CHAPTER SEVEN16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0AqTKhScC
The wall stood as it always had: silent, ancient, dividing Kisumu Girls’ from Kisumu Boys’. But now, in the shifting light of late afternoon, it felt less like a boundary and more like a fault line, trembling with secrets.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2JoAP2wQe
On the northern side, Mercy’s shadow stretched long across the gravel paths of Kisumu Girls’. She moved with her usual grace, but her eyes were sharper, scanning every cluster of whispering girls. The air was thick with tension. Notes had begun to appear-anonymous, folded with the same care as the old love letters that once fluttered between the bougainvillea vines. But these new notes were different. They didn’t speak of longing or hope. They carried warnings.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUmtoUa5HD
"Someone on the other side is plotting. Be careful who you trust."16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6F1NsBjky
Mercy let the note rest in her palm, heart beating a little faster. She’d always kept her circle tight, but now even her closest allies seemed nervous, glancing away when she caught their eyes. At meals, conversations stopped when she entered. In the dorms, laughter faded to anxious silence. The Order, which had always moved as one, now felt brittle-like a shell about to crack.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNNU9eOQvz
Across the wall, at Kisumu Boys’, Jabari felt the same chill. He was used to command, to the easy loyalty of his crew. But lately, there were too many secrets. Otieno, who once would have followed him anywhere, now hesitated before speaking. Musa, always quick with a joke, had grown quiet, his eyes darting to the wall during evening prep. Rumors had begun to swirl: that Mercy was gathering her own power, that alliances were shifting, that Jabari himself was being watched.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSN4axiwRPQ
A note found in Jabari’s locker, written in a looping, unfamiliar hand, read:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6NHgaiv322
"Jabari-Mercy’s not as loyal as she seems. Watch the wall. Watch your back."16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZpfqZTdMzP
He crumpled the paper in his fist, feeling the weight of suspicion settle in his chest. The boys grew restless, glancing at the wall as if expecting it to speak. Old jokes about “the girls on the other side” faded, replaced by wary silence.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHJxvhzIjbc
The wall, once a place of secret connection, now hummed with distrust. The bougainvillea, heavy with purple blossoms, hid not only messages of hope but seeds of doubt. 16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDZwkb9565
The tension was everywhere. In the dining halls, spoons clinked against metal cups as students whispered anxiously. In the dormitories, lights burned late as prefects prowled, searching for signs of betrayal. Even the teachers seemed uneasy, casting suspicious glances at the wall during roll call.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIAapGOGWQ
And as the sun set, painting the stone gold, the wall stood witness to the unraveling trust. The Orders, once united by secret pacts and midnight exchanges, now eyed each other with suspicion. Mercy and Jabari, each in their own domain, felt the ground shift beneath them-unsure whether the real enemy was across the wall, or standing right beside them.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXHCjB3GNp
The four girls who orchestrated this-and their silent allies-watched as the Order on both sides turned inward, questioning, investigating, fracturing.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXAH2gfD5f
Night had settled over Kisumu Girls’, pressing a hush over the rows of dormitory beds. The hum of distant matatus and the city’s heartbeat faded, replaced by the softer, more secretive sounds of girls whispering in corners. In the farthest alcove of the journalism club room, Kim, Seline, and Mary huddled together, a single torch beam flickering across Mary’s open notebook.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLlekVcRoV
Mary’s eyes, always sharp, darted from her scribbled notes to her friends’ anxious faces. “We can’t just wait for the Order to make their next move,” she whispered, voice barely louder than the rustle of jacaranda leaves outside. 16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiiEIowu5sD
“We need to decide what we want-and how we’ll get it.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYCLjOSPFrX
Kim hugged her knees, glancing at the window. Somewhere beyond the wall, the boys’ school was settling too, but the tension felt like a wire stretched between the two compounds. Seline’s fingers tapped nervously on the table; purple pen poised for action.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHTYP0ysEO
Mary listed their goals; her words crisp in the silence:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4IyeclHDV
“First, we expose the Order. Not just their rituals, but how they control everyone-how they make us afraid. Second, we protect ourselves and anyone else who’s caught in the middle. No more scapegoats. Third, we demand real change. No more secret punishments or hidden rules. We want fairness, and we want a say.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbEloIzWGO
Seline nodded; her voice low. “But how? If we’re too loud, they’ll crush us before anyone listens.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF5zZxM7WQp
Mary’s eyes flashed. “We don’t go loud. We go smart. We keep feeding rumors-let Mercy and Jabari’s Orders waste energy fighting shadows. We gather stories from other girls-quietly. When the time is right, we show everyone what’s really happening. Not with names, but with truth.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVneo2VmAKE
Kim added, “And if we’re exposed?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcJDx9Vn7Q
Mary’s pen paused. “We have to be ready. We write everything down. We hide copies. If they come for us, someone else will know what to do.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJ4EFPp81E
The torchlight flickered over their determined faces. Outside, the wall glowed faintly in the moonlight-a silent witness to secrets, fears, and the fragile hope blooming in the dark.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdsjRFCJ9K
