What My Grandfather Said

by Natalie

Ding dong!
I groaned and mumbled many unladylike words as I rolled over and glanced at my alarm clock.
Seven in the morning! This better be important.
I got up and put on my robe and slippers and shuffled over to the front door.
"Yes?" I grumbled rudely.
"Oh, Sabrina, you've grown up so much."
I looked up in surprise as I realized I had recognized that voice. It faintly sounded like my grandfather...
"Wait, what?"
"I'm your grandfather."
"But that's crazy! He died when I was fourteen!"
He rolled his eyes. "I know this."
I looked into his steel gray eyes. The smile was the same. The deep wrinkles around his eyes were the same. And his sense of humor and urgency were definitely the same.
"Gra....grandad?"
"I have something important to tell you."
"Um.. come in, I guess. Where did you come--"
He interrupted me as he walked into my tiny living room. "Darling, I have five minutes to talk."
I began to ask another question when he cut me off again.
"No questions. Remember Caity from high school? That total bitch who treated you like dirt?"
I nodded but stayed quiet, not wanting to be interrupted yet again.
"Notice anything similar between her and Caitlin, your work partner?"
I shook my head, not wanting to believe what he's saying. "No... she said she had just moved here from Delaware."
His blank face and cold eyes told his true thoughts. "Well she lied. From the moment she walked into the cubicle next to you, she has planned on telling your boss a lie about you to get you fired."
I opened my mouth, about to intervene, when I got cut off again.
"She is. Tomorrow morning, check in your bookshelf. You'll find a classified folder; something that you're not supposed to have. Something.. that could get you fired."
I shifted my gaze onto the ground, pretending to be extremely interested in that ugly rug that I had picked up from my sister when she moved away six years ago.
"Bring that to your boss. Tell him that Caitlin planted it there. If you're worried about being labeled a snitch, then get over it. It's better than being fired. And you, your boss, and Caitlin will be the only ones to know. Listen to me, Sabrina. Seriously."
I glanced up at my grandfather. My dead grandfather. I found myself nodding.
"Good. Sabrina, I'm so proud of you." He smiled at me, and suddenly, was gone.
I blinked and gulped. Well, time to go to work.
When I arrived at my cubicle, I walked over to the bookshelf and felt around until my hand hit something that was never there before. A bright yellow folder, titled "Classified".