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CHAPTER ELEVEN191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJTchcp0RDa
June stood at the edge of the assembly ground, the jacaranda blossoms falling around her like quiet confetti. She had once stood here as a prefect, her voice carrying the rules of the Order, her eyes sharp for any sign of disobedience. Now, she watched from the margins, no badge, no authority-just her name, and the memory of choices made.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZzZEnFnnjo
The whispers had started slowly:191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlglEXAl1LK
“Isn’t that June? She used to be with them…”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2b3CSdyWLD
“I heard she’s helping the others now.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtHk9gSxoa
“She warned Madam Atieno about the patrols last night. That’s why they caught the prefects sneaking out.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWwURLAGbuq
Some girls eyed her with suspicion, others with something like hope. The teachers, too, seemed to watch her differently-Mrs. Atieno’s questions more curious than cautious, Mr. Omondi’s nod a touch more respectful. June felt the shift, subtle but real.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4N6dOVfqG
She didn’t seek the spotlight. Instead, she worked quietly, passing messages to Kim and Seline, advising on timing, steering wavering Order members toward a gentler path. She used the same skills she’d once wielded for control, now turned to shield and guide. When Ruth, trembling and afraid, confessed what she knew, it was June’s calm presence that kept her steady. When a teacher hesitated to believe the girls’ story, it was June’s quiet testimony that tipped the balance.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9gguNRpFU
In the dorms, the younger girls watched her, uncertain. June met their gaze, never flinching. She knew what they saw: someone who had been on the wrong side and chosen to cross the wall-someone who understood both fear and courage.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv62Bk8FKOS
As the scandal broke and the Order’s grip loosened, June’s name was whispered not with blame, but with a strange new respect. She became the proof that change was possible, that even those who had enforced the silence could help break it.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9QZ2D1U1Y
One evening, as the sun set gold against the wall, Kim found June alone by the bougainvillea.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVTJfAMJ5H
“Did you ever think it would end like this?” Kim asked.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJMH6RLKEV
June smiled, soft and a little sad. “No. But I think it had to.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzklC4cSfh0
Kim nodded, understanding. “You could have stayed quiet.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ227bL5Aomv
June looked at the wall, its stones glowing in the last light. “I did, for too long. But sometimes, the only way to fix what’s broken is to stand in the open and say, ‘I was part of this. But I’m choosing something better now.’”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8zyXcHGFgR
As word spread, June’s redemption became a quiet legend-a story whispered in the dorms, a lesson passed down to the next class:191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAsUrGT40O
You can cross the wall. You can choose the truth. And sometimes, the bravest thing is to begin again.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOWoW7sYgz
*********191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsR8u1qvCQ
The staffroom was quieter than usual, the air thick with the scent of chalk and brewing tea. June waited in the corridor, her heart steady but her hands cold. She had agreed to this meeting-not for herself, but for the girls who had no voice, the ones whose stories were always whispered and never heard.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZbE8rLpOv
Inside, Mrs. Atieno and the deputy principal sat with a reporter from the Lake Victoria Chronicle, her notebook open, pen poised. June slipped in quietly, eyes lowered, her presence both familiar and strange.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqrvbU5lkg3
She didn’t use her name. She didn’t need to. Her reputation as a former leader, someone who had once enforced the rules and now stood apart from the Order, was enough. The adults listened differently when June spoke-leaning in, weighing her words.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpLkMpZvqK
“I can’t give you everything,” June said, her voice calm, “but I can tell you what I saw. The late-night patrols. The girls who were punished for asking questions. The notes that went missing, the meetings that happened in the shadows. I was part of it, once. I know how it works.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd3J5Qx3zkv
The reporter nodded, scribbling furiously. “Why speak now?”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmS155EUpn
June looked out the window, where the jacaranda trees bloomed against the stone wall. “Because silence is what let it grow. And because the ones who are suffering don’t have anyone else to speak for them.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSd7QEU49DI
She didn’t name names. She didn’t have to. Her details-specific, measured, impossible to ignore-gave the exposé its backbone. The adults in the room exchanged glances, the weight of June’s words settling over them like dusk.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFWCQ0SjWU
Later, when the article appeared-anonymous, but unmistakably true-it sent a ripple through Kisumu Girls’. The staff called emergency meetings. The Order’s leaders grew restless, their authority suddenly fragile. And the girls, reading the words in the Chronicle, felt something shift: a sense that the wall might finally crack, that someone was listening.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqCYFFI0AD
