Lila Spencer  - A Christmas Caper




CHAPTER ONE

"By the time we get through this line, lunchtime will be over ... " Tina
Palermo complained as she stood impatiently with a whole bunch of other
students, waiting outside the guidance counselor's office door.

"If you don't feel like waiting any longer, then just go to the cafeteria and
we'll be there soon enough," Lila Spencer replied smartly, as she and Ashley
Emerson were both waiting to sign up for the annual toy drive that Mrs.
Anderson organizes for the community to help needy children have a toy for
Christmas.

"Since you're just waiting here with us anyway ... why don't you sign up as
well?" Ashley asked their restless friend as Tina was tapping the pointy heel
of her black boots tensely on the tiled floor. "Have you seen the costumes
they make you wear for this? ... " she replied back dreadfully. The girls were
required to wear these green short dresses with red foam buttons down the
front, and a wide black belt across the waist. "I'm sorry, but green is
definitely not my color ... " the cute brunette continued in her usual vain
self.

Lila just ignored her friend's endless moaning as she too was concerned that
the line wasn't moving quick enough, for it seemed that one-third of the
entire school population wanted to participate in this year's event. Just
then, Lila spied a boy exiting Mrs. Anderson's office, and her blue eyes went
wide with shock as she recognized him.

"Ooooo ... " Tina cooed softly to a flustered Lila as he walked away from them
down an adjacent hallway. "Looks like your boyfriend has volunteered also ...
" she continued to tease her.

"He's not my boyfriend! ... " Lila snapped back in embarrassment. The truth
was, however, that Lila was completely smitten over Chris Marlin ever since
she first saw him during the first day of school. He was in the same grade as
her, but they didn't share any classes together, so she just gets to see him
in the hallways.

"This is your opportunity to finally talk to him ... " Ashley chimed in for
she really wanted Lila to make a move.

"But, I don't know if he even likes me ... " Lila grumbled sourly.

"I've told you before ... I'll ask him for you," Tina offered for like the
twentieth time.

"No ... " Lila blurted out, fearing her friend would just end up humiliating
her in the process.

"Look ... waiting for him to approach you hasn't produced any results, because
you're not sending him any clear signals," Tina said as she offered her
knowledge on how to attract the opposite sex. "Boys are shy and insecure. They
lack the confidence to approach us without saying something stupid."

Lila exhaled as her nervousness had now passed. "Okay ... I'll really think
about it this time," she replied with some confidence in her voice, but her
eyes belied the fact that she was still a bundle of nerves inside, for she
hoped that she wouldn't say anything stupid ...

CHAPTER TWO

"Yes ... I know you're inconvenienced, but the drive was moved a week later
than normal," a man spoke into the small cell phone, cringing as he was
hearing an angry backlash on the other end. "Look ... I can still make it up
to you; I'll just accelerate my end of it in time for the holidays. You have
nothing to worry about ... " he sounded more reassuring for the voice on the
other line wasn't so loud this time. "Expect the first pick up tomorrow late
afternoon," and with that he hung up the phone, exhaling after being scolded
for something that was completely out of his control.

He had tried his best to convince Mrs. Anderson not to alter the schedule, but
the headstrong woman refused, saying that having the toy drive closer to
Christmas would yield more donations as shoppers were flooding the stores
later anyway.

Leaning back on the wooden chair he sat on, he looked around his makeshift
workshop and sighed dismally at seeing his "product" just sitting there with
no toys to hide them in""it was going to be one busy week for him to fulfill
his quota this year ...

CHAPTER THREE

The next day right after school was over, the volunteers for the toy drive had
assembled in the gymnasium for a brief orientation and to also get their
uniforms. Tina sat out in the bleachers, watching the display for she didn't
sign up as Ashley suggested yesterday.

"Well ... what do you think?" Lila spoke up as she suddenly appeared, all
dressed in her cute outfit. Tina tried her best not to laugh out loud as she
just snickered at the comical sight before her. "You look ... good," she
uttered between chuckles.

Lila furrowed her brow in annoyance at Tina's juvenile behavior. Ashley soon
approached them with her uniform on as well, and Tina couldn't hold it any
longer as she burst out laughing. "Come on, Ash ... " Lila said to her toy
drive partner, " ... let's leave the 'children' here to their infantile
antics." And with that, the two green-clad girls left Tina, as she still
couldn't stop giggling.

Once everyone was suitably dressed""even the boys were decked out in green &
red""Mrs. Anderson had pre-assigned teams of four students to handle the
various responsibilities of this massive toy drive. The team listings were
posted near the exit doors, and everyone huddled around the list to find their
respective teammates.

"Oh, shoot ... " Ashley said woefully, looking at the printed list of names, "
... you're not on my team, Lila."

Lila scanned to find her name, and her eyes widen in surprise as she saw that
Chris Marlin was assigned to her team. Did Tina have a hand in this? ...
Walking over to her small group of kids, Chris stood among them while Lila
kept her head low as she cautiously approached them. She couldn't believe the
weird sort of luck at being conveniently paired up with Chris! ... It's as if
the stars were in some form of alignment""not that she believed in that sort
of thing.

Once all the teams were assembled, Mrs. Anderson stepped forward. "I want to
first say thank you all for offering your valuable time for this very good
cause. Mr. Hannigan will be passing out lists of tasks to each team. Please
assign one member of your group as team leader."

