The Woman on the Train: Part 2
Fiction
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This is Part 2 of my continuing series on “The Woman on the Train”. Again I have to thank
for supplying the real-life incident for which I developed this fiction story.If you missed Part 1, it’s a must read and this is the only way you know how the whole thing is going to go. You can read it here: The Woman on the Train: Part 1.
The next morning, I went to the registrar’s office at the university.
“Hi,” I said to the woman at the registrar’s desk.
“Good morning,” she said.
“I’m James Reardon. I believe you have my schedule.”
“School has already started. Are you sure you’re supposed to be starting now?”
“Yes. I was in the hospital for a few months,” I lied.
“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it wasn’t something too serious.”
“I was hit by a car.”
“Well, it looks like you’re better now.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Yes, here is your registration. And here is your class schedule.”
“Thank you,” I said as I took it from her.
“A man after my own heart. I’ve always been interested in law but never took the plunge.”
“You should go back to school. It’s never too late,” I said.
She smiled and I left the office.
I looked at the schedule and they were all complex courses. But it didn’t matter because I wouldn’t be in them for long. I made my way to the bookstore to collect my books for the classes. Stephanie was pursuing a degree in law. I was in all of her classes. That was the plan.
The day I picked up my schedule was the first day that I attended classes. There were people everywhere. They were hurrying by me like they were late or something. Maybe they were late for class. There were men and women of all ages and ethnicities. It was unique to be back on a college campus. I hadn’t been on one in five years. With all these different aged people, I could blend in. Sure I was still young but the usual age is a little younger than I was.
I walked into the first class. I saw Stephanie and immediately found the seat next to her. The chair was attached to the desk, just like in high school. I set down my backpack and pulled out my notebook and pen. She smiled.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hi.”
“I’m new here.”
“I was going to say I hadn’t seen you before.”
“I’m a late entrant.”
“Ah. Well it’s nice to meet you. I’m Stephanie.”
“I’m James,” I lied.
“You’re going to tick off Amanda.”
“Amanda?”
“She usually sits there,” she said pointing to the desk I was at.
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry. There’s plenty of leftover seats. This class isn’t full by any means.”
I was glad she was able to carry on a conversation. We would be talking a lot, she just didn’t know it yet.
The class was called Criminal Law. I knew everything about her. I had to be careful when I talked to her though and not let anything slip out.
I have to admit she was beautiful. She had long brown hair and eyes to kill for. And if I can say, a body to die for. This was going to be fun. But I had to keep my wits about me. I couldn’t fall for her and screw this up. Her ability to stay alive depended on me.
When I got to the second class, I sat a few rows behind her. As long as I could see her, everything should be fine. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, so I didn’t say hello to her when I came in. I made my way to the back of the classroom. Once class started, there was a throng of people who entered the class at the last moment. One guy looked suspect to me. Maybe it was my intuition of being a former cop. I didn’t like him. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew there was something wrong about him. I watched intently as he sat down. He was seated in the same row as Stephanie and three seats away from her.
This class was named “Criminal Procedure: Investigations”. I believe this is where all the danger started. I knew I had to watch her like a hawk here. And now I had one more thing to watch. I didn’t need this guy in this class. He may have nothing to do with this but I couldn’t take any chances. He was large, probably about two-hundred and fifty pounds. He had short brown curly hair. He had a nose on him that told me he’d been in some fights. It was re-arranged. He wore blue jeans and a shirt that appeared dirty. He had a light jacket on. It was eighty degrees outside. This told me one thing, he was either cold in the air conditioning or he was carrying. This is why my ears went up when he entered. If he was carrying, I had big problems. Of course, I was carrying too. My guess is that the university wouldn’t be happy if I had to display it. Then, my cover would be blown too. The professor started talking and I wasn’t paying attention. I heard his words going in one ear and out the other. I was watching this guy. Then, I heard something and noticed people looking back toward me.
“Excuse me, who are you?” the professor was saying toward me.
“James Reardon, sir,” I said.
“Are you sure you’re in the right class?”
“Yes, I’m a late entrant. I was in the hospital, so this is my first day.”
He went back to his class schedule and was looking it over. I saw Stephanie look back my way with a smile.
“Ah, yes. Here it is. I was notified of it this morning. Well, welcome to my class.”
“Thank you sir.”
“Okay class. Let’s turn to page 90 in your book. We’re going to discuss what you do with all the research on your investigations.”
As we turned to the page that the professor told us, I looked over at the bad guy and he was looking at the textbook. Page 90 happened to be what to do with the data you collected and how to approach a higher up to get action.
A discussion happened between the whole class on what our actions entailed.
“Stephanie. Amanda dropped out of this class, so you’ll need to get a new partner,” the professor said.
“Oh. How about I pair up with James since he’s new?” she said.
“James, is that okay?” the professor asked.
“Sure, that’s fine,” I said.
Great! This was perfect. Now I could really keep an eye on her and it wouldn’t look suspicious. Of course, I still had to make sure I wasn’t seen when I wasn’t working with her. I wouldn’t want her to think I was a stalker.
As the class winded down, the professor told us to get with our partners and go over the research that had been collected.
The class ended and everyone filed out of the classroom. We didn’t have another class until the afternoon.
END PART 2
Conclusion
So you are more involved in the story now. I can’t wait until you hear the next installment. I wish I could post it all now but then you’d be reading a whole book.
Thank you for reading. Hit that “Like” button to show me you like what I’m writing.
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By the way, next week I’ll be sending out my next installment of my Abstract Art newsletter. And then we’ll go back to Part 3 of the story.
Until next time, happy reading!
-Matt
This continues to intrigue me, Matt! 😊