Littlewood (Saint Teresa Academy)

Chapter 3: This is What a Science Teacher's Kitchen Looks Like

At exactly 9:00 PM, Meg heard three short knocks against the door of her dorm room. She had been sitting on the bed, watching the clock for the last half an hour, unable to really do anything else. She was just too restless.

Gabby was also in the room, seated at her study desk and reading a self-help book she had started last week. They were both out of their school uniforms and in their casual clothes. Usually ay nag-wa-wind down na silang pareho para matulog by this hour. Meg did wish she could go to sleep; it had been a long day, but alas, the night was still long.

Sabay silang napatingin sa pinto nang marinig nila ang pagkatok. Gabby stood up to get the door. Standing outside was a fellow second year student, also wearing casual clothes, braided hair draped over her left shoulder. The helix piercing on her right ear twinkled under the fluorescent light. She made being a student off-duty look fashionable at bagamat malayo sa usual na polished nitong hitsura tuwing mayroong klase, Tiffany Arandia in casual mode was still a heavenly vision.

Having her outside Meg's dorm room? Unreal.

"Are you ready?" Arandia asked in a soft yet almost husky tone, expectantly watching the two of them from the doorway. Parehong tumango sina Meg at Gabby. "Come with me," she then said at nauna itong maglakad. After getting a purse from her desk, Meg went out her dorm room and followed. Gabby locked the door behind them.

When Gabby suggested na lumapit kay Arandia upang ipaalam kay Vidal ang mga narinig niya, hindi inaasahan ni Meg na magtatagumpay ang plano nila. As it turned out, Gabby and Arandia share a chemistry class together this semester. That was enough of a connection upang makapagsimula ng conversation dito outside of classes. These rich people types were particular about unwritten rules and things like that.

After dinner, Meg and Gabby laid in wait for Arandia at the lounge of the Libertad Dorm—the name of the dormitory building for the female sophomore students. They had been waiting for about half an hour bago nila nakita si Arandia. Gabby took the initiative at agad itong nilapitan. Meg couldn't hear what Gabby was saying, but she could tell when Gabby invited Arandia over to the corner sofa where Meg was seated. At bagamat halatang nag-a-alangan ito ay sumama pa rin naman ito kay Gabby.

Later in their room, Meg asked Gabby what she said to convinced Arandia to at least hear them out.

"I just told her that I have information that might put Vidal in danger at sumama naman siya," Gabby simply said.

When Arandia sat down at the lounge sofa, Meg introduced herself, but Arandia reminded her that they had a social studies class together during the second semester of freshman year. Meg didn't realize Arandia would still remember her—some classmates didn't even bother knowing her name. She hesitated as she didn't know how to tell her about the Crawford thing. Pero bago pa man siya makapagsalita ay nauna na si Arandia.

"So, what about Vidal?" She asked.

Mataman itong nakinig kay Meg habang ikinukwento ang narinig na plano ni Crawford. When Meg finished the story, Arandia's expression was grim, but at least, it looked like she believed Meg. Huminga ito ng malalim.

"Thank you for telling me," sa wakas ay wika nito matapos ang ilang segundong katahimikan. Arandia took out a black Razr phone from a purse and spent a few moments alternating between typing something and reading something. After a while, she looked up. "Look, this might be an imposition, pero would you mind kung kausapin ka ni Vidal tungkol dito in person?" Arandia then asked.

Nagkatinginan sina Meg at Gabby. She wasn't really expecting to actually talk to Vidal in person. She was counting on Arandia simply passing the information on to him. Now that the possibility existed, Meg felt tense. Tila napansin ni Arandia ang pag-aalangan niya.