insert ch18

Glancing around I noticed her desk in the corner of the room.  It had two small drawers on top of a bigger one.  I tugged at it but it didn't budge.  Ugh.  Locked.

Sighing I dug around in my memories for any mentions of a key, or any clues to how I'd be able to open the drawer.  My heart pounded as I could hear Sage's grandmother's footsteps creaking the floor above.  

My eyes scanned the books on her bookshelf, finally stopping at *something* and *there's some kind of memory*.  It was thick with a hardback cover and looked like it hadn't been opened in years.  I tugged it out of its snug spot on the shelf, flipping the pages and trying not to sneeze from the dust cloud.  Turning to the back flap, I found the tiny silver key.  

In a hurry I jammed the key into the drawer lock and turned, relieved that it pulled open.  

Sage was so organized.  There were little boxes stacked in neat rows, each of them with a label marking the name we'd given our con.  As I was digging through, I heard more footsteps, this time heavier and faster — Sage and Violet!  

At the last second, I found the label *idk what it'll be called yet* and tore open the box.  Inside were two memory sticks and a memory card.  I pocketed them all, tossed the box back, slammed the drawer back shut, and returned the key just as a familiar voice called out.

------

The next day I didn't wake up until it was almost time to check out.  Violet was seated at the desk in our room with her back to me, earphones in, deep in thought.  She had a pen in her fingers, pressed against her lips as she listened, every so often stopping to take notes.  As I stumbled to the restroom, I glanced at the screen on her laptop.  On one half of the screen it looked like a virtual version of an old-school yearbook, black & white photos of acne-faced white teenagers.   On the other half was a folder with enlarged thumbnails of the pictures from my old kinky profiles.  

I ignored the panic in my tummy, taking care of my business and re-focusing my attention on something good:  at least I'd gotten the files from Sage.  And hopefully she'd get back in touch with me soon to figure out a plan.