Rusa: "Is it near me?"
May Rusa's face clearly showed excitement.
Shimlee: "It seems to be circling around the court.It sure is attached to the court for some reason."
Keiro: "So in other words, it sure has something to do with this place.."
Shimlee: "Because it has never been spotted before, it can only mean one thing.. It is the Ghost of someone who died recently.."
Mayrusa : "But how come I cannot see it now.... ."
Shimlee: "Why don't we find out whether any of our seniors who were in the basketball ball club... you know... kicked the bucket recently."
To be attached so much to the basket ball club to come back to it as a ghost.. It seemed a bit over the top but passions were passions.
Keiro: "Our school is thirty years old.. That sure is a lot of work. But where do we get the list of club members?"
May Rusa:"There is only one place that has record of old students and their clubs."
Shimlee: "The student's Council?"
Shimlee looked at Keiro.
Keiro : "Why are you looking at me? ."
Shimlee : "Why did you have to pick a fight with our president?"
Keiro : "I've got to say, that guy is bad news."
May Rusa: "How did your enmity begin anyway?"
~~~Flashback~~~
3 weeks ago
Keiro clearly remembered that day.It was around ten at night and her buddy Han Marsha had a craving for chips and Keiro had slipped out of the dorm to buy it for her.
But then instead of taking the usual road,(she cursed herself every time she recollected it) , Keiro had taken a deteour through the alley behind the school compound.If she hadn't taken that one route that day,she would have not seen that scene.
A fight was going on and there was what looked like a group of gangsters up against one guy. Keiro instinctively hid behind a garbage bin a little away from them but yet close enough to observe the fight.
The fight seemed unfair, a whole group against one. But Keiro thought that if she interfered it would not bring about much a change in the outcome given her fighting ability and also the fact that she could be used as a hostage or kidnapped among other possibilities. So she remained where she was, crouching and holding her breath, and only occasionally taking a peep to see how it was going .Much to her surprise the lone guy who was fighting them seemed to be exceptionally strong as his opponents flew in all directions after being hit by him. One of them even came flying and hit the garbage bin and Keiro gasped.
In the light of the street lamps that were still working, Keiro saw the face of the guy who was taking on all of them at once.She could not believe it but another look confirmed it. It was none other than popular model student,the Student's council president, Matt Moncee !
The first thing Keiro thought in this situation was, 'What a scoop!'
Keiro was an active member of the newspaper club. Her articles were rather popular and the subscriptions to the online school newspaper had increased several folds after she had joined it. And with Han Marsha as her information source,Keiro was seen as the epitome of investigative journalism in Moldi high school, (As Keiro used to described herself.)
Now Keiro could picture the hot news for tomorrow. What would the best heading be?, she thought as she clicked the pictures of the fight from where she was sitting.
'The student council president's secret night life!' or
'The hidden face of President Moncee!'
Keiro was busy checking the clarity of the pictures she had taken on her cell phone when she suddenly felt the presence of someone in front of her.
The fight must have come to an end, for when she looked up she saw that it was President Matt Moncee..
"And now who might you be?" he asked pulling her up.
"Just a passer by, " said Keiro pocketing her phone. "Good night President."
"Not so fast." He pulled her back ."You are that person from the newspaper club aren't you?" he said looking at her closely. "Seems like you have some 'exclusive' photos of me in your cell phone.."
Keiro:"What are you talking about?"
Moncee:"Don't pretend that you do not know."
Keiro: "Yes, I saw you... exercising... I hope you are alright.It is cold out, we should be heading back." She said slipping away.
"Your surname is Jan isn't it?"he asked with a smirk. "I'll take good care of you." He said as he watched her run away.
When Keiro reached back from the dorm, she shut the door and panted heavily. That president Moncee was not an ordinary guy. Taking down all those thugs by himself, he could have handled her too but he let her go just like that . Will he kill me if I post this online?, thought Keiro.
Keiro quickly backed up those photos from her phone. But no sooner had she opened her laptop to type out the hot news,when her phone rang.
She picked it up and at the other end was Matt Moncee.
Moncee :"Jan Keiro, you know who I am.There is no use recording this conversation. Why don't you pay me a visit in the council room or should I pay a visit to your friend who is working in the chemistry lab right now?"
Jan gulped. President Moncee had caught on to her weakness already. She knew he would not let her go that easily.
Keiro: "I'll come."
She made her way to the council room and saw the president alone in it.
He sat in the president's chair with a smile which was borderline sinister. He motioned her to sit down which she did.
Moncee :"I just wanted to confirm your weakness that's all."
Keiro: "What do you mean?"
Moncee : "You know what I mean. If you accidently post a pic of me that might ruin my reputation then your friend will have a tiny 'accident' in the chemistry lab."
"You!" Keiro stood up and stared at him. She fought the urge to grab his collar.
