Part Eight
Chapter Ten
The broken glass crunched underfoot as Anna stepped into the ruined store. The police had told her on the phone that the shop was one of the worst-hit stores from last night, but as she gazed around the destruction, she could see that it was worse than she imagined.
The place had been ransacked. Once the rioters realised there was no money to steal, they smashed their way into the drink refrigerators, stole half and then destroyed what was left. The till had been thrown on the ground. The chairs and tables were in pieces. Photos and awards had been torn off the wall and scattered across the floor, while the ice cream freezers had been smashed. The front of the shop had been spared from graffiti, only because the windows had been kicked in, and there was no glass left to spray-paint. And peering through the door into the kitchen, Anna could see a similar mess inside.
The gelato shop owner let herself be overwhelmed for a minute longer, before rolling up her sleeves and stepping into the shop. She'd just reached for the broken remains of the cash register when she heard footsteps outside.
Teresa was standing in the doorway with a hopeful smile. She was wearing thick gloves, and carrying a broom in one hand and a bucket in the other.
"Hi," Teresa said. "I thought you could use some help?"
Anna wiped at her eyes. "Oh child, I'm glad you stayed safe last night."
"It was a near thing," the White Ranger admitted. "But this town has thrown worse things at me."
"You don't have to spend your day helping me."
"I know," Teresa replied, "but I want to," and she gestured outside. "Everything's shut today anyway and school was cancelled for the day since, well, since the world almost ended last night. There was nowhere else I wanted to be." Teresa stepped into the store and gazed around at all the damage. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I guess you were right. People can be pretty awful sometimes, can't they?"
Anna stepped around the counter. "I'm not sure about that," she said. "I don't think everyone is too bad," and she gazed around the shop. "I think our insurance will cover a lot of the damage, but I'm glad Michael isn't here to see this. Thank you for coming today. Even with an extra person, it's going to take a week to get things back to normal," and Anna walked to the front of the shop. "What can one person really do?"
"Oh, I don't know," Teresa said.
Anna was about to reply when she looked out onto the street. Across the road, Sarah was busy sweeping shattered glass out of the arcade. Anna could also see Scott mopping the entryway to the shoe shop next door, while Tommy was removing broken furniture from a neighbouring fashion boutique. Kim was busy tending to the garden in front of a nearby information kiosk, helped by Teresa and Scott's brothers and sisters. Further down the street, Jason, Dale and I were scrubbing spray-paint off the shop windows, while Trini was carrying debris out of the religious shop on the corner. Even as Anna watched, the Youth Centre van pulled up, and Ernie began delivering sandwiches to the workers. Anna turned back to Teresa in amazement.
"You'd be surprised by all the things a single person can accomplish," Teresa finished. She put the bucket on the floor and pulled out a dustpan and brush. "So, let's get this mess cleaned up. We'll get things back to normal in no time, I promise."
To be continued.