Teacher Nwachukwu knew everything he was doing and it was working according to his scrupulous plans. Before the kids take any action he knew they would and must be an expected reaction. Though Daniella and co. thought they were acting base on their own power by disappearing with the device, but never knew that teacher expected them to act that way because it was part of his plans.
However, inside the living room at the love garden, Judith and Cynthia mopped at their teacher after explaining to them about using Stephen's father to get the second device. They were amazed especially Judith who wanted to vividly comprend teacher's ways of thinking.
"Teacher," she stepped closer to him, staring up into his eyes. "Do you smoke weed?" she asked hilariously.
Teacher slowly brought down his hand from his beards. "Judith, state your mind." he said.
"Each move we make, every word we speak and our character at each point in time are already known by you and it's part of your plans. True or fales?"
The answer was true but teacher didn't answer it rather began to analyze Judith's critical methodology for getting closer to discover his plans other than just getting the device.
"Teacher" Judith continued unabashedly. "I believe the answer is true. I believe you're playing a puzzle with our brains."
Teacher turned his back on her to a telephone rested on a side stool. "Judith, where did all this things you're saying come from? Why are you being so analytical to my actions?" he asked her without looking at her rather began to dial a number on the telephone.
Judith walked closer to him again. "Why I know that you know our actions even before we take it is because ever since we came back, you've not talked about Daniella and co. who are with a very precious thing you value. It's your plan for them to react like that, isn't it? You're analyzing and observing our characters for something, aren't you?"
Judith was getting closer to his other secret plans, so teacher turned to her with the phone on one of his ears.
"If I say yes to your question, you'll call me a corny genius. If I say no, you won't believe me. What makes someone a genius is not the ability to think outside the box. It's the ability to survey his environment, study it and hold it in his palms."
Judith became more confused trying to fathom the relationship between her question and his explanation.
"I'm about to call Stephen's parents." Teacher continued. "You'll ask me how I got their residential number because you don't study your environment."
"How? You mean you found their number in this environment?"
"Yes, in the wast-bin." He dropped the phone. "Let me ask you; assuming you have parents and a boyfriend, you run into trouble. Who will you call first?" he began to touch his beards again.
"My parents of course." Judith replied.
"Stephen wanted to give Murphy his parents' number after I prevented him from shopping with us but Murphy rejected the request. Stephen had to write his girlfriend's instead. The first number was swept into the wast-bin where I collected it." he paused a little-while then continued. "Everything you want is within your environment. If It's not there, creat it!" he flipped his fingers.
"So, leaving Ada behind after the shopping was your plan too." Judith was still inquisitive, wanting teacher to go back to square one and start explaining again. The man just ignored her then placed the phone back to his ears, generating absolute tranquility...
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As the night was getting darker so as the city was getting scattered regarding the news of Stephen found on a landmine. His parents remained indoors, surrounded by policemen as a precaution to their safety. Mr. Yinka couldn't let his phone rest. Hence he was restless in the living room with the wife who had started crying. Suddenly, the family telephone rang, and the wife picked it.
"Hello.." she said in a hurry. Within a space of few seconds, she handed the phone to her husband. "It's for you." She whispered.
Yinka took the phone reluctantly.
"Hello, Yinka" teacher's voice came from the phone. He recognized it.
"Nwachukwu." he called scarily.
"Flesh and blood. Do you remember denying a pregnancy?"
Hearing that, the man glanced at his wife. "That was a long time ago." he whispered.
"But that was a year after you married. You can't run from your shadow, can you, Yinka? I know you wouldn't want your wife to hear this; that child you denied is the one standing on the landmine with your son. You can carry out a medical research on that if you like. Fate and blood have caught them. Their lives now are in my hands because only me can defuse the mines"
"What do you want from me?" Mr. Yinka whispered again. He could see how suspeciouly the wife stared at him.
"First, I can't leave the poor girl in the hands of your wife, find her own mother, if she's still single or divorced, take her in as a second wife"
"What?!"
"Yes, you heard me, you don't need to shout, Yinka. I'll get to all of you in the government one after the other. Now, here comes what you must do urgently in order for your children to be released.."
Yinka listened attentively as teacher instructed him on what to do that night.
"..you have less than one hour." he concluded and hung up the call.
Mr. Yinka rushed his car keys on the centre table like a Russian.
"Honey, what's going on? Where are you going to?" the wife asked him, but the man sped out without giving her an answer.
With the automobile, he sped like a lion, restricting anyone from following him. The headlight of his car soared clearly on the road thereby enabling him to see crawling reptiles across the road. On the steering wheel, he flashed back on how he denied the pregnancy from a young lady whom he doesn't know her way about again.
"God!" he exclaimed, robbed his head haphazardly then activated his horn when he approached a zebra crossing. He dialed Sheriff's number immediately.
