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Chapter 4: Hidden Agendas

"So….what's the deal with what happened earlier?"

It was night time and Lisa and Janey were in their dorm trying to work on homework. While Lisa had managed to get through her other two classes without incident, she started feeling dizzy again towards the end and had to have Janey escort her back to their room. After popping two pain pills and keeping an ice pack pressed against her head, Lisa finally felt well enough to start doing school work. Although her new school books hadn't arrived yet, she was determined to stay on top of her assignments and copied off of notes and books she borrowed from Janey and the library.

Janey meanwhile, had been quiet since the incident in class and had not asked Lisa a single question while she attended her lessons. Now that they were alone, she was bursting with curiosity (as well as desperate for a distraction from homework) and begging for an explanation.

"Come on Lisa, just tell me! What happened in class today?"

"Please Janey, I'd rather not relive that embarrassing experience" Lisa said, trying to change the subject as she struggled to write her paper.

"But I have to tell the students something. They keep asking me strange questions like whether you were on drugs or seeing dead people or something like that."

Lisa tried ignoring her but soon found that she couldn't concentrate on her work. "Oh, who and I kidding? I can't stop thinking about it. The way I freaked out in the middle of class…the other students must think I'm insane."

"Well from what I overheard, only a couple of people think you're insane…though that Fredrick guy kept insisting that you have some sort of Tourette syndrome." Janey said thinking back.

Lisa groaned and moved the ice pack to her forehead, which began to throb painfully.

"I meant to ask by the way, who is Sideshow?" Janey asked.

Lisa froze and looked up. "What are you talking about?"

"Before you fell over, you yelled out 'Sideshow'. Is that a person or something? It sounds familiar…"

"Um, sideshow is…uhh…"

Quickly, Lisa tried wracking her brain for a decent explanation to tell Janey who waited patiently with anticipation. While she wanted to tell her the truth of what really happened in class, she remembered her agreement with Bob and what would happen if she broke it. Squeezing her eyes shut, Lisa was finally able to think straight.

"Yes I was talking about a Sideshow…Sideshow Mel in fact. You remember him, the sidekick from the Krusty the Klown show we used to watch as kids."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember. Was he that guy with the bone in his hair that was always getting knives thrown at him? Didn't he die during Krusty's last episode?"

"Yep, that's him alright." Lisa nodded. "Poor Sideshow Mel…"

"So what, you were daydreaming about him or something?" Janey asked. "That's a weird thing to do…"

"No, not him particularly. More like I was...daydreaming about that tragic episode. When I thought back to that botched sketch where he was horribly mauled by those circus dogs, that's when I shouted out in class. Guess it must've traumatized me more then I realize."

"That's some pretty deep daydreaming Lise." Janey admitted. "Gotta say, I originally thought you were yelling it at Prof. Sullivan. You seemed so entranced by him when he walked in the room…"

Lisa laughed nervously and cleared her throat. "I can assure you, it was just a daydream. I mean, I've never even seen Prof. Sullivan before today…."

"Oh man you should've been there to see him teach Lise. Prof. Sullivan's a genius! He repeated the entire Raven poem from memory!" Janey gushed. "And you should've seen how attentive he was after you hurt yourself. So gentle and caring… such attractive qualities…"

Lisa raised an eyebrow at Janey, who wore a goofy smile till she noticed Lisa's glare. "What? I can daydream too can't I?"

Lisa rolled her eyes at her friend before shifting her ice pack around her neck. "Look I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we just get back to doing homework?"

The two sat in silence as Janey reluctantly went back to doing her own homework. However, Lisa found she still couldn't concentrate. The only thing on her mind was the conversation she had with Sideshow Bob and the flash drive currently sitting in his desk drawer with the incriminating evidence on it.

Despite all they had discussed, Lisa still did not trust Bob. She could tell during their encounter that he was struggling to suppress his old homicidal urges, no doubt made worse by her unexpected presence and his everlasting grudge against her family. All it would take was one heated escalation and Bob was sure to snap and revert back into his evil ways. Then everyone she knew and cared about would be in danger, including herself. And given that she was in hiding, she couldn't count on law enforcement to help her stop him. With so much at stake, Lisa knew the only way she'd be able to keep everyone safe was by getting the flash drive away from Bob, to prevent any sort of temptation on his end. If she could only get her hands on it without him knowing, then she could protect both their secrets properly without the threat of the homicidal ex-clown returning, ready to strike at a moment's notice. But to do that, she'd need help.

