by Daniel Xiao Wang

Created on: June 10, 2008

"Between the vision and the act lies the shadow"
T.S. Elliot

Snap! Crack!

Sigh. Working on my thesis is difficult work. It is even harder when "it" decides to eat while I work. It could be worse, I mean the slurping is pretty disturbing.

It's about time that he, the shadow, ate. The tell-tale squeal of a poor rat that fell prey to the shadow occurred nearly an hour ago.

For as long as I can remember the shadow has always been there. Always with me, but never, ever quite in focus. After all these years I can't begin to describe just what he looks like. He's always just in the corner of my vision, the few times I've caught him in my sight I couldn't make out his face.

The thesis. I need to get some work done. My roommate was also my lab partner. Was. I haven't seen him for weeks.

Figures. Just when we were getting somewhere. This idea was his initially. He did all the groundwork, the fact that I stepped in and stumbled upon the answer was purely coincidence. It was right there!

I haven't seen him for weeks. No one has. I guess he just went home, he kept saying he would.

Snap! Slurp, slurp

I've finished another several pages already tonight, maybe I better just call it quits here for the night.

I push the chair away from the computer desk and slap at the flies. Darn creatures, always bothering me while I work. How do I ever get anything done here?

I awoke with a start. Must have fallen asleep at the keyboard again. Shoot, spilled soda on my hands and face- again. Sticky. Dark. I need a shower.

A quick glance at my computer screen to admire my work so far. What?! There on the screen appeared:

Shawn Dow
Thesis

Nothing else. All my work, gone. For a moment I stood there, speechless. Weeks of work, just gone. I ignore the crunch, crunch, as I race to the computer. Searching through the files on the computer verifies my worst fears, everything, the paper, all the research, gone.

It HAD to be Steve. My loveable, tasty ex-roommate, at home with his family, Steve. He stole all my work, to claim it as his own.

Of all the other students living in these dorms, ten-thousand other students, he had to be paired with Steve. Somehow Steve had hacked into his files and stolen everything. Suddenly the work I had done meant nothing.

The research alone could have revolutionized the science of genetic engineering. Professor Quinn had said so.

Quinn! He did it! He took the research to use as his own. It was probably being published in scientific journals even as I stood there.

Two possible suspects.

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