After Keith had Sandy's name, he had her describe what had happened.
"Well, uh, I was talking with my friends when the grenade just flew in," Sandy summarized.
"Wait, how did it get into the classroom?"
"Through the window," was the short reply.
Keith scribbled in his notepad. "Was the window open that time? It's cold today, you know."
"No." Sandy had not many words left after she had used most of them in the impromptu quizzes earlier.
"So, the grenade smashed through the window?"
"Yeah."
"I see, so the window's been fixed." Scribble, scribble.
"Yeah." Well, duh, it was obvious if he had bothered to look at the repaired window.
It might have been easier to wring water from a rock but Keith was determined to squeeze every last bit of information possible out of Sandy. If the word count for Keith's questions were to be compared to the word count of Sandy's answers, productivity consultants everywhere would scream the same conclusion: Highly Inefficient.
The interview did end eventually. It left Sandy feeling like she had just been through another quiz. When she looked up after it was over, she saw that the class was totally deserted. Her classmates had fled the scene to avoid wasting their precious lunch time answering questions.
Sandy checked her watch and saw that nearly half of her lunch break was over. She grabbed her lunch box and rushed to the cafeteria. Though the cafeteria was crowded with students, her friends had saved her a seat, which Sandy gratefully took.
Esper was already done with lunch, her tray had only a dirty plate and cutlery. She was drinking from a paper cup. Ariel opposite her was munching on a candy bar.
"Is your interview with that boy over?" Esper asked.
Sandy nodded and started on her food. Thankfully, Momma Lois had packed sandwiches for her that day, something Sandy could eat fast.
"When we saw Keith, we ran." Ariel swallowed. "I remember our interview. Gosh, he can ask so many questions about the most insignificant of things, and take so much time."
(Yes, her friends had readily abandoned Sandy to Keith the reporter-in-training. Not that Sandy was sharp enough to realize that, especially with her stomach placing demands on her.)
"It was lucky the grenade did not explode," Ariel mentioned.
"Mm-hmm," Esper hummed her agreement, "I wonder what crazy nut would throw such a thing into our class."
"Terrorists?" Ariel suggested.
Esper looked at the bespectacled blond. "Here? What could they possibly achieve by attacking a high school?"
"Maybe it's an assassination," Ariel speculated.
"Terrible assassin, if you ask me," Esper said, "Especially with a grenade that didn't blow."
Sandy was too busy eating to make any comments. However, she was really glad that she had made it safely through the incident. She did not wish to die, at least not until her fortune was fulfilled.
***
After school that day, as Sandy was on her way out of the school building, she spotted Connie. The redhead looked at her once and nodded in the direction of the nearby stairs.
Sandy glanced about to make sure that neither Annie nor Selina was there. Then she followed the redhead to the stairs.
Connie waited on the intermediate landing between the floors. "Hey, Sandy," she greeted, "Interested in another job?"
Oh, yes! Sandy was going to get her first job since the winter break!
***
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