Part 16: The Test
Geez, and I thought last year was difficult, Gaele thought as she stared
at the screen in front of her. It was nearly 3 a.m., and she was getting
a pounding headache, from long hours of reading her typed notes on
her laptop. There was a written MicroBiology test at eight a.m. tomorrow...
and she wasn't sure if she would make it. She shut everything down, and rolled
into bed, barely able to pull the covers over her.
"Guhh," she said aloud, as she turned over to look at the clock. Seven-forty
five am. How could it be, already? And it took 10 minutes to get to class...
she crawled out of bed, still in the sweats she was wearing last night, and
blindly put on her boots, gloves and overcoat. She pulled a knit watch cap
over her tousled hair, and stumbled down the hall, almost dragging her backpack.
"Coffee," she mumbled aloud at the nearest moving object, who happened to
be one of her dorm mates.
"Hey, no prob, Gaylee! Coming right up!" The brown girl then laughed, her
large, white teeth flashing. She disappeared into the kitchen, and brought
out a tall, insulated cup with a cover on it. "It's black, so watch it, might
be a little hot."
Gaele grimaced after taking a cautious sip. "Gah, you aren't kidding! Thanks,
Fahtim."
"Gotta test, I bet..." Fahtim said, pulling her black, corkscrew hair back
behind her shoulders. "Don't forget to bring back the mug, it's actually
my roomie's. She doesn't mind as long as it still in one piece."
"Oh, no prob. See you at noon, I guess..."
"Good lu-uck, not that you need it, you propeller-head," Fahtim teased, as
Gaele amiably tossed her head in return.
She stumbled through the new snow, which hadn't been cleared from the walkways
yet, then her feet went out from under her suddenly, and she went down, hard.
Her coffee mug went flying into a snowdrift. She dug frantically for it,
not caring about the snow going in between her gloves and coat sleeves. Finally,
she found the mug, and noticed hardly a drop had spilled. Got to get myself
one of these, she thought, gripping the handle tightly as she skidded her
way to the Science building.
She slipped inside the room just as the professor was closing and locking
the door. He didn't tolerate tardiness. She smiled an apology at his stern
glance, and slid into the nearest seat. The snow that fell down her boots
was melting and soaking her socks and the legs of her sweatpants, making
her feet itch. She squirmed out of her coat, and pulled off her hat, trying
to smooth down her hair which crackled and nearly stood up from the static.
She ignored the disdainful look from a willowy, well groomed, blonde woman
next to her, and got out her mechanical pencil, and waited for the signal
to turn over her paper.
An hour and a half later, Gaele turned her paper back over.
"Finished already, Miss Angelo?" The professor raised an eyebrow.
"Yes sir."
As if not believing her, he came over and studied her paper. "Hmm. Very well,
you may take a ten minute break."
"Yes sir."
Feeling refreshed and better groomed after a trip to the ladies' room, Gaele
went back to class, and flopped into her seat with a sigh. The blonde had
also finished her test, and was glowering at her again. Gaele smiled primly
in return. What the heck is HER problem, she thought to herself.
When class was over, Gaele pulled on her coat, and a small roll of paper
slipped out of her sleeve. It caught the eye of the instructor, who happened
to be collecting the test paper of the student in front of Gaele.
Puzzled, Gaele picked it up and inspected it. To her horror, she saw it was
a cheat sheet, rolled so that it would fit against the inside of her coat
sleeve, that she could pull out to read when no one was watching. It was
obvious to the prof, and the blonde, who gave Gaele an "I might have known,"
smirk.
"Miss Angelo, may I see that, please?" The professor held out his hand.
"I don't know where it came from," Gaele said in a small voice. The other
students paused as they exited, to give her looks of varying degrees of
sympathy.
"I SAW it fall out of her sleeve, Professor," the blonde purred, as she walked
away, adjusting her coat.
The instructor read the list of answers, that had been reduced on a laser
printer, from an eight by ten to a four by five sheet of paper. He gestured
for Gaele to follow him to his desk.
"Miss Angelo," he said in a reproachful tone. "You are familiar with the
consequences of cheating on a test, are you not?"
"Yes sir, but it isn't mine, I swear it. Someone must have put it in my coat
when I was out, I stayed up all NIGHT just to review for this test!"