"Um, Janey? I…uh…"

"Need a new ice pack Lisa?" Janey asked looking up from her homework. "There should be one in the cooler…"

"No it's not that. I…I need your help with something else."

Curious, Janey abandoned her homework and walked over to Lisa's desk. "What is it?"

Lisa sat up and looked at her friend, choosing her next words very carefully.

"I need you to help me get into Prof. Sullivan's office."

Janey scoffed. "That's easy. Just wait till tomorrow and I'll escort you there."

"Not like that. I mean…get in without him knowing."

Janey's mouth fell open. "What? Why?"

"Just hear me out. Before I met up with you at lunch, Prof. Sullivan invited me into his office to…discuss a few things. Somehow during our talk, he got me to reveal my secret."

Janey gasped. "He knows your real name? How'd he get you to spill that?"

"It doesn't matter how." Lisa shook her head. "What does matter is that not only does he know my secret, but he recorded me telling it. Even worse, he refuses to let me keep the recording which he saved on one of his flash drives."

"Eww that's creepy." Janey cringed. "Wait, why was he recording your conversation in the first place?"

"Um…he said it…helps him remember things better." Lisa said thinking quickly.

"Of course! That's how he memorizes all those poems!" Janey exclaimed. "So what, did he threaten to squeal on you or something?"

"No not exactly." Lisa admitted. "He just said he would hold onto the drive for his records, but I don't think he'll be able to watch over it properly. I know it sounds dumb but I would feel much better if the recording were kept safe in my possession. It should still be in his office and with a little time and planning, I can get to it without him ever knowing."

"Lise, I think you hit your head harder then you thought." Janey said in a concerned tone. "You're talking about breaking into a Professor's office and stealing his personal property. We could both be expelled for that sort of thing."

"Not if we don't get caught." Lisa said, adding a serious tone in her voice. "Look, I know where the drive is and all I need is time to get it. I'll be in and out in ten minutes tops. The only thing I need you to do is distract him for that length of time. Think you can do that?"

Janey looked uncertain. "I don't know Lise…its one thing to keep your real name a secret but helping you with breaking and entering…that's just going too far."

Lisa thought quickly then added. "What if I did your homework from one of your hardest classes for the whole week? And wrote your first term paper for you? Would you consider doing it then?"

Janey pondered for a moment then smiled. "Make it two term papers and you got yourself a deal."

Lisa perked up and shook hands with Janey. With the agreement made, the two girls spent the rest of the night forming their plan to break into Prof. Sullivan's office.

"My heart skipped with the fright, blinked my eyes to better see, glanced back with all my might, parted he my company. My chest was quickly pounding still, the angel of death at his kill."

It was the next day and Lisa and Janey were sitting in class listening to Prof. Sullivan recite another poem. He had chosen as their first assignment, the task of creating a poem based on the subject of fear. Just like when he was reciting Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Raven', now he was quoting the other poems based on fear, such as 'Angel of Death' by Udiah.

"I did rise and take flight, the fear made me to flee, from darkness into light, to free captivity. Unbinding my soul from his will, the angel of death at his kill."

"See? I told you he was good." Janey whispered over to Lisa.

Lisa however, wasn't paying any attention as she kept her focus on the clock, which was five minutes away from signaling the end of class. She stared at it with uncertainty, wondering if the risk she was taking was really worth it. She could be expelled if caught and so would Janey. But then she thought back to Bob and the murderous glint in his eyes when he threatened to expose her. The way she saw it, it was either risk expulsion or take her chances with an attempted murderer.

"Many years since that night, gazed I on that brazen be, memories of still incite, fears of my slavery. Existence of him makes me ill, the angel of death at his kill…end poem."

Most the students, who had been watching and listening to Prof. Sullivan, let out a series of impressed applause.

"Thank you dear students, your enthusiasm is always appreciated." Prof. Sullivan said, bowing humbly before them. "I hope that poem helped set the stage for your willing young minds to create some finely written works, expressing your deepest, most darkest fears."

He then heard a loud scoff and turned his attention to a dark haired boy sitting near the back, who wore his cap backwards and was leaning back on his chair with one leg resting atop his school book.

"That poem was lame, just like the others you quoted. I can write a much scarier, much gorier poem about fear where stuff actually happens."

