Stranger Kerrie

“Nice to meet you, I’m Grant”, I said as I briefly shook the woman’s hand.

She would’ve been in her late 20’s, pretty face, dark hair, slim body with large breasts. She definitely had a surgical enhancement. Other than that, she was wearing a black Nike hoodie. Just my type.

“Well, I gotta go grab some things. See you boys later.” The woman said, as she drove off in her navy Cadillac Escalade. I felt a hint of discomfort.

“Who was that?”, I asked Eddy.

“That’s Kerrie. She’s a friend of mine from middle school. Great girl. You interested, bro?”

I paused for a second as a felt giddy inside. Obviously, I wasn’t going to let Eddy know that.

“She’s fine. I ain’t gonnna lie, but I don’t know if she’s my type. Bro, you know my sched—I’m constantly at Uni and working. I don’t got time for these games. I need a girl who wants to do more than hang out in her daddy’s expensive cars and go shopping for shoes.” Well, so much for that idea I thought, as I waited for Eddy’s response.

“Wooo weee, boy. You got the hots! Look at you, planning your life with a lady you just met. Honestly, I haven’t seen you so giddy since that chick back in high school.” He said.

“Ya know, in all seriousness she is a bit of a spoilt brat. But she’s a very nice girl and she wants to be a doctor.” Eddy continued.

“HA! A doctor!? Right. Do tell me what she’s doing that to achieve this? Shopping?” I asked.

“No man. Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t seen Kerrie in a couple years. I can always talk to her for you though. Ya know, try to get some dates going?” Eddy winked and nudged me in the arm.

After knowing a bit more about Kerrie through Eddy, I wasn’t really interested. Kerrie seemed like the type of person who cared about materialistic things more than hard work.

“Dude, I gotta run to Costco and get some things before heading to work. I’ll catch ya later Eddy.” I said as I ran to the bus stop. I was going to be late today.

That night, I worked through the boxes in the warehouse with Jane the assistant manager. Jane was a friendly and she knew how to get things done. This is probably why despite us starting around the same time, she was promoted.

“Hey Grant, I’m off now. Can I ask that you finish up sorting the boxes tonight before leaving? We have a large early shipment coming through and we need space for that.” Jane asked.

“Yea no problem. Have a good night Jane!” I said.

It was 1:30 am, and I was the only person left in the warehouse sorting through the last few boxes as quickly as I could. I had an early start in criminal justice class and the professor reminded me of Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter; a complete psycho villain.

I quickly locked up and called an Uber. As I waited for my ride, I noticed a navy Cadillac Escalade parked outside the warehouse. Usually there isn’t anyone around at this time. Then, I remembered that Kerrie drove this vehicle when I met her earlier. But what would Kerrie be doing around her this late? I thought I should find out. As I approached the vehicle, the lights went on and the vehicle drove off. Odd.

The next morning, I waited restlessly for the Professor to attend the class and begin her lecture or torment. If we answered any one question wrong, she would make the whole class write long essays about why the answer is wrong along with a prose on the importance of studying before each class.

The chair of the criminal justice faculty walked in.

“Good morning everyone. I just received a phone call from Professor Sindel’s daughter and she has notified me that Professor Sindel is unwell and will not be teaching this class today.”

You could feel the happiness meter go up as he said this. Meanwhile, I was annoyed, possibly irritated. The one day I could have used some extra sleep and Sindel doesn’t show up. Then I thought, this was rare. Sindel shows up no matter what. She had influenza a few weeks ago and she still showed up and made a few of the students sick as well. From what I know Professor Sindel doesn’t have any family. Very odd I thought.

Throughout the day, my main aim was to stay awake in every class I attended. My last class finished at 10 pm. As I walked out of class, I noticed that Kerrie walking out in front of me.

“Hey Kerrie!”, I greeted.

“Hi, Grant right?”, she said.

“Yea. I didn’t know you attended this school.”, I mentioned.

“Oh, well, yes I do. Actually, I had a late night and early start today and the professor didn’t show up.”, she mentioned.

“Professor Sindel?”, I asked.

“Yeah. How did you know?”, Kerrie asked inquisitively.

“Well, I have a similar story. Now that you mentioned it, were you in the navy Cadillac at the storage warehouse last night? – Or early this morning?”, I asked.

“No, I was at my mother’s place. Trying to sort out some family stuff. We have this special recipe for coffee. You want some?”, she said.

“Oh, that sounds personal. My bad for asking. But I would love to try some coffee, thanks.”, I said, as I took a sip.

“No worries at all. I got to head out quickly. I’ll catch you later. Bye”, she said as she ran off toward the parking lot.

As I waited for my late-night bus, Eddy called.

“Hey bro, what’s happening?”, I answered.

“Dude, I have news. You are done with Professor Sindel!”, He exclaimed.

“Huh, what, what do you mean done with Sindel?”, I asked confused.

“They found Sindel’s dead in her study. It’s all over the news! They say, she was poisoned.”, Eddy said.

“Oh, damn. That’s why she didn’t show up to class this morning. Someone must’ve really hated her to poison her. Hey, do you mind telling Kerrie that? Kerrie is in Sindel’s morning class with me and evening class as well. She seemed concerned.”, I said, feeling my chest tighten.

“What are you saying? I spoke to Kerrie last night. She told me she takes biology classes.”, Eddy said.

“Well, then maybe the chick is following me around campus. I just ran into her on my way out of class. She was telling me about her family and how she was with her mother last night. Then she gave me this amazing coffee drink. Apparently, it’s a family recipe.”, I told Eddy as I began to feel dizzy and nauseas.

“Oh, you’re right! It sounds like Kerrie is digging you. But dude, Kerrie’s mother died a couple of years ago.”, Eddy said.

As my bus approached, I dropped my phone and watched it hit the ground and crack into a thousand pieces. I saw Kerrie in the bus staring right at me as I fell to the ground.