The man sighed, and stared at the paper. "You may very well have, Miss Angelo,
but I cannot deviate from the rules. It was obvious that this was in your
sleeve, and how can I know any difference? Unless you can prove foul play,
I'm afraid I will have to invalidate your test score."
"What!?" Gaele's jaw dropped. "How can you- I didn't- I- you mean, fail me?
That will lower my GPA!"
"Miss Angelo, why would anyone want to put this in your sleeve?"
"I don't know!"
"What else can I do? I cannot excuse this, it wouldn't be fair to the other
students."
Gaele opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again, deciding to let it
ride, for the moment. Patience, don't lose your cool. You don't want to shame
your family... people are watching you like circling vultures... she took
a calming breath. She nodded in submission to the instructor, and gathered
up her things.
As she left the room, she noticed the blonde who had been in her class, talking
to an equally sleek brunette in the hall. They looked at her as though she
had fallen out of the back of a garbage truck. The blonde's mouth twitched,
and Gaele felt her own face grow hot. She heard the smothered laugh, and
decided to pretend she hadn't noticed, though inside her head she
envisioned her claws raking the lipsticked grins off both their faces. She
felt better once she got outside, at least she had gotten past the homicidal
stage...
She felt horribly deflated. Unless she could prove that there was a setup,
she would not get an A in Microbiology. She needed that class! It just wasn't
FAIR!
Blinded by tears, she stumbled her way to the dorm. Someone called her name,
and she ignored them, and went into her room, and slammed the door. She thought
of calling her parents, or even Don, but then she realized she needed to
deal this by herself, to prove that she was no different from any other student
there... Though she was hungry, she lay down and slept. By her two o'clock
class, she was feeling more rested, showered and coiffed, and more presentable
to the world. But as she sat watching a slide presentation and jotted down
notes, her mind still kept replaying the morning's incident.
By nightfall, she had worked it out. She was going to look into what she
decided was the most likely suspect. It all seemed to fall in the direction
of the blonde. The blonde was sitting closest to her, next to the sleeve
that held the paper... seemed to be the only one who made it obvious as to
how she felt about her... Gaele smiled. Time to put her training to some
use! To what use, she had yet to figure out... but she had to do SOMEthing.
The Rathskeller was closed, by 10 p.m. so there wouldn't be too many people
out. She changed into a dark grey, clingy jumpsuit that covered her
from the neck down- even her tail- and pulled on black, rubber-soled tabi.
Her old sweats and housecoat covered her up for the trip downstairs to the
laundry room. Seeing it was deserted, she closed the door, quickly opened
up her "laundry bag", put on a ski mask that hid her bright hair and most
of her face, and then stuck her sweats along with her other clothes into
an empty washer, and turned it on. She wrapped a thin, silk rope with folded
grappling hooks around her waist, and buckled on a leather belt that contained
several lock-picking tools. Then, last of all she put on a pair of tight
leather gloves, and took a few breaths, 3 deep, 3 slow, and when she felt
fully focused, opened the bathroom window, which was at ground level. She
wormed her way out, and, crouched behind the bushes, looked cautiously around.
Deserted. She made her way across the campus, walking in tracks already made
by others, and stood very still in the shadows when anyone happened to appear,
which was only twice. She could stand perfectly still for hours... Daddy
had taught her this. He'd taught her everything, and she was glad he did.
She'd always wanted to be a Shadow Warrior, but fortunately not to the extent
Daddy had to be, in his youth. To only spy- not to kill, not yet, and hopefully,
never. She then drew herself up to focus on the Here and Now- the task at
hand- and to think of nothing else.
The administration building was obviously locked, but easier to access from
the roof. She readied the rope, and spun the grappling hook in a circular
blur until it hummed quietly, then she released it at the right moment, watching
it sail up and then over the top, and disappear. Its rubber tipped spikes
landed without a sound, and she carefully drew the rope until it was
taut. After a few firm yanks, she quickly hauled herself up, hand over
hand, her feet nearly waist high as they gripped the rough wall. She looked
back as she reached the top. Voices and laughter echoed against the building
opposite hers, and she melted into the shadows on the rooftop.