Besides Chris, there was another girl and boy in their group, and they both
were looking at Chris. Lila also looked at him, but not stare at him for too
long""even though she wanted to. "I guess I'll be team leader then," he
conceded as seeing that everyone was quietly looking at him. He noticed Lila's
gaze and smiled at her, which caused her to suddenly avert her stare as the
redness of her cheeks matched her auburn hair.

Mr. Hannigan handed Chris their tasks and continued on with the rest of the
kids. Once he was finished, Mrs. Anderson spoke up again, "Now, does anyone
have any questions?" No one spoke as the gym was very quiet. "Okay, let's make
this drive an even more success than last year!" she announced happily, and
the green-clad students all made there way to their respective destinations.

* * *

Lila's 'team' was tasked with getting all the toys wrapped for delivery to the
children. An empty classroom was designated as the wrapping room. Lila
grumbled at being appointed for this job for she wished she were out
collecting the toys from the people, like Ashley's team was doing down at the
strip mall. However, being assigned with Chris did make this tedious job more
pleasant, but at the same time a bit nerve-wracking, as she was still too
nervous to talk to him.

It was during this mental distraction that Lila accidentally dropped a pile
stick-on colored bows all over the floor. She immediately bent down to gather
them up, when she saw Chris coming to her aid. "Thank you ... " Lila said
quickly, not looking directly at him while she scooped up the bows in her
arms.

"You're welcome," he replied back kindly. "I'm Chris ... " he went to extend
his hand to shake hers, but quickly realized her hands were rather full at the
moment.

"Lila ... " she responded nervously, which was obvious to him.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Lila ... " he said, which caused the flustered
girl to suddenly drop the bows back onto the floor. What did he mean by
'finally'? ...

As if he had read her mind, Chris continued, "I've noticed you looking at me
in the hallways. I think it's kind of flattering."

"I guess it was obvious enough ... " she admitted a bit tense, but tried to
calm herself down more so.

"I have to confess ... " Chris said quietly as not to be overheard too much, "
... I was nervous about talking to you too." Lila began to relax now as she
smiled directly at him this time, knowing that his feelings for her were
mutual.

"Are you two done down there, or do you need a few more minutes getting
acquainted," Mrs. Anderson said wryly at them as she entered the room. "We
have a lot of work ahead of us people, and I need everyone to remain focus,
okay? ... " she said with a more constructive tone in her voice.

Embarrassed at being singled out, Chris helped Lila with the last of the bows,
and the two of them finally rose back up with their tasks ahead of them. Lila
was all giddy inside for she didn't care how much work was needed to do ...
she was with Chris Marlin, her potential boyfriend!

CHAPTER FOUR

"I heard you finally talked to Chris ... " Tina said on the other end of the
cell phone as Lila listened in while sitting at her computer desk. "How did
you know? ... That happened just three hours ago?" Lila exclaimed back, a bit
irritated that she didn't get the chance to spill the beans on of her most
gratifying experiences thus far.

"Amy Jarvis saw the two of you walking together after the toy drive was over
for the day ... " Tina asked matter-of-factly. Lila should've realized how
well informed Tina Palermo was, even for a freshman. "So ... has he asked you
out yet?"

"No ... " Lila answered defensively, " ... we just talked, that's all." Of
course, she did hope that Chris would've asked her on a date, but figured that
he was bit too shy to come out and say it.

"Well, at least you're talking to him now ... that's a good start."

"I'm so glad you approve ... " Lila replied mockingly, picturing Tina sticking
her tongue out in response.

"Did you by any chance whisper into my mother's ear about me not volunteering
for the toy drive?" she asked her often-nosy friend deliberately.

"I might have ... " Lila answered carefully, but playfully. Knowing how
stubborn Tina can be, she can't refuse a request from her own mother. "You
should sign up ... Mrs. Anderson said more people are needed for they're
anticipating a record turnout this year."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that ... I will be joining you guys tomorrow
after school," Tina said as if the words were forced out of her mouth.

"That's great! ... Maybe we'll be wrapping presents together!" Lila exclaimed
in sheer excitement.

"You know, that does sound like a really good idea ... " Tina sounded
enthusiastically as well, but then her tone changed, " ... I'm sure Chris
wouldn't mind learning some things about you before your big date together.
After all, I have nothing else better to do than to just wrap a bunch of gifts
to kids I don't even know. Yeah, this does sound like this could be a lot of
fun ... "

Lila swallowed hard, realizing she just let the tiger out of its cage ...

* * *

Pleased now that the toy drive was finally underway, he began the task of
readying his end in shipping out his "product." However, another obstacle had
reared its head at the last minute, and that he was no longer in charge of the
wrapping of the gifts, as Mrs. Anderson gave that job exclusively to a bunch
of kids this time. Between Anderson's constant interfering and his customer's
"threats" against him, he felt like things were stacking up against him in a
very bad way.

If he stood any chance on getting his shipments out at all, he needed to have
access to those toys coming in ... and an idea suddenly came to him.

CHAPTER FIVE

After changing back into her Christmas uniform, Lila hurried over from being
late to the gift-wrapping room, eager to see Chris again. Ever since their
first official meeting yesterday, Lila couldn't stop thinking about him. She
also hoped that she would beat Tina there before her big mouth would say
anything to embarrass her. Entering the large room, Lila stopped dead in her
tracks as she spotted Tina already there and conversing with Chris no less!

