Hope is Rising

26. Dark Nights

Mr. Ralsh's emotions changed from confused to angry almost instantly. The puzzle was complete.

"You two are dismissed," Mr. Ralsh said to Landon and me. "Your project still has the same deadline: tomorrow. Now, I have some matters to discuss with Anna." We quickly left our seats, and Landon opened the door. Our team waited in suspense for us to return from the infamous Mr. Ralsh's office.

"Well?" Owen broke the silence. "What's the verdict?"

"Anna 'lost' half of our project," I answered shortly.

Stella, Owen, and the others looked upset. "What do you mean?"

"She took the project from Mr. Ralsh's computer," I answered.

"Are you serious?" Owen asked frustated.

"We're all working late tonight until each piece of the project is complete," Landon added.

"Mr. Ralsh wants our project by tomorrow. Unless we all want to miss the Navy Dance tomorrow night, I suggest we work tonight and tomorrow."

Owen mumbled some words under his breath about Anna.

I stepped out of the office to call Dylan and see how he and Kevin were doing back at home.

"Hey, little one," Dylan answered.

"Hey, babe," I replied. "Is Kev awake yet?"

"Yep, your brother woke up a few minutes ago, and he's taking a shower right now. How's the project coming along at work?" he asked me concerned.

"Well, it's a long story, but we couldn't recover the information," I told him disappointed.

He sighed, "I'm sorry, Steph. Are you working late?"

"I think so," I said. "I have to finish adding all of these changes to the presentation."

I finished talking with Dylan and went back to the grueling amount of work waiting for me. We all worked tirelessly for the next few hours. I'd never seen a team work this hard in my life.

The hours slipped away, and at 9 pm almost everyone had finished their piece of their project and had left except for Landon and me. As the leader, I was expected to proofread every single detail.

"How much do you have left?" Landon broke the silence as he looked up from his computer. He began packing up papers on his desk.

"Still a good amount. I think I will finish proofreading tomorrow," I answered. I began to close down my computer.

"I'll walk you out to your car," Landon said as he waited for me to finish packing up.

I grabbed my bag on the way out as I turned off the office lights. "Thanks."

We walked toward the parking lot outside.

"Are you excited about going to the dance tomorrow?" Landon asked me.

I nodded and smiled thinking about Dylan.

"Whoever is taking you is a lucky guy," he smiled.

"Dylan's a great guy," I replied remembering that he and Kevin were home waiting for me.

"Hey, thanks for trusting that I didn't steal the project today," Landon spoke to me softly. "I know you were the only one who believed me at the time."

"A team always works together," I replied. "I knew it wasn't true."

Landon was silent for a moment.

"You're one in a million, Steph," he told me.

I gave a slight smile. "Well, thank you. I should get going," I said realizing we had stopped walking in front of my car.