unfinished and then mumbled, “There was no reason for him to call her.”
Grace was never inclined towards Mr. Gallagher lectures. She was much fonder of Mr. Paisley. Therefore, any interaction between them was highly unlikely and even more so if Mr. Gallagher was looking for Grace to ask her something. It just didn’t make much sense. Emily turned toward the door without even realizing it and slowly started to walk away.
“Emily!” Mr. Mitchell called out.
He had pity in his eyes and Emily could see that. Perhaps he could sense her inner turmoil. It was obvious that something was bothering her and the lack of sleep for the past two days had left her looking almost gaunt.
“I think your friend was searching for a person,” he said very quietly, as if he didn’t want anyone around him to hear him say that.
“She was looking for someone in the criminology section?” Emily questioned back with an exasperated expression plastered on her face.
“After that she went over to where the year books and old college magazines are stored,” he went on to say. “When Mr. Gallagher came looking for her, I directed him toward where Grace was, but soon after, I followed him to see if they needed something,” he said in one breath.
“And you heard them talking? Please tell me something, Mr. Mitchell. Grace has not been home for two days and I am rightfully worried.”
“Well, it was not right for me to pry, but as I went near, I heard Grace say that she was looking for someone. Mr. Gallagher said that it was not important or something in those lines.” He waited for Emily to say something, but continued on, “I think they saw me and stopped talking. I shouldn’t be saying this to you; it is not my business.”
“Mr. Mitchell, I cannot thank you enough. I won’t tell anybody that you told me,” Emily assured him and left.
She headed back to the dorm to take lunch and ponder this new information. She debated if it was right to confront Mr. Gallagher directly, but what would she ask him? “It could be nothing and I might just be thinking too much into this, but what if it is something to worry about? Should I keep quiet about it?” She questioned herself aloud and paced the bathroom floor. Emily tried to frame the right questions in her mind that would be appropriate to ask Mr. Gallagher. There were so many questions piling in her mind and she could sense a mild headache rising in the back of her head. The only thing that would make her feel better was getting to the bottom of this whole matter once and for all.
Mr. Gallagher was absent in class that day, so that implied that Emily would have to go looking for him elsewhere. She couldn’t delay it anymore. She inquired about him to a few students and teachers, but everyone said that he was absent that day and probably resting in his quarters.
It was getting near five thirty p.m. and a day wasted again , Emily thought. Who was Grace looking for?
Emily couldn’t sit without doing anything, so she went back to the library again. She had to see if there was something she missed. She went to the section where the criminology books were placed. If there was something strange going on, then those books knew it. How Emily wished that they could speak. The books were a silent and motionless spectator, but held so much information. She shifted to the section where the old magazines and the year books were stored. She started scrambling through the magazines and tried to see if there were any year books that were left out in the open. Emily saw that there was a thin layer of dust settled on the top shelf of the books and from there, one of the books was missing.
Could it be a coincidence that Grace had taken it? Or is it just my imagination?
It was indeed a yearbook that was missing from the row of books. It was her good fortune to find it and now she was closer to resting all the questions that were bubbling inside her. She tried reaching for the top shelf, but