"It must be someone in the college."
"Did you see Marcia Marlette this afternoon?" Carol started to giggle. "Where was she going? She was dressed in all her finery."
"She had everything on but the kitchen sink," Janet added with a laugh.
"I hear that Professor Lukens, the Chemistry teacher, has conferences with her after classes sometimes," Madge murmured.
"He has with Gale, too," Valerie said with a smile.
"Aha! Rivals!" Carol jeered, dodging a magazine thrown by Gale.
"How about the stables going up behind the Chemistry Hall?" Carol continued theatrically. "Wait until I dash down College Avenue on a pure white steed—"
"You will fall off," Janet said dryly.
Carol made a face. "How do you get down from a horse?" she asked wisely.
"Jump," Janet said.
"Step down," Madge added.
"You don't—you get it from a duck," Carol replied sweetly.
Janet choked on her fudge.
Madge threw a pillow, while Carol quickly hid behind Phyllis.
"In case you don't know," Carol continued, "down is what you stuff pillows with."
"You don't have to explain," Janet said in disgust. "After that terrible pun, I think I should take you back to the dormitory. Come along, infant."
"See you tomorrow, Phyl," Valerie said as they prepared to leave.
"But I don't want to go to bed yet," Carol protested.
"Shhh," Gale warned suddenly.
She moved toward the door and listened carefully.
"Someone is coming."
"Where do we hide?" Janet whispered urgently.
Carol dived under the bed.
Janet followed immediately.
Valerie and Madge rushed into the closet.
Gale switched off the light and quickly slipped into her bed.
Silence filled the room.
Footsteps stopped right outside the door.
Slowly, the doorknob turned.
But the door didn't open.
Instead, something white was pushed under it.
The footsteps moved away.
Only then did the girls cautiously come out of hiding.
"Now go ahead and sneeze!" Janet snapped at Carol. "If we had been caught, it would have been your fault. You always sneeze at the worst times!"
"I can't help it," Carol giggled. "You tickled me."
"We should leave before we're discovered," Madge whispered nervously.
"Wait," Janet said. "Let's see what the note says. Open it, Gale."
Gale turned on the light again, shielding it carefully.
She picked up the white envelope from the floor.
There was no name on it.
She opened it slowly and read the message.
Then she stared down at the floor, silent.
"Well?" Carol whispered impatiently. "Is it a secret?"
Gale blinked slightly. "It says… 'Do not interfere in affairs that are none of your concern.'"
"That's all?" Carol asked, disappointed. "No threats?"
"What does it mean?" Phyllis asked quietly.
"It means exactly what it says," Janet replied bluntly. "We should mind our own business—or else."
"Or else what?" Carol demanded.
"Mind our own business," Madge repeated. "But what have we interfered with?"
"That's true," Valerie agreed. "We haven't done anything."
Gale sat beside Phyllis on the bed.
"I wonder if this was meant only for us… or for all of us," she said softly.
"No one should even know we're here tonight," Janet said.
"It's obvious someone doesn't want us to discover something," Phyllis murmured.
"But what?" Carol insisted. "This is confusing."
"You're always confused," Janet said lightly. "Can't you see? Whoever wrote this is afraid of us."
"We're not that scary," Carol said jokingly. "What could they be afraid of?"
"I wish we knew," Gale said quietly.
She paused.
Then her expression changed slightly.
"But now that we've been warned… we're definitely going to find out."
"I'll sleep with my eyes open," Carol said dramatically.
Soon after, the girls quietly left, sneaking down the corridor and out through the back door.
Gale followed them, locked the door, and returned to her room.
Phyllis was still awake.
"Who left it?" she asked.
Gale shook her head. "I wish I knew."
"At least we know this," Phyllis said thoughtfully. "We must already know something we're not supposed to."
Gale ran her fingers through her hair.
"I thought things were finally calming down," she admitted softly. "Now this…"
"Everything is starting again," Phyllis finished.
Then she looked at Gale seriously.
"Promise me something."
"What?"
"Don't do anything about that note without me."
Gale hesitated, then nodded.
"I promise. If I do anything, I'll tell you first."
She paused.
"…Even though I don't know what we can do yet."