Into The Light

By: CNJ

PG-13

4: The Big Thief

Claudia:

Sunday afternoon is my day to work at the art store. It's usually very quiet and sometimes during slow times and breaks, I meet fellow artists and we chat about various art projects we're working on.

Right now, I'm on a project painting several three-dimensional layered paintings of various cityscapes.

The best part about working here is that we get a thirty percent discount on everything here.

This afternoon, I could hear a customer talking with another cashier.

"...Think there is a lot of corruption in that bursar's office..." she was saying. "I started working there last winter. Ideally, their accountants are supposed to have access to all the financial records of the dealings of the buildings on this campus, but I get the feeling that some of the records aren't there.

"The other day I saw someone there storing something on a disk. I figured they were on a work break because some of us surf the net and all during our breaks, but when I walked by, she leaned forward and stared at me until I'd gone.

"At first I didn't think anything of it because I figured maybe she was writing a private e-mail.

"But later, I saw this person passing the disk to somebody in the lobby, somebody that doesn't work there..."

Wow! I thought. Maybe there is something fishy going on around here! I realized. Could someone be embezzling money?

"Hey, did you see anything else suspicious?" I asked suddenly.

"Wha..." The woman, who looked about thirty, turned to me.

"I...couldn't help overhearing your conversation...my friends and I used to live in the Van Gogh dorm...that closed down in August."

"Oh, that's too bad," the bursar worker told me sympathetically. "You found another place?"

"Yes, thank God. We've been hearing about places on campus closing down. A friend of mine is into acting and she was really upset when Vincente Art Hall closed down."

"I haven't seen anything yet," the woman said. "Do you work here every Sunday?"

"Almost," I nodded. "I'd really like to know if there's anything dishonest going on. My friends would too. If it's a matter of foul play here, this campus could be in trouble if the person...or people aren't stopped."

"Yes, you're right. Well...I'm Burke and I'll be on the lookout for anything else suspicious. If I see anything more, I'll let you know."

"I'm Claudia," I told her and we reached over and shook hands before she left.

"God...embezzlement!" the other cashier, Bernice gasped. "I heard about Van Gogh Hall too. I live at Plath Hall and a lot of my dormmates are worried too."

"I hope they dig up something fast for our sakes," I added.

I had to tell my friends this the second we all got home. Maybe...if we heard anything, we could pass it on to Burke and we can gather evidence to turn in and catch the people responsible for this.


"She actually saw it?!" Liza nearly fell out of her chair that night at dinner.

All four of us were home and we were having seated at the kitchen table having tacos.

"In a way..." I searched for an explanation. "She doesn't have proof, but she has a sneaking suspicion."

"She should talk to the police about this," Aya put in.

"Can't do it without proof." I finished off a third taco. "She's going to see if she can actually get hard evidence of this."

"I hope so." Liza looked really worried.

We were all quiet a minute, thinking about the events in the last few weeks.

I remembered an essay I had to finish for Tuesday and a quiz on Thursday.

"Have some good news, sort of..." Liza went on "I put together a rough draft of a letter to the Iraqi embassy..."

She went into the living room briefly, then returned and moved her plate out of the way and put down a copy of the letter she'd printed out.

We all leaned close to read it. It was pretty good. Very well written and convincing.

"Good ending..." Aya nodded.

"Thanks," Liza told us. "Oh, and excuse any typos; I still have to run the spell-check on it and double-check it."

"I think we may have a shot at convincing them to let Iyra come here," Louisa put in.

"I sent her a letter telling her what we're doing here," Aya explained. "If she can find somebody to keep her safe on the trip to the American Embassy there, she should be all right."

"We hope..." all of us said simultaneously.

"I have to e-mail Katie tonight and see if she can get in touch with the organizations there." Liza folded the letter.

"I still need to write to the Political Asylum Institute," Louisa put in.

"I'm seeing if I can e-mail Amnesty International," I said as we got up and started to wash our dishes. We then got ready for another school week.


E-mails back and forth:

Date: October 2, 2003:

Spiker to Womynpower:

Hi, Katie! How's school going? Are the leaves changing in Washington yet?

They sure are here! It's really pretty. Hey, I have a favor to ask...we're going to try to get Aya's friend Iyra, the one living in Iraq, here to the States.

We know about the deplorable conditions the women are facing there and get this...they still have arranged marriages there.

So, Iyra's parents are arranging her to marry this guy already...she's only nineteen!

I get the feeling from what Aya's told me, she really doesn't want to marry the guy.

I know you're active in NOW and they're keeping tabs on the situation there...so do you think NOW could get maybe political asylum for her?

If you can check with them and get back to me, that'd be great!

I know there's legal and international issues to get cleared up. Aya says the Iyra will try to flee Iraq. Thanks!

Love, Liza

Womynpower to Spiker:

Hey, Liza! School's all right here. I'm taking three classes in law.

The leaves are starting to change here, although there's still a lot of green around.

The weather's gotten cooler; at least the heat is gone, but we haven't had any really cold days yet.

Wow, Iyra's situation stinks! I've read about the plight of women there and it appalls me that not more people are protesting worldwide.

Remember the plight of women in Afghanistan until recently?

I'll see what I can find out about Iyra's possibilities through NOW.

I'll also check out the legal avenues too; last year I took a class in international law; I'll check with Professor Geisworth on the laws between the States and Iraq.

I hope Iyra can escape that awful situation and I wish her good luck.

I'll let you know as soon as I find something. Talk later.

