Saving Professor (Part 2)

Petra lay in her bed at night, going over the day’s events. Then her thoughts rested on Professor.
Why had he left so quickly? What was he doing?
She frowned and kept thinking. Then her imagination took over.
What if he’s a secret agent under cover? What if he’s really not Professor Stein? What if…
What if I followed him?
Petra quickly sat up, hitting her head on the ceiling in the process, which knocked her back down.
Below, Katelyn’s heavy breathing stopped. She was awake.
Petra lay extra still in her bed. Katelyn stirred around, and then fell back asleep.
Petra’s thoughts returned.
Yeah, what if I did follow him? I’d know where he goes! No, that’s impossible. I’d get caught. Maybe there’s a way, though. I could ask to go to the bathroom, then I’ll sneak out to his truck and hide in the back. No, that won’t work. There’s no way he would miss me. Wait! Maybe the compartment is empty. How would I know? Well, it’s worth a try, I suppose… And if it isn’t empty, then I’ll just go back to class. Yeah, that’s it! I’ll do that!
Petra smiled to herself. She would carry out her plan the next morning.
Satisfied with her thoughts, she drifted to sleep.

Collier sat at his desk. The light from the lamp glared into his eyes. He put his face in his hands and groaned. He swiveled his chair around to see the clock on the wall behind him. It was 11:38 pm.
But he couldn’t go to bed yet. He had to finish his Chemistry project, which was two days overdue. If one more day passed, he would receive an In-School Suspension. He knew from experience that those were not fun.
He turned back to his work. He read Question #11 for the fiftieth time.
How many valence electrons do Krypton atoms have?
The question drifted out of his head as he tapped his pencil on the desk.
Then he thought.
He thought about school. About what Petra said—was it true? Was Algebra II really his favorite subject? English II came close… And what was all that about Professor?
He probably just had a doctor’s appointment. He doesn’t need to tell us those details, so he just doesn’t. But, wait, he wouldn’t have an appointment every day, would he? Maybe he has some sort of disease or something. Maybe the doctors have to watch his health.
No, it’s probably not that. He’s not going to the doctor. It’s something else. I need to find out. And I’m going to.
What car does he drive again?
Right, he has a truck. Now if I could just get into that compartment… It shouldn’t have anything in it. I’ll do that tomorrow. I’ll just skip class and get into his truck. If I skip class I’ll get an ISS, but I’m getting that anyway, because I can’t finish this assignment.
Collier switched off the lamp and felt his way to his bed.
As soon as his head touched the pillow, he was asleep.

The next morning, Collier got up earlier than he ever had—earlier than Anthony. He knew that Anthony would want to walk to class together, but he wouldn’t be walking to class that morning.
He couldn’t tell Anthony, either. He knew that his roommate wouldn’t approve.
Collier pulled out his backpack. Then he thought. He wouldn’t need it, would he? But what about clothes? What if he wouldn’t be back for a long time?
But, no, Professor was always back by the next day.
Collier ditched his backpack and went to the sink. This time, he actually brushed his teeth and washed his face with soap. He combed his hair and even sprayed on some of Anthony’s cologne.
Why am I doing this? I’ll be back by tomorrow, anyway, Collier thought. He shrugged and took a piece of extra yellow paper, on which he scribbled, “Left early to go to chess club—Collier.” He wondered if there even was a chess club. But he didn’t care, and Anthony wouldn’t know, anyway. Then he thought before adding, “Sorry about the cologne smell. I accidentally knocked it off the sink and the lid came off.”
Collier slapped a piece of tape onto the paper and put it up onto the mirror.
He slipped out the door just as Anthony’s alarm clock went off.

Petra was the first one to class, as usual. She was nervous, but she didn’t know why. Sneaking into Professor’s truck wasn’t something to be afraid of, was it?
It was, actually. It was something that Collier would do.
Petra smiled at the thought.
She took a seat near the door, so she would have more time to get to the truck and return, if things didn’t go as planned.
A steady stream of students poured in. But when the bell rang, Collier still hadn’t showed up.
He’s probably late, just like always, Petra thought. She took out her Algebra II notebook and opened it up to the first empty page. She began to doodle, which surprised her, because she never doodled on schoolwork unless she was nervous.
Then she remembered that she was nervous.
Class began. Professor was back, as always.