Playtime's Over

Chapter 2: Nowhere to Hide

Foxrun Children's Orphanage: Guilford, Connecticut

Breakfast on Fridays was what Andy liked best. It consisted of eggs, toast, cereal and muffins, but also there was a choice between donuts and pudding as well. Not only was it the food, but Ariel was there helping out in the cafeteria and occasionally she had time to sit down with him and talk to him. This Friday must've been extremely special or magical even because not only was he going to meet his foster family after having a really nice breakfast, but because of the extra helpers that day Ariel got off duty and stayed at the orphanage just to sit and talk with him.

"I'm so excited for you, Andy!" Ariel smiled sincerely. "Can you believe it! You're going to be adopted by Mr. And Mrs. Jaques. You really deserve it."

"Mrs. Malkum said they were really wealthy," Andy said. "But are they nice?"

"I've met Mrs. Jaques and she's a sweetheart. I'm not sure about Mr. Jaques, but I'm sure he's just as nice," Ariel said reassuringly. "Besides, there's a pool in the backyard and you get your own nice big bedroom," she winked.

Andy nodded with a small smile. "I know, it sounds great and all. I just…I hope I feel at home there."

"I'm sure you will sweetie. Don't worry so much," she said patting his arm. "Now eat your pudding. If you want, I'll even swipe you an extra one for later."

Andy smiled widely, a sincere smile that he hadn't had in a long time. That day so far was the best in his whole life, minus the years of ignorant bliss when he was living with his mom just barely surviving with enough food in the small, unkempt apartment. He missed her, but he had to admit the orphanage was a lot nicer than that apartment.

When breakfast was over, Andy went back to his room to change into the new outfit Ariel had gotten for him and finish packing up his belongings. A little while later, another staff member opened his door to tell him Mrs. Jaques had arrived. Andy felt the butterflies flutter around in his stomach, but went down the stairs into the main lobby where Mrs. Malkum was conversing with a young woman. The woman had long, straight black hair tied up in a bun and the prettiest blue eyes Andy had ever seen. She wore a semi-short, lavender skirt that ruffled at the bottom with a fancy white silk blouse. It was obvious already that she was wealthy. She had pretty diamond earrings and bright red lipstick. As Andy approached Mrs. Malkum spotted him and smiled.

"Ah, here he is. Andy Barclay."

Mrs. Jaques turned toward Andy and immediately she gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oh, he's just adorable!" she exclaimed, bending down to give Andy a tight squeeze.

Andy just smiled up at her shyly, feeling rather embarrassed. Mrs. Malkum nodded as Mrs. Jaques stood back up.

"He's a very well-mannered young boy. He cleans up after himself, follows the rules and does all his chores. Although he's quiet a lot of the time he's no trouble at all," Mrs. Malkum said, glancing over at Andy, who remained silent.

Mrs. Jaques just smiled brightly. "Wonderful! He sounds like an angel. Perhaps he could teach Cody a thing or two."

Mrs. Malkum laughed good-naturedly and then glanced back down at Andy. "Andy, Cody is the sixteen year old whom you'll meet soon enough. He too is a foster child and has been living with Mr. And Mrs. Jaques for about three years now."

"Yes, he was your age when he first came to live with us as well," she smiled. "He seemed to have adjusted quickly so I hope you do too."

"Thank you," Andy said quietly.

"Oh, he really is a doll!" she said, kissing his cheek. "I think that's all I need to see."

Mrs. Malkum nodded. "Andy, do you wish to go with Mrs. Jaques?"

"Oh, he doesn't have to decide right away. I don't want any pressure on him," Mrs. Jaques said immediately. "How about he stays a week and then makes up his mind on if he'd like to stay permanently or not?"

"Sounds reasonable to me. Andy, is that alright with you?" Mrs. Malkum asked.

Andy nodded and Mrs. Jaques clapped her hands together happily. "Wonderful! The limo's waiting outside for us dear. Ready to go?"

"Sure," Andy said, picking up his suitcase.

"Oh, no, dearie, let Arthur get that," she smiled, gesturing for a man in a suit to come forward.

Andy hadn't even realized he had been standing in the corner by the door. He appeared to be the driver. Andy's assumption was correct when he found that Arthur led them outside to the limo. Andy had never before ridden in a limo. He tried to conceal his excitement for he was still shy around Mrs. Jaques. They sat in the large backseat together and Andy waved goodbye to Ariel, Mrs. Malkum and the others that stood outside waving at him. He was going to truly miss Ariel. Perhaps Mrs. Jaques would let him visit once in a while.