The pretty brunette was also dressed in the required green outfit she despised
so much, but accessorized it with her usual flair""a decorative red ribbon
fixed on top of her long straight hair, a fancy red & gold bow pinned to her
chest, and of course, her favorite ankle-high black boots, which Chris was no
doubt admiring them.

>>From a distance, it looked to her that Tina was actually trying to swoon
him. She could have practically any boy of her choice in either the freshmen
or sophomore classes, and she has the gall to the make the moves on my likely
boyfriend! Heading over there, the auburn-tressed girl eased her way between
the two of them, putting her freckled face right in front of Tina's.

"Oh, hi Lila ... " Tina said all innocently, like she was trying to hide
something. In all the years that Lila has known her Cuban friend, bluffing was
not one of her stronger points.

Lila just smiled back genially in response, but her sparkling blue eyes told a
much different story, one that she didn't want Chris to see. Taking the
obvious hint, Tina began to step away. "I'll go find Mrs. Anderson to see what
she wants me to do ... "

"You do that ... " Lila said back at her as she stood her ground firmly.
Pivoting on the ball of her foot, Lila faced Chris and she looked blissfully
in his gorgeous hazel eyes. "Hi ... " she said happily.

"Hey there ... I was wondering if you weren't going to show up," he said in
reference to Lila's tardiness. Being tied up somewhere still wouldn't stop me!
... Lila thought to herself, and she was very pleased to hear that he was
looking for her. She definitely planned on finally making some type of move
with him.

"Just one thing before we get started ... " Lila blurted out as they made
there way over to the large wrapping table, " ... Tina didn't say anything,
you know ... humiliating about me?" She winced at her awkward choice of words
a bit, but there was no other way she could precisely convey her qualms since
this morning.

Chris smirked back at the cute petite girl as he eased her rising fears. "She
didn't say anything that I would consider 'humiliating' ... "

Lila grinned in response, confident that Chris was indeed hers now!

* * *

Tina was not having the best time as evidenced by her constant grumbling while
working the makeshift assembly line. Mrs. Anderson did her best at cheering up
her troops by playing endless Christmas music through the PA system, but all
that did was infuriate Tina even more so as she was turning into a "Grinch."

It seemed that Tina's attempt to do some damage between Lila and Chris
appeared to have no affect at all, as the two budding lovebirds were wrapping
items at a quick turnaround. Tina exhaled in frustration as Lila could wrap
gifts all day without a care in the world. I could be out shopping today ...
but noooo, I'm stuck here because of little Miss Do-gooder ... Looking into
the large toy bin next to her, Tina noticed that is was now empty. She began
rolling it out of the room to get more presents.

With classes over for the day, the school was dead quiet as Tina walked
leisurely along the hallway, the stiletto heel of her boots being the only
noise that was heard around. Arriving at loading dock at the back end of the
school, Tina saw no new toys present""a smile formed across her round face at
the thought of calling it quits for the day. I could still make it to the mall
...

However, something on the concrete floor caught her attention. Moving closer
to it, she squatted down to get a better look""it appeared to be the stuffing
material used for plush toys, like teddy bears. It seemed as though someone
was cutting up some of the toys ... but who would do that?

Rising back up, a hand immediately clamped itself over her mouth!

"Don't move a muscle ... " a low raspy-sounding voice spoke directly from
behind her ...

CHAPTER SIX

After wrapping the last of the presents that was given to her, Lila glanced
over to where Tina stood at the start of the line only to find her, and the
toy bin, no longer there. "How long ago did Tina leave?" she asked to everyone
in the room.

"I think I saw her walk out like thirty minutes ago ... " Beth Morgan replied
while she assembled the wrapped gifts into another bin for shipment.

Lila furrowed her brow at Tina's unprofessional behavior in this important toy
drive. "You think she decided to leave?" Chris asked as he also noticed her
sour mood earlier.

"If she did ... she's gonna be in big trouble, and not just with Mrs.
Anderson," Lila hopped off her stool she sat on and headed for the exit door
with Chris following close behind her. "We'll be right back ... " she said to
the other two helpers, and they left the room.

"Lila, I was wondering ... " Chris spoke carefully as he was now finally alone
with Lila in the hallway, " ... would you like to go out sometime?"

Lila suddenly stopped and looked at Chris without freaking out at his
unexpected request. "Yes ... I would very much like that," she replied happily
... and relieved. Chris grinned in response as he appeared to be sweating a
little""Lila didn't think that it was because of the green wool sweater he
wore. After staring at each other for several more seconds, Lila suddenly
snapped out of her daze and spoke, "Tina ... "

Arriving at the dock, everything looked quiet, as there was no one where
around. Lila did look upset now, figuring her snooty friend ditched them after
all. Wait until her mother finds out ...

Turning to leave, Chris stopped for a moment. "Did you hear something? ... "

Lila also paused to listen what Chris was curious about, and sure enough she
could make out a faint noise coming from the other end of the dock. Heading
over there, Lila saw the toy bin sticking out from behind some boxes, and the
strange noise was getting louder.

Moving the boxes aside, Lila and Chris peered inside the bin, and they both
gasped in utter shock at seeing Tina present ... bound and gagged!

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Tina! ... " Lila yelled out in surprise at seeing her imperiled friend lying
at the bottom of the big plastic bin.

