NovelEnglishAfter lunch, Aurelia dropped Ramona off at the dormitory, even buying her apples and oranges on the way back.
The warmth of her gesture wrapped the young girl's heart in a comforting blanket, making her feel she was no longer fighting a lone battle.
As Ramona disappeared into the building, Aurelia turned to leave when a voice called out from behind, "Aurelia! Wait up!" She spun around to see a pretty girl in a cleaner's uniform jogging towards her with a broom and dustpan.
"Sierra? What are you doing here?" "I just landed a job with the campus maintenance crew," Sierra said with a beaming smile.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAurelia was shocked, suspecting that Tanya had arranged this to keep a closer watch on Skyler. After all, the school wasn't too picky about their cleaning staff, and it was easy for her to get the position.
"I heard from Skyler yesterday that you snagged a new gig, but | had no idea it was here!" "Yep," Sierra nodded, a twinkle in her eye. "lI wanted to be closer to Mister Skyler." "Have you seen him today?" Aurelia inquired.
"Not yet," Sierra shook her head and said, "but I'm here every day. It's only a matter of time." Aurelia patted her shoulder encouragingly. "Work hard, and good luck." Later that afternoon, Skyler, Kane and William headed to the school.
Upon entering the teacher's lounge, Skyler's gaze immediately found a familiar figure swapping out the trash bags. His heart skipped a beat, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
When the girl turned and caught sight of him, her smile blossomed. "Mister Skyler!" Skyler, breaking into a sweat, gestured for her to keep quiet. "Shh! I'm Mr. Heninger here." "Oops." Sierra stuck out her tongue playfully. "Got it, Mr. Heninger." Skyler groaned internally, "You toldyou had a new job, but | didn't realize it was at our school." "That's right. I'm part of the maintenance team now. | ran into Aurelia earlier," Sierra chirped.
"Why did you cto my... our school?" Skyler stuttered, thrown off by her sudden appearance.
Sierra scratched her head. "| just saw the job posting online and applied." "Aren't you working as my aunt's assistant anymore?" Sierra couldn't reveal that Tanya had sent her there, so she casually replied, "Ms. Tanya hired a new assistant, so | was out of tasks.
| needed a new job to stay here instead of returning home." "Oh," Skyler said, settling into his desk.
Sierra leaned in and whispered, "Are you enjoying your work here?" "Yeah, I'm loving it." Skyler nodded, though his only qualm was having to put on a more mature facade than he actually felt. He preferred the carefree life of a youngster to the complications of adulthood.
Sierra's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "Ms. Tanya bet you wouldn't hold on to three months before quitting." "She's underestimated me," Skyler pouted, feeling like Tanya was always trying to dampen his spirits, doubting his abilities at every turn.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Keep it up, Mr. Heninger," Sierra said and smiled to encourage him.
In Classroom A, Ramona received a terrifying message from the kidnapper, reading, [You have disappointedwith your failure.] She rushed to find Kane.
Kane glanced at the message and quickly gathered William. The tdashed to the school's computer lab.
Kane managed to trace the connection to Ramona's smartwatch. Despite the kidnapper using an overseas server, Kane was skilled enough to pinpoint the IP address.
"Reply to him," he instructed Ramona.
She nodded and typed, [It wasn't my fault. | did as instructed, but sometimes, luck is on your target's side. As the saying goes, ‘Man proposes, but God disposes.'] The kidnapper replied promptly. [| am God, and no one escapes my grasp. You'll receive new 'medicine' soon. If you failagain, forget about ever seeing your parents.] [The school's mail security is tight. They'll inspect all the packages. You won't get past security.] replied Ramona.
After a brief pause, the kidnapper replied, [| have my ways.] William held his breath, eyes glued to the screen. "Did you find it?" "Got it. It's Suite 1503, Building A, Aberystone Silver Ridge Community," Kane announced gravely. "I'm calling Kevin right away."
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