"So Andy, tell me, do you like sports?"

Andy turned from the window toward Mrs. Jaques who was smiling at him.

"I guess so. I never really watch sports."

"Really? You've never been to a football or a baseball game or even seen it on TV?" she asked, surprised.

Andy shook his head. "No. My mom had a TV but we would never watch sports. The only show I ever watched was…," Andy trailed off, remembering how he had always watched the Good Guy cartoons.

Mrs. Jaques noticed his sudden silence and just reached over and patted his hand. "Oh, don't worry. My husband loves games. He's taken Cody to plenty of them so you can tag along with them. There are lots to do so if you find you don't like something just let me know and we can figure something else out, alright?"

Andy nodded gratefully with a smile. She seemed extremely generous. Just then a phone rang and Mrs. Jaques dug in her purse and pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello? Oh Charlotte, how are you darling? Oh yes, I'm good. Yes! I'm coming back home with him right now. You should meet him, he's a doll! Oh, that's right...the party's next week, right? That's the week my husband's going to Florida to visit a friend. Oh, don't worry, Arthur and Maria will take care of the boys while we're gone. Yes, yes…oh really! That's wonderful!"

Andy turned to the window as Mrs. Jaques continued to talk. He hoped that the boy, Cody, was friendly enough, even though he was a few years older. Of course, anything had to be better than the Simpson's. Mr. Simpson had been really strict and mean and Mrs. Simpson had been alright. Mrs. Jaques seemed much better than either of them. No Mr. Simpson, no horrible school where he'd feel isolated from other kids and best of all no Chucky.

A little while later they pulled up to the house, but Andy thought it looked more like a mansion. It was huge! It had a circular driveway with a fountain atop the grass of the island situated in the center of the circular driveway. Then there was a short stretch of driveway leading up to the garage. There were tons of flowers out front and a beautiful willow tree by the side of the house. It was definitely the house of a very wealthy family. Arthur opened up the limo door for them and Andy stepped out, staring up at the house with wide eyes.

"Come on darling, I'll introduce you to everyone," she smiled, taking Andy's hand.

Andy was taken inside the mansion to see that it had a huge interior. The first room appeared to be a sitting room that they walked into with many cushioned couches and chairs with a nice fireplace and mantel and a picture of Mrs. And who Andy assumed was Mr. Jaques above the mantel. The few tables in the room had vases of fresh flowers that were probably changed weekly. It almost felt like he was walking into an expensive hotel. Mrs. Jaques took him all around the house, introducing him to a few of the maids and the cook and the puppy—a Samoyed named Sapphire, probably because of her pretty blue eyes. She was a large Samoyed with beautiful puffy white fur and was very friendly.

On the second floor, after the master bedroom, he was shown his room, one of the several guest rooms in the house. His room was just spectacular. There were toys all around and a huge bed in the center with lots of pillows and everything. There were posters all around of sports stars and a couple dressers. Not to mention there was a big mirror hanging low to the ground on the wall opposite of where the bed stood.

"And this is Cody's room," she finished, opening the door.

Right when she opened the door Andy saw the messy room with toys and comic books and such cluttering the floor. The bed was made, probably because of the maid, and there were posters of rock bands all around the room, as well as sports. There was a TV in this room with what appeared to be Nintendo hooked up to it where he saw a boy with dark blonde hair playing on. The boy turned, having heard someone enter and stared at her with harsh blue eyes. It was amazing how much his eyes looked like Mrs. Jaques. If he hadn't known that Cody was adopted he would've guessed it was her real son, even though he didn't have her hair color.

"Don't you ever knock?" Cody asked.

Mrs. Jaques just stared at him neutrally. "I see you haven't bothered to clean up your room like I asked."

"I thought that was the maid's job," Cody retorted.

"Yes, well I don't want her slaving away over you if you're not even going to make an effort. Anyway, you need to stop playing for a minute so I can introduce you to your new foster brother Andy."

Cody's eyes finally rested on Andy, not having seen him because the door wasn't opened all the way. Mrs. Jaques walked inside, pulling Andy along with her.

"Andy, this is Cody."

