Valo glanced around, taking in her surroundings. Was anyone looking? Was anyone nearby? Surprisingly, no, although that shiny red car nearby certainly made her nervous. She cringed a little, eying the car. No one seemed to be in it, thank God. At least, it didn’t look like there was anyone in there. She hurried past the car quickly, not wanting to look at it too much longer, and scanned the parking lot.

Is he late? she thought. Did class run longer than expected? Did one of the idiot people in the class ask some really detailed question that required a lengthy explanation?

A relieved smile crossed her face when she spotted the familiar white truck. She leaned against it, waiting patiently.

Ah, there he is! Thank God! she thought, spotting him as he hurried across the parking lot.


“Hey, you,” she greeted him, grinning broadly.

“Hey, yourself,” he replied, embracing her.

“So, how did class go?” she asked.

“Same as usual.”

“Hellish, then.”

He unlocked the truck door and opened it. Valo climbed in, and then leaned across the driver’s seat to unlock the other door. He climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Must suck to teach,” Valo remarked.

“Yeah, but it pays the bills, right?”

“Eh, I guess. But I’d go nuts.”

“I question my sanity every single day.”

“Well, Grant, that makes two of us.”

“What, you question your sanity too?”

Valo smirked. “I’m a psych major. Of course I question my sanity. But I meant I question your sanity every day.”

Grant chuckled. “Jessie, you crack me up.”

“I crack myself up.”

Grant started the truck up, and they drove out of the parking lot. They did not notice the blonde man sneak out from his hiding place or the shiny red sports car following them from a safe distance.



Dunstan looked over the pictures, chuckling to himself. Angela leaned over his shoulder, peering at them.

“With minor editing, it’ll be easy to convince Charise that S has been spending all of his extra time with Valo. It’ll totally p*ss Charise off, and she’ll be less likely to listen to anything Valo or S has to say to her,” he murmured, more to himself than to Angela.

“You’re a genius,” Angela murmured. She stared at the images. “What did you say this man’s name was?”

“Grant Veneto. He’s a poli sci professor at the college.”


Angela raised an eyebrow. “So… she’s dating a professor? Could it be to get better grades?”

Dunstan shook his head. “It’s not likely. Valo’s a psychology major; she doesn‘t take any poli sci classes. Plus, that’s not her thing, sleeping her way to the top. She’s got enough of a conscience to want to earn her grades honestly.”

Angela frowned. “He looks familiar.”

“How so?”

Angela thought for a moment. “He looks kind of like…” She shrugged.

Dunstan squinted at the images for a few seconds. Then, his eyes widened. “He looks kind of like S, if S was paler…”

Angela nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Does he have any brothers?”

Dunstan shook his head. “No, just an adopted sister, I think. I don’t know anything about his family, really.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “It seems like something you would know. You seem to know everything about everyone.”

Dunstan rolled his eyes. “Of course I don’t. I’m not God, you know.”

“The devil, maybe?” Angela joked.

Dunstan snickered. “Sure. Do you really think the devil would drive a shiny sports car?”

“He did in that Joyce Carol Oates story.”