Friday, September 2, 2011

Handful of Sand Chapter 39 Page 2

If only Sandy's current situation had occurred the previous week and had saved her from her final exams! Well, at least she did not have to do chores anymore. Once she received her money, she would not have to do any chores ever again! She could hire maids and servants to do them all for her.

But where were the cops taking her? Hopefully, it would be a big mansion with high walls to keep the 'bad people' out.

After having to wait at the police precinct for a few hours, Sandy was finally on her way. She was being driven in an unmarked car by two plainclothes officer to the place where she would be staying for the next few days.

It was still raining.

The unmarked car entered a suburb in a quiet part of the city that Sandy was unfamiliar with. Sandy's heart sank as she passed streets and streets of small houses - many of them smaller than her own home. More than a few were in poor shape and in desperate need of repairs. A lot of the properties had overgrown bushes. Many of the lawns needed to be cleared of weeds and broken branches from trees.

The house that their car stopped at was one of the smallest. At least the lawn was well kept.

One of the plainclothes officers held an umbrella for Sandy and helped her with one of her bags. The other officer went for a look around the house.

Once she was in the house, Sandy surveyed her temporary home.

The only decoration she could see was a vase sitting on an end table in the corner. There was not even carpeting on the plank floor. In front of a small television, there were a pair of chairs and a couch.

At the back, behind the dining table, was a small kitchen. It had a sticky black stove and an old fridge. There was also a toaster and a microwave, both covered in dust.

There was only one bedroom, which the officer said was Sandy's. It had a large bed, a nightstand, a desk with a lamp on it, and a cupboard with a full length mirror on its door. There was only one bathroom in the house. The tiles in the bathroom had some grime on it.

And there were no phones in the house.

Sandy dropped her bags in the bedroom and sat on the bed. It looked like she was going to be very bored. Unless she did some cleaning. And she did not feel like performing chores.

She took out the fortune card from the back pocket of her slacks and examined it. She had only to survive until Friday the following week. Then she could go get her wealth and her fortune would come true.

***

Sandy stepped out of the bedroom. She greeted the two plainclothes officers who were seated on the couch, watching the television. They greeted her back.

Then Sandy went into the kitchen. She greeted the masked figure in black who stood at the corner. The masked figure also greeted her back.

Sandy went to the fridge in search of something to drink. A plastic bottle of milk caught her eye. As she took the bottle out, she turned to see that the masked figure was standing right next to her. The black figure stabbed her in the chest with a knife, thrusting deep into her heart. Sandy dropped the opened bottle in surprise.

How inconvenient. There was suddenly a mess on the floor to be cleaned.

Sandy turned to the masked figure. She noticed that it was a small figure, shorter than she was. The figure pulled off her mask to reveal the familiar face of Annie Billings.

Then Sandy opened her eyes.

She was lying on her side in bed. It was morning. There was little light coming though the windows. From the little that she could see of the sky, Sandy saw that it was cloudy.

Sandy remembered that she had dreamed of something disturbing. Failing to recall any detail of it, she dismissed it from her mind.

It was morning and she did not have to go to school. She could laze in bed longer, in the large queen-size bed. So spacious, so soft, so comfortable.

Sandy closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

***

It was Tuesday the following day.

It was the day her final exam results would be out.

Sandy wished she could be with her friends, to learn of their results. She wondered how Ariel and Esper did. She did not need to know Selina's results. It was certain to be a depressingly unattainable string of As.

She was bored.

She wanted to hang out with friends, or at least talk with them on the phone. Or even browse the Internet for pretty things that she would one day buy. All that were denied to her. There was to be no contact with the outside world, for her safety.

Ditz was not there to talk to. Sandy had books but she disliked reading. There was the television outside that she watched sometimes with the plainclothes officers. At least they gave her a small radio. She could lie in bed and listen to music.

Time was passing ever so slowly. How much longer must she endure the boredom before she received her inheritance!? Sandy could not bear it.

(Actually, it was only her second day confined to the house.)

There were some sounds of people moving about in the living room outside. The wooden floorboards were quite creaky when stepped on. Sandy was sure she heard the front door open. She went to peek at the bedroom door.

Sandy saw her guardians putting on their hats and jackets, about to go out into the afternoon rain. There was another pair of officers whom she did not recognize. One of them was shaking the raindrops from her coat.

The other of the new officers noticed the short-haired girl and walked over. "You must be Sandy," he said, "I'm officer Brown. And that's officer Murphy." He pointed at his partner behind him.

Sandy stepped out. "Um, hi."

"We stopped by your school to get your results," he added as he took out a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over.

"Um, thanks." Sandy took a glance at her results. Cs and Ds, but she passed. It appeared that she would be a sophomore in the next school year.

"You really ought to study more," the officer advised.

Sandy pouted as she retreated into the silent confines of her bedroom. No need for her to be reminded of that!

***

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