to make matters worse.
It was getting late and the campus was starting to shut down for the evening. The chill in the air had returned and she hurriedly walked back to her dorm. Emily wasn’t feeling all that irritated anymore, but still wanted to pursue the matter further. She knew that if she tried, the answers would soon become more apparent. The only regret she had was that she was unable to concentrate very much in class. Her mind drifted away from academic matters and she was already falling behind. She liked going to the classes, listening to her teachers speak, but the recent turn of events was providing too much of a distraction. It displeased her greatly and she wanted things to go back to normal as soon as possible. She wished that strange anonymous parcel had never arrived, but there was no use dwelling on what couldn’t be changed. All that was left for her to do was sigh and run over the details again.
Keisha was standing in front of her door when Emily arrived home. She was pushing a fairly large box in front of her door, but stopped short when she saw Emily coming towards her. She looked out of breath and Emily hurried over to help her.
“Someone left this for you. It was in front of our door so I took it in, but it is addressed to you,” Keisha explained.
Emily didn’t take the box inside right away. She took her pocket knife out and cut the tape that secured the packaging. Keisha watched eagerly over her shoulder. There inside the box lay more books on spirits, souls and evocation. Emily harshly pushed the box away and separated herself from it. She almost tripped over her own heels in the narrow hallway. It was just the opposite of what she wanted.
At that moment, there was no peace for Emily, but she desperately craved it. The fact that someone was anonymously sending books to her address gave her the creeps. The incident occurred twice in a row, and Emily didn’t want to take the incident very lightly anymore.
Someone knows where I live and they’re doing it on purpose to freak me out . And she was sure of that.
Keisha stood there the whole time and saw firsthand the ordeal that Emily was going through. A layer of clear discomfort was on Keisha’s face upon seeing the way Emily separated herself from the books. She wanted to help. Keisha knew that Grace wasn’t in the dorm and Emily might need someone there to support her. So Keisha invited Emily into her place.
“Leave them be. You don’t need them I suppose,” she said and Emily didn’t contradict her.
Once inside, she saw that Denise wasn’t there and Keisha informed her that she was out with her friend. There were so many things that Emily wanted to tell her, but she started with the basics. She confided in Keisha about the anonymous delivery of the first parcel, the missing criminology books, Grace leaving and about Denise and Mia. As part of the promise, Emily omitted the part about the library and what Mr. Mitchell told her.
Keisha listened to her very patiently. Emily could see there was a change in her expression when she mentioned the growing closeness between Denise and Mia, but she didn’t add anything to it.
“Yes, Mia is my friend and she takes interest in this stuff, but that is all I know.” That was the only thing Keisha said, and then she paused for a few moments. Then, she asked Emily again, “Did Denise return those books to you?”
Emily kept silent and Keisha knew what the answer was. All the while, Emily practiced in her head ways in which she could inquire about Mr. Gallagher in a discreet manner without arousing Keisha’s suspicion. Keisha on the other hand seemed more concerned about the anonymous delivery of the packages. She questioned Emily more about the details of the arrived packages. She shook her head solemnly after Emily examined the details of their arrival.
Keisha said, “There are crazy people out there. It’s never too late to be safe.”
All of a sudden, Emily asked, “Do you