I grinned wickedly to myself. Looking left and right I made sure the coast was clear, hooked my foot over the window ledge and slipped inside. They'd been pranked by me at the university, but so far no one had been personally pranked by me yet, and Miss Emily Waters was just the person to be my first victim. Blonde, pretty, thoroughly sucked up to by Arlene (close friend, she and I go way back), who looked so much like her. Besides, I think she might be sleeping with Arlene's brother, my sometime love interest, Sonni. Well, on occasion of her having given me bad marks on the last couple of assignments (which I know for a fact were well done), of having kept me after class twice in the last week (quite undeservedly, I was so paying attention, I just had no idea what she was talking about), and of having made me look bad right in front of everyone so many times, she was going to get such a pranking. This was going to be great! It was about time Plishkatonic University knew there was no place safe from Akriel.
As I set foot on the floor, the scatter rug carelessly left laying there scattered. It shot out from under me and flew across the room as though it knew exactly what I had in mind and it was having no part of it. I was hurled backwards, doing the splits with one calf still on the window sill, and I wound up twisting in midair in an effort to save myself only to land heavily, face first, on the floor. Winded, chest mashed against the wood, I did the only thing I could... I groaned in pain. I also thanked the gods I'm so flexible. I listened intently for several long moments. Not a sound. Thank goodness no one heard me making an idiot of myself. Either she was asleep or out somewhere. Struggling to my feet, I brushed myself off and tugged my clothes back into place. Though a mini and a pair of sneakers was usually more my style this was different. This was stealthy stuff, and somehow a black exercise outfit had just seemed somehow appropriate for the occasion. I didn't even need a hat; my hair is long and black, so it blended right in.
Taking stock of my surroundings, I noted that I appeared to have found the living room. I deduced this based on the fact there was a couch and a couple of comfy chairs here. Though, mind you, there was also a china cabinet and a big, round dining table. I'd come dangerously close to knocking over a small end table with a vase and a couple of sea shells on it. I can't tell you how relieved I was that I hadn't. Not only would it have made one hell of a noise, but I didn't come here to break anything, just put her out a bit: perhaps rearrange all her kitchen cupboards, switch the flour and the sugar, stuff like that (I'm an impulsive prankster, I usually decide what exactly I'll do after taking stock of what I have to work with... I'm an artiste). From here I could see an open kitchen, her front door, the hall closet, what I expected was a bathroom door, and a doorway I was guessing led to the bedroom.
Stepping lively, I tiptoed to that doorway to find out if I was alone or not. I paused, listened, and heard nothing. Darting through the doorway I almost walked right into Miss Waters. I stopped dead in my tracks and nearly had a heart attack! She was standing there in only a bath robe or something, arms crossed, glaring. With a gasp, I gave a startled squeak, spun and turned to run. I pulled up short about an inch from smacking right into a masculine chest. Eyes darting upwards, I found myself staring into the face of one of the science teachers, Professor Edwards. Eyes drifting downwards, I saw he was completely naked! Brown hair, green eyes, and he was actually in great shape, fairly athletic; you'd never have guessed with what he normally wore. Swallowing hard, I slowly looked back over my shoulder. She looked pissed.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, a finger shooting up in front of my face.
I whirled to face her, backing into Professor Edwards, but he was like stepping into a wall. His hands grabbed my shoulders.
"I, uh, I... " I stammered, trying to think of a way out of this.
I started to squirm in Professor Edwards' grasp, but Miss Waters quickly got my attention again.
"Did you come here to steal something?" she demanded.
"No!" I quickly shot back (the very idea).
"To spy on me?" she asked, voice as dangerous as her eyes.
"No," I mumbled (who'd have guessed she was sleeping with Professor Edwards?).
"My private life is my own," she assured me, finally lowering her finger.
She partially turned away from me, facing her bed.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" she asked, her voice calmer but still heavy with anger.
When I didn't respond she looked sidelong at me.
"You could be expelled for this," she informed me.
I'm sure my eyes widened and my mouth hung open. Expelled? For playing a prank on someone? I didn't even get to play it! I did this back home all the time; people thought it was funny. As often as not I didn't play a joke, I gave people things they needed or did dishes and stuff while they slept.
"You could go to jail for this," she told me, stepping up to look me in the eye again.
I swallowed hard again, trying to get the concept to even enter my head. I couldn't believe this. My knees felt like rubber.
"It's called Breaking and Entering, Akriel."
I finally met her eyes. She wouldn't! Would she?
"Care to explain what you're doing here now?" she inquired, one brow arching.
"I, I just wanted to play a joke on you," I managed.
"I'm not amused," she advised.
