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Fiction Short Story

by Virginia G. McMorrow

A Dose of Practicality

Keri Ferness pushed her glasses back on the bridge of her nose and stared through the doorway. The college senior's mouth fell open as she watched an all-too-familiar woman lift a bracelet from its velvet wrapping on the Dean of Students' desk and pocket it.  Keri suppressed a shout and pressed her body against the wall. Dana Patterson, the ethics professor and Keri's mentor, grinned and exited the office.

"Now what should I do?" Keri hid her shaking hands in the pockets of her slacks. "I'm supposed to lead a discussion on ethics. Great."

Upon entering the classroom, Keri heard a shout down the corridor.  Her classmates looked up and she froze as her white-knuckled hands gripped the doorframe. "I'll just go make sure no one's in a fistfight." Keri retraced her steps and observed a growing crowd of curious students and professors.

"Someone has taken Dean Scolcroft's birthday gift." Professor Patterson's expression grimaced. "It was a beautiful bracelet from her fiancé, Fred." The professor scanned the crowd and noticed Keri's confusion, but said nothing more.

"What am I going to do?" Dean Scolcroft wailed. Her auburn hair appeared tousled and tears welled in her green eyes..

"Why weren't you wearing it?" Professor Patterson asked, as she handed the red-faced dean a tissue.

"I had every intention of putting it on my wrist. I was distracted by a student." The dean blew her crimson nose, sounding very much like a marauding elephant crashing through the jungle. "I only stepped out for a moment."

"All that was needed." Professor Patterson met Keri's wary eyes across the crowd. "We'll search the entire school." Her fingers drifted across the pocket of her vest, "Don't tell Fred yet. The bracelet may reappear." Professor Patterson smiled reassuringly. "Tell him you love the bracelet, love him, love the world. But no hint that a thief came by. As for the rest of you," she admonished the crowd, "go back to class." She waved them away in impatient dismissal as the dean blew her nose again and  drifted to her office.

Keri didn't move.  She gazed at her mentor, who, up until now, Keri admired and respected.

"Horrible business," Professor Patterson whispered, shook her head and glanced at the dean's retreating back.

"Nasty."

"Can't imagine a thief among people we know so well."

"I know." Keri shrugged and studied the older woman's bland features. She wondered how the professor could lie and be so calm.

"But?" Professor Patterson's stare met Keri's.

"I have to think it through. I'd better go. I'm leading a group discussion on ethics." Keri edged away, thought for a moment, and paused. "Do you think anyone would have taken the bracelet as a prank?"

Keri's mentor pressed her lips together. "Has the dean been bothering anyone?"

"No, though she does tend to be melodramatic, which drives some people crazy. But in this case, she has a legitimate excuse. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes." Keri shoved her glasses back on her nose. "Maybe the thief was jealous."

Professor Patterson chuckled. "Don't think so hard," she teased the young student. "Go discuss ethics with your class."

"But this incident is all about ethics, isn't it?"

"I suppose." The professor nodded. "Now go on, you're already late."

Keri's heart pounded in her chest as she held back rising outrage. She'd known the professor since her first day of classes, three-and-a-half years earlier, and in all that time, Dana Patterson appeared completely honorable. Had all that moral integrity been a sham? Disheartened, Keri shuffled back to class.

"I suppose you've heard?" Keri addressed her classmates. The pounding in her chest eased as she opened the window and inhaled. "A bracelet has been stolen. Unknown to the thief, someone saw the theft take place. Does the witness tell?"

"Absolutely." Harry, always eager to voice his opinion, launched into the debate.

"Why?" His best friend, Marty, challenged.

"Because the witness knows who's guilty."

"What if the thief had a good reason?"

"What could possibly be good enough?" Keri interjected.

"Maybe the thief knows the bracelet was stolen from someone else. And maybe," Marty argued, "the witness wants to keep an eye on the thief or the victim."

"Spying," Keri murmured, as she recalled her earlier behavior.

