Cold Secrets
-M. Lauren
Chapter Three
Everything was not fine, Elsa decided.
She was hurried across campus, nearly sprinting, and tardy for her first class of the day. Punctuality was highlighted across Elsa's syllabus. From here out, she knew she would have to be more lenient with students who straggled in the halls. Grandma Bulda, Kristoff's adoptive mother, had been late picking up Millie before work. She'd been stuck in traffic on the interstate. The city was known for its terrible commute. Elsa was waiting by the door, holding her crying niece, when the woman had ripped her from her arms.
Elsa felt bad, then. She couldn't help it. Of course it wasn't her fault, but that was not how she anticipated ending their first morning together. Now she was late, and Millie was a wreck. Elsa could only hope she would calm down at daycare.
Millie was still high on her mind when she barreled through the doors to the Science Building. Her heels clicked harshly over the tile. Elsa's heart was racing as she slid to a stop at the end of the hall.
She entered her class, muttering hurried apologies while she put down her things. Elsa reeled in a deep breath and turned her attention to the class. Her face fell from stressed to surprised in a matter of seconds.
It was empty; the entire class was empty. There was not a single student in sight. Frowning, Elsa turned to her phone. She thumbed quickly through her calendar, confusion thick in her brain.
"It's Thursday!" she exclaimed. Her phone slammed down against the lab table.
She only had afternoon classes on Thursdays.
With a huff, Elsa replaced her bag on her shoulder. She turned from the room and entered the hall. If this was how her day was starting, Elsa had little hope for the rest of it. She was in need of a coffee, and a nap.
This parent thing was harder than she'd previously thought.
Despite her rough start, the rest of the day moved with ease. Elsa made it to her afternoon classes on time, and was right on schedule to pick up Millie from daycare.
Millie's school was in the heart of downtown. Anna had selected it due to its proximity to the DCF offices, which was where she worked during the week. It had great reviews, yet a long and miserable waiting list. Luckily, Millie had made the cut. Anna and Kristoff never had to worry; unlike most other new parents in the area. Elsa always wondered why picking daycares was such a chore for families. She was also curious if she'd ever have the opportunity to discover why, herself.
Mayweather Montessori was located in an old brick building on the corner of Glacier Ave. Though the exterior was dated, the inside was well-modernized, and professionally cleaned. It had a great security system, which was a bonus. Beneath the white arches, the main door locked with a keypad from the outside. There were cameras on every corner and all throughout the classrooms. It was every new parents' dream.
Upon arriving, Elsa dug through her purse, looking for the door code. Anna had given it to her on a slip of scrap paper, but it appeared to be missing from her things. Groaning, Elsa placed her purse on the rockwall beside the door. She began removing its contents and laying them out against the rocks; one by one by one.
"Fancy sunglasses you've got there." Someone teased Elsa from behind.
"Oh, thank you…" She shrugged.
Her back held to them. Elsa continued fumbling, distracted as she searched through each pocket in her purse.
"Have you lost something?" The voice came again. Only this time, the person circled in at Elsa's hip.
She looked up. Elsa's eyes gave a double blink. "Honeymaren?" she asked, and her head tilt to the side.
"Is there a problem?" Honeymaren asked again. She stepped back with her arms crossed.
"No, I- what are you doing here?" She shook her head.
Lips pursed, Honeymaren lowered her eyes. "May I help you with something, or are you looking to be pick-pocketed? I mean, this isn't the worst neighborhood in the area, but I definitely wouldn't consider putting all my things on display…"
Aggravated, Elsa grumbled. "I lost my code for the door! I'm trying to get into the school here, and I must have left the silly code on my kitchen table. My sister cannot know about this! I wonder if I can call inside and ask them to open the door for me? Oh god, I can be so scatterbrained sometimes!"
She fought for her phone, but Honeymaren stopped her. "I can let you inside."
Elsa's eyes shot forward. "You can?" She frowned.
"Yeah, just put your stuff away. You're making me nervous..."
Elsa did as she requested and restuffed her bag. When she finished Honeymaren was standing by the school's entrance. Hand to the keypad, she typed in her code. The door clicked, and Honeymaren held it open to her.
Eyeing her skeptically, Elsa slid inside. "Thank you," she whispered, and the doors closed behind them. "I'm picking up my niece. I'm still getting used to this whole… kid, schedule… thing?" She blushed.
"It's okay. I get it." Honeymaren nudged her with an elbow. "How old's your niece? What class is she in?"
Blinking again, Elsa fumbled. "Class? Um, she's one."
"Okay," Honeymaren stepped forward with a stiff nod. "You are headed to the back, then, with me..."
Elsa was blindly following Honeymaren down the hall. Neither the colorful murals nor the hanging artwork could distract her from the confusion she felt in that moment. She was uncomfortable. This was out of place for both of them, and it didn't make any sense.
"What, um, what are you doing here?" Elsa asked.
Honeymaren didn't respond. She continued around a corner, revealing another row of doors. Each one was numbered; classes eight and down. Elsa wondered if Anna had told her which door was Millie's? She probably had, and Elsa forgot. She silently groaned as she felt her embarrassment rise.
At the end of the corridor, a final red door with a bright number one opened to them. A woman with a young boy in hand hurried past them. She said nothing, nor did she look at them. Honeymaren caught the door handle before it closed. She nodded to Elsa, once again, motioning for her to go first.
Elsa did as she was told. Thank goodness for Honeymaren, she decided.