"Poetry is not about reciting physical gory detail Fredrick." Prof. Sullivan said to him. "It's about creating atmosphere, the setting the mood and tone, and re-creating the emotional state of mind in which one would experience them…and would you please get your foot off the desk, this isn't your dorm room."

"Whatever. Class is about to end anyway." Fredrick said, taking his foot off his book and shoving it back into his bag.

"Speaking of which," Prof. Sullivan then raised his hands up for everyone to see. "Class before you leave, a quick announcement. As some of you may or may not know, I run the schools organic vegetable garden in the third greenhouse out in the west courtyard. While I normally handle everything myself, a few added responsibilities will prevent me from giving it my full attention this year. As such, I ask that anyone who is interested in becoming my assistant and helping me with the care and maintenance of the garden, please stop by my office sometime after class. Any student of mine who helps out will receive extra credit on their next assignment."

The bell then rang loudly and all the students quickly began packing up their bags before racing out the door.

"And don't forget your poetry assignments due next week!" Prof. Sullivan called out before heading back to his desk to gather his things.

"Now's our chance Janey." Lisa whispered. "You distract him for the next ten minutes while I grab the flash drive. I'll text you once I'm successful."

"I'm not sure about this Lisa. What if he catches on? What if you don't find it in time?" Janey asked, suddenly nervous.

"As long as you're calm and don't say anything, he won't know what we're doing. And if I need more time, I'll just text you the words 'Plan B' and you create the distraction we discussed."

Janey gulped. "Okay then…" She then got up and walked down the steps towards Prof. Sullivan who had just closed his briefcase.

"Excuse me, Prof. Sullivan? Can you spare a few minutes, I have some questions about the assignment."

"Well I do need to be somewhere later on, but I suppose I can spare five minutes." He then sat back down and unclasped his briefcase.

Janey glanced anxiously back at Lisa, who nodded that she heard the length of her time frame. Once they both had their backs turned, Lisa quickly ran out of the classroom and down the hall towards Prof. Sullivan's office.

She had barely turned a corner when she found her path blocked by Fredrick.

"Hey there Goldie locks." He said in a sly cocky tone. "About time we were formally introduced. Fredrick St. Banks the Third, but my friends call me Freddy. I couldn't help but notice how quiet you were today in class. Did you get over your Tourette's or something?"

Lisa looked at him in annoyance. "Not to rush your obvious attempt at flattery, but I am in a hurry to get somewhere."

"Come on, you can't spare just five minutes for Freddy? I was hoping we could grab lunch so we could get…better acquainted." He then wiggled his eyebrows up and down while shooting her a wide toothy smile.

"I'll have to take a rain check on that as I really need to go-"

"What if I said pretty please with sugar on top?" He said moving closer to her as he blocked more of her path.

Realizing she he wasn't going to let up, Lisa thought fast. "I think that I would say- GAH! There's a spider on your shirt!"

"What? Where?" Fredrick looked down at his shirt and around his body for signs of the arachnid.

"Oh god, now it's climbing up your sleeve!" Lisa exclaimed pointing at his arm.

"Ah get it off!" Fredrick began vigorously brushing off both arms and was tearing at his sleeves.

"Eww now it's crawled onto your back!" Lisa yelled.

Fredrick then started taking his shirt off but it got caught around his head. "Help! I'm stuck!"

As Fredrick flailed helpless around, Lisa took her opportunity and fled down the hall away from the commotion.

It wasn't long before she finally made it to Prof. Sullivan's office which was of course locked. Checking her watch, she was annoyed to see that she lost two of the minutes she had and cursed Fredrick under her breath. Wanting to waste no more time, Lisa looked around to make sure there was no one else watching and took a hairpin out of her hair.

"Ohh, I hope I remember the technique Bart showed me." She said worriedly as she began picking the lock on the door. After nearly a minute, she heard a clicking noise. Throwing opened the door, she quickly went inside, making sure to lock the door behind her.

She turned around to look at Bob's mostly dark office. Using her phone as a flashlight, Lisa went over to the drawer she saw Bob put the flash drive in and went to work on picking the lock. After a few minutes, she got it open but was surprised to find that there was nothing inside of it.

"But...it was right here!"

Thinking she may have gotten the wrong drawer, she quickly started rummaging through his other desk drawers but found no flash drives in any of them. She then examined his computer and looked in all its slots, but still there was nothing. She then went through his file cabinets, checked his coat pockets and even looked into a jar of hard candies that he had on his desk. Again, she came up empty handed.