"For a good reason. The witness has a responsibility to see justice done," Marty persisted.

"My point exactly!" Harry jumped back into the argument and nudged Marty. "But the witness can do that without tattling, by stealing the bracelet back and returning it to the owner without anyone knowing the truth."

Keri nodded. "What if the witness knows the theft was totally out of character and that there must be something more behind it?"

Harry smiled and looked at the other students. "The witness has to confront the thief and demand the truth."

Keri's gaze wandered out the window to the lawn. Professor Patterson and Dean Scolcroft were walking together and appeared deep in conversation. "And if the thief lies?" she asked softly. "Wouldn't it destroy the relationship?"

Harry asked, "How can friendship exist without honesty?"

After class, Keri grumbled to herself. "Should I return the bracelet with no one the wiser? Should I tell Dean Scolcroft the truth? Or? Or what?"  Keri marched down the corridor to Professor Patterson's office.

The door opened before Keri knocked.

"What if I were the thief?"

"If I don't know your footsteps by now," the professor gestured to a chair. "How was class?"

"Interesting," Keri said quietly. "Did the bracelet reappear?"

"Not yet."

"It could be anywhere. In a purse or a pocket or buried in a flowerpot."

"I was hoping to rattle the thief."

"I've a feeling this particular thief isn't easily frightened."

"Why?"

The professor adjusted the soft silk of her vest as she leaned back in her chair. Keri wondered if the bracelet was still inside. She fought back an urge to reach over and dip her fingers into that pocket. "Intuition. It could be anyone. Even me."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Think about it. The ethics professor is my mentor, and I lead a weekly discussion on the subject. Who would suspect me?"

Professor Patterson's lips tightened in a frown. "No one, Keri, and not because you're my student, but because you're honest. What would you do if you saw the thief stealing the bracelet?"

"I suppose I'd report the thief," Keri murmured, as heat crept up her neck.

"And if the thief was someone in authority?"

"I'd still do it, but I'd confront the thief first, though it might be difficult."

Professor Patterson narrowed her eyes. "Now I've got one for you. What if I were the thief?" Her lighthearted laugh surprised Keri and she wobbled to maintain balance.

Keri struggled to restrain the burning urge to flee. "Now who's being ridiculous?"

"Indulge me."

Keri scowled. "I suppose I could ask you why you stole the bracelet, and give you the chance to explain your actions."

"Fair enough. But I could lie."

"And I could take the bracelet and return it without you or the dean knowing it."

Professor Patterson leaned forward and her eyes widened. "But then you'd be interfering in my personal responsibility. I might decide to steal the bracelet again."

Keri sagged back onto the comforting softness of the chair. "I think someone else should lead the discussions from now on. There's really no absolute right answer." She pushed her glasses back on her nose. "The right answer is what I believe to be right."

"Precisely. Now what would you really do?"

Keri tried to interpret her mentor's expression, reacting to the subtle change in tone. "Confront you."

The older woman smiled. "Then why don't you?"

Keri's jaw dropped as the professor reached into her vest pocket and tossed the bracelet onto Keri's lap. Battling disbelief, discomfort, and distress, Keri stammered, "Why?"

"To teach you a lesson."

"I don't understand."

Patterson chuckled. "I have a responsibility to be sure that my students understand ethics. You're an excellent student, but I felt it necessary to inject a dose of reality into your theory, to shake you up a little, and remind you that people struggle with ethical problems all the time."

"You set me up."

"When the bracelet arrived, I heard your footsteps down the hall and set my trap."

"And hooked me nice and neat. Does the dean know?"

"No, but I will confess. Unless," the older woman grinned, "you'd rather tell her and see justice done."

"Oh, no," Keri laughed, "that's your personal responsibility. I wouldn't dream of interfering."


About the Author
Virginia G. McMorrow has worked as an editor/writer for 17 years. With three fantasy novels released by Archebooks Publishing, she is also the author of several published mystery and fantasy stories. Visit Virginia online at http://www.virginiamcmorrow.com.