Tricia ordered an Uber ride that drove her to school along with her baggages that contained things she would use while on tour. The school looked half empty of students, as it was the closing day.
     "Park by the side of the coach please", she politely told the driver. The driver parked by the coach and went out of the car to help Tricia bring out her two big boxes from the back seat one after the other.
     Tricia waited for him to be done before they both went to the door where Mr Joseph stood, smiling widely at her. The driver dragged Tricia's boxes along.
     "Good morning Sir", she greeted Mr Joseph happily.
     "Someone's looking beautiful on tour day", he replied with a magnetic smile.
     "You're seeing how beautiful I am without a uniform", she said.
     "Where are your stuffs?", he asked.
     "You mean my boxes?", she pointed at them.
     "Yes!", he responded, "Bring them over", he gestured for the driver.
     The driver handed over the boxes to Mr Joseph who managed to lift them up into the vehicle one after the other. Tricia thanked the driver as he turned to go and he turned smiled at her before heading to his car.
     "It's left with one more person now. Are you coming in?", Mr Joseph called out to Tricia, trying not to show how desperate he was by feigning a smile.
     "Okay Sir", she said and went into the coach.
     Mr Joseph went in and begged the students to be a little bit patient. "Let's wait for 20 more minutes. If the last person doesn't come within this time range, I promise we will go without the person", he said.
     Tricia went to the very last seat where her friends, Ben and Grace were seated. Jonathan and Samuel sat together somewhere close to the front, with Samuel sitting by the window.
     "Can I sit by the window?", Jonathan asked, feeling so excited about the tour. Samuel gawped at him, saying nothing to him.
     "Even if the student doesn't make it, this number will be okay for Father Christmas", Joseph said to himself with a mischievous smile.
* * *
     A girl sat on a chair in the parlour, looking forlorn. Her Mum walked in and saw her situation. She sighed feeling fed up to see her daughter still in that condition.
     She sat beside her daughter, with the hand across her shoulders. "Reply to me honestly.  Have I ever stopped any tour or excursion, especially the one hosted by a school?", she asked her daughter, hugging her closely to herself.
     After a prolonged silence, the girl shook her head and said;"No!"
     "But right now the situation is different. There's a serial killer out there, taking the life of a student that attends that your school every single day. The killer could trace you all to the park where it would be easier to kill rather than sneaking into people's houses", Mum explained to her.
     "I know that Mum. I get the reason behind the decision but I feel really sad that I'm not embarking on this tour", she said in a low sad voice.
     "I understand how it feels like", Mum made her rest head on the shoulder, "I know what will make you feel better. I have no work to do today so...how about we have our very own outing?", Mum suggested with a smile.
     The girl's behaviour was completely fortified - no more the dull sad person she was. "Are you serious Mum?", she felt delighted. Mum nodded her head to mean yes and she got off the chair, giving out a loud scream in excitement.
     "Let me go dress up right away!!", she zoomed out of the parlour.
     Her Mum chuckled over it and shook her head. "Children!", she said with a giggle.
* * *
     Tricia's Mum opened the door and was immediately happy to see Dominic back home. Dominic walked in with his holdall, looking stressed out.
     "Welcome back son. You began the journey at night?",she inquired of him.
     "No Mum!", he gasped out, dropping his holdall carelessly and crashing into the long chair. "I just went to a friend's house, about 30 minutes away, just behind the home of the ex wife-to-be of Father Christmas...the late one", he said to his Mum, taking off his shoes.
     "What did you go there to do?", Mum felt curious to know.
     "It's something related to this complicated case of mine", he replied.
     "Is she the one behind the bedlam in Tricia's school?", she asked another.
     "She's not the one. The case is complicated...I don't know how to explain it to you Mum", he replied, already tired of the conversation.
     "It's okay. Would you like to eat right now?", Mum asked.
     "Oh yes! No strength to freshen up first", he replied with a gasp. Mum headed for the kitchen. "Tricia's gone to school right?", he asked, looking round for her.
     Mum stopped by the door. "Not really. She went on a tour with some fellow students", she informed him.
     "Oh! Stuff she planned with some friends?", Dominic felt happy inside.
     "No! Under the guidance of Mr Joseph", she responded.
      "What?!", he exclaimed in shock, "Are you talking about the school's director?"
      "Yeah! Anything wrong?", she stared at her son in curiousness because of his reaction.
     "Oh no! That man has ulterior motives. You should have told me about this Mum, everyone kept this hidden from me", he said in a hurry, quickly putting on his shoes.
     "I didn't see it necessary when you weren't at home", Mum became worried.
     "When did Tricia leave the house?", Dominic asked, getting up on his feet.
     "20 to 25 minutes ago", she said, confused by everything.
     "They probably would still be there right now", he said, "I need to go now Mum", he ran out of the house.
     "Can you please tell me what's really going on?", she yelled in a forlorn attempt to stop Dominic. Her heart raced with fear and her mind, with thoughts, after what her son had just said about Mr Joseph. She made the sign of the cross, joining her palms and looking upwards, trying to calm down.
* * *
     Tricia glimpsed at the video Ben was watching on YouTube and was amazed to see two persons performing a foxtrot.
     "When did you start watching foxtrot videos?", she asked with an enthusiastic look.
     "I'm just bored right now so I'm watching any videos I see", he replied, looking up to know if they had begun their journey.
     "It's been a minute since the scheduled time had gone but we haven't even moved", Grace complained.
     "We'll soon get going. Mr Joseph is having a word with the principal", Tricia pointed outside for them to see.