Kim and Seline watched June from across the courtyard, understanding passing between them. June had risked her reputation, her safety, to give their cause a voice. And in the dorms, girls who had never dared to hope began to whisper, “If she can speak, maybe we can too.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSJvbOcm6E
June never claimed credit. She didn’t need to. Her story-carefully shared, always with her consent-became the turning point, the moment when truth stepped out from behind the wall and into the light.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGkwYOBxHx
June’s footsteps were soft on the gravel path, her eyes always scanning-not just for teachers or prefects, but for the subtler signs: a cluster of girls whispering too quietly, a prefect’s gaze lingering too long on the wall, the sudden appearance of a new “lost and found” box near the dining hall. She had lived inside the Order’s machinery; she knew how it ticked, and more importantly, how it broke.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwtkqFGBgD
Kim and Seline met her by the water tank, their voices barely above a breath. June didn’t waste time.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaWrj6fqy2
“They’re watching the bougainvillea tonight,” she said, her tone matter-of-fact. “Mercy’s group changed the patrol schedule-two rounds before lights out, one after. If you’re moving anything, do it just after the first bell, not before.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GIyuV9FmJ
Mary nodded, scribbling the update in her tiny notebook. Seline’s eyes flicked to the shadowed corner near the old storeroom. “And if they suspect someone?”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGeICTCu1U
June’s lips pressed into a thin line. “They’ll isolate her. Prefects will assign you solo chores, or call you to the staffroom for ‘extra duties.’ If that happens, don’t argue. Just go. But leave a signal-your purple pen, Seline, or a blue clip, Kim-so we know you’re being watched.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfs0EaUbAD
Kim shivered, remembering the cold stare of the girl in the hood. “What about retaliation?”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZiVr6Be3F
June’s gaze was steady. “They’ll try to scare you first. Spread rumors, search your locker, make you feel alone. If you hear the phrase ‘special inspection’ or see a prefect with the red ledger, it means they’re planning a sweep. That’s you’re warning to hide anything important and stay close to the crowd.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYa87U45fz7
Mary glanced up. “Did you make all these rules?”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiEwUTtVMNc
June’s smile was small, almost sad. “Yes, I used to write the rules. Now I help you break them.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVvKAy9FqS
The girls listened; their nerves steadied by June’s calm. Every detail she shared-a patrol’s timing, a code word, a glance exchanged in the corridor-became a shield. They learned to spot the warning signs: a sudden silence in the dorm, a prefect’s footsteps echoing too late at night, the way Mercy’s loyalists always seemed to know who was alone.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡniFEl90yCL
With June’s guidance, they moved like shadows, always a step ahead. Notes passed through the library slot, meetings timed to the minute, signals hidden in plain sight. When the Order tried to tighten its grip, the girls slipped through the cracks-unseen, unbroken, and quietly, steadily, turning the wall from a prison into a passageway.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vymTh3dYV
And in the hush that followed each narrow escape, Kim would look at June and realize: Sometimes, the best way to survive the rules was to know them better than anyone else.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfD5LasG2Hf
Jabari191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAG7llXUvJ
The wall was never meant for hope. Jabari had always known that, even when the others whispered about secret notes and daring crossings. He’d watched Musa and Otieno get reckless, watched the lines blur between curiosity and outright defiance. But Jabari’s loyalty was to the Order, to the structure that kept chaos at bay.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7GgeID7Kj
Tonight, the boys’ compound was tense. Rumors of a crackdown had swept through after the last incident-girls’ prefects on high alert, teachers prowling the perimeters, the principal’s voice echoing warnings at assembly. Jabari had seen it coming. He’d warned the boys, told them to keep their heads down, to trust no one-not even the girls who left blue paper clips in the bougainvillea.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28TnWKZBY0
But Musa hadn’t listened. Otieno hadn’t listened. And now, the Order was splintering.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡML2wQI6w5h
Jabari called the boys together after lights out, gathering them in the shadow of the old sports shed. His voice was low, hard. “No more games. No more notes. Anyone caught near the wall is on their own. The girls’ side-they’re not our allies. They’re a liability.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrRR40AWHtT
Musa looked away; jaw clenched. Otieno shifted uncomfortably, his limp more pronounced in the darkness.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XMXnm7rj1
“It’s not about them,” Jabari pressed on. “It’s about us. About survival. You want to risk everything for a smile through the wall? Go ahead. But don’t expect the Order to save you.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEMRcgUmsZo
He made it clear: from this night on, the boys’ Order would operate alone. No more secret exchanges, no more shared signals. The wall was a boundary again-absolute, impenetrable. Anyone who crossed it, physically or otherwise, would be cut off. Loyalty would be tested. Betrayal would be punished.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmD5d3Fb0xt
