Rosie's Mischief

Chapter 7

After leaving his friends in the canteen where they were eating, Ridger immediately headed to the registrar. Since it's lunchtime, everyone's on break so he looked for Alice, a friend he knows that works here.

A smile formed on his lips when he saw Alice just coming back from lunch with her friends. Alice is a 30-year-old woman whom he knows since high school. Ridger's family helped her in her studies way back which is why he knows that Alice would do anything in her power to help him.

When Alice saw him walk towards her, she immediately beam and waved her hand to acknowledge his presence. "Ridger, what brought you here?" she queried as she put down her lunchbox on her working table.

"Sit down," she added and pointed to the chair in front of her desk. Alice manages the enrollment in the university so Ridger knows she's got all the data he needs to start his investigation.

"Thanks," he uttered and sat after her. He really came in just the right time. There are only a few people here too and they were seated far from Alice's table. They won't be able to hear their conversation.

"So… care to tell me now?" she questioned and took a sip of her soda while turning her pc on.

Before proceeding to his intentions, Ridger wanted to clarify something first. "You still work in the university's Department of Information and Communications and Technology, right?" with a solemn look on his face, he inquired.

"Ahm, yeah. I still do. What of it?" she asked, puzzled by his sudden interest.

"Great," Ridger's eyes brighten because of her answer. "I need your help," he added.

Alice slowly nodded, still confused, and responded, "Oh… kay, go on."

Ridger looked around to make sure no one is listening before turning back to her. "I know it's prohibited to disclose a student's information but could you please help me just once?" he pleaded as if his life depends on it.

Alice frowns upon hearing his request. Almost whispering, she questioned, "Why would you need a student's information? Is this one of you detective things again?" Ridger is known for his investigative tendency like his father. He often helps him solve cases in the past too.

"I can't tell you why..." he murmured, looking aside, concerned that Alice may scoff at his explanation since he cannot tell the real reason why he's doing all of this.

"How am I supposed to break a rule if you can't even tell me why I have to? That sounds unfair to me," Alice responded while raising an eyebrow. She's just concerned about this boy and if anything happens, she's going to be part of it.

"There are things I can't disclose to you to protect someone I love, so the only thing I can tell you is that I am doing this to protect her. And I swear I won't do anything bad to the information I'd get from you. I also swear the info will remain confidential. I just need to clarify some things," he explained with a serious look in face to prove that she can trust him.

Alice, who couldn't say no after hearing what Ridger said, heaved a deep sigh. "Fine. Who's information were you looking for?"

Her response made Ridger smile from ear to ear. He knows he could really count on Alice.

–

After printing the information that he needed, Ridger left the admin's office and kept the documents in his bag. He intended to read it later since he received a call from the student council's office.

The UCSC's office is located in the furthest part of the main campus which is why he had to walk for three minutes to get there.

The office of the UCSC has a huge white wooden table for ten people in the center and a whiteboard in front, made especially for meetings. The windows are closed and covered with thick maroon drapes to keep the room cool since it's fully air-conditioned.

When he arrived at his destination, the lights are off which means no one was in there. He turned on the lights and enter the room thinking that the others might just be late.

After a minute, he checked his phone inbox and reread the messages from the council. Since this year's election has yet to come, Ridger is still the UCSC's Auditor so they may still use the room. So when he received a message that they will be having an emergency meeting, he didn't think twice and head here.

Ridger suspected that the issue was related to the election's participating parties. He still has work to accomplish because he is a member of the committee.

But, just as he was ready to send a message, the door opened, followed by the sound of pairs of heels, indicating that it was a woman.

Ridger then turned around to see Rosie enter with an expression of delight on her face. "Hi Ridger," she said, hiding her hands behind her back to conceal her enthusiasm upon seeing him.

"Oh, I thought the message was a bluff. I was ready to reprimand them for their negligence," he uttered and place his bag on his table before resting on his assigned seat.

Rosie sweetly chuckled because of what he said. Meanwhile, Ridger rest his back on the backrest of the chair, crossed his arm, and closed his eyes because of the mental exhaustion he was feeling.

He's not sure if he'll find something but it's better than doing nothing. If he didn't find anything suspicious, then it will be all fine. He just couldn't ignore his gut feeling.

"Uhm, Ridger? Are you listening?"

Ridger was jolted back to reality when he heard Rosie's voice and was startled when he realized her face was too close to his. He pushed his chair away from her to draw a line between them that made Rosie realize that he was uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry. You wouldn't respond to me so I had to–"

"It's alright, Rosie," he cut her off while looking at his wristwatch. "Where are the others? They are taking too long," he added with a stern look on his face. He detests people who don't respect others' time.

Meanwhile, Rosie bit her lip upon hearing what he said as if she did something he won't like. "Actually…"

"What?" he asked, perplexed. "Tell me what's going on," he stated.

Rosie heaved a deep sigh and responded, "No one's coming–"

"What?" His deep voice resonated within the room, causing Rosie to tremble. "How come they sent that message?" He stood up and face-palmed, attempting to keep his irritation at bay.

"It was actually me all along. I did that so we could talk because you kept on rejecting me when I ask you to talk to me in private. You always have reasons to ignore me, I had to improvise," she answered with a low voice because of embarrassment.

She knew he would react this way but she continued with the plan anyway. Rosie made her friends in the council help her set the plan for her.

At the same time, Ridger doesn't understand why Rosie's so desperate to talk to him. He knew it was not academic related which is why he would always refuse since he always had something more important to do. That isn't a lie and Rosie probably doesn't understand.

"I don't want to get mad at you, Rosie but you shouldn't waste someone's time for something so petty. You can message me if it's so important," Ridger responded while trying to be respectful. He doesn't want to treat her badly or hurt her but she's acting like a child which is something he won't tolerate.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Please forgive me," she uttered in between her sobs, tears slowly pouring from her eyes.

Ridger knew this would happen which is why he's trying his best not to raise his voice but it was too late. She's already in tears. He heaved a deep sigh and looked at her.

"Fine, since we are already here, I'm going to hear you out. Just please be quick about it. I have a class in ten minutes," he stated and sat on his chair again.

"Thanks, Ridger…" she mumbled as she wiped her tears.

Ridger just shook his head in disappointment. What is it she's going to say that she had to go through this kind of mischief?

---

end of Chapter 7