"Where could it be?" she wondered. Suddenly her phone started vibrating. She looked at it and gasped as she read a text from Janey.

'He's Coming Ur Way!'

Immediately Lisa closed up all the drawers and went to head out the door when she heard loud approaching footsteps followed by the sound of jiggling keys. Panicking, Lisa looked around the office for a spot to hide. Slowly the knob started to jiggle as one of the keys worked its way into the slot. Realizing there was nowhere else to go, Lisa dove under the desk and pulled the chair in behind her just as the door started to open. She hunched herself underneath, which wasn't hard as the desk had a lot of leg room, and remained still as she saw the lights came on.

"Honestly, do they let any student apply to Stanford now?" Bob grumbled as he walked into his office, closing the door behind him. "Seriously, how many ways can a man possibly describe what a sonnet is?"

Lisa held her breath as Bob slammed his briefcase onto his desk and watched as his shadow walked toward the coat rack where he started to change jackets. He then went over to his filing cabinet and began pulling out large stacks of papers which he quickly started clipping together and put into folders.

"Great. Now I'm late to set up for the department heads meeting. I'll never hear the end of this…" As Bob went to grab more pins, he paused. He then looked over at his filing cabinet, where the bottom drawer was wide open.

"That's odd…I don't remember going into my financial files this morning…"

Lisa felt a chill go down her spine. In her haste, she had forgotten to close one of the drawers she had opened and waited with baited breath as Bob began looking around his office for anything else that seemed out of order.

After a few moments of silence, she heard Bob shout "AHA! I knew it!"

Lisa's heart stopped beating as Bob walked toward the desk.

"That damn janitor has been stealing my candy again!" He then picked up some assortments of wrapped candies that had spilled on his desk from when Lisa rummaged through them. "Oh he will get his. Let's see how much he likes my taffy chews when I replace them with jaw breakers!"

Lisa quietly exhaled in relief. That breath was quickly sucked back in as the drawer above her head slid out. She heard Bob rummaging through it muttering. "Now where did I put the rest of those paper clips?"

As Lisa sat frozen in place, she glanced up behind the desk drawer and was surprised to see the flash drive taped to the back of the drawer. She went to go reach for it but nearly had her hand crushed when the door was pushed back in, causing her to gasp and flinch back in pain.

Bob closed the drawer and paused. "What was that?"

Holding her hand to her mouth, Lisa tried desperately to stop herself from screaming in pain as Bob pulled his drawer back out and in, trying to determine the source of the noise. He was about to lean over when his unlocked door burst opened.

"Robert there you are!" Ms. Cantwell exclaimed walking into his office. "You were supposed to be in the discussion room setting up for the meeting five minutes ago! Do you have any idea how important this is? The dean is on his way right now!"

"I was just on my way there now Tina, I just got a little distracted." Bob glared up at her as he pushed his drawer back in.

"This isn't the time for distractions! Don't forget, the dean wants us to go over the entire curriculum along with details of future meetings, charity events and fundraisers. Oh, and don't forget the holiday staff party."

"It's all here in the folders I've printed up at the library." Bob said holding up one of the folders containing a stack of clipped together papers. "I just need to add in one additional flyer and the curriculum should be completed. Although I don't see why you couldn't do all this yourself when you have a working printer…"

"I didn't want to waste the ink." Ms. Cantwell shrugged. "Besides I'll need it to print out my new bonus checks once the dean see's all the good work we've been doing together."

"Yes, that 'we' have been doing…speaking of which, when will I be seeing my check for all this work?" Bob asked. "You said you'd give me half of your bonus if I organized this meeting for you and so far I think I've more then delivered."

"Of course." Ms. Cantwell nodded. "You'll get your first payment in two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Bob asked, suddenly concerned. "Um…is that the earliest you can expect the check to arrive?"

"It's the earliest you can expect me to pay you." Ms. Cantwell said crossing her arms. "That's assuming tonight's meeting goes off without a hitch."

"Sorry Tina, it's just that I have a certain…expense …that needs to be paid off by a certain time and if I don't deliver, well, bad things could happen…"

"I see…let me guess, IRS agents hunting you down for unpaid student loans?" Ms. Cantwell asked with an amused laugh. "Well sorry to say there's nothing I can do that will make the check appear any faster. You'll just have to make due for now. But if all goes well, I'll make sure you get your half first thing that morning."

