Apollo's Prophecy (Book One)

Chapter Six

    Never in her short and uneventful life did Danika think she'd be breaking into anything—especially not a classroom. It was late at night and all of her classmates were back at the hotel sleeping. It was the perfect time for Danika to break into the classroom and investigate Dr. Evantin.

     When Danika arrived, she frowned at the locked door. I guess I didn't really think this through. The streets were silent and all of the lights in the nearby buildings were off. Time to get crafty. Danika made her way over to the old window she'd noticed earlier that day. A student in her class had been asked to close the window when a loud group of tourists were passing by and she watched him fight the latch before giving up.

     Danika took one last look around and confirmed that not a single soul was nearby before she slid open the window and jumped inside.

     "Ouch," Danika groaned as soon as she hit the ground. Her butt was now sore, but she could deal with that later. Now to search his desk. Danika slowly made her way over to Dr. Evantin's desk, using her cell phone's flashlight, and thanked whatever higher power was listening that the desk drawer didn't have a lock. She stood there for a moment, reconsidering her plan. She could head back to the hotel and forget about snooping, which would relieve her of a guilty conscience, but Dr. Evantin's words echoed through her mind.

     I think that head injury of yours is making you hear things

     "Fuck it," Danika huffed and pulled the drawer open. She frowned when her eyes met the unorganized paperwork. Of course he's messy. She began flipping through the pages, but it was just boring paperwork, lesson plans, travel information and a few books.

     "Damn it. None of this is going to tell me anything," Danika muttered as she attempted to place the papers back in a similar manner. She knew looking through the astronomical pile of pens wouldn't do her any good, but she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed the two tiny wooden statuettes that were almost completely hidden by the pile of extra chalk. They were both painted to look realistic, but something seemed too familiar.

     "This looks just like me," Danika realized as she closely analyzed the female figurine with dark hair and blue eyes. That's so creepy, she thought and she rotated the figurine. Danika knew that it could simply be a coincidence, but the details on the statuette resembled hers too closely. Danika brought the male statuette closer to her and gasped when she realized it was identical to Dr. Evantin. No way, she thought before she heard the sound of keys being inserted into the door.

     "Shit," Danika muttered before quickly shoving the female figurine into her back pocket, and the male figurine back into the drawer right before Dr. Evantin then walked in and flicked on the light.

     "Danika Warren?" Dr. Evantin said, not sounding very impressed.

     "Oh hi Dr. Evantin... What are you doing here so late?" Danika said, feeling the urge to facepalm herself. That didn't sound suspicious at all.

     Dr. Evantin frowned. "I realized that I left today's pop quiz in my drawer and came downstairs to retrieve it. I think a better question is what are you doing here?"

     Danika let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of her neck.

     "Me? Oh, I'm just looking for my drawing book. I thought I might've accidentally left it behind and when I saw it wasn't at my desk I thought you maybe put it in your desk for safe keeping. I didn't see any quizzes in there though." I know for a fact that they aren't in there considering I went through every last piece of paper.