Moncee :"I'll make sure they have evidence enough to conclude that it is an accident."
That's when Keiro knew what kind of person he was. A bloody wolf in sheep's clothing!
But in reality, Keiro was not worried about Roju's safety. She was rather worried about the awakening of Roju's psychopathic tendencies if someone attacked him. This is what she feared. If something like that would happen it would become a turning point in Roju's life and innocent Roju would turn into evil Roju.
Keiro :"I am begging you to not involve Roju in this.He has nothing to do with this."
Moncee:"It's your choice Jan Keiro.. I don't want any mishaps either. I am the student's Council president after all.."
'You think you are all that because you are the Council president? I'll find evidence to prove that you are not fit for your title.You threatening bastard!'
She said this in her mind.
Moncee :"You've got something to say?"
Keiro : "Nothing."
Moncee : "Good night then."
And from that day on Keiro began to look for evidence to bring Moncee down from his position. She knew that the photos were not enough. They could say that it was photo shopped. She wanted something more solid.So she went to you know who.
Han Marsha: "I am sorry I won't be able to help you this time." She politely declined.
Keiro: "What about lunch for a week? Or that cheese cake you wanted to order. It's all on me Marsha.."
Marsha :"I'm sorry Keiro.If it is the president then I can't.."
Keiro :"Why not?"
Marsha : "I've been ordering pizza with his coupons for a year now."
Keiro : "You've got to be kidding me!He sure knows how to buy people."
Marsha : "Forgive me, Keiro."
Keiro : "Do you value food more than your friends?"
Marsha : "Yes..."
Keiro : "I hope you die choking on a chicken bone!"
Then by some miracle, one fine day Keiro received an email. It went like this..
/I am not in a position to reveal myself but I thought the school and students should know that president Moncee has been swindling the student's Council funds. Please collect the evidence from the locker named 5b48 in the subway station 501. Password is : jkiai/
Sender name : @prematture
Keiro was excited. As she made her way to the subway station, she felt the thrill of investigative journalism.
Bringing down corrupt people in power,
protecting the weak from evil!,
bringing justice to the innocent!
This was indeed her true calling. Her hands shook a little as she pressed down the buttons for the password to open the locker. Her heart beat heavily when she saw what was inside! It was the copy of an account book.She quickly placed the copy within her jacket and looked around to see whether she was being watched.
This was good training for her future!
When she reached back her dorm, she quickly took the copy out and inspected the contents.Yes.It was true.The numbers did not seem to match..This president Moncee was a violent corrupt guy who was fooling his school mates and authorities. God only knew how many victims he silenced with blackmail! Keiro spent the whole night scanning the copy of the account book and uploading it to the school newspaper.
She gulped when she saw her completed article.
She closed her eyes and clicked 'ENTER'
The next day,the whole school was in an uproar. The teachers and student's talked about the article non stop. The protestors' club had already lined up outside the council room. They demanded that President Moncee should resign.
Moncee was also summoned by the school chairman. So was the newspaper club leader. The school was in chaos, but it did not last long.
The account keeper of the student council submitted the original account book and it was inspected by the teachers and the protestors' club president.The numbers tallied perfectly, and every single bill was enclosed inside.
Moncee was soon cleared of charges and Keiro was summoned. She was told that if she did not submit the name of her source, she would be charged of defaming the respectable student's council and its respectable president.
Keiro could only go through the the real account book and compare it with the copy of the fake account book she had with her. Somebody had played her!
Keiro stared at the email sender's name for sometime.This person could not be traced back no matter what she tried.
Who are you rascal?, Keiro bit her lip and wondered.
@Prematture
@Prematture
And then she finally saw it.. She had wondered why Premature had two 't's in it.
'Prematture'
'President matt u re'
"You are president Matt?"
Keiro finally got it. He had planned it right from the start. He made the fake account book himself and sent the email to her...
Now no matter what Keiro published in the future,no one would believe her again.
The next day's newspaper had the following headline
'Student Jan Keiro from year 1 class c dismissed from the newspaper club for publishing fake news.'
And 'President Matt Moncee has invited interested students to inspect the account books at their leisure. '
'President Moncee pardons the protestors' club.'
The gossip column read something like this
'Was Jan Keiro rejected by president Moncee?'
Keiro's reputation was ruined. Shimlee consoled her.As for Roju, he did not know what was happening outside his lab..
Keiro confirmed her suspicions when she met Moncee outside the teacher's office room on the way back from handing over her reflection letter.
Moncee: "What was the password to the subway locker again?"
Keiro only glared at him.
Moncee : "Oh I remember what it was," he whispered in her ear.
"Jan Keiro is an idiot."
===================
Present day
Basket ball club
Keiro : "It's impossible that Moncee would help us."
Shimlee: "Then what do we do to get the list?"
Keiro: "We'll have to steal it!"