"Sit down Marvel".
I sat down.
"Before we form this alliance....."
"Alliance?"I exclaimed, surprised. What does she have in mind? I feel really bad about having to do this.
"Yes, Marvel, alliance".
That does it, am not doing this.
"What if I do not want to form an alliance?".
"You have to Marvel".
"No, I do not".
"Yes, you do".
"I do not have to".
"Marvel my dear, you have to".
"But..."
"You talk too much Marvel. It's not good for both of us". She cuts me off
"Listen, Principal McAllister, I feel bad about this and I do not have to this if I do not want to. I never even wanted to be class president and if I am going to contest, I sure will do it without your help". I stood up to leave.
"Remember what you stand to lose as soon as you walk through that door".
I stopped and turned around.
"What do I stand to gain?".
"Do not pretend like you do not understand what am talking about".
"What do you know?".
"I know that you gained admission to this school because of your mom's friendship with Arielle Justice".
"So?".
"Don't be so naive. If you get on my wrong side, I can make sure you are out of this school without having to go through much stress. Kicking you out if course will be so easy as you're not a bonafide student, you are just some girl smuggled into this institution all because of some inside connections that you have".
I wasn't going to let her make me a pawn in her chess game.
"I am not interested" I retorted while turning to leave.
"Marvel" She called out and walked towards me. At that point, I was a bit scared at the way things are turning.
*Bang*. She closed the door behind me and tilted my chin with two of her fingers.
"Do not try to play a smart girl. We both know you need to graduate from this school this year, or at least I understand that if you don't".
"What are you talking about?".
*Sighs*
"Think Marvel. You are barely sixteen and you are in your final year when most of your classmates are seventeen or eighteen. From your past school records, you are about two classes ahead of most of your mates because you take almost double the courses you should. I do not know why this is so but I conclude it's probably because you are smart though am yet to see that in you".
"Your point?"
"Haven't you ever thought about the reason you have to be stuck here in this school when you can attend an expensive private school anywhere but here. You are not too young, you can even start over from year one and still graduate by eighteen. Why then are you stuck here Marvel because sure you hate this place".
She is not wrong, I hate school so much.
"Answer me Marvel, am waiting for an answer".
I didn't know what to say in response. I never thought about what she was talking about until now. I was silent for a while.
"It's the same reason your brother Simon is not in the university".
"What?".
"You need a scholarship Marvel and Marcus parents, offer scholarships to one exemplary student every year. By exemplary, I mean having good academic records coupled with behavioural records." She paused. "Let me refresh your memory just in case you have forgotten. You got in trouble in two weeks after your admission, that I'm sure will not look good on a scholarship application. Do you know what will look good on such application? Clean records and being a member of the students' council and not just the students' council but being the class president both of which I can help you achieve".
I felt at loss, I didn't know what to do. My mum hasn't been the most straightforward these days. What principal McAllister is right? Is mum really having monetary problems? Is she hiding from me? What happened to my trust fund?
Thousands of questions raced through my mind. I was finding it really difficult to comprehend everything that is happening. All my problems seem to be on my mind all at the same time. I decided to play it smart and safe.
"Two can play that game," I said to myself.
I was going to accept her offer just be safe and make sure I don't get on her "wrong side" as she called it. Once am able to talk to mum and am assured beyond doubts that I have nothing to lose by rejecting her offer, then I will be able to make my own decisions.
"Fine, I agree".
"I knew you would not try to play with fire". She said with triumph in her voice.
"Sit down and listen".
I sat down.
"The first and foremost rule is that you must do as you are told without asking questions. The second rule almost as important as the first rule is that you must not interrupt me when I talk".
"Okay ma".
"What was the second rule Marvel?".
"I must not interrupt..".
"EXACTLY" She cut me in mid-sentence.
"Am sorry".
"Now listen to me. We are both gainers in this alliance but I am the boss here and I call the shots. Duncan high is a public school, it was founded not very long ago. You see, this school is approved by the government and all teaching guide and curriculum are provided by the government and the school takes the general university entrance exams like every other school in the country. The only difference and disadvantage is that the school was built by the government and the government remits money to pay the teachers and provide teaching materials but the main funds come from philanthropic individuals and that is why Duncan high has so many facilities".
"How is that a disadvantage?".
"Remember I said no questions and interruptions".
"I am so sorry".
"I will let you off on this but next time I won't be so forgiving".
"Most of the philanthropic donors are rich parents and that is the disadvantage, they know what's going on inside the school. They think their children own the school and that their children should have rights. Do you agree with this?".
"Well, I think every child has equal rights".
"That's is what I think too, it's just that these rich parents don't think so. They think the school administration should barely have authority and that most authority should be handed to the "young generations" as they refer to them. This is why I want you to be the class president".
"But why me?".
"I see myself in you". She stood up and stared outside the window for a while.
"Having understood the aim behind our motive, you need to understand the rules too. Having submitted the essay, you have declared your intentions to contest. Thanks to me, your essay would be approved and you will be nominated. The procedure is not always like this, we only decided on this method during the last management meeting. You have to join a club for your nomination to be valid and I recommend that you join a club as soon as possible even before the nominations are announced. Secondly, you have to be of exemplary behaviour as from onwards and also focus on school work. The final decision will be made in a week and your grades will be looked into. After you are nominated, we will meet again to discuss on matters like your running mate and also campaign strategies and manifestos".
*Knock*
"Who is it?" Principal McAllister asked.
"Secretary".
"Come in".
Her secretary came in carrying a food bag.
"Your lunch ma'am". She said and placed the bag on the table.
"Thank you Jasmine" She handed her some bills. "Here, pay the delivery man".
Jasmine went out for a while and came back in.
"Here is your credit card".
"Do not allow in any visitors for now. If anyone calls, tell the person to leave a message".
"Sure will ma". She left.
Principal McAllister moved the food to one side of the table and looked me straight in the eyes.
"The second set of rules is regarding the success of our plans. It's important that you keep some things in mind while carrying out all of my instructions. One most important thing is that you must do a detailed job and not make any mistake. If I go down, you go down with me. Secondly, you must not tell anyone about this. If anyone is trying to find out what is going on, you must let me know so that I can decide on how to deal with such a person. Furthermore, you shouldn't have close friends or bring in allies that I don't know about. Also, the main objective is to carry out your duties. Success is not based on how much friends you have lost or how much feelings to have hurt, you can lose all your friends and still not be successful. Success is based mainly on being able to achieve your goals. I have my goals Marvel and your own goal is to gain a scholarship to the university, if you can achieve that goal then you are successful. You can not let mere human social expectations get into your way of success. You can not get carried away and you can not lose sight of your aim. Friends will be lost, bonds will be severed,feelings will be hurt and heroes will fall. People may call you a betrayer now but trust me, Marvel, in the future you will have every right to laugh at them for being such fools. Now let me tell you about the game of pawns".