Chapter 10: The New Kid
Author's Note: To those of you who read faithfully; thank you. To those of you take the time to review and offer something constructive as well as your fresh perspectives in your delightful and sometimes entertaining reviews, thank you. I ask y'all to bear with me because I feel compelled to remind other less gracious readers that we all have lives outside of fanfiction and some of us are dealing with their own private battles right now. Often, we turn to this place as a means of comfort and escape.
I'm thrilled you like the story, but if your idea of a 'review' is to get in touch a as a guest and copy and paste the exact same paragraph into the message box week after week; reminding me to finish my own work – I am here to tell you that I'm feeling a little harassed. Please feel free to offer something new and helpful or cease and desist all communication attempts with me immediately. If you persist in this matter, I will not ask again. I will ignore you. I will no longer consider such communication a review. Going forward, I will simply disallow posting of such reviews.
The day before Thanksgiving, my sister is having surgery. At times I am half out of my mind with concern for her. She is my primary focus right now and will remain so for as long as need be. This story may not be finished according to any timetable you approve of, but it will be finished. Enjoy the story, but please stop nagging me. If you're going to insist on doing it, then at least take the time to say something original. Laura and her family are patient. They know I will get to them as soon as life allows. I love you guys, but there happens to be one or two of you out there who really just need to chill – and, yes, I am well aware of the fact that this probably applies to me too.
Rant over. I now return you to your regularly, if somewhat poorly scheduled reading.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tierrasanta Elementary School
San Diego California
11:49 HRS
"Laura's lunch break should be happening in about…"
Pausing to look at the wall clock in his classroom, Donald Dixon is an otherwise clean-cut man with an enviously thick, and prematurely silver, lion's mane of hair that just touches his shoulders. Leaning against one corner of his desk, in his inexpensive but well-fitted and neatly pressed three-piece suit, he unconsciously dunks the tea bag in his earthenware mug and looks more like a cultured scholar that an overworked, underpaid public school teacher.
"Oh… Now. If you hurry to the cafeteria, I'm sure you'll find her with relative ease. She has a way of standing out from the masses. You're welcome to join her for lunch if you like, Colonel."
Chuckling, Mac leaves her perch on the edge of a child-size desk and rises to her feet offering to shake the man's hand. "Yes, Laura has a way of standing out in any crowd. Thanks for understanding about the trip."
"Not at all. I wish more of our students had the opportunity for such a potentially valuable learning experience. I hope she's thrilled. I won't say anything to her about China until she mentions it to me herself. Two weeks before her departure, I'll start slowly providing her with class materials for what she will miss the week she is gone. I'll ask her to write a report about her trip. She can use the grade for extra credit if she needs any help catching up after her return to class, but I don't foresee a problem there. Laura's bright. She's energetic, and unlike most of my kids, actual eager to learn – I'm afraid most of them see school as some sort of drudgery or punishment to be endured. You might also want to discuss her upcoming absence from class with Shara Eichler, the vice principal in charge of overseeing Laura's age group here at the school."
Mac smiles. "I already have."
"Well then, I think you've done all that can be done for now."
"I think I will pop into the cafeteria and join Laura for lunch."
He nods and waves dismissively, his attention immediately going to the pile of papers that wait to be graded on his desk. When she's just beyond the door, he calls her back; his green eyes alive with tempered mirth. "Fair warning, Colonel. it's Wednesday. Avoid the lasagna-like substance served by the ladies in hairnets. I've gotten better offerings from prehistoric mess kits."
Mac nods. "Alright then. Thanks for sounding the alarm."
"I've noticed your niece's fondness for food. Trust her judgment. I'm sure she can steer you toward items least likely to cause gastronomic distress."
Four minutes later Mac smiles when she catches sight of her niece seated at a table halfway across the large cafeteria. Three steps into the room, she notices that Laura has stopped taking items out of her lunch tote to watch curiously as a young boy of obvious Native American descent slowly rises from another table and crosses the room at a snail's pace with nothing more to guide his steps than a white cane. When he approaches the serving counter, he asks politely, "Will someone please help me to the back of the line."
Not understanding why he asked, several of the children stare awkwardly and point him in the appropriate direction without a single word.
Laura temporarily abandons her table and rises to offer assistance, but before she can get to him an older boy more than twice his size deliberately kicks his cane to the floor and snatches it up as the smaller boy crouches low and searches; one arm clearly shielding his face while the other is outstretched; his hand patting the air ¼ inch above the floor.
"Hey, new kid! Cool stick."
"Please give it back." The boy instinctively turns toward the sound of his tormentor's voice, despite his inability to see him.
"What if I don't want to." The bigger kid asks. "What if I want to keep my cool new stick."
