Temporal Exploring 101 - First Transit

I.17 A ruggedly handsome devil

In my spare time, I liked to hang out at Allie Thomas' office. More often than not, I would meet both Allie and her friend Lena there. A third-year student like Allie, Lena Atkins worked as a tutor, too. During office hours, she occupied a room that connected to Allie's office room via an inner door.

At times when there were no scheduled appointments with students, Allie and Lena liked to sit together in my tutor's small office and chat. Both girls were relaxed and easygoing. Besides, they were great sources of information in my ongoing research on Natalie Fogg.

This afternoon, I had brought them fresh cappuccinos from the school's cafeteria. Allie was sitting behind her desk, Lena was sitting on Allie's desk and I had taken the single remaining chair in the room.

"So tell us, Cathy, what's the hot news among the girls of the Upper Fifth, these days?" Allie asked.

Allie and Lena liked to tease me, but not in a mean way. I rather enjoyed their kind of gentle teasing.

"Ah, there is nothing much to tell really," I replied. "Of course, there has been that big confrontation between Natalie and Miss Gablins. You may have heard about it already."

"Fogg getting in trouble?" Allie drawled, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "Now that's what I call a surprise."

"Yes, Mel told me about that," Lena chimed in. "She says she needed to discipline Fogg that day."

Lena was friends with Melanie Watt, another third-year student who happened to be Natalie's tutor.

"Mel rues the day she got assigned to Fogg as a tutor", Lena continued. "She's got her hands full with her. That girl is a magnet for trouble. To be fair, it is not always Fogg's own fault", she amended. "Like, in that case where the mysterious stranger was inquiring about her."

"What mysterious stranger?" Allie asked, her interest piqued.

I had never heard about that, either.

"Yes, which stranger?" I echoed.

Lena frowned. "I am not sure if I am allowed to tell you about that, really."

I was not worried, though. Lena was not the kind of girl that could resist telling an interesting tale. Sure enough, she did not manage to keep silent for more than a few seconds.

"See, it was Melanie who told me about this. Mel learned about it from Headmistress Stuart herself. I guess the headmistress thought that as Fogg's tutor Mel ought to know about that incident."

"What incident?" Allie prodded.

"Apparently, a few month ago that guy showed up at St. Albert's. He claimed to be an envoy of the foundation that pays for Fogg's board and tuition here. I can't quite remember its name."

"The Chochet Foundation?" I offered.

"Yes, that one. So, that guy talks to Headmistress Stuart and asks her all sorts of funny questions about Fogg. Questions that get increasingly more detailed. Eventually, he expresses an interest to talk with Fogg in person. Under four eyes, mind you, preferably during a walk in the park. That's when our headmistress grows suspicious. She asks him for his ID and tells him she needs to call the Chochet people to check his credentials with them. The guy says he totally understands, and offers to wait outside her office. So, Headmistress Stuart calls Chochet, and it turns out that they know zero about an envoy they supposedly sent to St. Albert's. When Headmistress Stuart looks for him outside her office, the guy has disappeared." She grinned. "Needless to say, our headmistress is majorly pissed, at that point. She reports the incident to the county police. The guy's ID turns out to be fake, of course. But they have got a photograph of him now, albeit not a very good one."

Allie and I had been listening with rapt attention.

"Do they have any idea what that guy intended to do?" Allie asked.

"Not really. Headmistress Stuart fears that he had planned, and maybe still intends, to kidnap Fogg."

Allie rolled her eyes at that. "That guy's got to be a lunatic, then. Nobody in their right mind would want to kidnap Fogg, of all people."

Lena shrugged. "I agree.  It does not seem to make any sense."

"So what did that guy look like?" I asked her. "Have you seen his photograph?"

"No, but Mel talked to Sandra, who saw that guy when she let him in."

"Our school secretary Sandra Bale?"

"Yes, her. Anyhow, Sandra must have been quite smitten with him. She described him as a ruggedly handsome devil."

Allie laughed. I made a mental note to talk to Sandra about that incident. Like Lena, our school secretary was the chatty type, eager to share all kinds of information. Hopefully, she would be able to tell me more about that failed attempt to kidnap my roommate.

"What exactly is a ruggedly handsome devil supposed to be, anyhow?" I asked, somewhat confused.

"You know. A handsome guy, but in a tough, outdoorsy kind of way. At the same time extremely sexy, if you get my drift." Lena giggled. "Kind of like a cowboy. You are from the States, aren't you, Cathy? Nebraska, right? So you ought to know the type."

"I guess." I refused to get into any detailed discussion about my entirely fictitious life in Omaha, Nebraska. "So, did anybody care to tell Natalie about that incident?"

"No, I don't think so." All of a sudden, Lena looked distinctly uncomfortable. "In fact, the headmistress asked Melanie to keep this information confidential. I am pretty sure that Mel was not supposed to share this with me in the first place.  If Headmistress Stuart finds out that Mel told me, and I told you, Mel and I could be in serious trouble. So, would you guys do me a favor and not talk about this to anybody else?"

Naturally, Allie and I promised to keep what Lena had told us a secret. 

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A / N :   Thank you for reading this and for following the TE 101 saga this far. If you liked this chapter, please consider voting or adding your comments, I will always appreciate them.