“Yeah, I saw it during my lunch break yesterday.” Evie nodded.
“Do you remember where you put it?”
“It was right next to Em’s pillow!” Evie pointed to the spot at the head of the bed.
“Em, look again. If it’s still not there, I’ll ask security to check the footage. See if anyone else came in.” Charlie told Em.
“Okay! Thanks, Charlie!”
“Don’t leave valuables lying around from now on. Sometimes you don’t lose them, you just forget where you put them. It’s still a hassle to find them. So look first. If you don’t find it, give me a call.”
“Got it! Thank you, Charlie!”
After Charlie left, Evie asked Em, “You didn’t notice it from yesterday afternoon until now?”
“I didn’t pay attention. I almost turned off the light when I got back last night. I took a shower and went straight to bed!” Em shook her head.
“Let’s search now. We’ll check every spot. Maybe we really just forgot where we put it.” Evie put down her bag and started helping Em look for the iPad.
Em began searching her own area again.
Stella saw them both looking, so she joined in.
Still nothing.
“Could it really have been stolen?” Stella hesitated and asked.
“I’m not worried. If it was stolen, there’s a camera in the hallway. We’ll know when someone entered our dorm and who it was.” Evie replied, trying to stay positive.
Still nothing. Em finally called their counselor, Charlie.
Charlie said she would check the footage first and would let Em know when she had news.
They had to wait, so they went to class.
After three classes, they went to the cafeteria for dinner. Stella didn’t join them because she had a friend from her hometown to meet.
Em was in a bad mood because of the loss.
“It probably isn’t lost. Charlie is checking the footage!”
After looking around, Em lowered her voice and asked Evie, “Do you think it could be an inside job?”
Evie stared at Em in disbelief. Then she reacted and shook her head. “How could it be! There are only three of us in the dorm. You’re ruled out. That leaves just me and Stella. Do you think we’d be that stupid to do something like that?” Evie said, half laughing, half crying.
“I don’t mean you. I’m just saying it as a possibility, not accusing anyone. Don’t you spend less time in the dorm these days? I’m the one living with Stella. A few days ago, I heard her say her dad was sick and the family needed money urgently. She wanted to borrow some from you. I told her your family had some trouble recently, so you probably didn’t have any money to lend. She didn’t say anything after that. I just bought my iPad. Even if I sold it as used, it’s still worth three or four thousand!”
Evie turned her head and looked at Em. After a moment, she shook her head. “Em, I don’t think Stella is that kind of person. She might really need money, but she wouldn’t do this. This kind of thing can be serious or minor. If she got caught, forget about how the school would punish her. Her reputation would be ruined. No one wants to graduate with the label of a thief. Let’s just wait for Charlie’s news. Don’t jump to conclusions. Don’t worry. Things don’t just disappear for no reason.” Evie tried to comfort Em.
Em nodded. She felt she had spoken out of turn. “Don’t tell Stella what I just said. If it really has nothing to do with her, I’ll be so embarrassed.”
“I won’t. You can’t just say things like that without proof!” Evie agreed.
Em nodded and said nothing more.
Charlie came to the dorm that afternoon.
She said a girl had entered their room yesterday afternoon. She used a key to open the door.
She was wearing a hat. From the footage, they couldn’t see her face. They took a picture so the three of them could see if they recognized her.
The three of them studied the picture for a long time. They couldn’t figure out who the slim figure was.
They had a clue, but it didn’t seem to help.
Charlie said she would check other cameras to see if she could find anything.
In other words, they had to wait again.
Evie sat down at her desk.
How did that girl have a key to their dorm?
“Have any of you ever lost your dorm key?” Evie turned and asked.
“No, I haven’t!” Stella said immediately.
“Me neither!” Em replied.
“Then how did that girl get a key to our room? And what was she doing coming in alone when we weren’t here? Could she really be a thief? But if she was, why would she only take Em’s wallet?”
“Who knows!” Stella muttered.
At that moment, Evie’s eyes fell on the empty bed. All three beds had been searched. But this one hadn’t. She didn’t think the iPad would be there.
Even so, Evie got up and walked over. She opened the wardrobe. There were no clothes inside, just some of their odds and ends.
Evie rummaged for a while. She actually saw Em’s iPad with the red protective case.
She pulled it out, turned her head, and said to Em in surprise, “Em, look at this!”
Em turned her head. She saw her iPad and immediately screamed, “I really found it!”
She ran over and grabbed her iPad. It was perfectly fine.
“Thank goodness I didn’t lose it, or I would have been done for. It’s so strange. How did it end up here?”
“Maybe you were carrying something yesterday and just put it here without thinking. Then you forgot.” Evie said with a smile.
“No, I didn’t even open this wardrobe yesterday!” Em said, confused.
“Maybe you forgot. Or who else would put your iPad here? I saw you put it by your pillow at noon yesterday!” Evie said with a smile. “Since you found it, Em, call Charlie and tell her. That way she doesn’t have to keep watching the footage and looking for it.”
“Okay, I’ll call right now. Thank God!” Em said excitedly.
She found the iPad. As for why it was there, that wasn’t what Em cared about right now.
After the call, Em hugged her iPad and gave it a kiss. She was overjoyed to have it back.
Stella also said it was good that she found it, and that she shouldn’t leave it lying around anymore.
Em nodded and agreed.
Because Em found her iPad, no one thought much about who the girl in their dorm was.
Instead, they changed the lock on their dorm door.
They all got new keys.
Evie was busy with rehearsals. She had to participate in the second round of the school anniversary on Saturday. So she didn’t have the energy to think about it anymore.
Later, they learned the truth about what happened.
It turned out the person who entered their dorm was Olivia Clarke. And the key was given to her by Stella.
When Olivia was a junior, she hadn’t taken all her things. She had left a bag of odds and ends.
When Olivia came back to get them, she happened to run into Stella on campus. Stella gave her the key and told her to get the stuff herself.
Olivia took her things and returned the key to Stella.
After Stella got back to the dorm, she saw Em’s iPad at the head of the bed. She was so desperate for money that she wanted to resell it and send the cash home. She thought Em only used it to play games and read novels. But Stella was in urgent need of money.
She planned to make it up to Em later.