Though the security men let us go after the rain had died down, they still informed Coach Sarah and the entire Sports management about our fight.
So I wasn't surprised when I was summoned by Penfield's Disciplinary board to report to the administration block early Monday morning.
The word was finally out that Akunna's death was caused by a misuse of drugs. The police, after conducting an autopsy, revealed that the cocaine Akunna had unknowingly consumed, reacted with the diabetes medication in his bloodstream and that resulted in his seizure.
To think that all this happened because Ethan, my so-called childhood best friend, was trying to drug me, but ended up killing my roommate made my blood boil. How could he be this cruel and selfish?
The large antique clock on top of the wall let out a soft ping the moment it struck eight. I had already faced the disciplinary board earlier with my account of what had happened. Ethan was currently in there, dishing out his tale, which I already knew was going to be riddled with lies so no one would suspect him.
When it came to crafting convincing stories, Ethan was as cunning as a fox.
The doors to the boardroom swung open, and out stepped Ethan and his pot-bellied dad.
At some point during my narration session, the Mayor of Accra had suddenly barged into the boardroom, demanding that I should be expelled for beating up his son. Of course, the members of the disciplinary board had him escorted out, but not before he threw me a nasty look of disdain, like the one he was shooting my way right now.
It was only when Coach Sarah, along with Detective Frimpong, who was in charge of Akunna's case, appeared at his side that he peeled his gaze off me. The three of them exchanged some few words, then the Mayor and his son parted ways.
"Akwasi."
The familiar voice had me turning to find Mr. Ignatius Dery, the man who had granted me the opportunity to study in Penfield. "Sir." I stood up.
"I heard everything, son." He gave me a gentle pat on my shoulder. "Sit down and tell me how you're feeling."
"Honestly." I plummeted back down on the seat. "I feel worse than I've ever felt in my whole life." And as Coach Sarah and Detective Frimpong drew closer, the feeling swelled in size.
"What's the verdict?" I quizzed, trying to ignore my racing heart.
"Well..." Coach Sarah began. "Thanks to your impeccable track record on the swim team, as well as your good academic performances, the board denied the Mayor's request to have you expelled. However, they put you on probation. One more fight, and nothing is going to stop them from expelling you."
Relief travelled through my veins. "What about Ethan?"
The look Coach shared with the Detective made me shoot up like lightning.
"Please don't tell me they're allowing him to go scot free?"
The tall, dark skinned detective scratched his beard before speaking. "Since everything you said was merely an accusation, the board didn't see the need to punish Ethan."
"But he drugged Akunna!"
"Do you have proof?"
"No, but he was at the party!"
"A lot of people were at the party, " the Detective stated, then laid a hand on my shoulder. "Look kid, I know you're upset that your friend died, but you can't go round, pointing fingers at random people because you think they had something to do with it."
"Think?" I immediately shook his hand off. "I don't think! I know he had something to do with it! He admitted it during the fight!"
"Look, as far as I know..." the Detective slid his hands into his pockets, assuming a casual posture. "Ethan barely knew Akunna. He wasn't even on the swim team or any other sports team for that matter. So it doesn't make sense that Ethan would try to drug him. Until there's actual proof that he did something foul, we can't accuse Ethan of anything."
My gaze locked on the bearded man's face, and it took all the self-control I had to not inflict pain on his hairy cheek. "You're unbelievable!"
Pivoting on my heel, I walked out on the three adults, hands balled into tight fists that I wished I had pushed into that stupid detective's face. He was refusing to see where the arrow was pointing and it made me really angry. What if they never figure out that it was Ethan who did all this? What if he walks out of this free, like this whole fight thing?
I barged past the doors, racing down the stairs and onto the pavement.
"Hey! Akwasi! Wait!"
If I hadn't remembered that I came here with two other people, I wouldn't have stopped.
Shola was the first to reach me and pulled me into a tight hug. Last night, when I returned to the hall, she and Deon nearly died of shock at the sight of my bloody nose, swollen knuckles and wet clothes. Since then, both of them vowed to never let me out of their sight.
Shola pulled out of our embrace, as Deon and Seth ended their brief jog in front of me.
"Hey, I heard about the fight and came to check up on you," Seth panted out. "You ok?"
"No!" I snapped, unintentionally. "We need to find a way to prove that Ethan drugged Akunna or else he's going to get away with everything!"
"We can talk to Princess," Shola suggested. "I saw her at the vigil last night, and she looked really sad about Akunna's death. Maybe we can play on that."
"The fact that she looked sad doesn't mean she'll talk," Seth countered. "Ethan has got that girl in the palm of his hand. The moment he flashes money in her face, she'll do everything he wants."
"Yeah, but we still have to give it a shot." My bottom lip found its way in between my teeth for a minute. "Right now, Princess is our only source of proof. We at least have to coerce her to say something before it's too late."