A Sacrifice of Names

Chapter 2

The rumours she heard in the hallways the following morning were even worse. It was absolutely ridiculous how fast the news had spread, not to mention what a sensation the story had become in such a short time. As the day progressed the stories only became wilder, and Earie actually felt sorry for the poor woman. Not everyone was taking this seriously, but she could see the look of disbelief in the eyes of those who did.

It was obvious that this Elly had disappeared, but how or what? Well, if the police knew they were sure not to let any information slip.

Earie tried her best to take her mind off it for the rest of the day. The tension in most of her classes was dreadful. With the realisation finally dawning that Elly very well could have been taken from campus in broad daylight it did not come as much of a surprise to see more students getting a little uncomfortable walking around the premises by themselves. Understandably so, but Earie didn't like giving in to such thoughts. The world could be a distorted place, but she did have faith that, although unseen, plenty of people were working day and night to make sure that this case would be solved, eventually.

Sadly something like this could happen almost everywhere.

"Ea, you walking home with us?" Yes, yes, no. The brunette groaned softly, not even taking a second to look away from her laptop. She was almost done with this essay, finally in the right headspace to finish it as well. Going back to the house now meant her concentration would be gone for the rest of the day.

Earie loved her housemates, but they were all great at procrastinating sometimes.

"I really have to lock myself up here in the library a little longer." Earie hummed, feigning disinterest as she finally took a moment to look up from her laptop screen, allowing herself a moment to stretch her arms above her head.

"You're such a bore," Harper whined jokingly from behind her. "You missed yesterday as well."

"At least I'm trying to get this finished before I get myself into trouble," Earie replied with a smug grin charmed across her lips. Although a great student, she wasn't exactly the smartest out of the four of them. Clever, yes, but she truly had to focus on her assignments to get proper grades, unlike some.

Lucky bastards.

"Surely you can help us when we get into trouble." Yosefine winked.

"Get out of my sight you two. Wait for me with dinner though, will you? I'm already starving." Earie said, laughter hiding in the back of her voice, waving the others away.

"Will do!" Harper shouted over her shoulder, not too keen to wait a moment longer. "Make sure you don't get kidnapped on your way back."

The only answer Earie gave them was a roll of her eyes, quick to turn back to her laptop. It was already four in the afternoon. Two more hours, she could certainly get something done within those two hours.

Right?

✒

"Library's about to close, dear. You got to be out by six."

Twenty more minutes, that was all she needed, just for some finishing touches. A frustrated groan pressed against the back of her lips, but all Earie could do was flash a kind smile in the woman's direction. She would have to do those finishing touches tomorrow, it seemed.

With a sigh she quickly saved everything and closed her laptop, briefly listening to her growling stomach before taking her sweet time to push the old, wooden chair back. It could be quite amusing sometimes to watch the annoyed looks on the faces of some people who loathed the creaking sounds these chairs could make. The library surely could do with some replacements.