Windy Valley Secondary – Trials of the Young and Restless

10.OCT.08

After being severely battered by her mother, Susan has run away from home. Meanwhile, her best friend Miriam has been reported missing in all the major newspapers.

It was the end of yet another long, tiring day at school, and the heavy schoolbooks just made the walk to the school gates even more tiresome.{{more}} As Ras shifted the bag on his back, his mind went back to this time last year when he and his two closest friends, Susan and Miriam, would most likely have been running from class together. Now, he was walking alone.

He could account for one friend, Miriam. She was hiding out at his home to avoid being molested by her father. The problem is, he couldn’t account for Susan. She had neither returned to school, nor had she contacted him. This worried Ras.

As he approached the gates, Ras saw a familiar disheveled face – that of Susan’s father. He signaled to Ras to come.

“Where Susan dey?” Susan’s father enquired. “Why she late coming out? She in trouble?”

Ras looked at the older man with a perplexed expression, and said to himself: “He don’t know his own daughter didn’t even start school this year?” Ras shrugged his shoulders and said: “I don’t know where she is.”

“Ah hear she mekking baby, a true?”

Ras stared at him in amazement. “Really? Susan pregnant?” No wonder she hadn’t turned up to school, he thought. “I haven’t seen Susan since the school holidays.” Ras felt like a fool. He was so occupied with helping one friend that he had completely forgotten about Susan. No wonder she was so upset when she heard that Miriam and her ex-boyfriend Sharpie were involved.

“You mean to tell me she nah in school?”

“I suppose you could always phone her mother,” suggested Ras.

“Me talk to the mother and she say that Susan nah live dey any more.”

“Then wey she dey?”

“Last me hear is that she and the mother had some big fight, and she run way.”

There was a pause as Ras kicked at the loose stones from the dirt track.

Susan’s father continued: “Me know that she nah by Miriam because she missing, too.”

Ras froze at the mention of Miriam’s name. Surely, Susan’s father didn’t suspect where she was hiding?

“You don’t know where she dey?”

Hurriedly Ras said: “No, no, I don’t know where Miriam’s hiding”.

“Me nah talk about Miriam, ah Susan me want to know about.”

Ras breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God he didn’t suspect anything.

Susan’s father continued: “Dem say somebody kidnap Miriam because her father, some big time lawyer, upset a couple of drug dealers.”

Ras thought that the rumour was a bonus, as it meant he could buy some time for himself and Miriam, until he could figure out what to do.

Susan’s father continued: “And they say that Miriam’s father is ruthless. He say he gwine make sure that the man who took his daughter go to jail for a very long time”.

Ras hadn’t thought that this would get so serious. All he wanted to do was help a friend. Now there was a threat that he could end up in jail and his dream of becoming a doctor would be just that, a dream.

Susan’s father turned away. “Well, me go see you later”.

“Where you going?” asked Ras.

“To look for Susan. I not rich like Miriam’s father, where he can hire police to look for his daughter. I have to do it myself”.

“Wait, I’ll come and help”.

Susan’s father smiled at Ras. “Thank you,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Was Ras right to keep the whereabouts of Miriam a secret? YES or NO – Email your answer to karibwritings@aol.co.uk

The Windy Valley Secondary series is fictional. Any resemblance to real events, places or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.