017

It had been another two days. The two weeks of extra work would be over soon, and then worse would come.

Hongbin called his brother over when school let out. "I need to talk to you," he told the younger. They walked round to the back of the school. It was quiet and far from other students, but close to where all the bin bags were put in a stinky pile.

Hongjun felt the terrible darkness pressing around him. He hated that school didn't finish until after sunset. He really hated the dark.

Hongjun shivered. "Come on, bro, hurry up and tell me," he complained, wrapping his arms close to his body as if he was hugging himself.

"I've kept this from you for a while now...but...I wasn't allowed to join the Further Career Plan group. Along with a few others in my class," Hongbin told his younger brother. Hongjun sighed.

"Why would they do that?" he asked his hyung. "One Career Plan lesson is hardly going to help anyone!"

"You know we're tight – very tight – on money...and it cost quite a bit to join the group. If dad chipped in a little, with some of my own money I could've paid for it..." Hongbin continued to explain. "They didn't let me in even after I got the money. Said it was now only for the 'elite class' of people."

Hongjun stared at his brother with an expression that looked as if he knew what was coming. "Every teacher turned me down. So I went to the Principal's Secretary, then the Principal himself. They told me the same thing, then said the class was only for 'those who had the potential to actually make a difference in society.'" Hongbin spat, fuming.

---

Sana had been on duty that day and was packing up her school things when she realized she couldn't find her notes.

It wasn't long before she realized she must have thrown them in the bin by accident when she was clearing up the classroom. The bins had all been emptied now. With a loud groan, she trudged down to where the bin bags were thrown.

She saw her notebook lying on the ground; it had spilled out of the bin bag when it split after being dumped on the ground. She picked it up and turned to leave when she heard voices.

"How long ago was this?" Hongjun asked his brother, even though he thought he already knew.

Hongbin sighed, "About two weeks ago..."

Hongjun scrutinized his hyung with menace.

"You vandalized the office," Hongjun said. "Didn't you?" It wasn't a question. "Then you put – what – one of the vandalism objects in my locker where it was discovered by my homeroom teacher!" Hongjun was fuming. "Didn't you?!"

Hongbin was now terrified and put a finger to his lips, trying to calm his brother. "I-I-I was angry and upset...a-and tired of being treated like crap because we didn't have enough money!" Hongbin exclaimed shakily. "I-I just thought t-that since you were a great kid, you wouldn't get into trouble even if they thought it was you..."

"I was confronted by my homeroom teacher who THREATENED to send me to the Principal after he found the knife!" Hongjun was beside himself. "He told me he would cut my grades! He said he would take away all my wins! HE SAID—"

"So it was you." A voice said from behind them.

The brothers snapped their necks in Sana's direction so fast, she thought they'd break. "Don't worry!" she exclaimed quickly at the looks on their faces. "I swear I won't tell anyone."

"Oh yeah?" Hongbin said menacingly, advancing on her. "You're that ATN writer, aren't you? Always looking for some scoop, huh? How can we trust you?!"

Sana stood her ground, but held her hands up, trying to prove she had no ulterior motives. "I heard what you said. I heard what your brother said," she told them, and Hongbin stopped. His younger brother came to stand beside him.

"You're not the only one who has been abused by the school." Sana continued. "At least seven sophomores in my class have been victims. They were denied privileges simply because they couldn't pay."

They were properly listening to her now.

"It happened to my best friend." She sighed painfully, her head hanging. "Look, I can help you, both of you, but only if you tell me the whole story."

The brothers exchanged looks, then turned back to Sana. "When can we talk?" Hongbin asked her.

Sana grinned.

.

.

Arranging the News (ATN): HOT new!

S. S. High's Money Privilege Deprives Many Students of Essential Education They Deserve

1:43 PM

S. S. High with its "high" status and reputation, is a very resourceful school.

But hardly all the time.

Countless times, students of SSH who are money tight are denied privileges that "elite" students can enjoy at free will.

The Principal of the school who meets monthly with the wealthier parents of students at the school is the main cause of this problem. At least eight seniors in each class were denied to participate in the Further Career Plan groups meetings twice a week for two months because they were deemed "ineligible" to participate even though they had the money needed to take part in the group.

At least three senior students testified that when they went to pay, they were tagged as "people who couldn't make any societal change" due to their financial positions and were told that only "elite" students picked by the Principal himself could be allowed in.

On another occasion, when SSH's famous annual Fundraising Funfair came around, student duties were assigned unfairly and obviously according to financial class. Students with lower financial classes had many more jobs to do that were more laboring such as assembling of equipment, setting up of stalls, and the stacking of chairs and boxes of food. However, students within the higher financial class were assigned things like collecting of money, printing of tickets, and trampoline operators.

Even the students themselves recognized the unbalanced workload and offered to help each other out.

There are many, many more scenarios that play out as those stated above which include; different qualities of food given to students depending on their financial class; students in lower financial classes being left out or taken out of certain study groups, among others.

Unless there is a change of mind, heart, or of the person in charge, such disgraceful things will continue to occur at S. S. High.

The article came out Thursday.

Principal Lee and his secretary were fired by Friday morning. Their replacements (thoroughly checked, interviewed and under many watchful eyes) would arrive on Monday.

Sana had done it.

Again.

A/N

FINALLY the mystery is over. I know it's crap...at least the ending bit is...as I mentioned, I'm not the best at mysteries.

There's a long chapter coming up on Monday, so be prepared!

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Don't Lie just passed 200 reads!!

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