Page 35 of See the Stars

‘I’m not sure this is a good idea.’ Zelda looked nervously around Professor Boxley’s office while Alice rummaged through drawers. ‘What are you even looking for?’

‘Evidence,’ said Alice.

‘It’s not like he’ll have kept a diary. Today I stole Alice’s exoplanet. ’

‘Of course not. But there might be a paper trail. Or if I could log in to his computer then maybe—’

‘Maybe what? You see his Outlook calendar and we get expelled?’

‘Stop being so dramatic,’ said Alice, distracted. ‘I’ll access his system and see what he’s been looking at.’ She stopped herself. ‘Of course,’ she said. ‘We’re in the wrong place.’

‘I told you,’ said Zelda. ‘Come on, let’s go home.’

‘We need to be in the mainframe computer room. That’s where they keep all the sensitive data, on the local servers.

I reckon that if we can get in there, we can prove that he never even accessed the source data – not from the lab, not from anywhere – which means he must have stolen the exoplanet discovery from my information. ’

‘That place is strictly prohibited,’ said Zelda. ‘And you need a code to get in.’

Alice rummaged through Boxley’s drawers. She pulled out a Moleskine notebook and flicked through the thick paper pages, frowning at the lack of insights. ‘Gosh, if he had any ideas, he certainly didn’t write them here.’

‘Alice! Don’t look at that. It’s like reading someone’s diary. Put it back.’

‘Bingo!’ she said. The inside back cover had a list of numbers, four or six digits long, plus a selection of random-seeming words. Alice got out her phone and took a photo, then replaced the notebook in the drawer.

‘Those could be anything,’ said Zelda.

‘SR,’ said Alice, looking at the initials by a six-digit combination. ‘Server room, I bet. This man is a data leak waiting to happen. And this one. GLIESEStarF0x. I bet it’s his password. I could try it now . . . ’

They heard a noise from outside in the corridor. ‘Come on, Alice,’ said Zelda. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

‘You’re right.’ Alice peered around the door. Whoever had been there had gone the other way. ‘We’ll have much more luck in the server room,’ she said. ‘At night.’

‘Look at that sign,’ said Zelda.

Alice looked. Entry Strictly Prohibited.

‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘It’s Boxley’s fault for writing down the passcode. It’s almost like he wanted us to get in here.’

‘To be fair, I don’t think he thought you’d be going through his drawers.’

‘He underestimated me,’ said Alice. ‘Come on, let’s get in before anyone sees us.’

They crept in. The noise from the computers and the air conditioning made Alice feel as though she were entering a beehive. It was dark, with cables everywhere. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘This way.’

‘Ouch. Shit.’ Alice looked back at Zelda. She’d tripped on a cable, and one of the computers had fallen to the floor. They lifted it back up together.

‘It looks OK,’ said Alice.

‘The screen has gone funny.’

‘Leave it. Let’s see if we can get into this one.’ She entered what she hoped was Boxley’s password, and sure enough, she was into the system. She flicked through his messy online filing, looking for the most recent documents.

‘I’ve got it!’ she said. ‘Look, he’s only ever accessed the exact file that I found. What are the chances that the one thing he opened was my exoplanet, of the thousands of pages of data?’

‘A lucky guess?’

‘Nonsense,’ said Alice. ‘Here, let’s print this out and take it with us.’

‘What does it prove?’

‘Everything.’

‘But what will you do with it? You didn’t share what you’d discovered. It’s not like you’re in the clear.’

‘Sitting on a discovery for a few days is one thing,’ said Alice. ‘Deliberately stealing a discovery from a student is quite another. You know that.’

Zelda bit her lip. ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘Listen, maybe we should—’

‘Get out of here? Absolutely.’ Alice grabbed the printout and hurried to the door. She pushed it.

Nothing happened.

She pushed it again and tried to turn the handle.

Nothing.

‘What’s the matter?’ asked Zelda.

Alice looked at her friend. ‘It’s locked,’ she said. ‘We’re trapped.’