"Hmmmm ... mmmm ... mmmmmm!!" Tina mumbled irately through the clear packing
tape showing her full lips sealed together as she rolled her annoyed brown
eyes at the both of them to get her out of there.

Recovering quickly from his initial shock, Chris reached down and carefully
grabbed Tina by her shoulders, standing up her bound form. Lila touched Tina's
cheek, grasping the cut end of the wide tape. "This will hurt a little ... "
she said and pulled it off with one quick motion.

"Owwww!! ... a little?!" Tina cried in pain, but was grateful that her mouth
was now free of that sticky gag.

Chris then hauled the petite girl from her cramped prison and laid her gently
on the cold floor. Lila went about at removing the tape around Tina's booted
ankles, while Chris was working on freeing her wrists positioned behind her
back. "What happened!? ... " Lila asked the million-dollar question.

"Some guy grabbed me from behind and quickly tied me up before I got a chance
to get away," Tina replied more angry than frightened being that 'he' wasn't
interested in her""she just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong
time. "I didn't get to see his face, though," she sounded a bit dejected at
that crucial detail.

"That's alright ... as long as you're safe," Lila spoke warmly as she finished
unraveling the lengthy strip of clear tape off.

"Who on earth would do something like this? ... " Chris echoed in disbelief at
Lila's inquiry as he was also done with Tina's hands. He has heard about
Lila's sleuthing nature by what was announced in the media, but he never
thought that he'd be in the middle of a bonafide mystery like this.

Tina then glanced over to where she saw that stuffing on the floor, but it was
now gone""swept clean! She figured there must be a connection between that and
her unknown attacker ...

* * *

Rushing back into his car parked across from the high school, he pounded on
the steering wheel in absolute frustration at what just happened. "Stupid ...
stupid!" he yelled out loud to no one, but himself. His plan to intercept the
toys at the school before they got wrapped sounded simple and easy enough.
That is, until that girl suddenly showed up and discovered his mess on the
floor.

Seizing her was purely done out of panic for he didn't know if she would leave
or not. And tying her up like that was also necessary""he was just lucky she
didn't see his face.

He looked pensively outside, still angry that he didn't get more time to
fulfill his orders. The police will no doubt be here as that girl will be
found soon enough""better to leave quietly while the opportunity exists.

Starting up the engine, he began to ease from the curb and drive slowly down
the single-lane road. He needed to come up with another plan ... one that will
guarantee results this time.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lila sat with Tina back in the gift-wrapping room while the police were busy
scouring all over the loading dock. Mrs. Anderson had already relieved the
other two helpers, as they were no way involved with what happened earlier,
and she also canceled the toy drive for the remainder of the day.

Chris stood nearby like he was offering some form of protection to them. Lila
found his gesture endearing, even though it was completely unnecessary ... but
it was still nice.

Sheriff Cartwright made a rare appearance at the crime scene as he entered the
room. "Why is it that whenever there's trouble, you two are always somehow
involved in it?" he asked more rhetorically with a frustrated sigh at the teen
girls.

"I guess we seem to attract trouble around us ... " Lila responded jovially,
but changed her mood quickly at Cartwright's dour expression, for he didn't
find that comment the least bit funny. "You three are free to go now ... " he
continued, which made them happy to finally leave. "Mrs. Anderson will be back
here in a minute to take you all home," and with that, he turned and left the
room.

"A simple case of a prankster, that's all it was ... " Chris stated in relief
at what the police had determined as the most logical conclusion to what
happened. There was nothing else to suggest other than some kid causing
mischief for there was no evidence to support any other explanation.

Tina remained very doubtful, however, as to what that person was really up to
in there. She did secretly confide with Lila about the stuffing she witnessed,
but neglected to tell that little detail to the police, or to Chris. Lila was
also deeply suspicious, for if it was someone making a stupid prank at the toy
drive, why would he risk tying up Tina like that ... that was going a little
too far, even for a prankster. No, there was something else going on, and she
was determined to find out exactly what ...

CHAPTER NINE

The next morning, Lila was at her locker with her daily routine of shuffling
her homework books to her early class books. After returning home from that
unexpected occurrence with a supposed prankster, Lila couldn't stop thinking
about it""it even got in the way of her English paper she needed to finish.

Laying all the details she knew between Tina and the police, Lila ascertained
that the presence of the stuffing indeed suggested vandalism, but a person
bent on sabotaging the toy drive would most likely have had left a whole bunch
of broken toys around to send a clear message. And the fact that the
incriminating stuffing was later cleaned indicated more to someone who didn't
want anyone to know what he was up to.

What grappled Lila was why a toy was cut open to begin with ... and then the
obvious hit her""to hide something inside it! Now it was looking more like a
smuggler was the culprit ... but smuggling what? Whatever it was, Lila guessed
for sure that it must've been illegal in nature. Now she was back to the
million dollar question again ... who was responsible for all this?

While she was lost deep in thought, she sensed someone behind her. Turning her
head, she saw Chris standing before her with a smile on his dazzling face. She
had seen him walk by her practically everyday at this time, fantasizing about
him, but now actually facing him directly here like this seemed so surreal to
her now, like if this was dreaming all this. Of course, if that was the case,
she didn't want to wake up.

"Hi, Chris ... " she said all cheerful as just being in his presence had
brighten her whole day.

"Hey, Lila ... " he said just as pleased. "I wanted to know if you're free
tonight, after the toy drive."