Bob let out a reluctant sigh. "Thank you Tina…listen, before we head to the meeting, is it all right if I make a quick phone call? I swear it'll be only five minutes more."

"You got three." Ms. Cantwell said sternly and left the room.

Bob quickly locked the door behind her and made his way back to his desk. Lisa, who had been hoping for Bob to leave with Ms. Cantwell, immediately started panicking and quickly texted the words 'Plan B' back to Janey.

Bob however, passed his desk and went the coat rack where he took a cell phone out the pocket of his other jacket. He dialed in a number and waited as the phone rang. After a couple of rings, a female voice answered speaking quickly in a foreign language, followed shortly by a loud beeping noise.

"Hello Francesca, it's me Robert…" Bob said rather glumly. "I was hoping to speak to you directly but this voice mail will have to do for now…I just wanted to let you know that my alimony payment will be a little late this month due to a series of delays which I assure you, is a one-time occurrence and not an indication of any habit or spite."

Lisa's ears perked up as she suddenly became curious. If memory served her right, Bob was talking to his wife from Italy. Or should she say, judging by the contents of his message, his ex-wife.

"If you would kindly inform your father of the situation and ask him not to send any of his goons to my doorstep like last year, I promise you will have your money in two weeks' time. Call me if there are any problems and please…give my love to Gino…Grazie."

Bob then shut off his phone and let out a stressed sigh, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his fingertips. He then looked over at his stack of folders and picked up the flyer. "Better make copies of these now while I have the chance. Least the Xerox machine is just down the hall."

Grabbing his keys, Bob quickly headed out the room leaving the folders and his briefcase behind.

Lisa waited a few moments to make sure he wouldn't come back immediately and then carefully pushed out the desk drawer, revealing the flash drive taped behind it. Slipping it out of the tape, she quickly switched it out with her blank drive, pocketed the real flash drive and got out from under the desk. After making sure to leave the office as she found it, she went to the door and cracked it slightly, waiting for a couple of students to pass before quickly slipping back out into the hall. Closing the door behind her, Lisa let out a sigh of relief. She had done it. The flash drive was now safely in her possession.

"Can I help you Ms. Thompson?"

Lisa nearly had a heart attack as she turned to see Sideshow Bob walking down the hall towards her, a stack of flyers in hand. "May I ask what it is you're doing outside my office and with such a guilty look on your face?"

Lisa's heart raced as she tried desperately to come up with an excuse. "I was…I was just…"

She then noticed one of his flyers that read, 'Gardener Assistant wanted. Will Receive Extra Credit. Please Inquire with Prof. Robert Sullivan.' and quickly got an idea.

"Was just…looking for you Professor Sullivan. I wanted to...inquire about the assistant gardener position."

A look of surprise appeared on Bob's face before he eyed her with suspicion. "I see…and what may I ask brought about this decision? Last I checked I wasn't exactly your favorite person to work with…"

"Well it's just…" Lisa said, thinking quickly. "You did say in class we'd receive extra credit. And I am a sucker for extra credit. Plus I do have some gardening and farming experience, I've grown organic vegetables as part of a project for my high school science honor class, and I'm a vegetarian. I'm a triple threat!" she laughed awkwardly.

Bob glared suspiciously at her as she continued to hold her fake smile. He then moved toward his office door and attempted to open it but it was locked, as Lisa had made sure to turn the safety lock when she left.

Seemingly convinced she hadn't been inside, he nodded curtly toward her. "Very well then Lisa. If you're serious about applying for the position, you will meet me in the third West Courtyard Greenhouse this Saturday for instruction."

He then handed her one of the flyers containing all the info. "Be there at ten o clock sharp and make sure to wear work clothes or anything you won't mind getting dirty. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to." Bob then took out his keys and unlock the door before disappearing into his office.

Lisa quickly raced down the hall and out of sight around the corner before letting out a sigh of relief. "That was close…too close…but hopefully now with the drive in my possession, there won't be any more crazy surprises."

As soon as she said it, the fire alarm sounded and the sprinklers went off drenching everyone in the hallway. Several students screamed and ran in various directions while Lisa stood in one spot, a sour look on her face.

"Great timing there Janey…" Lisa grumbled as her wet hair started dripping down her face.

Well mission accomplished...or is it? Chapter 5 coming soon!