Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Mariyam

"I'm coming!" Mariyam ran downstairs to the door. She had been on the love couch in her room, trying to doze off. Anything that could make her feel so normal. Her anxiety level had shooted up in the morning and all she could do was focus on trying to breathe. Nothing else mattered more at that moment.

"Hey! Carrie. Why didn't you tell me you guys would be coming?" Mariyam asked astonished as they hugged each other.

"Well, we thought it would be a surprise seeing as we have all finished getting ready for the journey. The visit was supposed to be too Carries' but well, we said why not go to Mariyams'. Aaand here we are, girl." Peyton explained as she flew back her purple hair with pink stripes for the umpteenth time since arriving 2 minutes ago.

Mariyam was neighbours with some of the students. That was why they all spent most of the time together and are more like family. Unlike the rest, who were a bit far and had to get on a bus or keke napep when visiting one another. Mariyam's house was adjacent to Nats', and was opposite Ryans'. The next house on the left of Ryans' was Drews', while on the right were the twins' house. A two minute walk on the left led to Ibraheems' house. While directly opposite Ibraheems', on the end of the street, were Ade and Sarah's Houses. The only far house in the street were Jameela and Ninas'.

"So how're you doing? What've you been upto?" Carrie asked Mariyam as they went upstairs after greeting Mariyam's mom. They all took positions in the big children's room.

Mariyam sighed. They were well aware of her condition but she didn’t like to talk about it. “I’m fine. Just a bit tired. And I've been up to nothing actually. I'm really glad you guys are here. What's been going on you?" She asked in her husky voice.

"I've packed everything since this morning and have been bored ever since. So I decided to help around and mowed Mrs. Folakiiin's lawn." Joe said, stressing the i in Folakin. He was a happy-go-lucky guy, helping out everyone he thought needed it.

"Well, for me guys, you know, I haven't even packed anything. I'm waiting till tomorrow. I mean, there is no need to hurry right? It's just a bunch of clothes, so nothing to worry about." Daniel pointed out. He had the 'I don't care' attitude in the group.

"Of course, we know you, Dan. Always doing everything at the last minute." Mariyam said while unwrapping a packet of KitKat.

Sarah, who had been quiet since they arrived, cleared her throat for the second time. Her eyes darted towards them, and down at her phone, unsure. "Um, guys… um, I think there's something you should know.”

They all turned towards her, curious. They studied the expression on her face, which they have never seen. What could be wrong?

“It has to do with our trip.” Sarah swallowed hard.

"Well, tell us already." Alexa broke the silence. She hated anxiety nor anxious situations. Better get it over it, was her motto.

"Okay, umm. I think ... we should inform the others as well."

"Cool. Let's see." Mariyam ran across the hallway to her room, taking her laptop back to the others.

*****

Jameela arrived home late, just past seven p.m. When she arrived, Mom was preparing Sambusak for dinner and she helped her in washing the plates and arranging the table. She had just eaten and prayed, and was getting ready for bed, when her phone rang.

"Hello?" She sounded angry on the phone but she just couldn't help it. Disturbing her during a serene moment was a no-no.

"Hey. We just started a group video call. Check it," Mariyam's voice popped up on the other end.

"Oh okay. Well I want to sleep now. I don't thin..."

"No. It's urgent. Well, according to Sarah anyway."

"She's there now?" Jameela asked. Tomorrow was their trip, so she saw it strange that Sarah, who always ensured she had packed everything in order and would pack and repack and was very much OCD was still there.

"Yea. The whole group is."

"I swear if this isn't worth it, I will kill her myself ok? Tell her I said that."

Jameela joined the video call thinking of what could be so urgent. She knew Sarah. She could be scared sometimes, but she was a strong person. Whatever she wanted to tell them, must be very crucial to her. She joined the call, and saw that almost all of her classmates were either in Carrie's house, or have joined the call.

"Let's get this over with. Guys, the thing is, there is something I want to tell you about our trip..." She started saying.

"Well, say it already," Jameela told her. She was beginning to think it wasn't important and had to forgo her beauty sleep just for this.

She continued, "well, you know my uncle is a Sheriff right? Back in Florida. So, he called earlier today. And..."

Daniel cut her abruptly, "You mean you called us all to tell us this?"

Peyton rolled her eyes. "At least let her finish Daniel. You can be so impatient."

Sarah continued, "He asked about our trip and I told him the area it is located. He sounded different. Like he was shocked. He called my parents immediately and he told us that the area we are planning on going to is dangerous."

"What? Dangerous?" Jameela asked clearly taken aback.

"Yes. That's the exact word he used. He said that he worked some time ago at the area and there have been reports of some weird activities going on. He also said that he currently has files of missing persons, some being families, high school students, trekkers, tourists and even campers. It is still an open case. Of course, my parents still think he's overreacting but well, you know, I thought you all shoud know."

