SNOW GLOBE (7 page)

“I’ve worked here so long.” Janie shook her head. “I can’t help but get attached to the residents. It never gets easy when we lose somebody.” She swept the pile of broken plates and food together.

“How is Mrs. Jensen?” Aja asked.

“Not good. I hope she rallies, but I could see that her pee bag was empty. I’m sure her kidneys are shutting down. And then her breathing was ragged.” She bent and scooped the mess onto a duster. “The Jensens are people you want to see go together. He’ll be lost without her.”

Then Aja felt it. Sorrow. Deep endless pain. “She’s not going to make it,” Aja whispered.

“Don’t be so negative.” Janie looked at her strangely.

“I…when I saw her the other night, she looked so sick.” Aja grabbed a mop and began cleaning the food spills. She’d always kept her mouth shut about her psychic abilities, hating to be thought of as a freak. The feelings she got didn’t happen all the time and they didn’t always come true. But sometimes she just knew things were going to happen before they did or she could envision scenes from a person’s past. Like a puzzle, but she never knew how to put it together.

Aja heard voices in the dining room.

“Don’t go in there. Are you training to be a bus boy?”

“Kendall, stop. It wouldn’t kill you to help out a little.”

“Eww, like I’d actually work in a kitchen?”

The door opened and Walker came in, Kendall trailing him. He’d changed into a fresh shirt. “I thought you could use a hand here.”

Janie, carrying a stack of dirty plates, laughed. “Walker, I wish everybody in the world was like you. But we’re good. Thanks, anyway.” She turned her smile to Aja. “Since you busted your butt tonight, why don’t you take off. I can get this place cleaned up in no time.”

Gabe, standing by the sink, wiped his hands on his stained apron. “So I can leave too?”

Janie’s smile faded. “Well…”

Gabe waved his hand at Janie and kept rinsing the dishes.

“Good.” Kendall pulled Walker’s arm. “Let’s get out of here. Now.” She looked with contempt at Aja, scrutinizing every stain and glob of food stuck to her. “How can you stand yourself?”

“Kendall!” Walker said. “That was rude.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Aja said lightly, while seething inside. “Here, give me a big hug; we should all learn to get along.” Sarcasm laced her voice. She walked toward Kendall, arms outstretched.

“Gross,” Kendall shrieked, and backed away out of the kitchen.

“I’m sorry,” Walker said. “Now you know the reason I left Chicago.”

Aja looked at Walker, all polished and handsome. She’d never felt so dirty or grimy in her life, especially with the stain of Freddy Kruger’s touch on her.

In the parking lot, Aja saw Freddy’s car. Should she just confront the jerk?
No, he’s a police officer.
It’d be her word against his, plus he had a gun. The chill she felt when she looked at his silhouette in the car was profound. He was not one to mess with.

It took a few tries, but her car finally started. As she pulled out, she noticed Freddy Kruger’s headlights come on and he followed behind her. She fought down nausea and a deep paralyzing fear. What if her car broke down? She chugged out of the lot and onto the main road, watching him in her rearview mirror. She nervously felt for the guardian angel coin in her pocket. Silly, she knew, but sometimes rubbing the etching gave her a minute to think.

On impulse, as she drove by the hospital, she turned in quickly. Too quick for him to follow. She drove to the emergency entrance and parked. Aja saw him turn around and drive into the lot. Maybe she should sic her mother on him. He wouldn’t know how to handle her and her sit-in protests.

Unless he retaliated.

That sent another wave of fear over her, and she jumped out of her car and ran inside.

“Can I help you?” an attendant sitting at a desk asked.

Aja looked back at the parking lot and noticed Freddy parking near her car. “Umm, yes. I was checking on Mrs. Jensen.” Aja realized she didn’t know the woman’s first name.

“Are you family?”

“No, a friend.”

“Visiting hours are over.” The attendant looked at a clock on the wall. It was after ten o’clock.

“I know. I work at the assisted living home were she lives, and I just wanted to check on her.”

The attendant took in Aja’s stained clothes and greasy hair, then typed into a computer. “She’s on the third floor, but they may chase you out of there.”

“Thanks.” Aja ran to the elevators.

