Harm’s Way
Her desk was an absolute mess, Janie couldn’t decide if she should get stuck into her overload of marking or if she should clean it. The old fashioned clock ticking at the back of the classroom made her decision for her. She shuffled through her bag to find her file; she flung the fat folder onto a clear space on the surface and exhaled deeply. She admitted that she was overworked and often felt confused of late.
She fitted the key into her drawer, but found it unlocked. She searched under the counter top for her pen. But it was nowhere to be found.
“Lord, that’s odd, I’m sure I left it in there.” A sense of foreboding engulfed her. In the past few weeks a broken bracelet and some loose change had mysteriously disappeared. She bent down and looked into the drawer, no pen.
She was still rummaging when she heard the door.
“Hey, Miss London?” Sasha greeted her. She looked at the scrawny kid and wondered, not for the first time, what her story was. Sasha did well in class, but she didn’t seem to have any friends, and she always looked as if she was on the brink of tears. Sasha was often early for class; and sat quietly, without fuss at the back of the room tapping wildly on her Tablet. Janie stared at her, and crazy notions began to spin unwittingly in her head.
Sasha was always around, obviously she’d had the opportunity, she was strange and secretive, she looked underfed and often dirty. Janie didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but suspicion swirled.
Then, reason won.
“Sasha, have you seen anything odd around here when you come in earlier than everyone else?”
“I don’t know what you mean Miss” Sasha’s eyes were on her Tablet; communication at the minimum.
“Sasha, look at me. I want you to look at me, do you hear?”
Sasha grinned and lifted her head and her desk top
“Oh, Miss London, you’re going to be ever so pleased. When I get in early and you’re not here, there’s a man in an overall suit and he looks just like my daddy. My daddy is in prison for stealing things. The man has a broom and he sweeps around your desk, he picks up your stuff and looks at it. I’ve seen him do it. So I took all the stuff out of your drawer and put it safely in mine. I knew you’d ask for it.”
“Wha…” Janie was flabbergasted, “how did you get into my drawer when I locked it?”
“No, you didn’t lock it Miss you must have forgotten, I’m just telling you that in future you should move your money and things out of harm's way.”