Tangled With A Priest

 Odion, the new transfer student, the dwarf Ivie had berated, blended with the shadow in her small figure that was barely a silhouette against the light of night. She had now become a laughing stock, Ivie made sure of that. 

 She had just seen the girl jump out of the class, clearly in a manner that had blithe disregard for whatever the school had penned down as a rule, and she thought how uncool it was. Ivie should be the one remorseful of her delinquency, and not her being ridiculed. Anger boiled in her vein whenever she remembered the snickers student gave to her. 

 She moved gently, her barefoot barely making a sound against the floor, a bag flung across her shoulder. In the bag was two tens of rat, squirming against each other and against the restraints of their confinement. 

 A smug smiled braced her lips, what girl wasn't a teeny meeny scared of rats? Even if Ivie wasn't scared, her stuff might be eaten, document's destroyed and would find herself in a wail worse than her own plight.

 She had considered going through the door, but doubted Ivie would let her in with open arms. Her only option was the window. Now, she only hoped it was open. 

 It was. 

 It seemed God was in favour of her punishment to the miscreant. She dropped the bag at her feet and stretch her hand to open the window wider. She couldn't reach it. So much for God being in her favour. 

 She tried again, lifting her heel off the ground to stand on her toe, but her attempt was futile. 

 "Need a little help with that? I could come in handy," a voice said in darkness, startling her to fall on her bottom. 

 Father Chibuike stood tall before her, giant like and he smiled. 

 He had come to return Precious's suicide note to Ivie, the original owner. His curiosity about her concerning the case had been prickled, did she hold a leverage he could use? If that was the case, then she would lead him to it. He came, hoping to keep the end of his bargain, after all, he had written to Ivie to keep her window open. 

 He was not surprised that she did though, his partner had a bad sense of danger. What surprised him was that there was someone who also wanted to settle scores with her, not like that was he wanted to do. 

 Pushing the window out to bring it wide open, he said, "There. You can carry on with your little mischief while I stand by the side for you to finish so I can punish you." 

 "F..fa..father." Odion broke into a cold sweat. "What are you doing here?"

 "Funny how y'all keep asking me questions I should be asking you. Why don't you stand up and we give ourselves proper introduction?" He leaned forward to near her and offered a hand. 

 Hesitantly, she rose to her feet, ignoring his gesture. 

 He brought his hand back to his side. "That's rude. It seems rudeness is an accessory you all wear. Anyway, I'm Father Chibuike, what's your name?"

 "O..Odion," sh replied, stuttering. The priest was standing in front of her, his height intimidating. 

 "Let's leave what it means for the morrow, shall we? Now," he looked from her to the window. "I know Ivie's friends, at least the people she considers her friend, and you my dear," he paused. "What did you say you were doing her again? Scrap that, I don't think I've seen you around the school."

 "I….I.."

 "Oh, you weren't this shy when I caught you earlier, don't start now."

 "I'm a transfer student."

 "That's lovely. What year?"

 "Senior. I major in science."

 He nodded in understanding. "Explains why we haven't met. I'm the form teacher for those that major in arts. Well, go on."

 Pointing at the window, she stammered, "We…we had a combined class once, she made fun of me about my…my height. Now everyone laughs at me.

 "Poor thing, I understand how you feel, I really do."

 Sensing sympathy from the priest, she went on. "So I decided to teach her a lesson. This." She picked her bag and opened it. 

 "Oh my—"

 But somebody interrupted them. "What are the both of you doing together by this time of the night?"

 Father Chibuike turned to the voice who spoke. "Just about time, someone else has joined the party. What can I say? The more the merrier." And the more difficult it would be to accomplish his mission, but he kept his poise. 

 JohnMary looked at him, worried that he might be going mad, then at Odion. "What are you doing here?" He had been worried about what Ivie brushed aside like a prank, people did not prank about something like that, and he had decided to check. What he didn't expect, even though he had made reference to her, was the transfer student, especially in the company of the priest. 

 "You won't believe me," Father Chibuike said. "The young lady here was about to infest Ivie's room with these scrawny rats, said she wanted to get back at her for the emotional bully she caused her, isn't that right, Odion?"

 Odion looked from the priest to JohnMary, unsure whether Father Chibuike was in her defense or not. "Y…yes, emotional bully."

 "And so," Father Chibuike went on explaining like JohnMary had not have a grasp of the whole thing yet. "She decided to repay the emotional bully with physical bully, what I don't know is which is less of the two evils."

 "So what are you doing here?" JohnMary asked him. 

 He flickered his forehead. "What's with all you youngsters asking me questions I should be asking you? I caught her obviously, I seem to have been catching a lot of people these days."

 "Are you the one who told Ivie to keep her window open?" JohnMary asked Odion, looking down to her. "So you could do this?"

 "I did not tell Ivie to do anything," she defended. 

 Father Chibuike came between them. "This is not the right time to settle petty scores, why don't we adjourn this to tomorrow when we'll have daylight for a better judgment?"

 Inside the room, Ivie stirred from her sleep, a distracting noise awakening her. She had kept her window a tiny open to catch whoever this prankster was, but had fallen asleep in her wait. 

 She pulled her cover aside and jumped from her bed, her ears listening to the noise coming from outside her window. It sounded like a voice. Voices. She tiptoed to her window and pressed an ear on the pane, she heard Father Chibuike's voice. Her eyes flew open and she drew the curtain away. 

 "Uh-oh," Father Chibuike tutted upon seeing her. "You two have woken her up?"

 "What is going on here?" She looked from him to JohnMary to Odion. "Huh? What are you doing here?" She asked her. 

 "Long story cut short, she wanted to get back at you." He neared her window, picking the bag with one hand and bringing out the note from his inner pocket with another. He opened the bag and kept Ivie focused on the rats that was supposed to be her companion, and slipped the note into her room. Had he known it would be this easy, he'd have woken her up earlier. 

 "Ivie, I told you to keep your window shut," JohnMary said, slightly annoyed. 

 "I didn't know she," Ivie pointed at Odion, "would bring her playmates to annoy me." Ivie still hadn't wrapped her head around the vision she saw, the girl standing before her was going to die in a few months time? She had been raking her head with a solution and here the short monster was planting rats in her room?

 "That's enough drama for one night," Father Chibuike said. "Go back to your rooms. Tomorrow, both Odion and JohnMary will receive punishments for being up this late, looking for whose room to infest rats upon."

 "But—" JohnMary turned to defend. 

 "Go to your room, now!" He ordered, turning cold. "And Ivie, close your window." He turned around and walked away from them, and as he did, Ivie thought she saw a cat, the cat, follow him.