     "They better hurry up", Grace said with a dramatic frown.
     Joseph was giving his last instructions to the principal. "I want you to continue managing this prestigious school of mine perfectly", he said to the principal who gazed at him with surprise, "like you always do", Joseph smiled at him, gesturing for him not to feel bad.
     "So you knew exactly why I gawped at you?", the principal expressed his unhappiness.
     Joseph giggled and placed his hand on the principal's shoulder. "I don't need to talk about your efficiency before you feel you're doing well", he said with an uncontrollable giggle.
     "Leave me alone" the principal shrugged Joseph's hand off his shoulders, "Better get going with your children since I can't take care of them", he said sharply with a dramatic frown.
     Joseph chuckled on his way back to the coach, "You're a very funny man honestly", he squeaked, "Have a nice day Sir!", he bade the principal. The principal folded his hand dramatically, saying nothing in response to Joseph.
     Joseph went into the coach and the driver closed the door. He stood to inform the students;"We're leaving right here. Can't wait for that particular student any longer."
     "Finally! We'd go for the tour", Grace soughed, not talking to Joseph's hearing.
     "Why would someone miss out on a tour? Really?", Ben wondered, "Things surely must have gone haywire for that person", he concluded.
     "Or maybe the tour was never important to her", Tricia said playfully, shrugging her shoulders.
     "That's not possible...never! Something must have gone wrong", Ben responded immediately with certainty. Tricia found his behaviour ludicrous.
     Joseph was seated before the driver started the engine. "Our journey begins now guys", the driver exclaimed, much to the delight of everyone.
     Jonathan tapped on Samuel's shoulder, who turned to him in reaction. "Hope you're not going to behave childishly while on this tour?", Jonathan asked with a smirk.
     "Come on dude! Stop teasing me! You know I've changed ever since that experience I went through", Samuel reacted, not feeling happy.
     "You'll never be able to measure the amount of gladness I feel for having experienced that thing", Jonathan giggled.
     Their journey began. The coach driver reversed out of his parking spot, then drove out of the parking lot and out of the school.
     The principal waved at them. "I wish you guys the very best from this tour", he said inwardly.
* * *
     The news of the mysterious deaths of Joe's High School students had got to the media. It grabbed the headlines that very morning. In the police station, the Lieutenant Chief Constable was intently listening to the news on TV in his office. Rita was with him in his office. Rita was with him in his office, listening to the news also.
     "The deaths have become glaring. It's all over the media now, that's why the Chief Constable's not here. He left to go address some issues", Lieutenant spoke to Rita with felt expression.
     "It's unbelievable to hear such a news right?", Rita stared at him.
     "It's astounding! Really thought-provoking to understand a little of it", he shook his head in disbelief and sighed. "You and Dominic haven't got anything tangible from this case right?", he asked rhetorically.
     "Realized Dominic had not informed you so I was about to. The serial killer of these students is not a human, we're dealing with something supernatural. The spirit of Father Christmas is the serial killer", Rita disclosed as she observed the disbelief on the Lieutenant's face.
     "This is a critical case. Let's try not to joke about it as with previous cases", Lieutenant cautioned her with a straight face.
     "Why would I joke about this case Sir?! Let me explain to you why we concluded it that way", she gestured. "The murder of a boy and a girl in the forest...you remember?", she asked him, who nodded his head in response.
     "That's good! Dominic reported to me that he saw Father Christmas killing the boy, before he disappeared into the darkness", she said. Lieutenant was about to argue but she hushed him;"I doubted him at first."
     "With his little knowledge of black arts, Dominic took me to Father Christmas's grave, alongside the ex wife-to-be of Father Christmas. We saw the grave was dug up inside of it, the casket was opened with nothing inside", she uttered. Anxiety ran down the Lieutenant's spine on hearing this.
     "So in conclusion, Father Christmas hasn't rested and probably, be the serial killer of these students", Rita added.
     "The biggest reason behind my doubt was the fact Father Christmas and Mr Joseph, the founder of that school were best of friends before his passing. Weren't they?", Lieutenant felt confused.
     "That was probably true. But when Dominic and I had a conversation with Sandra, the ex wife-to-be, she revealed to us Mr Joseph envied Father Christmas because she chose Father Christmas over him", she replied.
     "Envy? But the media never stated anything about that. Father Christmas never knew about this envy?", he questioned.
     "Yes!", Rita nodded her head, "Sandra never told him because she never wanted best friends to end up in a hassle because of her. And as for Joseph, he kept on pretending everything was okay", she explained.
     "But why did she choose Father Christmas over Mr Joseph?", Lieutenant felt inquisitive.
     "Because he had something to do with the black arts", she replied.
     "Black arts?!", he exclaimed, "He definitely has something to do with the death of Father Christmas", he said.
     Rita's phone rang and she picked up the call. "Hey Dominic!", she greeted, "On your way to work?"
     "Where's he right now?", asked the Lieutenant.
     "What?!", Rita exclaimed in shock which frightened the Lieutenant a little bit, "I'll be there very soon", she said in a hurry and hanged up.
     "What's going on please?", Lieutenant requested.
     "Mr Joseph went on a tour with some of his students", she answered.
     "What?!", he got up quickly in shock, "He definitely has ulterior motives. In a time of chaos, you're going on a tour?"
     "Are you coming with me Sir?", Rita asked politely.
     "To see Dominic right? Let's get going right away", he gestured. Rita hurriedly got up and they both left the office.