Love, Katie


Liza:

All of us, the cast of our upcoming play, which is a week before Thanksgiving, have been rehearsing more and this Thursday was no exception.

As we sat around talking during our break, I casually asked if anyone was keeping track of Granite U's finances.

"I heard the art center is really short of funds this year," Cyrana Gambini volunteered.

"But isn't that what our tuitions are supposed to cover?" Bart Mintwood, who was playing the part of FDR, asked.

"Some of it," Gayle Valway, who was playing Eleanor's daughter, hinted.

"So I wonder..." I searched for words carefully. "Why are some of the places here closing down so suddenly? Isn't that a bit strange?"

"Oh...yeah, it is," Cyrana nodded. "Do you think something crooked is going on?"

"I get the feeling..." I told them what Claudia had overheard in the art store the other day.

"Wow...that's heavy," Bart let out his breath.

"Scary to think of somebody stealing from the college," Gayle put in.

"From us students," Cyrana said indignantly. "Like some of those crooked politicians."

"Don't forget the big thieves in the White House," Francesca Sarroto put in and we all laughed.

"But seriously..." I leaned forward and looked around to make sure that no one else was lurking around. The walls do sometimes have ears and all.

"Think we need to scour around, all of us? Claudia, Aya, Louisa and I talked about it and we all are going to discreetly keep our eyes and ears open."

"Can't hurt." Gayle twirled her necklace around. "But we should be subtle, that's the key. If whoever is guilty catches wind that we know what's going on, either they'll become sneakier or we could end up toast for their breakfast...or both."

"Good idea..." I shuddered at the thought of anyone retaliating.

We sat for a long minute, sipping sodas and thinking. Francesca passed around chips and we all dug in.

Once we'd sat and snacked for a while, Cyrara stood up and announced, "Well, I'm ready to roll again. Is anyone else?"

"I am..." I stood and so did everyone else. We rehearsed for another hour before going home.


E-mails back and forth between Claudia, Kristy, Mona, and Mary Anne:

Visions (Claudia) to Bizprez (Kristy), Boox (Mary Anne), Animalover (Mona), MuzeMaker (Ran):

Hi, you four! Remember my roommate, Aya, that I told you about who's from Iraq?

I was thinking about a favor I need from you all, if you can.

Aya has a friend in Iraq, Iyra, who's trying to escape an arranged marriage. You know about the awful conditions for women there.

I was wondering since you all live in New York City, you know of any institutions like an Amnesty International or something like that there.

If you have time and all, maybe you all could send me some info on them, please?

Liza, Aya, Louisa, and I are gathering up info and writing to whoever can help Iyra escape her situation and maybe get here to the States.

At least if she can get out of the Middle East, that'd be swell. Thanks, you all!

Love, Claudia

Bizprez to Visions:

Wow. Iyra's situation does sound grave. I'll see what I can dig up.

There should be something since New York is such a big city and let's not forget that the bulk of immigrants came through the New York Ellis Island at the turn of last century. Remember our trip there?

God, I got such a lump in my throat when I saw my mom's name on that register of immigrants from Italy!

And I'll never forget Mary Anne's tears for her great-great grandmother from Germany.

Well, Mary Anne, Mona, Ran and I will get our heads together for some serious huddling and figure out some good places to contact.

If you want, we can add our appeals on Iyra's behalf. We'll see what we can do and keep you posted! Caio for now.

Love, Kristy

Boox to Visions:

Oh, Claudia, Iyra's situation just brings tears to my eyes!

Of course, I'll see what I can do. Kristy, Mona, Ran and I are already kicking ideas back and forth. Like Kristy said, we can add our appeals too.

The more voices, the better. Remember Operation Equality back in high school? How all of our voices got things moving?

Hey, maybe of a lot of people helped women flee there, that would motivate the people of Iraq to overthrow their regime. There's really no need for a full-scale war there.

Oh, I just shudder thinking about what girls and woman have to face! It's horrifying that blatant sexism still exists!

Hey, listen, I was thinking about the United Nations, since we live so close to there.

The U.N. deals with international issues all the time and this is bound to be one.

I bet they get appeals often to help loved ones overseas. I'll get back to you the moment I find something.

If you want, we'll add our letters. I'll be talking or ee-ing real soon!

Love, Mary Anne

Animalover to Visions:

Kristy, Mary Anne, Ran and I got back a little while ago from meeting in Kristy's place and we have a list of several places we're going to investigate, the U.N. being one of them.

So, it's looks like we'll start there. I just hope we can help Iyra in time.

I hear once the girls are married off, it's very hard to annul that marriage and her husband can virtually hold her hostage.

The situation is so awful! We're so lucky we don't live there.

Imagine being pushed into marriage at such a young age.

Like Kristy and Mary Anne said in their earlier e-mails, we'll see what we can dig up and I'll ee you as soon as we can.

Gotta go...Mary Anne, Kristy, Ran and I are headed out to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner.

Love, Mona

Muzemake to Visions:

God, that situation is horrible. And I thought we were living in the stone ages here in the States. Just...God.

My head is on my desk just thinking about this. Mary Anne, Kristy, Mona and I'll do what we can...we made out notes just now.

I'll reach out to Amnesty International to see what they can do.

I'm think about the World Health Organization since the situation in Iraq is a real health issue.

If we have any luck, I'll ee and let you know...in the meantime, good luck in your side of the camp. Caio until then.

Hugs,

Ran the Zack