CHAPTER FOUR
The next day at breakfast, Mom and Dad shared some exciting news while eating their eggs and bacon.
"We're moving after all," Dad said, "And I thought it would take months, but it seems we'll be able to move in soon."
"Really," Tina asked, gathering more scrambled eggs, "Are we renting?"
"No, buying." Mom said, "The perfect place opened up. It just came on the market and the owner wants to move fast. It's pretty amazing how it all came together."
"What's the catch?" Tina asked.
"Your Father and I spent all night trying to find one," Mom said, putting more bacon on her plate. "We toured the house yesterday, and it has everything we want. The place is in really good condition, and it's near your Dad's new office along with your community college. Plus, the owner has already moved out. He's asked us to start moving in early so the place doesn't seem empty. We may even start packing today."
"That's really amazing," Tina said.
"Yes!" Her mom exclaimed, "And since we're using the money we received from your father's great uncle's estate, we can even afford to hire movers this time."
"Wish I could thank him," Dad said, "I didn't realize he existed until he passed away."
"Let's find out where he's buried and say some prayers for him," Mom offered.
"I think he's buried on the other side of the country," Dad said, "Let's plan to visit him sometime."
"So, how did you find out about the house?" Tina asked.
"That's a story in and of itself," Dad said, reaching for the toast and jam.
"A friend of a friend told our friend," Mom said, "And we immediately called our realtor. She jumped on it right away."
"The cards were laid out just right," Dad said, "It was a really crazy coincidence that it all worked out the way it did."
"I'm so glad things are going so well," Mom said, "You got a promotion, and Tina got a scholarship. Speaking of which, Tina, are you planning to head to the college orientation today? If so, let me know so I can plan on you borrowing the car."
"Yes, I'll head out around 10am." Tina nodded, "After I get a few projects done first."
With the Foundation phone number now entered in her phone as a new contact, Tina found herself staring at the phone absentmindedly.
There certainly have been a lot of coincidences lately. Mom and Dad deserved the new job and new house, but she had never even applied for the college scholarship. She didn't know the process for that. Wait, did she actually deserve it? Or was this somehow the work of a hacker? There sure seemed to be a lot of them lately.
But why would a hacker give her a scholarship?
Tina opened up the scholarship letter and re-read it once again.
We were greatly impressed by your leadership skills, as evidenced in your work with-
Okay, so she had actually done the projects the letter talked about. But, when did she tell them about it?
Somehow, for some reason, Tina had a nagging doubt in the back of her head that wasn't there yesterday.
It wouldn't hurt to be sure. She picked up the phone, and dialed the college. The lady who answered re-directed the call to the admissions office.
"Hello, how can I assist you?" A man answered.
"Hi, I was just wondering about my scholarship." Tina said, "I don't actually remember applying for it. Could you tell me if it really was meant for me? I'm only asking because I know there have been some hacking cases around town lately, and my own coursework was hacked."
"Let's take a look...I see, your scholarship is a unique one. This particular scholarship does not need to be initiated by the applicant."
"Really?" Tina said. In the back of her mind she wondered how he had pulled up her info right away.
"Yes," he answered, "Someone likely applied on your behalf. The community college does its due diligence when choosing scholarship recipients. You definitely deserve it."
"Okay, thank you very much."
"My pleasure."
"Wait a minute," Tina said, "Have we ever spoken before? You sound familiar."
"We might have seen each other at the college," he said.
"Not that," Tina said, "Do you also work with the local police, maybe at their non-emergency number?"
"I'm not sure I follow you. Is there anything else I can assist you with, Tina?"
"No thank you, have a nice day."
When Tina hung up the phone, she wasveryconfused. Not only did this guy sound just like the one she spoke to on the phone yesterday, but...when did she tell him her name?
"Tina!" Mom called out from the other room, "Are you still home? You'll be late for orientation!"
"Coming!" Tina shouted.
And speaking of coincidences, at orientation Tina somehow found herself sitting next to the only person she knew-Michael Knight.
"So, you enjoy Engineering." Michael said.
"I'm ready to try it out." Tina said, "I didn't realize you were a student here too."
"You're never too old to learn!" Michael replied, "But I have to be honest, I'm only auditing this class. My wife is the professor who teaches it."
"Really?" Tina said, looking at her printout of the course for the professor's name, "That's pretty neat."
"You know, we've been running into each other a lot lately." Michael Knight said, "Is there any chance that-"
"Tina? Tina," shouted a voice, and a stranger in a suit walked through the double-door of the auditorium, "Is there a student named Tina here?"
"My name is Tina," Tina raised her hand and wondered why he didn't call out a last name, "Are you looking for me?"
"Do you own a black Trans Am, license plate 'KNIGHT'?"
"No," Tina said, bewildered. She and Michael looked at one another.
"That's my car," he said, "What can I help you with?"
"Do you two know each other?" The stranger asked, looking at them suspiciously.
"We're acquaintances," Michael said, "What was that about my car?"
"Can you both come with me?" The man said, "I'm the Dean here, let's get this resolved outside."
"What happened?" Tina asked.
"Your car was involved in an incident outside," the man said.
"But it reallyisn'ther car," Michael said.
Just then a lady walked up to them, "Hello again Professor," she said, her voice matching the disembodied one Tina had heard yesterday. "I'm actually Michael's wife. What is this about our family car, and why is it interrupting my classroom orientation?"
After the Dean agreed to let them wait until after the class orientation, Tina found it very hard to concentrate during the opening class. As soon as it was over, she found herself, Bonnie, and Michael all together in the Dean's office. It took a little convincing, but soon they started untangling everything in the computer system.
"I can't believe the hackers are doing this again," Bonnie said.
"I'm so sorry Bonnie," said the Dean, "It looks like there wasn't even an actual incident. It was just a red flag on the campus security."
"How much longer is this going to take? I've got to get back before Karr tosses another driver again." Michael mumbled, looking at his watch.
What a weird thing to say.
"Um, may I leave now?" Tina asked, "I have another class orientation."
"Go right ahead," the Dean waved.
As soon as she stepped outside the office, Tina received a phone call.
"Hello, is this Tina?" Said a strange, kind of nasal voice. She had never heard it before. "This is the Foundation for Law and Government, regarding your driving application. You are now on the roster and your exam will be in about three hours."
"...What?" Tina asked.
"Three hours." said the voice, and the call dropped.
To Be Continued…