Lila's heart began to pound rapidly for she knew where this was going. "Y-yes,
I am ... " she stammered slightly, but maintained her composure.

"Great ... I thought we could go to the Olympia Diner for a bite to eat."

Lila had told her parents about Chris' offer to go out with her on a date, and
they said that it was okay with them, as long as she was back home by seven
... and they got to meet him as well. "That sounds really good ... I'll see
you later then."

Chris gave her a quick wave and hurried off to his homeroom class. Lila just
stood there, watching him go with a longful look in her blue eyes. Just then,
the shrilling sound of the morning bell rang loudly over the PA system, and
broke her out of her stupor. She quickly shut her locker, and too, ran to her
homeroom.

Besides this baffling mystery she was now involved with, Chris was
ever-present in her thoughts as well, and now she was about to go on her first
official date ... one of many she hopes to take with him.

CHAPTER TEN

On her way to the cafeteria for lunch, Lila took a slight detour to Mrs.
Anderson's office first to follow up on a hunch as to the possible identity of
Tina's attacker. Seeing the door ajar, she knocked on it softly first before
entering. "Excuse me ... Mrs. Anderson?"

The attractive short haired brunette woman was sitting at her desk, typing
something on her computer at the moment. She quickly ceased her work and
greeted the teen girl with a warm smile. "Lila ... what can I do for you?"

Stepping into the small office, she spoke more audibly. "I was wondering, has
there been anyone from the faculty that had participated with the toy drive
before?"

Mrs. Anderson looked at the teenager a bit caught off guard by that comment.
"Why, yes ... several in fact. But with conflicting schedules, it was easier
to have the students get involved instead."

"What about the gift-wrapping ... who was in charge of that, if you don't mind
me asking?" Lila asked cautiously, not wanting to arouse her suspicions more.

"That was Mr. Bevalaqua, the Chemistry teacher," she replied. "He insisted on
running the whole operation all by himself, says he works best while being
alone." She then looked narrowly at the junior snoop as her curiosity was
beginning to peak. "Why so interested? ... "

"Oh, I just wanted to get some tips from him on how to improve our process to
get more work done with the limited time we have," Lila stated quickly as she
wasn't fibbing about the amount of presents they receive for wrapping.

"Well, good luck on getting anything out of him in regards to the toy drive,"
Mrs. Anderson said wryly.

"Why's that? ... "

"He was very agitated about no longer being involved that he seemed to take it
rather personally. Frankly, I think the man has no social life," she stated
dryly.

"Well, I need to get to lunch ... thanks a lot for the help," Lila said as she
backed towards the door.

"No problem ... I'll see you after school all ready to work."

As Lila approached the cafeteria, she noticed the Science wing of the school
off to her right. Stopping for a moment, a crazy thought entered her mind.
Figuring she still had five more minutes before meeting her friends for lunch,
Lila rushed into the hallway.

Checking out the doors as she passed by them, she found the one she was
looking for""'Mr. Bevalaqua, Chemistry.' Hearing no noise coming from the
other end of the door, Lila guessed that he must be out to lunch, but she
could tell the light was on inside. Ever so softly, she turned the doorknob,
and sure enough, the door opened!

Peering into the lab/classroom, she noticed that it was totally deserted of
people. Looking at his desk, she headed over there quickly to do a little
snooping around.

Lila didn't even know what she was looking for as she began scanning over the
contents on the large desk""nothing there that caught her attention. She then
bent down and began rifling through the drawers, which she was thankful were
not locked. Opening the last one on the bottom, she saw something inside that
made her pause for a moment""a Teddy Bear?

Picking up the plush animal, Lila casted a confused expression on her freckled
face as to why a grown single man would have such a thing in his possession.
Looking at it more carefully, she noticed some stitching along the back side
that was done rather crudely, considering the professional craftsmanship of
the toy. Her blue eyes then widen in alarm at what Tina said earlier about
some stuffing found in the loading dock ...

Just then, the faint sounds of footsteps were heard from outside the room, and
they were getting louder. Not knowing who it might be, Lila scrambled as she
placed the bear back in the drawer and closing it, then headed straight for
the door.

She just about reached it when a man suddenly appeared in front of her with a
surprised look on his rugged face. "Just what do you think you're doing in my
classroom, young lady?" he asked angrily at the startled teen girl.

"I-I'm sorry to barge in like this ... " Lila said shakily. "But, I wanted to
ask you about the toy drive, and what you did in regards to wrapping the
gifts." The same bogus excuse she gave to Mrs. Anderson was the only thing she
could think to say on such short notice, and besides, it did sound like a
perfectly legitimate question.

"I'm no longer involved with the drive anymore, and I don't wish to talk about
it either ... " he said bluntly, like Mrs. Anderson had told her. "Now, if
you'll please leave, I wish to eat my lunch." Lila noticed the small paper bag
he carried with him.

"Again, I'm very sorry for disturbing you ... " and with that final apology,
Lila darted out of the room without stopping or looking back.

Mr. Bevalaqua closed the door behind him and sighed in frustration at these
nosy kids. Sitting at his desk, he noticed something was not quite right as he
saw that one of his drawers slightly ajar. Opening it fully, he gazed at the
stuffed bear inside, staring back at him. He then looked back at the door with
a sudden fearful expression on his face ...

