Two classrooms down, a stocky boy grabbed Sandy by the forearm and asked loudly, "Would you like to join the Bird-Watchers Club?"
"No," Sandy replied.
"I won't let go until you do!"
"No." Sandy had been through worse kidnappings than that, kidnappings where her own personal safety was in peril. Those kidnappers had failed to get her to do what they had wanted. Certainly that tubby small-time would-be kidnapper would not be successful.
They stared at each other for a minute. Then the boy asked again, "Would you like to join the Bird-Watchers Club?"
"No," Sandy replied as firmly as before.
The exchange happened another minute later. And the minute after that. Each time, the boy's demand grew weaker and weaker. Sandy, however, refused to yield.
Finally the boy gave up and released Sandy. Instead, he looked for an easier prey. He went for a small black-haired girl.
Annie!
Sandy hurried away. She was not sure she wanted to meet the little girl. She was not sure how she should act, especially since she had known of Connie's plan. Did Connie carry out her plan? Or maybe nothing had happened. Maybe the girl she saw at the hospital had been someone else.
A girl's scream stopped Sandy before she went far. She turned around to see Annie beating the stocky boy on his arm and shoulder with her white handbag. After several heated words, Annie stormed in Sandy's direction.
Sandy left before the little girl caught up with her.
The next club that Sandy visited was the Entrepreneurs Club. It was not really the decoration that caught her eye. It was the name of the club, a name filled with the promise of money.
The more Sandy examined the exhibits and listened to explanations, the more interested she was in the club. She heard of how club members had turned ideas into businesses. One girl had started a small business making handphone covers and continued to do so after she had left high school. A junior had organized a food delivery service for his suburb. Another junior had made some money collecting discarded material for recycling.
The club's motto, "Turning Ideas into Profit" was very appealing to Sandy and she was soon looking for someone to ask about membership. She wished she had joined the club the previous semester. She could have made a lot of money since that time.
Sandy stepped up to a brown-haired boy standing next to a desk with papers on it. He looked familiar. Maybe she had seen him around school before. "Hey, are you the person to see to join the club?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm Julian. I'm in the club committee," the boy introduced himself.
"Oh, good." Sandy smiled. "I'd like to join."
The boy returned the smile and picked up a membership form from the desk. He stopped before handing the form over. "Wait, aren't you Sandra Gould?" he asked.
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Sandra, you've been expelled from the club for non-attendance," Julian told her.
Sandy was confused. "Non-attendance of what?"
"Club meetings," Julian explained, "You haven't attended any of our meetings."
"But when have I ever joined?"
"Last semester, during Societies Week..." When he saw that Sandy was still baffled, he added, "when we had notice boards out, trying to recruit people... do you remember?"
"Oh!" Sandy suddenly recognized the boy. He had been the one who had paid her to join his club. "So, can I join again?"
"Sorry, you've been blacklisted."
Sandy's eyes went wide. "What? Why?"
"Because you've shown irresponsibility by not attending club meetings. Sorry," Julian apologized again.
And there went her opportunity to make money. As she left the classroom, Sandy consoled herself with the fact that she was going to inherit a lot of money, probably thousands, no millions, of times more than what she could make in that club.
***
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