Alice and Zelda sat by the door. There were no windows, no natural light. The walls were thick and their phones didn’t have reception. It had been hours.

‘I’m thirsty,’ said Alice finally. ‘It’s hot in here.’

‘That will be the heat from the computers,’ said Zelda.

‘What time do you think someone will come?’

‘No idea.’

‘We don’t have any food or water,’ said Alice.

Zelda rooted around in her pocket. ‘I’ve got some vegan gummy bears.’

‘You’re a star,’ said Alice, selecting a red bear from the packet. ‘And I don’t mean because you’re mainly made of hydrogen.’

They both chewed. ‘I want to tell you something,’ said Zelda suddenly. ‘Your friendship has meant the world to me. I’ve never had that before. Everyone could tell I was strange. I used to try to hide it, and in the end, I embraced it and dyed my hair so people could see upfront I was different.’

‘You’re not strange,’ said Alice with concern. ‘You’re . . . ’ She searched for the right word. ‘Interesting.’

‘I’m strange,’ said Zelda. ‘And sometimes it’s so hard to carry on. You make it more bearable.’

‘This sounds like a deathbed conversation,’ said Alice. ‘We will get out of here.’ She laughed, feeling uncomfortable. ‘It’s not like we’re running out of oxygen.’

‘I know,’ said Zelda. ‘It’s just that . . . Well, if you ever decide you don’t want to be my friend any more, I’ll understand. I know I’m not easy. Or the best with people.’

‘You are the absolute best.’ Alice smiled at Zelda. ‘You have the last gummy bear. You look like you need it.’

‘You have it,’ said Zelda. ‘It’s the least I can do.’

‘I don’t like the green ones. You have it.’

‘Yes you do,’ said Zelda. ‘They’re your second favourites, after red.’

‘You’ve got me there,’ said Alice. She stretched the bear, breaking it, with difficulty, into two. ‘We’ll share it.’

‘What on earth?’ Alice opened her eyes to see the university warden staring at her. ‘What are you two doing in here?’

‘Thank goodness you’re here,’ said Zelda, standing up and pulling Alice to her feet. ‘We were going to have to eat the cables next.’

‘For the minerals,’ explained Alice. She giggled, feeling delirious with relief.

‘This area is strictly prohibited,’ said the warden.

‘I really need to pee,’ said Alice. ‘And I’m starving.’

‘I don’t think you understand,’ said the warden, ignoring Alice, who was now standing with her legs crossed. ‘This is a serious offence. Confidential files are here. It’s a data breach.’ He looked at them. ‘Why were you in here?’ he asked.

‘We got lost,’ said Alice, rather unconvincingly. ‘And then the door locked behind us. It must be faulty. You should investigate that.’

‘I’m not buying it,’ said the warden. ‘Give me your university cards. We’ll see what the dean has to say about this.

‘What do you think will happen?’ Zelda was perched nervously at the kitchen table while Alice stood next to the toaster, peanut butter ready on the knife.

‘Nothing,’ Alice said decisively. ‘He’ll probably forget all about it.’

‘He’s got our ID cards.’

The toast popped up, startling them both. Alice reached out and grabbed a slice, but it was hotter than she expected and she dropped it again. ‘It will be fine,’ she said, though her voice was unconvincing even to her own ears.

‘I’ve never met the dean,’ said Zelda.

‘We won’t now either,’ said Alice, spreading peanut butter on the toast and putting more bread in the machine, though she found she’d lost her appetite. ‘Nothing bad will happen.’

Her phone rang. She looked at the screen and bit her lip. ‘It’s Professor Boxley’s office.’ She answered it and listened. ‘He wants to see me,’ she told Zelda. ‘This afternoon.’ She sat down, the toast forgotten.

‘Like you said,’ said Zelda, as they changed roles. ‘It will be fine.’

‘The dean I could handle,’ said Alice. ‘But Boxley? He’s had it in for me for ages.’ She looked up at Zelda. ‘What am I going to do? This university is my life.’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Zelda. ‘Everything will be OK. I promise.’