Sandy watched as Ariel munched on a piece of apple pie.
Their captor had been most generous with food. In addition to their orders of burgers, fries and soft drink from a fast food outlet, he had also brought them some pie and half-a-dozen cartons of juice.
"If you don't stop eating, you're going to fill up the Air Blimp," Sandy teased her friend. She shrank away from the murderous look Ariel gave her.
"There's nothing else to do here!" Ariel complained without bothering to swallow her food.
Patience and polite gracefulness had long gone out the window for the blond. Those virtues had staged a daring escape and had left the girls behind.
However, what Ariel had said was true. There was not anything to do. Their lockup had nothing that they could amuse themselves with.
There was an old mattress on which the girls sat on. There was also an empty metal bucket at the corner, covered with a plank. There was a narrow window near the ceiling of the cell but it was closed tight and something on the outside blocked the light. Their only source of light was the kerosene lamp on the table outside the cell.
"And I've still homework to do!" Ariel added.
(That was the least of their worries.)
Sandy glanced up at the window above the lockup. "Maybe we can shout for help."
Ariel too looked at the window. "I don't think anyone can hear us, especially with the rain." It had been raining nonstop throughout the day.
There was the sound of footsteps and Nick entered the basement.
"How long are you going to keep us here?" Ariel demanded when she saw him.
"Until your friend signs the declaration," the man replied.
"What are you going to do if she never does?" Ariel asked again.
Nick shrugged. "I'd have to kill her. That'd also do the job."
The girls stared at him.
"I'd rather not have to kill anyone." Nick turned to leave. "I'll let you girls think about that."
"Wait," Sandy called.
Nick turned back.
"I have to use the toilet!" Sandy said.
Nick pointed at the corner of the cell. "That's what the bucket's for." He then left the girls staring at the bucket.
***
Sandy searched Ariel's handbag. "There has to be something in here we can use."
"There's nothing," Ariel told her, "He's already taken my handphone."
Sandy took out Ariel's student ID. "Your photo looks horrible."
Ariel snatched her ID and handbag from Sandy. She flicked the ID back into her handbag and snapped it close.
It was still raining lightly - the girls guessed that from the light taps outside the window. According to Sandy's watch, the day was getting late too.
"At least he's feeding us well," Sandy mentioned. She sat on the mattress, hugging her knees. Her jacket was stretched to cover as much of her bare legs as possible.
Ariel hummed her agreement. She sat staring at the kerosene lamp on the table beyond the steel bars. "I want to go home. I want to use a real toilet and have a real bath." The girls had each peed in the bucket once already.
"I'm sure someone's looking for us," Sandy said.
Ariel turned to face Sandy. "Like who?"
"Like whoever put all those bugs in my clothes."
"How did you get those anyway?" Ariel asked.
"Selina gave me the shoes and Esper gave me that puppy," Sandy told her.
"They're watching over you!?"
Sandy shrugged.
"Esper we've known since middle school, but Selina?"
"I know," Sandy agreed, "Selina's strange. You saw how good she was at everything. Maybe she's a ninja."
Ariel blew an amused snort. "Aren't ninjas supposed to be Japanese? Selina sure isn't one." After a pause, she added, "Still doesn't explain the tracer in the thing Esper gave you."
"Maybe Esper's a secret agent of some kind," Sandy suggested.
Ariel snorted again. "Who goes to school!? Our school?"
"Maybe she's like Cody Banks, the teenage secret agent."
Ariel laughed. "Selina, maybe. But not Esper."
***
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