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Finally, the last one ... " Tina said in total relief as she pulled out the
remaining toy from the plastic bin""a red fire truck. She had been in much
better spirits since her little scare yesterday, and no longer went to the
loading dock alone anymore as Mrs. Anderson accompanied her.

The wrapping group was one man short today for Chris was absent. Two other
kids from different groups had called in sick unexpectedly (a bug was going
around), and Chris was chosen to help cover for Mrs. Anderson needed some big
and strong for some heavy lifting. Lila was bummed to hear that he was not
with her wrapping, but that was small potatoes in contrast as she kept looking
at the clock, waiting anxiously for her date with him tonight.

Once she finished wrapping that last toy, she stood up, stretching her stiff
muscles from sitting for four hours straight. "Need to keep limber for the big
date, huh?" Tina joked playfully at Lila, who blushed a little in response at
Tina's inappropriate innuendo.

"Knock it off ... " she responded back smartly at her teasing friend.

The other two kids walked out of the classroom after saying their
goodbyes""and good luck to Lila""when Tina noticed that Lila stopped outside
in the hallway. "You're not changing first?" she asked for Tina couldn't wait
to get out this appalling outfit""the only thing she really didn't like about
this whole toy drive.

"No, Chris actually likes it on me, so I decided to still wear it for him ...
"

"Well, green is definitely your color ... " Tina said in all sincerity as the
dress went very well with her long auburn hair. "And call me as soon as you
get home ... I need to hear all the details."

Lila smiled happily as she continued watching Tina walking down the hall. Yes,
she was certainly going to have a good time tonight ...

Without any warning, Lila was immediately grabbed from behind as a large hand
pressed itself over her mouth, and a strong arm wrapped itself tightly around
her waist! In an instant, the startled teen girl was lifted off her feet and
carried quickly back into the classroom. Her muffled cries were inaudible to
the trio of kids, who were no more than forty feet from her as they all had
their backs to her.

Entering back into the room, the door was closed shut, leaving her all alone
with her unknown attacker! "So, you think you could bring me down, Lila? ... "

Her frightened blue eyes bulged in shock even more as she recognized that
voice ... Mr. Bevalaqua!

CHAPTER TWELVE

Chris finally arrived at the high school on his bike after being at the strip
mall for the past few hours loading all kinds of toys to be wrapped. As much
as he was enjoying this very important cause, finally meeting Lila through
this was the icing on the cake, as he too was anxiously looking forward to
their date.

After chaining up his bike at the bike rack, Chris trotted for the side
entrance being used for the volunteers. There was a bit of a skip in his step
as his heart began to pound with excitement, and nervousness, for this was
first date ever, and he wanted to make a really good impression on her.

Reaching the door, he happened to notice some movement over to his right.
Turning towards it, he spotted a man at the loading dock, pushing one of those
bins that the toys were kept in. A closer look at him, Chris saw that it was
Mr. Bevalaqua""he recognized him for he was his older sister's Science
teacher. The presence of the bin suggested that he was most likely helping out
with the distribution of the gifts to the needy children for he was wheeling
it over to what appeared to be his car parked nearby.

Opening the door, Chris hurried inside the building, eager to get their date
started.

He soon entered the gift-wrapping room where Lila would be waiting for him,
but quickly discovered that she wasn't there. He figured that she must've gone
to the restroom to freshen up first. Taking a seat on one of the stools, Chris
waited patiently as he was still a bundle of nerves inside. Looking around, he
spotted something lying on the floor nearby. He reached down to pick it up and
saw that it was a green slipper, just like the ones the girls wore with their
uniform.

Staring at it more carefully, he realized that this was in fact Lila's shoe.
She did tell him that she wasn't changing out of her uniform for tonight, so
why was this lone slipper left behind? ...

A distraught expression then came over his face, and he immediately dashed out
of the room, heading towards the loading dock.

Arriving there out of breath, he could see the taillights of a car driving off
in the distance. Coming to the awful conclusion that Lila was in that bin,
Chris didn't hesitate as he then hurried over to Mrs. Anderson's office,
hoping that the guidance counselor was still in the building.

Adrenaline was pumping throughout his stiff body as Chris ran like he never
ran before. If anything happens to her ... He tried pushing out any dreadful
thoughts as he reached the office""he was elated to see the door still open.
Peering inside, he hopes quickly dashed as there was no one present. Panic
began to overcome him now for precious time was slipping away as Lila's life
depended on it.

Something then caught his attention on one of her shelves""a phonebook.
Grabbing it, he quickly flipped through the pages until he found the one he
was looking for. Scanning down the tiny list of names, his finger stopped at
the only Bevalaqua listed""it had to be him, it just had to be ... Tearing the
page off, Chris ran out of the office, heading back for his bike.

He prayed all the while that Lila was still alive, at least for a little while
longer ...

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Bevalaqua's hands felt clammy against the steering wheel and his breathing was
a bit erratic as he drove carefully through the darkened residential streets.
He tried his best not to look nervous, but that was after he crossed the line.
Why did this have to happen? ... Everything was supposed to go smoothly as
always ...

Slowing the car, he turned into a driveway of a house""the garage door at the
other end then started to open. The car eased inside and door began to close
shut. Exiting the vehicle, he walked over to the rear of the car, and then
placed his key into the lock of the trunk. Pulling up the large door, he gazed
upon the petite teen girl lying inside the cramped space as she struggled
furiously against the packing tape securely binding her hands and feet to no
avail. Another strip of tape was plastered over her mouth, impeding her cries
for help. Lila looked back up at him with tearful, pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry ... " he said softly to her, and hauled up her bound form out of
the trunk.

