A Mysterious Past (on hold)

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Why hello Miss, pleasure meeting you.", The stranger at the door says very politely to Mona. Mona looks him up and down to try to figure out as much about him as possible during that instant.

He was fairly tall, had jet black hair, deep

green eyes, and looked pretty strong. He was also carrying a fruit basket, just like Alicia predicted, with a rose laying just on the top of the fruits. Mona thought for a minute:

Wow. I guess he must be fond of first impressions.

How did Alicia know that he would bring the fruits?

How did she know that it was him as soon as he knocked on the door?

Is he really that dangerous?

I hope he isn't too annoying...

                         "Hello, is there something you need, sir?" Mona replied, trying to look as simple, yet still sophisticated, as possible. "Well no, I just thought that I might show the new neighbor that they are welcomed." Mona was beginning to be suspicious as well, and replied, "Neighbor? But this is a hotel. New people move in and out of here everyday, you surely couldn't do this for EVERY new 'neighbor', do you?"

                           The man smiled and said, "Okay, you've caught me. I don't do this for every person that is new here. It's just... It's just that when I first saw you this morning at the restaurant at breakfast, you caught my eye and I just wanted to say hello. my name is Rinaldi, by the way. And you must be Mona." Mona was puzzled, and tried to think hard about what this man had just said:

This morning?

At breakfast?

I never even left this room!

I never even ate breakfast yet!

I haven't been down anywhere near that restaurant until just last night when I was on my way up...

I definitely know not to trust this guy now...

He's just trying to think up something to say as he goes along...

I guess I will just have to play along with this cerade.

            "Oh? So that was you! I knew you looked familiar! Well, it's a pleasure finally meeting you too. But, you should probably know that my name isn't Mona, it's April."

He smiled at her and said, "For you", as he handed Mona the fruit basket. "Oh, why thank you! This is so wonderful!" Mona exclaimed, trying to hide the sarcastic tone in her voice as well as she could. "I figured you would like them. I picked only the best fruits, and I figured the rose would give it just that touch", the man said to her politely. Ugh, Mona thought to herself, won't he just go already?

"Well, I'd better get going. I was supposed to meet my boyfriend at the library in a half hour, and I wanted to get there early." Rinaldi cocked an eyebrow and stared in disbelief. "Oh, so you’re taken already? Only just arrived last night and you've already found yourself a boyfriend. Well, I hope he knows how wonderful you are, he is very lucky to have someone as smart as you." Mona looked up, sighed, and replied in frustration, "No."

                                  Rinaldi looked confused, and Mona said again, "Ugh. I am getting too annoyed at this point. No, I refuse to play along with this charade any longer. You need to learn your place, Rinaldi, if that's even your real name. Your not really here because you want to talk to me, and you and I both know by now. You wanna know how I know? Well, I won't tell you until you answer my questions first. How did you know I got here just last night? How would you know that I'm smart? I've never even talked to you until now. I didn't even go down for breakfast today, so why would you day before that you saw me then? Who are you really? Why are you here? Heck, I'll bet that you don’t even actually stay in this hotel! What do you want with me? And what's in that fruit basket really? A hidden camera maybe? A bomb or something else? And FYI, my name is not Mona! It's April! Yeah! And you know what? I am leaving! I am going to meet my boyfriend, and I swear, if I ever see you again, you'll be sorry that you ever met me."

                  Mona stepped out of her room, shoving Rinaldi out of the way, closed and locked the door to her room, and stormed off. Rinaldi chased after her, "Wait! Mona-- I mean, April, please, couldn't we start over? Please, I beg of you." Mona turned, laughed, and said,"Oh please! The only thing you would beg for is a better lie to get me to trust you!!" Mona kept speed-walking away as he continued to follow.

                                    "Well, if you won't let me explain, then I guess I am going to go visit the library today." Mona continued to storm off as she realized she didn't have a car. She knew she couldn't stop now. She would look foolish in front of the very man whom she had just made a fool of.

As he got in his car and drove slowly, a few feet away from the sidewalk where Mona walked, she continued on, and suddenly stopped when she felt something vibrating in her pocket. She reaches into her pocket to find a cell phone. She holds it up to see that the caller ID says that the person calling was Alicia Waters.

Mona immediately picked up saying,"Hello?" Alicia said to her, "Hey, it's me. Listen carefully. A friend of mine is about to pull up next to you, and he is to ask you if you need a ride, and you are to answer with a yes. Trust me  on this. You need a ride, so I sent him down. Pretend that he's that so-called ‘boyfriend’ that you kept talking about, and he will give you a lift to the library. Thank me later. Now, say, 'Yeah, you know, just yesterday I-- Oh, I have to go, my boyfriend is here.' " Mona repeated what Alicia had just said as the man pulled up next to her. "That ought to get Rinaldi off your back for now. Good luck", Alicia said finally.

                                                           Alicia hung up, and so did Mona, as she put her new phone in her pocket, the man said, "Need a lift?" Mona smiled and nodded A's she opened the door and got in. "Hey, I thought we were supposed to meet at the library.", Mona says simply to him.Then the man says as he begins to drive off, "Thought I'd surprise you here." It was mostly silent as they drove to the library, until her cellphone beeped.

It was a text message from Alicia. It read, "If my intel is correct, then he is still on your tail. He is three cars back in the left lane.  When you get to the library, he will be approximately ten minutes behind because he is going to switch the car he is driving for a different one. At the very moment you arrive, walk in and look for a book that you would never read, and sit at an empty table near the entrance with a sign marked 'No Talking in the Library'. Begin to read it right away, and look happy about it. When he walks in, he will try to begin a conversation with you. Act annoyed when he is speaking with you, and after three or four minutes, go to the librarian and tell her that this man is disturbing you, and that he has been following you around all day. She will have him kicked out. Then, go and take your book and go upstairs to the top floor of the library, and proceed to the fourth room to your right. Inside are rows of computers, and you are to go to the one in the very center and type in the following password: cruelredribbon. This will allow you access to the computer on the other end of the room. Go and press the button in the library catalog that says, 'Chat with a Librarian', and when the librarian comes on the chat, ask for the book of the day. You will be told to wait and you will receive a book. Contact me for further instruction." Mona waited, and they finally get to the library.

                                  She hops out, thanks the man for the ride and goes inside. She searches for a book that would seem boring and finds her seat by the entrance. She begins to read, and seems to notice that the book is beginning to get pretty interesting. Suddenly, she hears a familiar voice say hello.

                    She looks up to see Rinaldi. "What happened to your boyfriend?" She looked back down at her book and flipped the page. "What's it to you? He gave me ride here, but said he was late for a meeting, and had to run." He pulled out the chair across from her and said, "I wouldn't just blow off my plans with someone as amazing as you if I were him." She looked up, sighed, and said "Well it's not you and I really don't even want you to be here right now."

                                      He began going on about something, but Mona was too interested in her book to pay any attention to a single word he said.