For the first time, the girls felt the beginnings of power-not the kind that ruled with fear, but the kind that came from knowing what was right, and daring to plan for it. The wall might still stand, but tonight, the girls were building something stronger: a plan, a purpose, and the courage to see it through.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxKRXUPp8h
The room was quiet, the only sound the distant clatter of dinner trays being stacked in the kitchen. Mary sat cross-legged on the floor, her notebook open, surrounded by Kim, Seline, and the others. The wall-loomed in the distance, its shadow stretching long through the window. Tonight, the girls needed more than courage; they needed understanding.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZhL9MgQJI
Mary tapped her pen thoughtfully, then began, her voice low but steady.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMQIfZFERv
“You know, the Order wasn’t always this powerful. It started small-just a handful of prefects and seniors, back when the wall was first built. They claimed it was about discipline, protecting us from the boys, keeping the schools ‘pure.’ But it was really about control. They used the wall as a symbol-something to rally around, something to keep us looking inward and not asking questions.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡViwRm6ckfR
She flipped through her notes, pages filled with dates and scribbled names. “At first, it was little things. Who got picked for leadership, who got punished for breaking curfew. But over the years, they got smarter. They learned to cover their tracks-never leaving orders in writing, always passing messages by word of mouth or through those notes in the bougainvillea. If someone got too close to the truth, the Order would turn everyone against them. Rumors, isolation, sometimes even a ‘transfer’ to another school.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcFQfqfIuO
Kim shivered, remembering the blue paper clip and the feeling of being watched.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6zb0i0Mm4
Mary continued, “But the Order isn’t perfect. Every few years, someone gets bold. There was a girl-Achieng’, back when my sister was here. She tried to expose them. For a while, she made them nervous. But she didn’t have enough proof, and the Order twisted her story. She ended up leaving in the middle of the term. People still whisper about her, but no one knows where she went.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQdD9U9gPI
Seline leaned in; her voice barely audible. “So, what makes them vulnerable now?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwePZWPkIS4
Mary’s eyes met hers, sharp and determined. “They’re too confident. They think the wall protects them, that no one can see both sides. But we do. And there are cracks-people who are tired of being afraid, teachers who’ve started to notice the same faces in every ‘investigation.’ The Order’s biggest mistake is thinking secrets can’t cross the wall. But notes do. Stories do. And now, so do we.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uIdaxtH2C
A hush settled over the group as Mary closed her notebook. The wall outside glowed faintly in the dusk, but inside, the girls felt a new sense of clarity. The Order had history, yes. But it also had weaknesses-and tonight, they finally understood where to look.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvhNrZyvCAS
The wall had always been a boundary, but now it was a stage. Each day, new rumors seemed to slip through its cracks, and the air on both sides grew thick with suspicion. Mercy and Jabari’s Orders, once so sure of their grip, were suddenly on edge, chasing shadows that the girls had carefully cast.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvMB5rHzoG
It started small. One evening, a prefect found a folded note hidden in the bougainvillea. The handwriting was unfamiliar, but the message was urgent:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlGQpqOkvip
"Meeting tonight. Old storeroom. Evidence will be revealed."16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3tl6KIDSb
Word spread like wildfire. That night, the Order’s enforcers swept through the school, searching storerooms and interrogating anyone who lingered in the halls. But the storeroom was empty-just a broom, a broken chair, and dust swirling in the torchlight. The girls watched from their dorm windows, faces pressed to the glass, as the Order wasted hours chasing a ghost.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvG9TnRBRGa
The next day, another rumor surfaced. Someone whispered that a group of girls planned to stage a protest during morning assembly-marching up to the podium with a list of names and accusations. Mercy’s lieutenants doubled security, patrolled the corridors, and rehearsed their responses. But when the assembly came, it was as ordinary as any other: students recited the school pledge, sang the anthem, and filed back to class. The Order’s nerves frayed further.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kqz9FH6uS
Meanwhile, Kim, Seline, Mary, and their allies moved quietly, gathering real testimonies, hiding evidence in places no one would think to look. They watched as the Order grew more frantic, burning energy on false alarms and decoys.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8y8nrVtJv
At Kisumu Boys’, the pattern repeated. A “leaked” timetable for a supposed midnight meeting between boys and girls sent Jabari’s prefects scrambling, only to find the wall silent and the grounds deserted. Each new incident left the Order more paranoid, more divided-members began to question each other, suspecting leaks and betrayal within their own ranks.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeRfuQLBV9
The girls’ true plans-building alliances, collecting proof, and preparing for a real exposé-moved forward in the shadows, unnoticed amid the chaos. The wall, once a symbol of quiet separation, now echoed with the confusion and frustration of those who thought they ruled both sides.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJl38mtO9zr
And as the sun set over Kisumu, the girls shared secret smiles. Their decoys had worked. The Order was distracted, chasing ghosts and rumors-while the truth crept ever closer to the light.
Penana
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