Lila continued to writhe in his firm grasp as she was being carried around
through the modest-sized house. Mrs. Anderson was indeed correct about his
social life as it appeared by his meager furnishings that he did live alone.

Arriving in the small kitchen, he placed Lila on her feet""it was then he
noticed that she was only wearing one shoe as her white stocking foot blended
with the white linoleum floor. He kept one hold on her arm to keep her still
as he opened a door with his other hand. After that, Lila was heaved up onto
his shoulder, and Bevalaqua began the slow descent into the basement. She
shuddered in fear as to what he plans on doing with her in that cold, dank
basement ...

After reaching the bottom of the stairs, a light suddenly turned on, and Lila
saw all sorts of stuff positioned on worktables""it looked like lab equipment.

Bevalaqua placed his captive on a wooden chair. "Don't move ... " he said to
her in that soft menacing tone of his, and then went to one of his benches
searching around the contents on it.

Lila, of course, didn't heed his intimidating warning, as she quickly stood up
on her tied feet and began hopping quickly back towards the stairs.

Bevalaqua saw that, and he hurried over, stopping her before she had a chance
to get away. Not being so gentle with her this time, he dragged her roughly
back to the chair. He held in his hand a roll of duct tape and began wrapping
some of it around her waist a few times, effectively holding her to the chair.

Eyeing the makeshift chemistry display in front of her, Lila was certain that
wasn't just school related. "You are as clever as your reputation dictates ...
" he said to her, which caused her attention to shift over to him in surprise
for he has heard of her as well. Fidgeting in her trussed state, she was still
baffled as to why she was taken like this ... she had no definitive proof that
he was the one responsible for Tina's little captivity""at least she wasn't
harmed, but the same can't be said about her as she could positively identify
her abductor to the police.

"Seeing that you're obviously onto me, I couldn't take the chance of having
you figure it all out and call the Sheriff on me," Bevalaqua continued as he
then stood next to his equipment.

"You see, I manufacture a very special narcotic of my own creation ... one
that I can only make in small quantities. Each year at the toy drive, I hide a
portion of them in some of the toys and have them delivered to certain people,
in which they pay me via wire transactions. Since these 'gifts' are part of
this charitable endeavor, the items are not subject to search and seizure by
the authorities""a rather foolproof plan that has worked without a hitch for
the past seven years ... that is until you came along."

Hearing what he had just told her, Lila felt sick to her stomach for she knew
that she wasn't going back home ... ever!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Chris was panting as he finally arrived at the address from the phone book
page. He went non-stop at top speed to get there as quickly as he could""a
near collision at an intersection, and almost running into a group of carolers
wasn't going to stop from him from saving Lila, even if he had only just
gotten to know her.

Not taking a moment to stop in order to catch his breath, Chris leapt off his
mountain bike and continued on to the one-story house""he prayed this was the
right place, and if it was, that he took her here as well for he didn't see
that car he spotted back at the school.

Looking over the side of the house, Chris noticed a light coming from the
bottom edge""the basement window. Hurrying over there, he bent down on one
knee and peered through the small windowpane. He saw a bunch of lab equipment
strewn around ... then Mr. Bevalaqua came into view as he appeared to be
working on that large apparatus.

Excited that he did find the right house, he scanned frantically around for
any sign of Lila ... still alive! At the very edge of his viewing range, he
barely could make out a person sitting down. He narrowed his 20/20 vision at
that exact spot intently, and could tell that it was in fact Lila tied up on a
chair.

Standing back up, his heartbeat was racing with anticipation for he wanted to
rush right in there and save her. However, his sensible side began to take
over as he should contact the police and let them handle this, for that's
their job. But what if they don't make it in time? Lila could be ...

Chris shook his head in frustration as he grappled at what he should do, and
then his hazel eyes twinkled in understanding as he decided at what he was
going to do ... rescue the girl he likes enough to risk his own life.

* * *

Lila continued sitting there as she watched helplessly at Mr. Bevalaqua
preparing to make another batch of his special drug. She had brushed with
death several times already since she started snooping, but now it really did
seem like this was it for her""there was no way she can break free of her
bonds to escape, and there was certainly no one coming to her rescue. It would
take a miracle for the latter to happen.

Just then, in the midst of her despair, she heard faint noises closely ...
coming from the stairs. A pair of legs appeared, walking down slowly. At
first, she thought that it may be one of Bevalaqua's associates, but as the
legs grew longer, she began to see the rest of the mysterious figure coming
into full view. Her heart quickened in excitement as she saw that it was Chris
standing at the bottom of the stairway!

He pressed his index finger over his lips to indicate to her to keep quiet,
even with her mouth gagged. Lila complied with his request and waited
anxiously for him to free her. However, she glanced over to her captor, who
was completely oblivious at the moment of what was happening just behind him.
Chris also kept a careful watch on him as well as he approached his new
girlfriend ever so softly.

As he was about to reach her, his foot bumped into something lying on the
floor. The noise wasn't very loud, but it did startle Bevalaqua, and he
suddenly turned around, seeing the intruder in his house! "What the hell are
you doing here!?" he asked both angrily and nervously at the startled teen
boy, who froze in place momentarily.