"Hi," Andy said quietly.

"Whatever," Cody snorted.

"Cody, that's not the tone of voice that is acceptable," Mrs. Jaques said firmly, crossing her arms. "Andy is to feel welcome and if you can't welcome him then you can stay in your room for the rest of the day. No pool, no watching sports and no dessert."

"What! That's not fair!" Cody exclaimed, standing up.

Mrs. Jaques just shrugged. "Then get a better attitude. Until then you can stay in your room. Come Andy, I'll show you the backyard," she said, gently pushing on Andy's back to get him to walk out the door.

Andy glanced back over his shoulder to see Cody glaring angrily and then he just plopped back down in front of the screen and started playing with his Nintendo again. Mrs. Jaques shut the door and led him back down the stairs and out the back door. Andy immediately caught sight of the pool, seeing that there was also a Jacuzzi nearby it. The backyard had a beautiful garden behind the pool as well and several lounging chairs.

"Sorry about Cody, he's not the most pleasant boy around," Mrs. Jaques smiled. "He has his good days though. I suppose it's a good thing this house is so big. If he starts acting nasty to you just ignore him and go elsewhere."

Andy nodded, not feeling the need to say anything more. He had really been hoping Cody was nice so that he could at least make a friend. That's what he missed most about being a kid was hanging out with friends. He hadn't had a friend in so long—a true friend that he could be a kid with.

"Um, excuse me Mrs. Jaques?" Andy asked tentatively.

She turned and flashed him a grin. "Just call me Ceceila, Andy. I know mom is a very uncomfortable word for you at this time, but Mrs. Jaques just seems too formal."

Andy nodded. "Um, Ceceila, I was wondering, am I going to go to a public school?"

"No, you'll be going to a private school, the same private school that Cody goes to. It's a wonderful school so I'm sure you'll like it—one of the best curriculums around. Just so you know it's a private Catholic school so you will have to wear a uniform and go to church with us, that's not an option, alright?" she asked with a smile.

Andy nodded and she gently rubbed his cheek. "Good. Now, you're free to go wherever you want to on the property and if you get hungry for lunch you can just go into the kitchen and Maria or someone there will fix you something. The only meal that is required for you to attend is dinner at six o'clock. Every night we have dinner at that time, except sometimes on weekends my husband and I may be gone, or the dinner plans might change, but I'll usually have Maria give you a note. I've got some errands to run, but I'll see you at dinner so we can all get to know each other better."

Blowing him a kiss, she then turned around and walked back inside. Once she was gone, Andy sat down in one of the lounge chairs and sighed. It seemed that both Mrs. And Mr. Jaques were fairly busy people. Why did they want to adopt kids? Mrs. Jaques was a very sweet lady but even though there would always be someone around she didn't quite get that Andy wanted a mother and a father—someone like his mom who was there for him all the time. Although, he had to admit the house was beautiful and at least no one at the private school would know his history. He just hoped that he didn't bump into Cody in any of the hallways. The boy definitely didn't seem very friendly. At least he had the weekend before his first day at school.

Andy stared out at the pool watching as the wind made ripples in the water. Well, he couldn't very well swim since he didn't have a bathing suit. Even though it was a huge house with plenty of places to explore he wasn't sure what to do. Being outside was relaxing so he decided that he'd look around the gardens. That way at least he wouldn't be inside where he could accidentally bump into Cody.

There was a beautiful batch of flowers at the side of the house nearby the willow tree. Smelling the fresh warm air and feeling the wind blow over him made him almost feel at ease. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad there. After all, they even had a dog—a cute, friendly dog that he could play with if he ever got bored. Dog's were always great friends even if they couldn't talk back. Andy decided to explore the front of the house since he really didn't get a good look at it before. He walked past the willow tree and turned around the corner of the side of the house.

"Oof!" Andy toppled backward as he bumped into something solid.

"Hey, watch it!"

Andy blinked and stood up quickly looking to see that he had bumped into Cody, the one thing he had hoped he wouldn't do.

"Sorry," Andy said quickly, making his way to pass by him.

"She just dumped you out here, huh?" Cody asked.

Andy stopped and slowly turned around to face him. Cody had his arms folded with a knowing smile on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Ceceila, she just left you to dry," he said, raising his eyebrows.

"No she didn't. She showed me around the house and then told me she had some errands to run. She said she'd be back for dinner."

