REMEMBERED
Chapter Eight
Ramona arched an eyebrow. "Well, this is a spectrum leap since yesterday." Faith visibly sobered at the reminder while Ramona took a sip of her drink. "What happened?"
Faith shrugged, defensive. "Nothing. Do I need a reason to be happy?"
"No," she said, blinking in surprise. "Just curious that's all."
Faith regretted snapping at her. "I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice falling to its usual meek tone. "I'm just having a really good day, and I don't want to think about yesterday. Okay?"
Ramona smiled understandingly. "Hey, it's all cool." And with that, she respectively changed the subject. "What was your day like?"
Faith returned the smile, sitting up straighter. "Nothing out of the ordinary really. That's the weird part," she related excitedly. "I woke-"
"CLARKY!" one of the girls from the opposite side of the lunchroom called in a voice not unlike that of an alcoholic's.
But before Faith had time to react, a barrage of 'clarky's' came from all directions.
"Clarky!"
"Clark-Y!"
"Clarkster!"
Faith blushed, an embarrassed grin bursting onto her face. "H-hello!" she called, stammering.
A cluster of titters, giggles, and galawfing laughter emanated from the table. "That's Clarkster for ya," Brooke declared. And as the moments passed, they slowly lost interest in shouting their greetings across the lunchroom.
Faith turned back to Ramona.
Her eyebrow arch heightened. "You know them?" she asked, incredulously.
"Yeah," Faith replied, trying to stay casual about it. "They're in my biology class."
"Oh," Ramona said. "Well…don't worry. They don't mean any harm, right now."
Faith laughed. "Oh, I know. I was laughing with them before. I'm just surprised they even remembered me."
Ramona nodded, and they went back to talking about other things. Ramona just kept telling herself that Faith's romance with the masked acceptance the group was offering her would fade. But Faith had been given an inkling of recognition, and instantly, she was hooked on the gateway drug and only yearned for more. Ramona tried to ignore the light in the young girl's eyes. She would see soon. They would lose interest. And they would hurt her – just like they'd hurt Ramona years before.
* * * * *
"Hi, mom! I'm home."
Faith's book-bag clunked against the hardwood floor, and she kicked off her penny loafers, breathing in the freedom that came with the end of a school day. Walking into the living room, she dropped into her favorite chair, sinking so far down that she almost touched the floor. She knew the chair wasn't hers, but a part of her had unconsciously claimed it as territory years ago.
Her mother smiled. "Hello, Faith." With a pause, she asked the predictable. "How was school?"
This time, it was Faith's turn to pause. She smiled and waited for her mother to look up from the book she was reading. "Great."
That got her attention. Jackie swiveled her gaze to meet her daughter's, a surprised smile taking over her face. It had been month's since Faith had used that descriptive term about anything. "Really? Well, what happened?"
Faith sat back. "I don't know. It just was…great."
Jackie fiddled with the bookmark in her book. "Well, good," she replied.
The two sat there, Faith staring out of the window that looked onto their patch of forest and Jackie continued to nervously play with the bookmark.
Finally, after about ten minutes had passed, Faith got up. "Well, I'm going to start my homework."
"Wait."
Faith turned around. "Yeah?"
Jackie sat up, motioning for her daughter to come over and sit next to her. Faith sighed, but obediently did so. Jackie sat a little closer and put a hand on Faith's leg. "I have something to tell you."
There was an undertone to her mother's voice that she didn't like. Dread, uncertainty. Her mother was going to give her bad news. Faith contemplated every possibly answer her mother could give her. Their cat had died? Had a relative died? Was something wrong with dad? Faith frowned. "What is it? What happened?" But instinctively, Faith knew it wasn't any of those things. It was something bigger…
Jackie took a deep breath. "Faith, I don't exactly know how to tell you this. But I heard a voice from God last night." She paused, and Faith's eyes went wide as saucers as she remembered the events of the night before flashback-style.
I will take care of you.
Jackie looked straight into her daughter's eyes. "And the voice told me that
through God, I would have the power to heal your knees from ailment."……