The decision was brutal, but necessary. Jabari enforced it with the same cold discipline he’d always shown. He collected the contraband-scraps of fabric, folded notes, anything that hinted at connection-and burned them behind the shed. He watched the flames eat away at the last evidence of hope; his face expressionless.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMhqq9UtGo
On the girls’ side, the silence was immediate. The blue signals stopped appearing. The wall became just a wall again. Kim and Seline, watching from the shadows, understood: the boys’ Order had closed ranks. Whatever fragile alliance had existed was gone.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcfmB5S0aRV
For Musa, the loss was sharp-a door slammed shut, a dream snuffed out. For Jabari, it was just another necessary sacrifice.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9nCI2HgLw
By morning, the school was quieter. The wall stood untouched; its secrets buried. The Orders on both sides moved independently, suspicion and discipline their only common ground.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wKvvyS31v
And Jabari, standing at the edge of the compound, knew he had done what was needed. The wall had won. And so had he.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPapu5yywk
**********191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqctfCWFzE
The rains had come early, turning the Kisumu Girls’ compound to red mud and making every step a careful negotiation. The wall, slick with moss and memory, loomed over the school like a silent judge. By now, everyone knew something was coming. The whispers had changed-sharper, more urgent, as if the air itself was holding its breath. The rain had stopped, but the air was heavy-thick with the scent of wet jacaranda and something sharper, like secrets about to break. 191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ497W3Df89l
Mercy walked the corridors with her head high, her prefect’s badge gleaming. She still held court in the dining hall, still dispensed advice and warnings with the same measured calm. But the girls watched her differently now. Some with fear. Some with anger. Some with the hollow look of those who had learned too late what it meant to trust the wrong mentor.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdiGBjl8Fq
The assembly bell rang, shrill and insistent, summoning every girl, every teacher, every prefect to the courtyard. For once, no one lingered in the corridors; even the wall seemed to lean closer, listening.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmpyfb8ATt5
Kim stood at the front, Seline and June at her side, Mary in the crowd, eyes bright and watchful. The dossier was in Kim’s hand-pages trembling not from fear, but from the weight of what they carried. Mercy stood across from them, arms folded, chin high, her prefect’s badge catching the weak sun. She still wore her mask of calm authority, but her eyes flickered-calculating, cornered.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2zJWXTJQA
June’s voice was the first to break the silence. “We have something to say. Not just for ourselves, but for everyone who’s ever been told to keep quiet. For everyone who’s ever been punished for asking why.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NRBiDjwLh
Seline read the testimonies-girls who had trusted Mercy, who had confided in her, only to be manipulated, isolated, or forced to betray their friends. Kim named the favors traded for silence, the threats disguised as concern, the punishments handed down in empty classrooms. Mary, voice trembling but clear, read the final letter:191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bJ5eSr84c
“You told us you were protecting us. But you were only protecting yourself.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDdxoGJ8D5
Mercy tried to speak, but the crowd was no longer listening to her. The teachers’ faces shifted from confusion to horror to something like shame. The girls in the crowd-some who had idolized Mercy, some who had feared her-looked at each other, realizing they were not alone.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SYt52KZJh
Then June stepped forward, her voice steady. “This isn’t just about one person. It’s about a system that lets power hide behind mentorship, that rewards silence and punishes questions. We are done being silent.”191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6ZEkJk5rX
A hush fell-deeper than any before. The principal, who had always trusted her prefects to police the shadows, stepped forward at last. “There will be an inquiry,” she said, but her voice was small. The real verdict was already in the eyes of the girls: the spell was broken.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMujY3norO
Mercy’s mask cracked. She looked at the crowd, searching for allies, but found only the faces of those she’d used. She was alone, utterly and finally.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJgRx8A2in
As the assembly broke, the girls didn’t scatter. They gathered in small groups, talking openly for the first time-about what had happened, about what they had seen, about what they would no longer accept. The wall, for once, was just a wall-not a prison, not a secret-keeper.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYxNHybgKS
That night, Kim sat by the window, watching the rain return. The school was changed. The wall would stand, but the silence had been shattered. Mercy’s story would echo for years-not just as a warning about the dark side of mentorship, but as proof that even the most careful manipulator could be brought down by the truth, if only enough voices spoke it together.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsthjyQh3JO
And somewhere, somehow, on the other side of the wall, the boys listened too-knowing that something had shifted forever.191Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEflZqVF9NW
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