The fire door was no trouble to open, after she checked for any alarm. Her
blood hummed with adrenaline. She loved doing this stuff... this was the
first time she was doing something for real, on her own, and it was all SO
exciting. She crept down the stairwell, ears tuned to any movement, eyes
searching for any surveillance cameras or invisible eye sensors. She came
to the door of the registrar's, and shone a penlight at the lock. It was
large, and old fashioned, and it wasn't long before the door swung inward
on well oiled hinges. She took out a tiny aspirator bottle, and blew sharply
into the stem. A fine mist enveloped the room, and she peered through a filtered
lens to locate the security beams. Just one, about hip high, across the threshold
to the computer monitors. She rolled easily under it, and then stood up,
eyes on the closest dark screen. She looked around, her ears tuned to any
noises, and then turned it on, and began to run a search. Since it was only
a student address database for office use, it had no password, so she quickly
looked up the name, home address, and class schedule of a certain blonde...
who lived, oh, right here in town, so she must live off campus... hmmm. Not
much time to do anything else, maybe this is all she needed?
Gaele quickly copied the address on a piece of scrap paper, and then shut
down the computer, rolled back under the beam, and glanced around to see
if anything had been disturbed. One of the most important things Daddy told
her, was to NEVER leave ANY evidence of herself having been there. She hadn't
done much, in fact, she doubted anyone would even know there was a
break-in...
She peeked through the window of the laundromat. Good, no one in there...
she had come back even before her wash was done. She pulled off her hat and
gloves, and stuck her haversack into the laundry bag. Then she put on her
housecoat, and then ran upstairs to change before anyone noticed. She was
just unlocking the door to her room, when she heard someone call her name
from down the hall. She looked up, and to her horror, saw it was Don.
"Gaele," he said, approaching her. "I've been trying to reach you, they said
you were downstairs-" His smile faded as he looked her over. He glanced around,
and suddenly pulled her into her room and closed the door. "Why are you wearing
those," Don asked, in a low, urgent voice.
Gaele stared down at her feet, still in the black tabi. Ah crap, forgot to
take 'em off...
"What's going on?"
"Nothing," Gaele said, shrugging. "I was just wearing them around..."
Don's mouth tightened into a hard line. "Those are supposed to be part of
your gear. You know better than to just wear them around... now, you mind
telling me what's happening here?"
"I told you, nothing," Gaele said, trying hard to keep her voice steady.
"I went down to do some laundry, and-"
"And you forgot your soap."
"What?"
He gently grasped her upper arm, and sat her down on her bed. He then bent
down and picked up one of her feet, deftly pulling off the tabi, and ran
his finger along the edges of the thin rubber sole. "They're wet... trace
of mud, here..."
"All right, so I went for a little walk."
"And?"
"What do you mean, 'and'? Why do I have to answer to you? I mean, I don't
hear from you for months, and then you barge in and start giving me grief?"
"Because I called you several times, and got no answer. I was happening by
the area, and wanted to see how you were doing. One of your friends- Fatima,
or something- mentioned you'd been upset after classes, and that you
might be downstairs doing laundry... I went down there, and there was a single
washer going, with no soap. So, I figured you had forgotten it, and had gone
upstairs again. Then I noticed a basement window that was left partially
open..."
"So I forgot the soap, and a window was partially left open. So what?"
Don shifted back, and folded his arms. "So what, eh?" She could see his jaws
clench in sudden suppressed emotion. "Then perhaps you wouldn't mind telling
me what you were doing, rappelling off the roof of the administration building,
at exactly twenty-two forty-five?"
Gaele's mouth opened in surprise. "How did you-"
"Do you mind telling me, or do I have to tell you?"
"Look, it really isn't any of your-"
"None of my what? Business? Affair? WHAT?" He sharply exhaled, and turned
away from her. "Do you realize that if you had been caught, you'd have been
facing some serious consequences?"
"But I DIDN'T get caught, did I?"
"I caught you. That is consequence enough."
"Look, this is my problem, and I'm going to solve it myself, okay?"
"What problem?"
"Nothing."
He turned to glare at her, his eyes round. "If you had tripped the alarm,
and been caught, you would have been charged with criminal trespass, at the
very least, not to mention breaking and entering. That would result in not
only immediate and permanent expulsion, but indictments-"
"Look," Gaele retorted, standing up. "You aren't my father, okay?"
