"Are you even aware of what you just said to me?", Sandra told them off.
"In as much as this is difficult to believe, I'm telling you the truth. It's what I saw myself", Dominic stressed out.
"Why would Obinna's ghost dressed as a Father Christmas be the reason behind the strange deaths of students?", she urged for an explanation.
"Not just students - students that were attending Joe's High School", replied Dominic.
"Huh?", Sandra was taken aback, "Are you sure of what you're saying?", she asked in disbelief.
"I'm a police officer Ma. I'm sure of every word coming out of my mouth regarding these strange deaths of students", he replied.
"But that's Joseph's school", she stared at him with surprise.
"Exactly!", Rita gestured, "We'd like to know how close really both of them were before Mr Obinna passed away. Were they in dispute before his death?", Rita inquired of her.
"No!", she exclaimed with a grimace, "They were the best of friends before Obinna's passing", she answered.
"They were best of friends? There was no imperfection whatsoever you were aware of?", Dominic interrogated.
Sandra thought of telling them the whole truth. Rita and Dominic observed she had something to say and they both said attention.
"Well...Joseph envied Obinna because I chose to marry Obinna instead of him", Sandra revealed.
"And Obinna never knew about this envy?", asked Rita.
"No! I didn't want to destroy the friendship of two best friends", she replied with a shake of the head.
"Don't get annoyed...why did you refuse to get married to Mr Joseph?", Rita asked another. Dominic kept silent but his ears wide open.
Sandra hesitated to utter a word. Dominic repeated Rita's question once more.
"Well...", she paused, "He has something doing with the black arts", she said.
"They said Obinna was found dead in his room with no sign of attack or anything that probably took his life right?", Dominic questioned rhetorically.
"Yes! His death was a shocker to everyone", Sandra responded.
"Don't you think Mr Joseph could be behind his death using black magic? After all, he envied Mr Obinna for winning you over" Rita inferred to her.
Sandra thought about Rita's statement and was shocked, realizing Rita's statement actually made a lot of sense. "It can't be! Forget the envy, it's not big enough to be a reason for one to kill a best friend right?", she spoke, not wanting to believe her intuitions.
"Then why's Father Christmas back as a ghost town haunt the students attending Joe's High School", Dominic argued.
"Why didn't Obinna go for Joseph but now haunting the students attending his school?", Sandra tried defending Joseph.
"We could also wonder why Father Christmas is haunting only the students of Joe's High School and nowhere else", Rita replied.
"The Father Christmas story may not be true", Sandra gawped at them.
"I saw Father Christmas myself, killing a boy who was also a student of Joe's High School", Dominic averred. There was silence for a short while, with the atmosphere becoming tensed up - Sandra had nothing to say.
Dominic heaved a sigh, trying to calm down. "With the information we gave you and the one you gave us, it's pretty obvious there's a connection. And I feel if we get to the bottom of this, something useful will come out of it", he said to Sandra in a calm and steady way.
"So you want me to help you guys solve mystery?", she gestured.
"Exactly! Rita brightened up." We'd be glad if you could assist us with this. We know you'll be useful in this adventure", she said. Sandra thought about this intently, while Rita and Dominic waited for her decision to be made.
* * *
The next day! Tricia was having a class when the principal's messenger knocked on the door and interrupted the teacher.
"I was sent by Mr Joseph to deliver a message", he told the teacher who then granted him the permission to go in. He walked in in a poised manner and stood in front of the class. He brought out a long paper that was neatly folded in his trouser pocket, looking at it intently.
"Tricia, Grace and Ben. You three have been selected from this class to partake in the upcoming tour", he began, "Once it's break, head to the Assembly Hall so Mr Joseph would address you."
Grace and Ben were happy, Tricia was having mixed feelings rather. She and Ben looked at each other, Ben simpering at her while she kept a flat face.
"Thank you very much Sir", the messenger bowed and left the class. The teacher resumed with his class in no time.
"I was picked for this tour", Tricia said to herself, who was no more focused in class, only thinking about the tour.
* * *
All the students selected for the tour gathered at the Assembly Hall. The atmosphere was a bit noisy, every student involved in a conversation. Samuel and Jonathan were also among the selected students, both super excited about the tour, chattering about what they intended to do while on the tour.
Tricia, Ben and Grace sat together. They except for Tricia were happy to be embarking on the tour but three of them were the most poised persons in the hall. They did not make the happiness seem very obvious.
"So this is the third time I'm partaking in something you're also partaking in", Ben simpered at Tricia, bumping against his shoulders with his playfully.
"Leave me alone Ben", she pushed him away gently, "I didn't want to embark on this tour", she felt anxious.
"Why don't you want to be involved in this?", Grace got startled.
"I feel something bad will happen", Tricia replied.
"Tricia?", Ben was amazed, "When did you become pessimistic?", he questioned her.
"Don't you know what has been happening to us?", she asked him sharply.
"Don't you feel leaving this city will protect us from the curse?", he asked her, staring at her weirdly. Grace was in support of what he said.
"This is the main reason I'm happy to have been selected", she remarked.
"I don't know about you two but I'd feel guilty having fun when people around me are being killed like chicks", Tricia shook her head in firm disagreement.
Almost immediately, Mr Joseph walked into the hall and there was decorum everywhere. He stood in front of them in order to address them all.
"Good morning everyone! I invited you all here to congratulate you as the CHOSEN students for the upcoming tour", he grinned at them.
"The tour will take place the day after tomorrow. I know the time is short and the school management apologizes for such inconvenience", he added.
Samuel raised his hand to indicate he wanted asking a question. Mr Joseph granted him permission to speak and he got up.
"Where are we travelling to for the tour?", he asked.
"That's a good question...but this time, the management decided to make it a surprise", Mr Joseph answered casually. His response raised up suspicion amongst some students and murmurs could be heard.
"Don't get worried", he gestured for them to calm down", "It's just a surprise because you're going to love the place a lot, so we don't want to spoil the fun", he explained.
"Do you get anything reasonable from what that man just said?", Tricia asked her friends feeling confused.
"He wants to surprise you!", Ben exclaimed enthusiastically.
"When people are going on a tour, they should have an idea of where they'd be touring at", she muttered.
"You'll get worried but later realize you were just paranoid about everything", Grace said to her. Tricia decided not to say anything to her in return - they stopped talking and listened to Joseph's instructions.
"The principal should know about this place", she thought, "I'll ask him myself", she said inwardly.
"Everyone should bring a lot of clothes because we're going to spend many days there", Mr Joseph said to the audience. The students nodded their heads excitedly, while he smiled at them slyly.
* * *
"Sir! Sir!", Tricia called on her principal as he was about getting into his car to drive off. She ran to him and he stopped to pay attention to her.
"There's something I want to find out from you Sir", she gasped out as she panted heavily.
"Seems it's something really important", he said, observing her panting, "What do you want to find out from me?", he asked curiously.
"Where's the place the tour is going to be held?", she asked politely. She was done panting, completely back to normal.
"Oh!", he reacted, "It's not far away from the city. It's the national park just at the outskirts of this city", he replied.
"Is that the surprise place near has for all of us?", she felt slightly disappointed.
"Mr Joseph understands what's going on in this school, so he has decided to make this tour a simple one", he replied flatly, "But don't worry! It will be fun", he then grinned at her.
Tricia thought about it shortly before thanking the principal. "Thank you Sir for the information", she said reverentially.
"It's my pleasure", he said and got into his car. He closed the door and started the engine.
"Have a nice day Sir!", she wished him. He waved at her in return and drove off quickly.
"Seriously? The small national park?", she thought in disbelief.