They stayed quiet for a while, their faces clearly showed how outraged and shocked they felt. Of course, until Daniel broke the silence.

"Haha. You guys got to be kidding me!” He shrieked. “You need to see your faces right now. I wish I had taken a photo. Seriously, I hope you don't believe her."

"Daniel, what is wrong with you? Didn't you just hear what I just said? You think I'm lying? Ok. I'm gonna call my uncle and you ask him yourself..."

"Geez Sara. I don't think you are lying. It's just that I don't believe in anything like that. You are so naive. Fine, your uncle has some files still open on missing people. That area I'm sure, it's like a jungle. Basically, people get lost. And maybe they had an accident or something like that. Or maybe on their way back something happened. I don't know. So your uncle can't just conclude something like that. He's such a party blooper," Daniel said.

They chose to simply ignore him. He liked doing things his way, not caring about others' feelings. That attribute made her distance herself from him. She believed that in life, you had to put others into consideration as well. She wouldn't like someone to do to her anything she wouldn't like, hence, she wouldn't act that way towards others. Feelings are crucial. Not respecting them could lead to disastrous consequences. She had seen those whose feelings were destroyed, bullied and that caused them to go to extreme lengths, even committing suicide.

"Guys, I think I'm freaked out," Alexa said finally. Her twin, Alex put his arm around her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Yeah. I think we all are. Of course, except Dan," Jameela replied.

"I can't believe that. My Dad did a lot of research and I'm sure he found nothing. Else, I wouldn't be going." Adriana said in a high pitched voice, her face peering through her laptop.

"What do you mean by you are sure nothing is wrong?" Sara began. Sara and Adriana had always been at loggerheads, although with Adriana, she was always fighting with someone. She felt too highly of herself because her Mom was the attorney General of the State and her Dad was the owner of one of the most popular hotels in the country. Jameela had never understood why, but Adriana had hated her since she could remember.

"It's okay! We should think of the matter at stake here, not to involve our personal problems and emotions, if not we would not be able to think clearly." Ade tried to intervene. Fondly called 'bubbly angel', he was the peacemaker amongst them.

"Whatever. I'm done here." Adriana rolled her eyes and left the call.

"I think we should forget about this. It will just keep us awake you know? Our trip is tomorrow. We can't just decide not to go." Peyton suggested.

They nodded their heads. Even though they still agreed on one thing, it was obvious the mood had dropped down drastically. "Guys, I think it's late. We should head back. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day." Jamie pointed out. He had been silent, his face showing a mixture of fear and confusion the whole time. Jameela had known Jamie for a very long time. He had been bullied at a tender age. Being from an abusive home made him timid. He got scared easily. He had been living with his uncle and aunt back in Savannah until his parents decided it was best he came to Nigeria to live with them. His dad was a contractor who was very influential and his mom, a stay at home wife. Being back with his parents and siblings was a new change for him and he tried to fit in. But bullies at school wouldn’t allow that. When he first arrived at school years ago, everyone in school refused to talk to him, except Nina and Jameela. To be honest, both of them didn't want to talk to him at first, due to peer influence. Seeing their fellow classmates avoid him, made them distance themselves, in fear of being mocked. As they were growing up, that slowly began to change. They became more outgoing and talked to Jamie more realising that he was a person just like them. He needed to talk to someone. Perhaps that was why he was closest to the both of them. During one of the bullying he received, totally orchestrated by Adriana, he almost died. Jameela vividly remembered the blood that rushed frantically from his arm. He had to be rushed to the hospital immediately. Adrianna had ordered her minions to hold him down as she poured water on his trouser which looked like he has soiled himself. They laughed at him, but it didn’t stop there. She pushed him and he fell on a log of wood, its splinter piercing through his arm. They got scared and ran, leaving him alone as he cried for help. After that, lots of disagreements ensued. Jamie's parents threatened to sue the school and remove him. After lots of compromise and meetings, they finally relented and let him stay. Of course, he didn’t tell the authorities nor his parents who pushed him, even with a lot of pressure on him. He was scared.

As Jameela laid on my bed trying to sleep, one thing weighed heavily on her mind. What if it's true? How could they go into a danger zone like that? All for camp? Did the teachers know? Mr Cameron? Nah. If he knew he wouldn't allow them to go. No one would actually. And that would be the right thing to do. No, it can't be, she reassured herself again. She tried again to make her mind disbelieve it. Maybe Sarah's uncle was too paranoid. Wait, that didn’t even make sense but well, it was possible. She didn't know what was going to happen, but one thing was for sure. Tomorrow was the day. Telling her parents would be a sure no. They'd never allow her to go. Better to be safe than sorry, Mom would say. The best thing to do was to keep quiet.