Elsa had barely turned into the room before her attention was pulled elsewhere. Far off feet sprinted against tile floor. A desperate whine started at the back of a throat.
"Momma!" Came the cries of a child.
From across the room, their face buried behind a gate as their hands wrapped around the bars. A teacher unlatched the exit for them. A small boy, perhaps a few months older than Millie, came barreling toward the door. Honeymaren turned just in time to catch him. His cheeks squished between her knees and his arms laced behind them.
Elsa was staring again. Honeymaren worked to ignore it. She leaned down and lifted the boy to her hip.
"How was your day, baby?" Her lips pressed to his head. She pulled back and smiled at him.
The child responded with something incoherent.
"May I help you?"
Elsa heard the question, and slowly pulled her eyes away. The teacher had her head tilted toward her. Her hands tucked against her side.
"Oh, of course…" Elsa was fishing through her purse once more. She held her id out to the attendant and smiled. "I'm here to pick up my niece, Millie. My sister said she called the school to let them know I would be doing pickup this week while she's away."
"Yes, Mrs. Bjorgman did say her sister was coming. Let me just make a quick copy of your id and we can get Millie signed out."
The woman headed over to the teacher's station, leaving the gate ajar. Elsa tentatively stepped forward. She looked over the divider and found Millie seated on the floor. She was surrounded by a few children her age. They all had their hands occupied with a pile of red blocks.
Millie looked up as her aunt moved toward her. Confusion struck first, and then she was wobbling on unsteady feet with arms outstretched. Elsa leaned down, scooping her up. Her cheek pressed into the child's head and Millie giggled.
As nonchalantly as she could manage, Elsa turned over her shoulder. Honeymaren had her back to her as she signed out her son. There was a Dinosaur bag across one hip and the boy on the other. They looked comfortable together. To Elsa, they made sense.
"Here you are." Elsa was pulled back to reality.
Millie's teacher handed her back the id. Millie's sweater and lunch box followed, and soon Elsa was wondering how she would carry it all back to her car?
"If you'll just initial and put the time next to Millie's name, you will be all set to take her home."
"Thank you," Elsa nodded. "I appreciate the help."
She took the sweater and bag over her shoulder with the purse. Elsa fumbled a bit, readjusting Millie in the other arm. When she turned, she found Honeymaren had disappeared. The book was unattended and the door had been left wide open.
Elsa couldn't help but frown, yet she forced it from her mind. Elsa signed out Millie and headed for the barron hall.
Elsa supposed the next time she would see Honeymaren- was in the library, per usual.
That night, Anna called to hear about Elsa's first day. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Anna cooed into the speaker, hoping her daughter might perk up and talk back. There was little progress on that front and Elsa had since stopped rolling her eyes.
"Okay, enough!" Elsa begged. She replaced the phone against her ear. "Millie is eating- or should be, I will remind you."
Anna merely groaned. "Everything is going well, though?"
"Everything is going great! Millie got to school on time. I picked her up after work, and now we're having some- what are these?" Elsa squinted at the packaging. "Rice puffs?"
Giggling, Anna shook her head. "She loves those, but be careful. One time she stole the can while my back was turned and nearly ate the entire thing!"
"Noted." Elsa teased. "So, how is California?"
"Warm! Well, warmer than there. Kristoff had his board meeting this afternoon, and tomorrow is the big party."
Millie's hands went wild across the top of her tray. Rice puffs went flying and Elsa quickly bent to her knees to retrieve them.
"That's good. Are you looking forward to it?" Her words rang breathless as she scrambled across the floor. Who knew rice puffs would roll so far?
"It should be fun, yeah! I'm just happy I can be here to support him." Anna replied.
Returning to her feet, Elsa dumped the fallen rice puffs into the trash. "For someone in the agricultural field, I imagine a raise like this is a fairly big deal. I'm happy for you both!"
"Thanks," Anna beamed. "And thank you for taking care of Millie. I feel better knowing that she's with you and not Grandma Bulda overnight."
Elsa could hear Kristoff mumbling in the background, and Anna's sharp, muffled reply.
"Of course, I love spending time with my niece."
She came to stand in front of Millie who was dropping more food onto the floor; one single, puffed rice grain at a time. Elsa briefly closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I'll let you get back to it, then." Anna encouraged.
"Please do, I'm going to have to hire cleaners to locate all the food your daughter is flailing around my kitchen!"
Anna laughed. "I wish I could say she doesn't get that from me, but-"
"Oh, she most certainly does."
Pouting, Anna whispered, "Tell her I love her, okay?"
"I absolutely will. Now, remember to have some fun! There are not many times left in your life that you'll be child-free during a week in California."
"This is true…" Anna sang. "Both of you have fun, too, and don't stay home this weekend! Go use those chubby cheeks to help sell some single-aunty ass."
"I'm hanging up now." Elsa responded dryly.
"Did you just tell her to sell our daughter?" She heard Kristoff perk up.
"No… I told her to use our daughter, and sell herself!"
Kristoff uttered some sound of contentment, and Elsa grumbled.
"Goodbye, you guys... Stay out of trouble!"
"I love you!" Anna beamed.
"We love you, too…"
After putting down her phone, Elsa spun back to Millie. Her feet were kicking the underside of her tray as she munched on her snack.
"What do you think, Mil? Perhaps I can sell you and make some money before your parents come back? "
Millie's brows drew skyward as she burst into a fit of giggles. Her hands smacked the tray, and the rest of the rice puffs went flying. Letting her head fall forward, Elsa groaned.
This was going to be a long week.
Cheers,
-M.