"Hello, sir" the woman sounded on the phone.
"Please, keep the children calmed. I'll bring people who will defuse the explosion in the next thirty minutes." Mr. Yinka instructed.
"But sir, we can handle it"
"I said wait for me!" He hung up the call.
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Meanwhile, Daniella, Dave, Murphy, Obi and Vivian boarded the next available bus from the gate just to escape from the police. All seated in one roll. They looked back to see two huge men seated behind them without a trace of joy on their faces. They wore black and black shirts like cultists. Daniella secretly covered the device under her cloth.
"Driver, stop us at Irogu, the road to the beach." She said.
The driver kept quiet. He topped up the speed of the car which brought about increase in velocity. He also locked the doors of the bus automatically.
"What's going on?" Dave asked, yet no response. They all turned to see the two men pointing guns at them. Vivian screamed but covered her mouth when she realized herself.
"Please, we don't want any violence. What do you want?" Murphy asked.
"We only want you to shut up." one of them replied with a scary tone.
Murphy glared at Daniella in a way to say; "I told you this wasn't a good idea."
The kids maintained. The bus carried them to a far distance where they had never seen until they stopped in front of a lonely building at a lonely site. Through the headlight of the bus, the kids observed the building to be a furnished bungalow with electrical power seen through energy bulbs.
"Come out!" the men commanded them at gun point.
The kids came out.
"On your kneels!" they commended again.
The kids looked at one another then knelt down in a roll.
One of the men walked to Daniella. "Let me have that!" he stretched his hand while the other hand handled the gun.
"I can't give you this. You have to take my life before I release it." She objected.
Obi spoke up too, but hilariously. "Yes, you have to take my own life too but not all. Just take small of it, please."
The man wanted to drag the device from her which started beeping red light but a deep voice came from the entrance of the house.
"Let her be!" the voice had said. The kids recognized it to be that of their teacher. So they remained amazed to see him coming with Cynthia and Judith who followed him like disciples of Jesus Christ.
His footsteps on the ground full of organic matter stopped before Daniella. Without saying anything, he bent down with his hands stretched and Daniella handed the device to him. He quietly began to walk back inside again.
"Teacher, is unfair!" Vivian shouted. "You can't let Stephen and Ada die!" she added.
Teacher neither look back nor give her a listening ear. Cynthia and Judith approached them.
"Teacher is not evil" Judith began. "He has more secret plans and Ada and Stephen are one of them."
"How? What are we even doing here? This is not the love garden we grew up from." Murphy asked them.
"Teacher may not be evil but he's a devil!" Cynthia substantiated. "He has all our actions pre-planned" she added.
"Are you saying teacher knew all about this?" Obi asked.
"Yes" Judith interfered...
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FLASH BACK
Teacher dropped the call slowly after speaking with Mr. Yinka as everybody, including his pilot waited for him to take the next step. He gradually turned to the two girls. He wore his normal caftan, looking more critical and clever than ever before.
"Teacher, I'm scared of what might happen to Daniella and..." Cynthia was interrupted by teacher.
"You're scared for those who are not scared. When they took power in their own hands, they summoned courage, they weren't scared, so why should you be scared for their own courageous actions?"
Cynthia bent down her head shamefully.
"You know where they are, don't you?" Judith continued with her question-tags which amused the pilot thereby putting a smile on his face.
"Judith, I'm not some kind of wizard that should be everywhere. How can i be here and know where they are?" Teacher replied.
Judith folded her arms clever, staring at her teacher who began to smile at her troublesome posture. "You know where they are." She persisted with a smile too.
Teacher looked at the pilot. "Get the blades rotating."
"Yes, sir." The pilot left.
"Both of you follow me, but you must not tell others about Stephen and Ada beings siblings." Teacher told the girls...
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CONTINUITY
"That's how we found ourselves here" Judith concluded, yet kept teacher's secret.
"I guess we're on punishment like this." Obi said, while the girls spread their hands cluelessly.
On the other hand, one of the men met teacher inside the room. The room wasn't well furnished unlike the one at love garden but had executive bed and chairs. The walls were roughly painted with Nwachukwu's image on one of them.
"Sir, only Murphy objected to Ella's idea while others willingly agreed with her" he reported.
Teacher stared at him for a moment. "Thank you" he turned to a bookshelf where he brought out a diary that contains the names of the orphans. Once again, he circled Judith and Dave's names and tagged them 'lovers'. To Daniella's name, he tagged her 'mind reader'. On Murphy's, He tagged him 'outstanding'. On Obi's, he tagged him 'Lover boy'. Teacher stared at Ada's name who he knew Obi loves. He cancelled her name then tagged it, 'rest in peace'. Tears fell from his eyes to the diary...