The third floor was quiet. It smelled of stale mold, disinfectant, and urine. She didn’t want to ask a nurse which room and risk getting shooed out, so she walked the hall looking at the names posted on the doors. She should have brought some food or something but she hadn’t planned on coming here.

Outside one of the rooms, she saw Mr. Jensen arguing with a doctor. “No, you need to make her better,” she heard him cry.

“I’m sorry, sir. We can send her home with hospice care.”

Mr. Jensen looked up and saw Aja. “Princess Bride,” he addressed Aja. “My Buttercup needs to get better. She’s real sick.” His eyes begged Aja for help.

Aja sensed the loss again. Mrs. Jensen would not survive.

“Spend some time with her,” the doctor said to Mr. Jensen.

“Give her another IV,” Mr. Jensen pleaded as he turned back to the doctor. “She just needs to get healthy.”

“Her kidneys can’t take any fluid, sir. We’ve done all we can.”

Aja felt Mr. Jensen’s sadness. He looked so frail and small and completely helpless. “Come on, Mr. Jensen, let’s go and talk to your wife, your Buttercup.” Aja took the man’s withered hand and led him into the room. “Can I call your daughters?”

He seemed shell-shocked but let Aja take him into the hospital room. Aja almost recoiled at the sight of Mrs. Jensen. The poor woman was even thinner than the other night, but her abdomen was bloated like a beach ball. Her eyes sunk into the sockets of her skull, and her cheekbones protruded like a Halloween skeleton. Aja didn’t want to look but couldn’t take her eyes off of her. Like when people hang around gawking at a car accident.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Mr. Jensen asked, as he took his trembling hand to try and move some disheveled hair from her face. Aja noticed a night kit with a brush in it on the bedside table. She took it and began gently brushing Mrs. Jensen’s hair.

Chapter 11

A loud pop started Aja out of a dream.

Mrs. Dempsey stood over her, a book in her hand. She must have slammed the book closed, waking Aja up.

“I’m sorry to have disturbed your sleep,” Mrs. Dempsey snapped.

Aja swiped at a thin line of drool that ran from her mouth to her desk like a spider web. She sat for a second trying to regain composure.

“I guess you partied too much last night?” Mrs. Dempsey scoffed.

“Yeah, that’s it.” Aja glared at her fat English teacher. Aja had only slept two hours. She’d stayed at the hospital until 1:00 a.m., consoling Mr. Jensen while she used his old duct-taped cell phone to call his daughters. She waited until one of them arrived before she left.

Aja asked for a security escort to her car and was relieved to see Freddy Kruger was no longer waiting for her. At home, she had to wait for the laundry cycle to run so she could get her clothes in the dryer. They were still damp and drying in the back of her car for her shift tonight.

“So, what was the answer to my question, Sleeping Beauty?” Mrs. Dempsey sneered.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat the question?” Aja asked, still shaking sleep off.

“No, I will not. If you can’t stay awake for my class, then maybe you should spend some time in the principal’s office.”

“Maybe if your class was interesting I’d be wide-eyed and bushy tailed.” Aja crossed her arms defiantly and stared at the teacher.

The other kids snickered and whispered.

“I’ll let Mr. Carlisle know you’re coming.” Mrs. Dempsey snapped her fingers and pointed to the door. “Go on.” She clucked and shook her head. “Such a waste of a life. You only have yourself to blame for your troubles.”

Aja wasn’t going to beg for mercy. She stood up, grabbed her books and bag and stormed out of the classroom.

Aja flopped into a chair outside the principal’s office. The same chair she’d been in when she’d overheard them talking about her. The door opened and Principal Carlisle walked out with another student. Aja recognized him as the quarterback of the football team.

“Get your grades up, son.” Principal Carlisle patted the boy on his back. “We need you on the team. You might have to miss a few of the pre-season games next fall because of the DUI, but we’ll help get you back on track.”

“Yes, sir,” the kid said as he left.

Aja shook her head. This kid had been caught drinking during the season. Now the principal was going to help him so he could continue to play football? What a whiff.

“You again? You want an indefinite suspension? It’d sure be easier on all of us.”

“Would I get my high school diploma with it?” Aja shot back.

