Having discovered the potential to win money, Sandy was much more motivated to attend Selina's basketball practice. Sure her tall friend would help them win, but it was better to be certain, to add on as many advantages to her team as she could.
Except that Tuesday's practice session was not very productive. Esper and the other girls on her team tired out quickly, spending much of their time gasping for air at the side of the court. That left Sandy and Selina running up and down the court, bouncing a ball around the community hall.
(Yes, Sandy was working harder than everyone else (besides Selina) for once.)
However, all her work would be for naught if she did not place a bet on her team. She still had to find out how. All she could do was wander around school during free time to listen for a relevant conversation. She dared not to ask her friends since she doubted that they knew anything. And if they heard about her plan, the result would be either righteous lecturing or merciless teasing.
In the same way, she had to be cautious whom to approach to ask for information. It was possible that if she questioned too many people, whoever was involved in the betting would slip into hiding.
(It was amazing that the power of money could even make Sandy prudent. Selectively prudent, that is.)
As such, Sandy could do no more than walk around and eavesdrop on conversations. She would have to be very lucky to overhear the right words.
And Sandy was very lucky on Wednesday.
While aimlessly hurrying around school at lunch break, she heard a few interesting words: "I've place my bet."
Sandy spun around to the speaker. He was an olive-skinned boy wearing a blue jacket.
"I'm pretty sure 10-A will win," the boy was saying to his friend, a brown-haired boy in a gray sweater.
Sandy jumped on the first boy. "Where can I make a bet!?" She started shaking answers out of him.
(It should be noted that her greed-fueled prudence had just flown out the window.)
"Whoa, uh, who are you?" the boy asked.
"Someone who wants to bet on the Games," Sandy announced, "Tell me how!"
The boy glanced down the corridor. "Shh, not so loud," he told her, "And stop shaking me." When Sandy released him, he looked around again to make sure no one else overheard. "So, what do you want?"
"How do I make a bet?"
"What do you mean?" the boy asked.
"I heard that there's betting on the Interclass Games next week." It was stretching the truth a little, since all that Sandy had heard were snippets of conversations. "So I was wondering if I can place a bet too."
The boy glanced at his brown-haired friend, who shrugged. Then the boy turned back to Sandy. "I can arrange for you to meet the bookie but..."
"But?" Sandy prompted.
"He usually meets people in the boys' room."
"So?"
The boy watched her expression closely. "Are you going to go into the boys' room?"
"Oh." Sandy suddenly realized the problem. "Well, why not have it in the girls' room then?"
Both boys groaned.
"Tell you what," the olive-skinned boy said, "I'll arrange something. I'll look for you tomorrow morning. What class are you in?"
***
It was after school on Thursday.
Sandy had been told that the bookmaker would meet with her. The meeting was to be in the auditorium, half-an-hour after school had ended. She had basketball practice that day but she told Selina that she would be late.
When Sandy made it into the auditorium, she found that it was not empty. The members of the Drama Club were on and in front of the stage, working on a play. It looked like preliminary work - no one was dressed in costume and there was a lot of discussion.
There were two or three other students on the cushioned seats a distance from the stage. They appeared to be watching the practice.
Sandy made her way to the left column of seats. Since the auditorium was dim, she had a little trouble looking for the correct seat where she had been told to wait. When she finally found the place a few rows from the back end of the auditorium, she sat on it.
With nothing to do, Sandy watched the thespians on the stage. The play they were working on appeared to be a Christmas love story. That, she could guess from what little she could hear of the dialog and the jolly 'ho ho ho' from one of the larger actors.
"Are you Sandy from 9-B?" a voice behind her asked.
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