked around to see who else wanted in\u2026<\/p>\n

Then she noticed Esther\u2019s eyes burning with anger despite her calm demeanor. Her fists were clenched as well. She was not looking at Mary but at the accuser. Mary unclenched her own fists.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re really kind, Esther. <\/em>She thought sadly, then swallowed her pride and walked away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter 15: Thief I must be cursed. This is the worst term of my life\u2026 Mary sat, head bowed, shoulders hunched outside the Matron\u2019s office. Her two, new, favorite companions; SADNESS and DESPAIR, caressed at her heart, willing her to break down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"jetpack-portfolio-type":[],"jetpack-portfolio-tag":[],"class_list":["post-1303","jetpack-portfolio","type-jetpack-portfolio","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jetpack-portfolio\/1303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jetpack-portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/jetpack-portfolio"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jetpack-portfolio\/1303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"jetpack-portfolio-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jetpack-portfolio-type?post=1303"},{"taxonomy":"jetpack-portfolio-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sqrypted.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jetpack-portfolio-tag?post=1303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}