Without warning, Bevalaqua charged towards Chris with a look of fury in his
brown eyes. Before Chris could react he took a hard kick to the chest and
staggered backwards as he tried to regain his balance. Bevalaqua continued to
pursue him while Lila tried desperately to free her tied hands, but it was
still no use""her fate rested solely on her new boyfriend saving her.

Some loud banging noises where then heard as Lila couldn't see the scuffle
happening, on account that the stairway was currently blocking her view""she
prayed that Chris can overcome that crazed teacher.

The two combatants had emerged over to her right""their arms locked with each
other. Chris appeared to be holding his own well enough with the older and
stronger man. However, Lila could the strain on his face as his strength was
beginning to wane.

Chris managed to land some hard punches to the face of the crazed teacher but
he barely blinked as the punches only seemed to anger him.

Bevalaqua pushed the teen back and gave him a hard punch to the gut which made
Chris puff his cheeks as the air was forced from his gut.

Chris tried to reply with a punch but Bevalaqua ducked under the punch and
sended a elbow in the back of the teen making him wince.

His face a mask of rage and madness Bevalaqua aimed a vicious kick to the hurt
teen, Chris managed to block the kick but the crazed teacher followed up by
grabbing his shoulders and pressing his back against the wall.

As Chris was held tightly Bevalaqua pressed his forearm hard against his
throat to keep him pinned against the wall, with his other arm he reached low
trying to squeeze the testicles of the struggling teenager.

Then, in a burst of energy, Chris pushed Bevalaqua forcefully off of him,
hurling him towards his lab equipment. He smashed up against the worktable,
knocking the contents all over on the floor. A flash of light was suddenly
seen, and a fire began to erupt from one of the Bunsen burners that were lit.

Nearby in a corner of the room was three tanks of propane gas used for the
burners ... and the rapidly growing flames began inching its way lethally
towards them!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Not wasting any time, Chris immediately ran back to Lila, who was now
panicking in her trussed state as the smoke got thicker. Finding a sharp
object nearby, he sawed through the tape holding her to the chair. Once she
was free, he quickly picked her small frame onto his shoulder, and raced out
of the raging conflagration as quickly as he could without dropping her.
Bevalaqua, meanwhile, lied on the floor totally unconscious during all this.

Outside on the front lawn, Chris laid Lila down gently on the cold grass. He
then carefully peeled off the sticky tape from her mouth. She was grateful
that the both of them made it out unscathed, but then her mood suddenly
changed with alarm as she saw Chris heading back to the house.

"Chris ... what're doing?" she said aghast.

"I have to go back and try to save him before it's too late ... " he replied
quickly with no hint of fear in his voice.

"But, what if those tanks go off? You both could be killed!" Tears began
streaming down from her sorrowful blue eyes as she didn't want to risk losing
him now.

"I'll be right back ... I promise," he gave her a smile, then raced back
inside.

Lila struggled with her taped up wrists and ankles as she was completely
immobilized to stop him. "Help!! Somebody help me, there's a fire in this
house!!" she suddenly yelled out as loud as she could to the neighboring
houses, some of which had their Christmas lights on.

A woman appeared at the house next door, and she began running towards the
bound girl upon seeing her. Just then, there was a loud KABOOM! as a massive
explosion erupted from the basement""all the windows were blown out by the
powerful force of the blast.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!! ... " Lila screamed out in horror at what looked to be the end
of Chris Marlin!

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

It was two days later, and Lila sat at one of the booths at the Olympia Diner,
with Chris sitting right across from her. "You were so lucky to still be alive
after what happened ... " Lila said to him as she was still amazed at his own
extreme brush with death.

Chris appeared to have some small cuts on his face, but otherwise, he looked
completely healthy as there was no evidence of any kind of burn marks on him.
"You could thank Mr. Bevalaqua of having that storm shelter in his basement,"
he said as he too was thankful to still be alive. "That steel door was
fortunately strong enough to withstand the force of that explosion from the
both of us." Bevalaqua was quickly taken into custody on a load of charges,
and the authorities had also tracked down all of his associates he did
business with as this holiday drug trafficking was finally over.

Holding his large hand firmly on the shiny red table, Lila was eternally
grateful that Chris was alive and well""so much that she made a tough choice
that she wanted to tell him. "When I saw that explosion and feared the worst
... " her voice was a little shaky as she recalled reliving that horrifying
experience, " ... I promised that I would never snoop again if you came back
to me. It was my fault that got you mixed up in all this ... and it almost got
you killed." Lila tried fighting back tears that formed in her beautiful blue
eyes.

"Hey, it's not your fault what happened ... " he cooed her softly, easing some
of her pain. "But I do have to admit though, this whole snooping thing you do
sounds very dangerous, after what Tina and Ashley had told me."

Lila began to grin at her friends looking out for her, for they also were
pretty vocal about her snooping as well, and what it's gotten into all of
them. She got into this primarily for fun because of her cousin, but Katie
wants to become a federal agent, so she takes her snooping very seriously as
like a prerequisite for her future career.

Doing something this hazardous purely as a hobby, Lila came to the realization
that she needs to hang up her pastime, and concentrate on more important
ventures ... like dating.

Accepting her decision, she smiled warmly back at Chris as she still held his
hand, optimistic about her future with him