Disclaimer: The original characters are my own, but all others are the work of J. R. R. Tolkein. I am making no money from this work.

Elvish translations taken from http://www.grey-company.org/Circle/language/phrase.htm

Rating: PG-13 for topics of domestic violence

A/N: The connection to Middle Earth will become obvious as the story progresses, so please be patient. I will post updates every day or two. I love feedback, so please review. Enjoy!

Ch. 1: Introductions
A secretarial assistant came into my room. That was unusual. They usually don't have much of anything to do with me. I was still in bed. It was only 9:30, and no one had come in to get me dressed and move me into my wheelchair yet. If I'm lucky, they get around to it by 10:00. It's Monday, and the staff tends to move even slower than usual on Mondays. Oh, well. The nursing home is understaffed, and the staff they do have keeps changing. I don't blame them; it's not much of a job.
Hello, Ms. Anderson. How are you feeling this morning?
About the same as always. It's a good thing this girl works in the office. She obviously doesn't know how to relate to patients here. She looks like a fish out of water, she so uncomfortable. Unlike most of the residents, I'm not here because I'm old or senile or even suffering from Alzheimers. I'm here because I'm mostly paralyzed. I have a little function in my arms, but below that, I have no function.
I have a question for you. You can choose to accept or decline. It's your choice. Duh. Get on with it. The accident didn't affect my brain. You know we sometimes have troubled' children in here for community service She paused until I nodded. There's a young woman who has been assigned a rather large amount of community service, and we were wondering if you'd like to have her assigned to you, and spend time with you. You don't have to do this; you can say no' if you want.
What did she do to get so much community service?
I actually don't know. They only told me that she had to do a lot of community service. She's also interested in languages, and your profile says you speak French well.
I'm surprised anyone took the time to write that down. Do I have the option to cancel the arrangement after meeting with her a time or two?
Sure. Of course. That'd be fine.
OK. Let's try it.
I'll make the arrangements. She'll probably visit you after school several times a week, and maybe on Saturdays.
The girl turned to go, but I stopped her. Can you at least tell me her name?
Oh, yeah. She looked on her clipboard. It's Patricia Larson.
One of the care attendants finally came in, and the secretary scurried out of the room as quickly as she could. For some reason I had to think she might not last too long at Pleasant View.

My day went on like it always does. Another attendant fed me the slop the home calls food, then they left me to find my own amusement. At 35, I'm one of the youngest residents here. I wandered around the home for a while before returning to my room to watch TV. I have an electric wheelchair, which provides at least a little mobility. I am so sick of TV (especially daytime soaps), but there's not much else around here to do.
About 2:30, there was a knock on the door. I turned off the TV from the remote attached to the arm of my wheelchair and turned so I could see my visitor. The attendants never knock. A distinguished man somewhere around my own age stood there, and a girl stood behind him, trying to be invisible. The man was wearing a suit, but the girl was wearing a short T-shirt and jeans that did nothing to cover her midsection. She was Caucasian, tall and slender, but the text on the T-shirt was in Spanish. I had to wonder if none of her teachers read Spanish, because the message was somewhat less than wholesome.
Ms. Anderson, I'm Assistant Principle Baker from Carver High School. I understand you've agreed to participate in our mentoring program? I nodded, but had to laugh to myself at calling it mentoring. This is Patricia Larson. She has a study-hall last thing of the day, and that's why were able to be here so early. I'll be near the nurses' desk if either of you need anything.
I nodded, then said, I'm sure we'll do fine. How long will you be staying?
Today, probably only about 45 minutes. After this, if it's agreeable to you, perhaps longer.
Sounds good. Thanks Mr. Baker.
He left the room, pushing the girl in as he left. Why don't you have a seat? I glanced over at the chair in the back corner by the window. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before finally walking over and sitting down. I guided my wheelchair around the bed and over to the small table. I'm fortunate to have my own room, mainly because of my age. I've been told I disturb the older residents of the home. Translation: they don't like to share a room with someone less than half their age, and they gripe about it.
Hello, Patricia, I'm Jenny Anderson.
After a moment, she responded, It's Reneé.
That's a pretty name. Is it your middle name?
She shook her head sullenly. My mother's.
Her middle name?
Her first name. She's gone.
Oh. I'm sorry. There was an awkward pause. What do you like to study in school? Anything? Or do you just try to get through it?
It's livable. They think I'm too dumb to take anything interesting. The stuff they stick me in is boring.
What do you like to study?
Dunno. I took a little chemistry last year. That was OK.
They told me you speak Spanish well.
So? A lot of people do.
I speak a few words of Spanish, but not a lot. I speak French fluently.
French? That's cool, I guess. Our French teacher is always hung over.
That's not good. Doesn't someone say something?
Nope. They just do whatever they want while she sleeps. As long as they can say 'Como topple too' she'll give them an A.
I had to groan at that one. Ugh. It's Comment t'appelles-tu. [What is your name?] Sounds like une classe très ridicule. [a very ridiculous class] After that, I switched to Spanish, trying to remember as much as I could. Fortunately, it came back to me quickly. She had to correct my grammar quite a lot, but it seemed to catch her attention, at least a little. It didn't seem like it had been 45 minutes when Mr. Baker returned. She grew sullen again the moment he walked in the door, but followed him out quietly.