“No, of course not. But if you’re as smart as Mrs. Burnett says, then maybe you’ll ace your GED.”

“Too bad I don’t play football. Sounds like I’d get some extra help if I did.”

“Don’t smart talk me, young lady. “

“Aja, how about we take a few minutes to talk.” Mrs. Burnett appeared from her office. “Mr. Carlisle, I need to meet with Aja anyway. Let me visit with her.”

“Send her back to me when you’re done.” Principal Carlisle waved her on. “Did you pay the stolen money back yet?”

“Not yet. I will as soon as I get paid,” Aja said quietly.

“She’s working on it,” Mrs. Burnett said.

“Another good reason to suspend you,” Carlisle threatened.

Aja and Mrs. Burnett went into the counselor’s office and sat. Mrs. Burnett clicked on her computer and opened Aja’s school record.

“Aja, I know you can do the schoolwork.” She looked directly at her. “You’re smarter than most of the students here. Your scores are way above average as are all your aptitude tests. I don’t want to see someone as talented as you fall through the cracks. What can I do to help you?”

Aja just sat and shrugged.

“Mrs. Dempsey emailed us that you’d fallen asleep in her class and you talk back to her all the time. What’s going on?” Mrs. Burnett sounded sincere. “Are you working or just out late?”

“Working,” Aja mumbled.

“What job keeps you out so late?” Mrs. Burnett put her elbows on the desk and tried to make eye contact with Aja.

“Pole dancer.”

Mrs. Burnett jerked backward. “Oh, Aja, I hope not. Why, you’re not old enough to get into those places. What about your mother…”

Aja remembered Mrs. Burnett going to bat for her with Dempsey and Carlisle, not to mention bailing her out with the forty dollars she’d stolen. “I’m not working as a stripper.” Aja slouched lower in her chair. “Just as a waitress.”

“
Just
a waitress? That’s a tough job. I’d be sawing logs at my desk, too.”

Aja smiled a little.

“Are you planning on going to college?”

“Yeah, I think. I want to get out of high school first.”

“Good point.” Mrs. Burnett began typing on her computer again. “You need to get through these next two months without missing any more school or assignments, and you’ll have to learn to deal with Mrs. Dempsey. I’ll help you any way I can.”

“You already have, Mrs. Burnett,” Aja said. “I’ll get you the money back as soon as I can.”

“I know you will.” Mrs. Burnett leaned over her desk. “Look, maybe I can work something out with Mr. Carlisle where you can ‘assist’ me in the office. I’d like to help you apply to some colleges.”

“I’m planning on moving to California.”

“To study?”

Aja shook her head. “I don’t know. I just want to leave this place.”

Mrs. Burnett sighed. “California schools are tough to get into, plus they’re expensive. You’re smart, but”—Mrs. Burnett pointed to Aja’s page on the computer—“your student record is spotty with the different schools, even if your grades are good. I could probably pull some strings here, but I don’t know anybody in California.”

“I just want to get out of Texas.”

“Are you running from something?”

Aja felt her defenses rising. “No.”

“Based on your school records, you’ve moved around a lot. That’s great if you’re looking for adventure, but it’s also okay to put some roots down, too. Don’t be afraid to leave your mark.”

“The only mark I’d want to leave in this town would stink.”

“Aja, why so angry?”

Aja smiled. “I guess I have a problem with authority.”

Mrs. Burnett laughed deeply. “
That’s
an understatement. Here, let me check to see if you can meet with an Army recruiter.”

Aja stared at her and hugged her book bag tight.

“I’m joking,” Mrs. Burnett said, still smiling. “I don’t want to see you waste an opportunity to spread your wings. You can fly or you can fall flat. Your choice.” She rummaged in her desk and handed Aja some college brochures. “Look these over; get some ideas, even if you start by taking a few classes at the community college. I’ll check with Mrs. Dempsey to see if you can make up today’s work. I’ll recommend she add an extra assignment or something to appease her ego.” Mrs. Burnett leaned closer and whispered, “She likes to be the boss. Let her feel like it’s her decision.” She held up two fingers. “Two months, Aja. Then you’re out of here. You can do it.”