Earlier that morning, the relief team from SMK Putra submitted the relief timetable for the day.

Syarah, the PK1, reviewed the arrangement before approving it and sharing the updated schedule in the school's WhatsApp group.

Cece, the head of the relief team, stared at the list.

"Same person again."

Elly glanced at the timetable and sighed.

"Yeah... can't believe she used to be one of us."

Ruhinie's absence had resulted in five classes requiring relief teachers. The slots would be covered by practical teachers and elective subject teachers.

Cece looked at the schedule again.

"Poor Nazurah and the practical teachers..."

The practical teachers, Azman and Kimi, could only accept the arrangement.

"Kim, you know what? Teacher Ruhinie messaged me in the middle of the night asking me to cover her class."

Azman showed his phone.

The photo displayed a message from Ruhinie, followed by a picture of her driving towards Kota Kinabalu.

Kimi stared at the screen.

"Why are we always the easy targets?"

Azman sighed.

"And don't forget Teacher Nazurah. She has to cover too, and she's already handling Physics classes."

On Friday, Krishna had informed Rozman, Izhan, and Azimah that he would be leaving for Terengganu for a conference.

After spending the weekend there, he returned to Kota Belud on Sunday.

On Monday morning, the DEO was back at PPDKB.

After settling into his office, Krishna opened his phone and messaged his favourite online mutual.

Kris: I have returned 😁

At Block B, while boiling the kettle, Izhan's phone vibrated.

She looked at the message and replied.

Pans: Welcome back, Mr DEO. But why do you seem like you never get a break?

Kris: Haha. Someone is always waiting for me.

Izhan chuckled as she typed her reply.

Pans: Who knows... maybe that person has been beside you all along.

A few seconds passed.

Kris: Rozman 😁

Izhan stared at the screen.

She slowly covered her face with her hand.

Of course...

Pans: Emm... nice catch.

Rozman had just arrived at Block A.

The familiar sound of his footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Krishna immediately recognised them.

Before Rozman could even enter the room, Krishna stepped out of his mini office.

"Rosie!"

He spread his arms wide, clearly ready for a dramatic reunion.

Rozman stopped in his tracks.

"Sir... this is too awkward."

Krishna laughed.

"I've been missing going to school."

Rozman raised an eyebrow.

"Sir, you were only gone for two days."

Krishna smiled.

"Two days is still a long time."

Rozman gave a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. We will be visiting SMK Putra."

Krishna paused.

"SMK Putra?"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Megat's school?"

Rozman noticed the change in his expression.

He placed a hand on Krishna's shoulder, as if he already knew that the mention of SMK Putra might bring back memories of the 2018 case.

But he didn't know the full story.

He didn't know Krishna had already been quietly investigating the matter since 2016.

The court case only came later, in 2018.

Rozman looked at him carefully.

"Just like the previous case that shook PPDKB..."

Surprisingly, Izhan was already waiting beside the Fortuner, with Bobo by her side.

She crossed her arms proudly.

"Ah, gentlemen. I won."

Krishna chuckled.

"Wait... we were racing to the vehicle now?"

Izhan smiled, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Let's go and meet Cikgu Megat."

The team arrived at SMK Putra.

Megat was already waiting at the school gate to greet them.

"Cikgu Megat! I'm back!"

Megat smiled widely.

"Aww, look who is here. You and the officers."

Krishna watched the exchange, slightly surprised by how close they seemed.

Rozman noticed his expression and chuckled.

He remembered how Izhan's unexpected connections had triggered Krishna's jealousy before.

He nudged Krishna lightly.

"He's her teacher, Sir. Nothing to worry about."

Krishna blinked.

"Who said I was worried?"

Rozman simply smiled.

The team entered Megat's office.

The room was surprisingly luxurious, with a chandelier hanging above the meeting area.

Syarah connected her laptop and displayed Ruhinie's leave records.

The frequent applications for both CRK and CTR immediately caught everyone's attention.

Megat looked uneasy.

Krishna studied the documents carefully.

"Hmm... community service."

He scrolled through the records.

"Several applications were linked to this reason."

Megat nodded.

"I remembered one of the programmes she attended."

He paused.

"It was organised by the GeOS coalition under a study funding programme for undergraduate students. Ruhinie was listed as one of the committee members."

The room went quiet.

Izhan looked at the records again.

Krishna leaned back.

"Being involved in a community programme is not automatically an issue."

He pointed at the leave applications.

"The question is whether the correct leave facility was used and whether the activity met the requirements."

Krishna remained silent as he reviewed the document.

He was familiar with government circulars. Regulations were not just paperwork to him—they were the foundation of every decision made in the office.

He tapped the screen.

"According to the guidelines, activities under khidmat masyarakat can be approved under CTR if they meet the requirements."

Everyone looked at him.

"The activity must be conducted with an approved organisation, and the officer must submit supporting documents from the organisation to the head of department."

He continued scrolling.

"The maximum allocation is five days in a calendar year."

Megat nodded slowly.

"So the activity itself is not the problem."

"Correct," Krishna replied.

"The question is whether the requirements were fulfilled, whether the organisation was approved, and whether the leave applied matches the purpose of the absence."

Rozman looked through the documents again.

"Can we see her Rekod Pengajaran Harian?"

Megat nodded and prepared the file.

Izhan looked at him and smiled.

"Good move, sir."

She glanced back at the attendance records.

But something still bothered her.

The leave applications explained where Ruhinie was supposed to be.

The records showed when she was absent.

Yet, there was still a missing piece.

Izhan looked up.

"Can I see the list of relief classes?"

Rozman turned to her.

"Why?"

Izhan pointed at the documents.

"Because I want to know what happened to the classes she left behind."

Megat immediately understood what Rozman and Izhan were getting at.

"The RPH can always be updated afterwards," he said. "But the relief timetable..."

He nodded.

"That's a fixed record."

Rozman smiled.

"Exactly. We're cross-checking."

Megat looked at them with approval.

"Smart move."

Syarah stepped forward with another file.

"There's something else."

She looked at Krishna before continuing.

"Teacher Ruhinie teaches Bahasa Melayu to the three weakest Form Five classes."

She pointed at the class list.

5 Sigma

5 Etha

5 Delta

Izhan pressed her lips together.

"And they're all low-proficiency classes."

Syarah nodded.

"Exactly."

Rozman glanced at Krishna.

Since arriving at SMK Putra, the DEO had spoken very little.

Megat broke the silence.

"Perhaps we should make a quick visit to the students."

He paused before adding quietly,

"I don't want to punish her."

"I just want her to be accountable."

As the investigation team moved to their respective classes, Izhan took a detour to the vending machine.

"Man... SMK Putra has everything," she muttered to herself.

At the same time, the practical teachers, Azman and Kimi, stopped by for a drink.

Kimi nudged Azman.

"Missing the UMS vending machine?"

Izhan overheard them and laughed.

"Typical university vending machine."

The three of them glanced at one another.

The Investigation Continued