Carolina in my mind
Chapter 56
"You're sure about this?," Rick asked. Carolina turned, her irritated glare serving as her only answer. She already told Rick everything she knew about Alexandria. Twice. He chose to believe her. And now they were standing outside staring at the sign that read Welcome to the Alexandria Safe Zone, Mercy for the Lost and Vengeance for the Plunderers. It was too late now for regrets and second guesses.
"If we're doing this, let's do it," Michonne said. She moved towards Carolina, clasping her hand. And they were the first to follow Aaron through the open gate. Carolina held on tight, looking around with as wide of eyes as the rest of her group. The town felt much larger in person, though it was still the same weird place where people were still growing manicured lawns instead of green beans. It reminded her of Woodbury, except the woman in charge wasn't keeping heads in fish tanks. Deanna wasn't an evil mastermind, she was just in denial about what was really going on outside these walls.
Rick had put some trust in Carolina by coming here. But that trust did not extend far enough for him to willingly give his weapons up. And Carolina even found herself unwilling to just hand over her gun to these people. A herd could come. The wolves could come. Some men could grab her and she'd be unarmed like she was at Grady. Thankfully Aaron smoothed over the initial confrontation about their weapons. And a short time later, Carolina found herself being called into Deanna's living room for her interview.
"She's not goin' anywhere alone," Daryl said, pushing forward into the room and ignoring Deanna's polite request for him to wait outside. Carolina leaned into him, grabbing his hand and threading her fingers between his. Deanna made it clear she wanted to interview everyone individually. But either the way Carolina was clinging to Daryl or the warning look in his eyes must have been enough to change the woman's mind. Because she waved them into her living room instead of arguing any more about it.
"Right before we left Georgia I was taken by another group," Carolina said, feeling the need to explain Daryl's adamant refusal to be separated from her. "I guess we're all a little on edge."
Deanna nodded, shifting her body as she looked around for somewhere to seat them. Her tripod was pointed towards a large overstuffed armchair that was really only meant for one person. She rose from her spot on the couch, gesturing for them to take her seat. And after the camera was turned towards them, Deanna sat down in the armchair.
There was plenty of room on the couch. But still they sat close enough together that their bodies were touching. Carolina maintained her grip on Daryl's hand, holding it in her lap sandwiched between her palms.
"You said you were taken by another group?," Deanna repeated. "That must have been quite an ordeal."
"That's one word fer it," Daryl barked, narrowing his eyes at the woman. Carolina gently squeezed his hand, tilting her head so that it rested against his shoulder for just a moment as she whispered to him that she was okay. They didn't have to tell Deanna the details. But the more the woman knew about what was really happening outside these walls, the better.
Ignoring Daryl's gruff tone, Deanna soldiered on with her interview. She asked them what their full names were. If they were married. How and when they met. What they did for work before the turn. And what their roles in the group were since the outbreak. The knowledge that Carolina was a teacher before the turn clearly piqued Deanna's interest. And she followed up her initial inquiry with a few more questions about what subjects and what grades she taught.
Carolina had to admit, Deanna was smoother than she expected. The woman warmed her up with questions about school and grade levels and suddenly Carolina realized she was spilling out more of her business than she intended. She told Deanna about almost everything that happened since she woke up in Woodbury next to Merle. She told her about the prison. They had a good thing going there until the governor showed back up and ruined everything. Since then it had pretty much been one horror after the next. The claimers, the guards from Grady, the cannibals from terminus, the wolves, and whatever the next hostile group was that she didn't even know the name of yet. If any of what she said frightened Deanna, the woman didn't show it.
"Remind me never to play poker with her," Carolina whispered to Daryl when Deanna ducked into the kitchen to get them something to drink. Daryl nodded his agreement. He was also impressed with the woman's ability to maintain her composure.
"I'd like to extend you both an invitation to stay here in Alexandria," Deanna said, handing them each a glass of ice water. "We bring everyone in on a sort of probation period. But during that time we still expect you to contribute to the community." Carolina glanced to the side, making brief eye contact with Daryl before she nodded. That seemed reasonable enough to her.
"We need some sort of formal education in this town. And I think the two of you would be the perfect teachers," Deanna announced. Carolina choked on her water, nearly snorting it out through her nose. Daryl was supposed to be Alexandria's new recruiter. Not a teacher. Just the idea of it was enough to give her the giggles. "Hear me out," Deanna urged. "The kids need to learn the basics, reading, writing, math and such. But they also need to learn survival skills. How to hunt, to find food, maybe some basic self defense training." Deanna turned her attention to Daryl. "Your people say you're the best hunter and tracker they've ever seen…"
Carolina managed to hold herself together until after she and Daryl accepted their new jobs as Alexandria's schoolmasters and made it outside onto Deanna's porch. Once the door was shut, she plopped down onto the steps and buried her face in her hands. Her body was shaking with laughter.
"S'not that funny," Daryl groused, cursing a few times as he kicked at the steps with the toe of his boot.
"Tell me what's funny," Carolina suggested. "I'm ready for my lesson, Mister Dixon."
"Ya better knock it off or yer gonna get one," he teased. Reaching down, Daryl snaked his hand down the front of her shirt and snagged the pack of cigarettes he knew she'd tucked into her bra for safekeeping. He tapped a smoke out, lighting it before he handed it to her. Then he lit a second one for himself.
"There's no smoking on campus," Carolina teased, taking a drag and blowing the smoke off to her left. "You're gonna have to go shopping before you start your new job. Get you a suit and tie. Maybe some loafers."
"The hell is a loafer?," Daryl asked with a laugh, pulling her up off the step. She wrapped her arm around his waist, still giggling a little as they headed towards the lockup to turn their guns in.