Cody rolled his eyes. "That's what she always says. If you hadn't noticed they're kind of wealthy."

"So?" Andy questioned.

Cody walked around him. "So, how do you think they got so rich? They're both extremely busy—hardly around."

"But Mrs…I mean Ceceila said that Mr. Jaques takes you out to sports games," Andy insisted.

Cody laughed. "Sure, once in a blue moon. He hasn't had time the past couple years. I've gone only twice since last year. Boy, you must be really gullible to believe that."

Cody walked past him and began walking away.

"Ceceila's nice!" Andy exclaimed, causing Cody to stop and turn around.

"Of course she's nice, but that doesn't change the fact that she's not around, does it?"

"You shouldn't be so selfish! We both have our own rooms, a huge house with plenty of food and even a swimming pool. We can go wherever in the house whenever we want to. It's much better than the orphanage!" Andy exclaimed, taking a deep breath.

He hadn't spoken that much to anyone in a long time. It actually felt good to shout. Cody just smirked at him and came closer.

"Fine, defend your beloved foster parents if you want to, but just stay out of my way," he said, shoving past Andy.

Andy stumbled a bit but didn't fall. He glared at the back of Cody's head wanting so bad to punch him in the face. Andy wasn't one to start fights, or get into them very easily but Cody's selfish and snobbish attitude really got under his skin.

Deciding he'd just go inside and take a nap, he walked back in the house, or mansion, and climbed the stairs to his room, thankful that he hadn't run into Cody again. He shut his room door, took off his shoes and climbed atop of the bed. Right when he lay down he realized just how exhausted he was from not getting a lot of sleep at the orphanage and immediately fell asleep.

When he woke up hours later, it was because someone was shaking him gently. Andy rubbed his eyes and sat up. A kind woman with gentle brown eyes and brown hair, with a bit of gray, smiled down at him.

"Sorry to wake you. Dinner's ready and Mrs. Jaques was asking where you were. I didn't want you to miss your first dinner here."

"Thanks," Andy said, climbing off the bed.

He followed her out and down the stairs into the dining room where Cody and Mrs. Jaques were already seated. At the head of the table was a very bulky looking man with deep red hair and brown eyes. He had a goatee and was still wearing his business shirt and tie, but not the jacket.

"Oh, Andy, there you are honey!" Ceceila smiled, gesturing him to come over and sit down.

Unfortunately, the empty chair was the one right next to Cody. Trying not to show his discomfort, Andy sat down in the chair and waited patiently as the cook served him his plate.

"Andy, this is my husband Jim," Ceceila gestured toward the bulky man.

Jim seemed to scrutinize Andy with his gaze. "Andy huh? You like sports kid?"

"Uh, yeah," Andy said stiffly. "But I don't know much about them."

Cody snorted and Ceceila gave him a look. "That's not appropriate at the table, Cody."

"Whatever," Cody mumbled.

"Don't you 'whatever' her, boy!" Jim exclaimed, giving him a dangerously stern look. "You'll do what you're told. You're just damn lucky we haven't given you back to that orphanage with the way you've been acting this past year!"

"Jim, please, not in front of Andy," Ceceila said quietly.

"Why don't you just give me back then!" Cody exclaimed angrily. "I bet you'd be happy then, wouldn't you?"

"Cody, sweetie, we love having you here, but you're just making things difficult. You always talk back, you hardly ever do your school work when we pay a good amount to have you go to a good school and we've given you plenty of chances to shape up. Now, it'd be really nice if you could behave at least for Andy."

Cody sent Andy a glare. "Oh, I see. So that's why Andy's here. It's so you can replace me with him!"

"Cody, don't be ridiculous!" Ceceila exclaimed. "Now please, eat your dinner quietly."

"I'm not hungry," Cody said firmly.

"THEN GO TO YOUR ROOM!" Jim barked, pointing his finger toward the door.

Andy jumped at the harsh tone, nearly dropping his fork. Cody angrily pushed his chair out, threw his napkin down on his plate and marched out of the room. Silence followed afterward and Andy was almost too afraid to look up from his plate. He heard Ceceila sigh heavily.

"I'm so sorry, Andy. I was hoping your first day would be better," she said gently.

Andy glanced up at her. "It's alright."

"That boy needs some sort of discipline!" Jim snapped. "He's way over his head and I don't have time to stick around and lecture him every day!"

