Chapter 9
960 Words
EVIE'S POV
Get the blue folder.
Leave it in locker forty-two.
Then go home.
It sounded simple enough.
I kept repeating those three steps to myself as I crossed the courtyard toward the faculty building.
Easy.
At least that’s what I kept trying to convince myself.
The corridor outside Professor Bennett’s office was almost empty.
I slowed my pace.
The door was open.
Perfect.
Or so I thought.
Professor Bennett was still inside.
Two other lecturers stood around her desk, papers spread across the surface as they discussed something far too enthusiastically for my liking.
And right there, sitting in the middle of the desk, was the blue folder.
My heart sank.
“Of course,” I muttered under my breath.
Of course it couldn’t be easy.
I lingered near the noticeboard at the end of the corridor, pretending to read a list of office hours while secretly keeping an eye on the open office.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
They showed no signs of leaving.
I sighed.
“Maybe this is impossible.”
A tiny smile tugged at my lips.
I actually hoped to fail.
Maybe if I couldn’t complete the task, he’d finally realize I wasn’t some master thief.
I turned to leave.
“Professor Bennett?”
A student hurried down the hallway carrying a stack of papers.
“I’ve got the revised attendance sheets from the dean’s office.”
Professor Bennett looked up.
“Oh, perfect timing.”
She accepted the papers and turned back to the other lecturers.
“We should continue this upstairs.”
One of them nodded.
“Dean Foster’s already waiting.”
Within seconds, all three of them stepped into the hallway.
Professor Bennett was the last to leave.
She pulled the office door almost shut behind her...
...but it didn’t quite latch.
The lock clicked halfway.
Then the group disappeared around the corner.
I stared at the door.
“No way...” My pulse quickened.
The office was empty.
The folder was still inside.
That was my chance.
I glanced once more down the corridor.
Empty.
“Just grab it and leave,” I whispered to myself.
I slipped through the half-open door and gently pushed it closed behind me.
The office felt strangely different without Professor Bennett inside.
The ticking wall clock suddenly seemed far louder than it had any right to be.
My eyes locked onto the blue folder.
I took a few careful steps toward the desk.
My fingers hovered over the folder.
Take it.
I swallowed.
“I’m sorry, Professor,” I whispered.
My hand closed around the folder.
At that exact moment I heard footsteps somewhere in the corridor.
I froze.
The footsteps were getting closer.
Someone was coming.
Panic shot through me.
My gaze darted around the office before landing on the tall filing cabinet beside the window.
Without thinking, I hurried behind it, clutching the folder tightly against my chest.
The footsteps stopped.
Right outside the door.
I held my breath.
Please...
Just keep walking.
For one agonizing second nothing happened.
Then a knock sounded on the neighboring office.
“Oh, there you are,” a woman’s voice said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Another pair of footsteps joined the first.
Their conversation faded as they continued down the hallway.
I stayed exactly where I was for what felt like forever.
Only when the silence returned did I dare breathe again.
My knees felt weak.
“I am never doing this again,” I muttered.
Even as the words left my mouth...
I already knew they probably weren’t true.
I tightened my grip on the folder, slipped it into my backpack, and hurried out of Professor Bennett’s office.
The corridor was still empty.
I gently pulled the door shut behind me, making sure it clicked this time.
I forced myself not to run.
Running would only draw attention.
Instead, I walked as normally as I could toward the older wing of the building.
Every student who passed me seemed to glance in my direction.
Or maybe that was just my imagination.
The signs above the hallway doors became less familiar the farther I walked.
I’d hardly ever had a reason to come to this part of campus.
The corridors were quieter here.
Older.
Rows of metal lockers lined the walls.
My eyes scanned the faded numbers.
Thirty-nine...
Forty...
Forty-one...
There.
Forty-two.
I stopped in front of it.
For a brief moment, I simply stared.
Whoever this locker belonged to...
I hoped they weren’t around.
I reached for the handle.
It opened immediately.
Like the locker was waiting for me.
“That’s convenient,” I muttered.
I slid the blue folder onto the middle shelf.
For a second, I hesitated.
Every instinct told me to take it back.
To pretend I’d never found the office empty.
To pretend none of this had happened.
I closed the locker.
The metal door shut with a dull clang that echoed through the empty corridor.
Task complete.
Or at least I hoped it was.
I took one last look at the number painted on the locker.
42.
Then I turned and walked away, trying not to think about why anyone would want Professor Bennett’s folder hidden there.
By the time I reached my dorm, the knot in my stomach had loosened just a little.
I reached into my backpack to get my keys.
My fingers brushed the cover of my notebook and a shiver ran down my spine.
Slowly, I pulled the notebook out.
I let out a quiet breath before opening the notebook.
A single sentence was already waiting for me there...
*Thank you, Evie.*
I stared at the words and my stomach tightened.
"You're welcome, I guess," I murmured as I stepped inside the dorm.
- Writer
