Red String

Chapter 2: Criminologist

I walk towards the office to start my day. A day where I fixed my gaze on one specific thing. The computer.

I'm holding my black leather handbag in my right hand, and in the other, a cup of coffee flavored Caramel Macchiato.

Nothing beats the feeling of starting your day with a sip of coffee. I looked inside the office and no one was there. I always enter the office on time, but I went out the office last. I do overtime, whether I was paid for it or not.

I don't like putting myself in a hectic situation. I hate heavy workloads. I do procrastinate, not on work but on other kinds of stuff.

I was about to hold the doorknob to open the door when someone's hand grab it first and squeeze it. I look at the person who did it. He gave me his smile, while I reciprocated it with a resting b***h face. He even smiles when he saw my reaction.

"Good morning," he greeted me after opening the door's office.

"Morning," I replied. Then step inside the office.

I was about to go towards my desk when he said something that made me stop.

"Did you receive my present for you?" Therefore, he was the one who sent those gifts recently?

"Yes," I saw him grin.

"How was the necklace? Did you like it?" A necklace?

"I bet you like it. I saw it from your Sociogram story last week," I remember now, the privacy of my account is public at Sociogram. I won't wonder why he was able to view my stories, although I didn't follow him back.

"You like that shop, Tala by Kyla," he said, referring to an online shop at Shopee.

"Yes. They make pretty accessories and pieces of jewelry. And I heard a lot of good reviews about the shop," I gave him a brief smile.

"'Finally, you smiled!" He exclaimed.

"I wonder," I was about to leave when he said something, so I look at him.

"What shop did you come from," I was clueless about what he said.

"Because you're pretty too," my jaw dropped at what he said. He was even confident with his line. I composed myself, trying my best not to offend him or be rude in front of him.

I don't like when I was being flirted with unannounced. I don't know how to react or what to say next.

"Thank you for the sudden compliment," he was surprised at what I said, but it didn't take a minute when I add something that left him dumbfounded.

"But I'm not an accessory or any jewelry," I faced my back at him and went to my desk.

"Another thing, before I forgot to tell you this, after five days you'll get that present again. I'm returning it," I said without glancing at him.

I sit on my chair and took a deep breath. Am I too harsh with my words? Am I rude to him?

The guy earlier was my officemate, a criminologist also. If I'm not wrong, his name was Traise. I noticed him looking at me from time to time, at first I thought he needs something from me and was too shy to tell or ask me. But in my further observation, I caught him stealing a glance at me and he gets alarmed when I caught him that way.

All this time, I. thought I was assuming all this time. But then, my assumption leads me to a confirmation. Traise has an eye for me.

When I was waiting to open the computer, I remember the pinky finger of Traise. A red string was tied on it and at the end of his string was one of our officemate. Traise failed to notice the woman because he was busy giving his attention to me. As a woman ,I know that our officemate has something towards him. She was patient when Traise talks or explains something to her. I also saw her being conscious of herself when the guy is around. I saw how she was hurt when she saw Traise looking at me.

I decided to reject the guy because he was not for me. Also, for he to realize that the person who deserves his full attention was the person beside his desk if he would just observe. If and only if the woman was also courageous enough to close the gap between them.

I started my daily battle in my chosen field of work. I'm Kassandra Villarosa, a Criminologist. This is my vocation and to earn a living.

First, let me define what's a criminologist. Criminologists study the nature and causes of crime and the criminals who commit them. They research the social and biological background of criminals to determine common traits and assist law enforcement in better understanding criminal behavior and preventing future crimes.

What are our responsibilities; Gather and analyze data about the causes and nature of the crime to determine criminal patterns and common traits among criminals. Research and analyze the biological, social, and psychological background of criminals to gain an understanding of the motivation behind their deviant behavior. Develop profiles of criminal types to assist law enforcement to identify potential criminals, understanding their behavior, and apprehending them more efficiently. Examine crime scenes, evidence, and autopsies to determine what happened and which profile category the criminal falls into. Prepare reports and statistics of research findings for future reference. Assist law enforcement and the justice system with developing crime prevention strategies and reform policies based on findings. Assess the social impact of crime and determine how to address these issues.

Tiring right? I think it's natural and normal to feel tired of doing our job or work. The important is, we always find time to take some rest and a deep breath.

And the most important thing as criminologists, is we have to consider the significance of the nature of our work and make it helpful to society. To be successful in this role, we should demonstrate a strong interest in human nature, an understanding of statistics, and the ability to apply theoretical principles to make informed analyses and hypotheses.