"I know, dear," Ceceila said. "Please, can we talk about this later?"

Jim just grunted and went back to eating his meal. Andy couldn't wait for it to be over with so he could go up to his room. Luckily, dinner ended pretty quickly and Ceceila told him he could go wash up and get ready for bed. Being since it was only seven Andy knew that she just wanted him upstairs so she and her husband could talk. Sighing, he went upstairs, not bothering to take a shower since he hadn't really gone anywhere, slipped into his pajamas and snuggled under the covers of his new bed. He hugged his pillow tightly, feeling more comfortable than he had in years. Very soon he was fast asleep.

XXXXX

Connecticut Airport: 9:28 a.m.

As the plane landed at the Hartford airport after about four in a half hours in the air, the flight attendant waited for all the passengers to get off before walking toward the cabinet where she had set a child's doll.

"What should I do with you?" she muttered aloud. "I suppose the guardian of the child already suspected they wouldn't get it back. It'd be impossible to find out who it belongs to. I guess I'll just take you home with me."

She grabbed the doll and made her way out of the plane, relishing in the fact that she was finally able to rest for a while. She'd have to stay in a hotel over night until morning, but at least she'd be off the plane. It was easy enough to get a cab, which took her to the hotel right near the airport, that way she wouldn't have a ways to go the next morning. There wasn't a line at all once she got there and already had a room ready thanks to the perks of being a flight attendant. The moment she got into her room she threw her luggage down, including the random doll she had stuffed in her suitcase, and immediately went into the bathroom to take a shower.

While she was preoccupied in the bathroom, the suitcase began to move. Slowly, the zipper slid all the way down and a head of red hair came up before Chucky jumped out of the luggage. Creeping toward the phone in the room he dialed the front desk number.

"Uh, yes, hello, this is your customer from room…231. And I was just wondering what city am I in?"

"Uh…you're in Hartford, sir," the voice responded from the other end.

"Thank you," he said, hanging up. "Hartford…and Andy's in Guilford…how am I going to get there?"

Chucky glanced at the bathroom door, his blue eyes narrowing wickedly as a malicious smirk appeared on his face. Heading toward the very small area where there was a tiny fridge and a counter, he opened drawers and was pleased to find there was some silverware there. The knife caught his eye. Without even closing the drawer, he held the knife securely in his hand as he approached the bathroom door. He pushed his small back against the wall in the corner by the door and waited patiently.

About forty minutes or so later, the door opened and the woman appeared in a bathrobe with a towel twisted on her head to dry her hair. As she stepped out of the bathroom Chucky slashed the knife right above her ankle bone. She cried out and fell to the floor in shock, turning over on her side as Chucky approached with the knife out in front of him. The woman's eyes widened so large and her mouth dropped open as she saw him. Chucky grinned and tapped the knife in his hand.

"My flight wasn't very enjoyable," Chucky said, sneering as the woman cowered and whimpered. "Perhaps you can make it up to me. Let's take a drive."

The woman looked like she was about to cry but Chucky pointed the knife toward her even as she stood up slowly.

"You're going to carry me out of here, got it?"

The woman took in a shaky breath and nodded fearfully, very slowly bending down to lift him up. Chucky made sure to keep the knife hidden between his body and hers but made sure she felt it against her skin.

"C-can't I g-get dressed?" she stammered.

"What for? After all, we'll have our own car," Chucky laughed cruelly. "And don't forget your cell phone."

The woman whimpered but did as she was told, grabbing her cell phone and carrying him out of the room and into the lobby. Chucky whispered for her to go outside into the parking lot. She knew she was getting some stares but couldn't do anything about it. As they came to the parking lot Chucky noticed a man about mid-forties getting out of his car.

"Go up to that man and tell him you need help," Chucky demanded quietly.

The woman glanced up at the man, gulped and shakily approached him.

"Ah shit!" the man cursed as he dropped his keys on the ground.

When he stood up he noticed her approaching and stared back, obviously staring at her state of dress.

"I-I need help," she stammered.

The man looked concerned. "What? Do you need to go to a hospital?" he asked, approaching very close to her.

"No, but you will," Chucky said. Before the man could blink, Chucky slashed his throat with the knife.

Blood oozed out and the man gagged, unable to scream or make anything except gurgling sounds. The woman began crying and shaking her head and Chucky just sneered as the man fell down, his eyes rolling in the back of his head.

