Chapter 2
I start breathing really heavily. No one is here, which is odd because I'm at a school. Well, in a dumpster, but it's still school nonetheless.
I just think of what my dad used to always tell me: Stay calm.
The best thing to do in a bad situation is to just stay calm and relaxed.
Okay well too bad I've already shat a brick.
I quickly hop down as fast as I can with the baby and it wails. I look down at her. She's so cute and innocent. "Don't be frightened, little one," I say to it as I run as fast as I can through the parking lot. "You're going to be okay."
You know, I've never understood why pregnant chicks always talk to their stomachs as if someone could hear them. But holding this baby made me feel that way. It's so weird, holding such a small, fragile living human in your hands.
I've already decided that I'd be a good pregnant person.
Anyway, I continue running, and luckily, the local hospital is next to the school.
I quickly race in there – after all, this is a life or death situation – and out of breath, say, "Please, someone help me."
I guess a few people heard me, because they come up to me, and one of them takes the baby out of my hands. He brings her over somewhere else and people crowd around her.
Shocked and dazed, one of the nurses – probably a receptionist – comes up to me. "Sir?"
I get out of my daze and look up at her. "Is the baby gonna be alright?"
"Whose is it?" she asks.
"I-I don't know," I stammer. "I found her in a dumpster behind my school."
The nurse frowns. "Okay, stay here; I'll be right back."
A couple moments later she comes back with some police people. They start talking to me and ask questions like, "Where?"
"Behind Westwood High."
"Whose is it?"
"I don't know."
"How long was it in there?"
"I don't know."
I'm pretty useless because I don't really know anything.
After a few more interrogations, they finally tell me I can go back home. I start to head off but then I turn around and say, "What's gonna happen?"
The nurse looked at me confused.
"What's going to happen… with the baby?"
"We'll try to find out who the mother was and get to the bottom of it."
"Well is the baby okay?"
"We don't know that yet."
"Well can you tell me when we're out of the woods, so to speak?"
The lady looks confused.
"Can you inform me when the baby's better?" I ask again, like she's mentally incapable of comprehending English.
"Umm… I guess. You might have to wait here a while."
I shrug. "Fine by me. I can wait." I take a seat in the waiting room and pick up one of the magazines, skimming through it.
I guess the nurse can't leave me alone, because she sits down in the chair next to me and stares intently.
I glance at her over the top of the magazine. "Yes?"
She slinks back a bit. "You're interesting," she says.
"Umm… thanks?" Creeper.
"No, don't take it the wrong way. It's just so odd…"
"What's odd?"
"You. You seem to care so much."
"I'm a caring person."
"No, but most good Samaritans would just drop the baby off and then get back to their normal lives… but you… you're staying."
"Because… I care about it. I care about the whole deal."
She pauses for a second. "You're a great kid."
"Thanks…" I say awkwardly, pretending to be engaged in the magazine. Only too bad for me the article I'm reading is about tampons or some shit like that, so I turn the page.
"I wish my son were as good of a kid as you are," she says, sighing.
I stare at her for a moment and then toss the magazine on the table, resting my feet on it. "So why do you care so much?" I ask.
"Care about what?"
"Me. Why do you care so much about what I do?"
"Because I find it odd."
"A lot of things are odd."
"It's different."
"A lot of things are different."
"Well you're like the only fourteen-year-old guy that cares so much about anything."
"I've heard that before."
"That you care?"
"Yeah. You told me that like thirty seconds ago."
The nurse stays quiet for about five minutes, and I put up the magazine again.
"I just really want to know," she says, standing up.
"I really want to know why you care so much as to why I care so much."
"You're confusing."
"Or is it you that's confusing?" I ask, raising my eyebrows for emphasis.
"Is it because this is a really, really good excuse for skipping school?"
"School has nothing to do with it."
She smiles. "You're such a great kid. Really. I'll keep you posted." She walks away.
Awkward.
I unzip my backpack and take out the book I'm supposed to read for English class. I might as well get my homework done while I'm waiting.
Alrighty… Chapter one…
Oh, screw it. I have too much to worry about other than… "A Separate Peace."
I throw the book down into my backpack and take out my writing spiral. I sit there and stare at the empty page before me, red pen in hand, and then write.
"Ahem… Dear Douche bag,
Thank you so much for throwing your kid into a dumpster behind my school. It was so pleasant finding a defenseless, small child shivering in the cold. I hope you rot in hell, asshole.
Love,
Nate Gray."
Well, that's not one of my most pleasant pieces of work, but what can I say?
Right before I put my spiral back in my backpack, I hear the nurse say, "Hey."
I turn around and close my journal, facing her.
"Uh… We're out of the woods," she says, quite unsure of what to say.
I let out a sigh of relief. "Well that's good. That's really good."
She half-smiles. "We'll keep the baby for a few days and then see what to do from there."
"Can I see her?" I ask.
"Uh… I'm not sure if that would be the best idea."
"Well I rescued her," I defend.
"You're going to be stubborn about it, right?" she says with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Hell yeah," I say.
She gives me a sympathetic smile. "Well, I'm sorry but it's against rules. You're not the parent and I can't…" she trails off.
I frown. "Okay, it was worth a shot anyway. Thanks… uh…"
"I'm Allison," she says.
"Nate," I say.
She smiles. "Okay, well you better head off home… or to school. Wherever."
"Bye, Allison. Thank you." I flash her a smile before heading off with my backpack and coat.