Concerning the totally outrageous story that Sandy had told Keith when she had
been interviewed the previous week, that story totally made it into
the school paper. Full front page. Continued on the middle pages.
With pretty pictures. Lots of it. Black and white, though.
(Such was
the creativity and integrity of journalism in Fernham High.)
The
story, however, brought attention and scrutiny upon Sandy. During the
morning break, her classmates stared at her, Ariel included. During
the lunch break, her acquaintances in class 9-A asked her about it.
Of course they realized that the story was ridiculous but they were
curious about how much of it was true. Or the real truth behind it
all. Sandy kept her answers to a minimum and, with a great exercise
of willpower, told no one about her upcoming inheritance.
There
were more students with questions for Sandy after school, all the way
up to the police car. It was worse than the previous week when she
had been pestered by only a single person: Keith.
Then on
Tuesday morning, Selina solemnly presented Sandy with a T-shirt. The
shirt had the symbol of alternating red and white circles of
different sizes, each with its diameter incremented by the same
amount, each with a common center.
Ariel
laughed when she saw it.
(No,
Sandy did not make the connection between the target symbol on the
T-shirt and her circumstances at that time. Though she was happy
Ariel found it amusing. Maybe they could be close friends again.)
***
It was
night on the same Tuesday.
Dinner
had been most satisfying and the night was cold. The combination of
those two made Sandy rather lazy to do her homework. She was too lazy
to even insert Momma Lois's CD into the player to get her motivated
to work.
Sandy had her books and papers ready on her desk. The pen was already in her hand. If she could only concentrate, she could start with her homework.
It would
be much easier to concentrate if Ditz was not behind her,
continuously jumping on the upper bunk of their double-decker bed.
The metal springs grated. The bed-frame creaked. Each bounce brought
a harsh sound to Sandy's ear.
That was
similar to the distractions Celeste had often experienced with Sandy
in the past, when they had shared the room. The difference was that,
unlike her dark-skinned former roommate, Sandy had not the heart to
ask the cheerful Ditz to stop. So there she sat at the desk, trying
to gather the will and the concentration to start her homework. No
time for any remorse for what she had put Celeste through before.
(On the
other hand, Celeste had an easier time balancing work, studies and
chores since she had moved out of Sandy's room. In fact, at that
particular moment, she had already completed her homework and was
enjoying a quiet rest in her new room. Her muted voice could be heard
through the wall as she joked with someone, presumably her roommate,
Juneida.)
Suddenly,
there was the sound of a distant crash coming from downstairs. That
was followed by some loud voices. Sandy recognized Momma Lois's voice
but not the other male one. There were heavy footsteps charging up
the stairs. Then there was the clang of metal, followed by an audible
curse.
"Who
put a gate here of all places!?" a male voice complained loudly.
As Sandy
got up, she heard Celeste's room door creak open. Celeste cried in
surprise and there was a bump from that room. Sandy slipped on her
sandals and went to her door. By then, Ditz had stopped bouncing and
was listening.
Sandy
hesitated before her room door when she heard footsteps on the other
side. The door flew open, right smack into her forehead. Sandy fell
back in surprise and bumped the back of her head against the metal
frame of the bed.
(That is
why it is always polite to knock on a door before entering.)
Sitting
on the carpeted floor, Sandy rubbed her head with a hand on each sore
spot, where the door and where the bed-frame had hit her. Then
whoever was outside tried to open the door again with a shout of
strength and with more force. Again, without the polite knock.
Sandy's
foot was in the way that time.
The girl
cried out as the door hit her toe. The tip of her sandal cushioned
the impact, so her toe was not badly hurt. However, it was still
painful. Sandy pulled her foot out of the sandal so she could rub her
toe.
The man
on the other side tried again and was successful on the third
attempt. He stepped into the room.
The
large man wore a black balaclava over his head, hiding his face
except for his eyes and mouth. When he noticed Sandy, he grabbed a
fistful of her sweater and shirt and pulled her to her feet. "I
found her!" he announced to someone outside.
It was
another kidnapping. Yay, for Sandy! An excuse not to do her homework!
Then Sandy noticed that the man had a pistol in his other hand.
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