Here it is - the not-so-long awaited third chapter in the ongoing saga of my Matrix adventure!
Nothing else happened that night, although that was certainly enough for me. I arrived at the library close to one in the morning, and strangely I didn't recognize anyone there from my class. In fact, I was almost the only one there. I thought bitterly to myself that this plan was brilliant. If those guys did think to come to the library, I'd be the only one for them to see.
I walked toward the stairs. A male student I hadn't noticed before looked up at me from his magazine, then quickly went back to reading. As I continued up the stairway, I had the uneasy feeling that he was still watching. When I finally gathered the courage to look again, from about halfway up to the second floor, he was gone.
In the peace and stifling quiet of the library, I settled down at a desk in the main lobby of the second floor and tried to work. I couldn't concentrate at all. I was also exhausted, but sleep was not an option. I forced myself to stare at the text of the three-hundred page chemistry text I had brought along, even though it was pointless. I decided that if I survived this, I was going to forget the science and be a theater major.
So many questions ran through my mind. Who were these guys and why were they after me of all people? Who was Glitch? What would my dad think of his network hypothesis now? How did I get into this mess? Then all other questions faded from my mind, as the biggest and most important question surfaced and I fell asleep.
The next day I woke up at eight and remembered that I had a meeting with my advisor – pretty much a session of him telling me that I really need to bring my grades up higher by the end of the semester if I want to survive at the college. It was supposed to be at 9, but I didn't get there until ten minutes after. When I finally got to his office, my advisor had a strange look on his face. I couldn't tell if it was concern or disbelief. My grades couldn't possibly be that low, so something else had to be going on.
"Is something wrong?" I wasn't sure that I wanted to know the answer after all the strange things that had been happening to me recently. He smiled a very fake smile that completely failed to reassure me.
"No, everything's fine. Come with me, there's someone who wants to meet with you." I followed him down the long hallway of the second floor of the biology department offices. Passing a dissection lab, I was welcomed with the refreshing smell of formaldehyde that made me feel nauseous. But part of that certainly could have been my nervousness. Glancing behind me again, I thought I saw a man in a black suit disappear around the corner. But I reminded myself that it was just the lack of sleep I had the night before.
My advisor led me into a small room at the end of the hall. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The only furnishings in the room were a small desk and two chairs, one occupied by a thin man in a black suit. He motioned for me to sit in the other chair, the very last thing I wanted to do. So I sat. After removing his sunglasses, he extended his hand for me to shake as he introduced himself.
"My name is Mr. Smith."
Please R&R!
