53.
“That’s the best you’ve got?” Sailor said.
“It’s the truth.”
She studied my face while shoveling a handful of popcorn into her mouth. She chewed slowly, as if with each bite she was trying to taste the truthfulness of my story. “You’re lying. I’m calling my father.” She picked up her cell phone and started punching numbers.
We were sitting in the Theater Lounge. The room was like a mini movie theater, complete with a popcorn machine and two dozen plush chairs that reclined. Thanks to her dad, Sailor had free access to the entire campus. She and the Colonel lived in an ivy-covered stone house just across the parking lot from the Administration Building. Darren told me it had a bowling alley in the basement.
Her finger hovered over the Send button. “Last chance to come clean, Ben. I come over here all the time to watch movies. This is the first time any student has broken in. So, what are you really doing here?”
On the screen a black-and-white film played. I recognized Orson Welles from watching Citizen Kane in English class, but not this film. Orson was running through a giant sewer being chased by angry guys with guns. I knew the feeling.