Momentarily stunned; before Mac can even find her voice, Laura's sounds off loud and clear. "Riley Lancaster! It's not a stick. It's a cane, and it doesn't belong to you. You give it back to him right now!"
Riley's gaze jerks around to Laura before he laughs. "Aww! New kid's got a girlfriend!"
Laura rolls her eyes. "Take a short walk off a tall cliff, you troglodyte!"
Riley narrows his eyes with equal parts suspicion and confusion. "What'd you call me?"
"Go find a dictionary! Look it up!"
The room is suddenly filled with raucous young laughter that lingers even after the adults in the room loudly clear their throats and step forward.
A dour-faced matronly gym teacher and a broad-shouldered man in his sixties who could just as easily have been a linebacker in his younger day as he could've been a double for Mr. Clean, both zero in on the troublemaker simultaneously just before the man makes his identity as school principal known when he announces, "Mr. Lancaster, my office, now!"
Riley shrugs as if this is no cause for concern, drops the cane and, just for good measure, kicks it across the room on his way out the door.
Whether Laura's dog truly understands her intent, or whether she's simply chasing a moving object is not clear, but as Laura moves in the direction of the cane, Candy tugs slightly at her leash, eager to go and help the girl fetch it.
Once protruding from Candy's mouth on either side, the cane is long enough to cause some trouble with its own delivery in the crowded room, but before the ends of it rap too many times against Laura's walker or the legs of a table as they pass by, Laura has it in hand and turned in such a way that she can carry it, and push her walker at the same time without gouging anyone who happens to be walking by.
As the three of them gather around the boy, the gym teacher asks quietly, "Are you alright, young man."
Coming slowly to his feet, he nods. "I am good as long as someone will help find my cane."
"You are the new boy? I thought you were supposed to have an aide?"
"I do. She will be right back."
"She just left you?"
"Ma'am, she only went to the lady's room. I am going to be blind my entire life. If I cannot survive on my own for 10 minutes, life is going to be very boring. If you will help me find my cane and then show me to the end of the lunch line, I will be fine."
"I have you cane." Laura volunteers. "I thought you brought your lunch."
"I did, but I would like some milk." He reaches out for his cane and his open palm is met with Candy's curious cold wet nose instead.
"Candy, no. Off." Laura scolds, hoping her dog didn't frighten the boy.
"Aww, she only wants to sniff me. She is just making sure that you are not in any trouble being with me." He holds out his hand aimlessly and patiently allows the dog's inspection. "Hello Candy. It's nice to meet you, girl."
When Candy licks his outstretched fingers once, Laura shrugs. "I guess that means you passed."
The boy grins in mock relief. "Phew, that is good to know. Dogs know things. My dad says they can smell bad people. You must be Laura?"
Laura nods curiously, and when he doesn't respond, she immediately realizes that she must speak her answer. "Yep, I'm Laura, but how did you know that?"
He laughs a bit self-consciously. "I guess when you are the new kid in school and you just happen to be blind, everybody thinks they need to tell you about the girl with the walker and the cool dog… Unless your dog is not the only one."
"Oh no. She's the only one."
"Cool. Then she is literally top dog."
Laura eyes Mac with mild concern. "My aunt is here too but, I'm not sure why."
"I thought someone else was here. I can smell her."
Mac squints slightly as the boy immediately follows up with, "Sorry… I do not mean that you smell bad. I mean that I can smell the bath soap you use. It is different from Laura's or the lady teacher's."
Mac nods. "I see. I'm Sarah Rabb. I dropped by for a quick parent-teacher conference and decided to see if Laura wanted company for lunch. It's nice to meet you."
"I am Dade Tallgrass. It is nice to meet you both."
Laura raises an eyebrow. "You're staying for lunch… Here?"
Mac chuckles. "If that's okay with you."
Laura shrugs. "Okay… Cool. Come on. I'll show you what's good to eat. Unless you want to share mine. Uncle Harm made me a big sandwich with the leftover roast beef from last night. I got fruit salad, jalapeno chips, cheese dip and blackberry tea."
"Hey, lucky duck. He makes me pack my own lunch. Is there anything that the cafeteria offers that sounds half as good."
Laura shrugs. "The hamburgers are good, and the salad is okay too, but stay away from the fake lasagna stuff and the fish sticks. Gross… Double gross! Dade, you come with us. You can put your hand on my walker if you want to." Laura takes hold of his right hand and gently presses his cane into it. I won't bump you into nobody on purpose. We'll get your milk and you can sit with us too if you want."
The cafeteria monitor glances at Mac with uncertainty. "Is that okay with you?"
Mac shrugs. "Sure, why not. The more the merrier."