Episode 47: Scene Seven

Gia walked into the office door. She handed her yellow slip to the secretary. "Could someone please tell me why I'm here?" she inquired, putting on her warmest smile.

The secretary wasn't impressed. "Go over there," she pointed towards the second secretary.

The second secretary seemed friendlier than the first. "You have a letter, sweetie."

Gia breathed an enormous sigh of relief. "Is that all? I thought I was in trouble!"

The woman laughed. "No. Someone dropped this letter off and said it was important that you received it as soon as possible." Noticing the quizzical look on Gia's face, she continued, "Don't worry. We've already checked the letter for anything that could be harmful to you. It's safe."

Gia no longer had to pretend to smile. The secretary's warmth towards her had washed away all of her worries and fears. She took the letter from the woman and walked out of the office. She almost decided to save the pleasure of reading it for later just to keep herself in suspense, but something about it intrigued her. If it was important enough to have her pulled out of class to receive it, then something extremely important must have been held in its contents. She fingered the seal gingerly, toying with the idea of opening it. Finally, she broke into a mad dash for the girls' restroom.

Gia went into a stall, closing the door behind her. After putting the lid down, she took a seat on the smooth ivory toilet. She couldn't help but chuckle. What a romantic place to open such an important letter, she thought.

Gia broke the seal, taking extra care in seeing that the envelope was not torn. She took the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it. She closed it for a moment again, just to keep the suspense rolling. Then, she slowly opened it again. Smiling happily, Gia read the contents.

All of a sudden, the light went out of her face. The small faded like a wilting rose, and she let the letter fall from her hand. Gia put a hand to her mouth, attempting to hold back a sob. Tears began streaming down her face as she opened the stall door and ran out of the restroom.

Lying innocently on the floor, however, was the letter, which read:

You can run, but you can't hide...