"Now, lift him up and stuff him in the trunk. And make sure no one's close by!"

The woman's tears were streaking down her face, but she set Chucky down and lifted the man as best as she could. Chucky pressed the button on the keys and the trunk opened. She stuffed him inside after looking around to make sure no one else was in the parking lot or nearby. Still crying, she stuffed the man inside head first. Surprisingly, he fit just fine when his legs were bent. The woman shakily closed the trunk looking down at her hands which were covered in blood.

"Now get in and start driving," Chucky said as he held the bloody knife toward her until she got inside the driver's seat.

Then he climbed over her into the passenger's seat. She closed the door, trembling violently, and Chucky searched around for a map in the glove compartment. He found one and searched on it for Guilford. He turned the map around so she could see it.

"This is where we're heading," he said, pointing on the map. "You're going to follow this freeway and take the second exit, got it?"

The woman nodded, more tears leaking out of her eyes. Trembling, she started up the car and drove out of the parking lot. She headed toward the freeway, still trembling, but able to keep the car steady.

"Good. Keep going this way. We'll be on the freeway for about forty or so minutes before we see the exit for Guilford. Then it should be only about a fifteen minute drive to the orphanage."

The woman sniffled and licked her lips. "W-why are you going to an orphanage?"

"To pay a visit to my dear friend Andy," Chucky laughed, his evil high-pitched voice echoing in the car.

She glanced sideways at him. "A kid?"

Chucky sneered at her. "Yes, a kid! A kid who has been a pain in my ass since I met him. Now keep driving!"

The woman turned back to the road too frightened to say more. Chucky watched her carefully and kept the knife pointed at her at all times. Just as he predicted, they were on the freeway for about forty-three minutes before they saw an exit. She pulled off on the exit and Chucky told her which way to go. When they got onto Fox Run road, Chucky told her to pull off to the side of the road.

"Why are we stopping?" she asked fearfully. "We're on the right road."

"Yes…we are," Chucky sneered.

With one, quick hit into the back of her head, her face slammed into the steering wheel. Instantly, she was knocked out and collapsed in the seat. He then took the knife and slashed her throat, then placed the knife by her hand to make it look like a suicide. The police would no doubt think she killed the man in the trunk then killed herself. It was great to be a doll—he couldn't leave fingerprints.

"You should be thanking me. I normally don't kill people while they're unconscious," Chucky laughed aloud. "But I didn't want you to scream, not when I'm so close to finally catching that little shit."

Chucky grabbed her cell phone and dialed information.

"Yes, can you direct me to the Fox Run orphanage?"

He waited as it clicked and the phone rang again. After about two rings someone answered.

"Hello, this is Mrs. Malkum of the Fox Run children's orphanage. How can I help you?" the voice from the other line answered.

"Yes, hi, I'm calling for an Andy Barclay. This is his Uncle Charles."

"Andy? I'm sorry he's not longer here. I didn't realize he had any relatives close by. We were told the only relative he really had was his mother."

"Uh, yes, I've been very ill for the past several years but I've gotten much better. I haven't seen him in years so I was hoping to track him down and see him," Chucky answered, thinking up a quick excuse.

"I see. Well, I'm sorry sir but Andy is no longer here. He's been adopted."

"Really? That's great. Could you possibly tell me where he's staying at?"

"I'm sorry, sir, we're not allowed to give that information without legal proof that you are his relative. You could come by the orphanage if you'd like."

"That's not necessary ma'am. I was just in town and thought I'd stop by and see him real quick. I'm not in town for long. Is there any other way I could see him, like at school or someplace?"

"Well, actually, I believe he starts his first day on Monday at the private Catholic school on Meadowbrook road."

"Thank you so much. I'll stop by the school and visit him."

"You're welcome."

Chucky hung up, sneering to himself. "Well then, Andy, Monday we'll see each other again."

Pocketing the cell phone, Chucky opened the car door and glanced back at the woman who was rapidly losing blood and soon would die without even realizing it.

"Thanks for the ride, toots," his cold, high-pitched laugh sounded before he slammed the door and took off for the school. There was no harm in getting there early and sneaking inside to check out Andy's record. After all, he'd have to know Andy's schedule in order to pick the perfect time for them to meet…again.

TO BE CONTINUED…