"Your father isn't HERE," Don ground out. "Furthermore, while you are wearing
your gear, you are in the realm of clan business, most of which I am responsible.
You get caught wearing that, and there will be trouble, BIG time." His voice
dropped to a nearly inaudible level. "When one of us screws up, Gaele, the
honor of the entire clan is at stake."
"You mean, trouble for you as well?"
"YES," Don said through his teeth. "And I simply cannot afford that kind
of trouble. I have enough to deal with, as is, than to have to put up with
the antics of a junior member who can't even explain her actions."
Gaele swallowed, and sat limply down on the bed again.
"Go change out of your gear, and hand everything over. NOW."
She stared at him a moment, but his face didn't relax.
"Okay," she finally said. "Be right back." She went into the bathroom, and
changed into her nightclothes. She put the robe back on, and then gave Don
her duffle bag. He looked through it, and then gave her a meaningful expression.
She frowned, and then went into the closet and gave him the other gear she
had as backup. He rolled up the clothing and put it into the bag, along with
everything else.
"So, why did you do it?"
"Huh?"
Don frowned. "The building. Why did you break in?"
"I dunno."
"You don't KNOW?" He seemed to gather himself, as though for a verbal assault,
but then diffused it with a slight shrug. "All the more reason that you should
not practice this any more," he muttered, tossing the duffle bag onto the
floor by the door. "None at all. There's no reason for it..."
"That's for you to decide?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well," Gaele twirled a lock of her hair in nervous agitation."I know that
you are supposed to decide who does what in this so-called clan, but you
aren't the one who taught me, so... maybe you don't know the reason why I
was taught ninjitsu, really."
Don's face went deadpan. "Well, WHOEVER taught you did a very poor job of
it. Regardless of the reason."
Gaele's throat closed up so that she could barely speak. "Oh, thanks a lot.
Why not just slap me in the face instead? It might have felt a lot better."
She turned and faced the window, though she could not see out, through the
blur of angry tears. She wished Don would disappear, along with his self
righteous, anal retentive-
"Gaele," Don's voice was easier, now. "I meant no insult, but I am duty bound
to speak the plain truth, here. I cannot allow you to practice half understood
lessons that could land you in far more trouble than if you hadn't learned
it at all. It is obvious that you do not have the proper mindset to practice
this without close supervision. It isn't..." he paused as though to carefully
select his words. "It isn't as though you are incompetent in other areas
of your life, that is by far the contrary. I see a highly intelligent,
sensitive and capable person, who is able to think on her feet and survive
whatever life will throw in her direction. But ninjitsu is obviously not
going to be the answer."
"Then why did YOU guys learn it?"
"Different reasons, Gaele. And personally speaking, I was not in the position
to have a choice. That was what was given me, and it was either immerse myself
completely into the lessons, or not survive. "
"Okay..." Gaele said, smoothing the pillow she had been clutching in
her lap. "I lost the point- or maybe... I never really understood the intention
of those stories. I just thought they were something Daddy made up. Never
really thought much about it, never wanted to... they were too wierd."
As the moments passed, Gaele's mind unwound from the tight watchspring mode
it was in, and gradually settled.
Don laughed a little. "It's funny, how one's perspective is affected by how
they are brought up. I used to think that I was so foolish and inept... seemed
it took far more effort on my part to learn the Way, and wondered when it
would all end... and before I knew it, I'd learned everything there was to
learn, and it had become effortless. But there was another element I knew
I or perhaps all my brothers would never understand... I felt I would never
learn the level of wisdom that Master Splinter had reached. Or that he had,
to begin with... I think it's probably the latter... something that
closely resembles the element of zen... in my own opinion, I don't think
it's something one can learn if they don't have it in the first place. My
own life, the path it is, I feel so foolish most of the time... and yet I
look at how my other brothers live, and I only see different facets
of that same foolishness."
He stopped then, and gave Gaele a sidelong look that she couldn't quite
translate. "I'm thinking too much again," he said at length. "That can be
dangerous. Might lead to self awareness."
Gaele couldn't help but giggle at his joke.