Midnight Wonders

2.1.3. The Station in the Greenwood

After school, Luc waited outside the front office with the leftover students for their parents to come pick them up. It wasn't really his duty, but the ladies at the front desk and the yard duties had more responsibilities after school, and he didn't mind waiting with the children. He quite liked it, in fact, and was glad to know that the children liked having him there too.

It would be rather confident of him to believe so without evidence, and if he was honest it was a bit confident of him to do so even with evidence, but the children and the parents both seemed to vet each other, and he was allowed to feel some sort of confidence in his choice of staying after school to look after them. If anything, it was a bit of a break before it was back on the bus and home to Cora.

Catherine was swinging round the flagpole in front of the office, her little backpack swinging round with her. The water bottle in the side pocket was dangerously close to falling out. She let go of the pole and stumbled about for a bit before catching her balance, then ran over to where Luc sat at one of the benches next to the younger children.

"Apples?" she said hopefully, looking at Luc's plastic container of apple slices on the bench beside him.

"Wash your hands," he said, giving her a drop of hand sanitizer. She scrubbed her hands together fiercely, then plucked a slice from the container and nibbled on it like a rabbit. She hopped to sit on his other side, and he moved the apples into his lap so she could reach them.

"Bye," Mrs. Torres said as she exited the office. The first and second-graders ran away, afraid of her. She waved at them anyway, then at Luc, who waved back.

"Bye, Mrs. Torres," said Catherine.

One of the second-grade teachers, Mr. Claypool, followed her out of the office. "Bye," he said, and being more popular with the children, they returned the farewell.

"Bye, Mr. Claypool," said Catherine, and he stopped to give her a cat sticker before he left. Catherine stuck it to the front of her shirt like a proud badge. It was pink and matched her shoes, which lit up as she swung her feet back and forth.

"What did you have for lunch today?" he asked her.

"A cheese sandwich," she said.

"Me too."

"I made mine myself." Catherine patted the cat sticker. "I put the bread in the toaster and put two pieces of cheese on it. It melted together, but then when I got to school it was all cold."

"You can ask the lunch ladies to heat up your lunch," Luc told her. "Or there's a microwave in my room."

"But it's too far away," she huffed. The first-grade classrooms were in the A hall across the campus, which wasn't particularly large, but he supposed it could look large when one was small.

"Bye, Mr. Long!" called one of the second-graders, waving as he ran out into the parking lot where his mother's car had appeared.

"Bye," Luc said with a wave.

One by one, the students trickled off and the school emptied. One of the office ladies left with her bag slung over her shoulder, peering over her sunglasses to say, "Need to phone home?"

"No, he must be late as usual," said Luc. "Have a good day."

Catherine had taken out her homework and was doing addition with her fingers. "Eleven, twelve, thirteen," she said, grabbing Luc's hand to count past ten.

"You need to grow some more hands," he advised her.

"How many do you have?" she said.

"I only need two."

"How can you only count to ten?"

"I don't need any hands to count," said Luc. "I use these to eat." He picked up one of the apple slices and bit into it. It was sour. Catherine hadn't complained.

"Then I need three hands!" Catherine said. "Two to count and one to eat." She paused, wrinkling her nose. "One to count and two to eat."

"How about three to eat?"

Catherine thought about it. She shook her head. "I'd eat too much."

"You're a child; you can't eat too much."

"My daddy says I can't eat too much candy." Catherine considered. "Maybe he means that I don't have enough hands."

"You should tell him that," Luc said. "Here he is."

They watched a muted yellow car turn into the parking lot. Catherine shoved the last apple slice into her mouth and put her homework back into her backpack. Her pencil rolled up to the curb. It was hardly a walk, but Mr. Jacobs got out of the car and went over to them anyway. Luc collected his own things and stood, Catherine shouldering her backpack beside him.

"Look, Daddy!" said Catherine. "Mr. Claypool gave me a sticker."

"Did he?" Mr. Jacobs nodded at Luc in greeting as he turned his attention to Catherine. "Did you do something good?"

"I said goodbye," she said, going over to him. "You're late again! If you had come early he would have given you a sticker too."

Mr. Jacobs laughed. "I should have come early, then." His voice was warm, and low, the kind of voice that could be felt rather than heard. It was a comforting, familiar voice. They were neighbors, and Mr. Jacobs had helped Luc and Cora settle into the area seven years ago when they were still young and clueless. Luc hadn't even known how to knot a tie, then. Mr. Jacobs drew Catherine close, patting her on the head, and looked at Luc. "Sorry for troubling you again," he said. "I really should try to come earlier."

"It's all right," said Luc, and it was. If anything, he hoped it didn't trouble Catherine. He knew it troubled some of the other children, who were not as chatty as Catherine and sat in silence waiting for their parents. A minute could feel like an hour, especially if it was a lonely one, and one spent waiting. Luc couldn't do much about the waiting, but he hoped he could alleviate the loneliness. To Catherine, it was hardly time wasted. He supposed it was the assurance she had that the other children did not. There was never even the subconscious fear of being abandoned.

"You should let me bike home," Catherine said to her father. "Jenny's mom lets her do that." She looked at Luc. "I got a new bike yesterday! Daddy bought it at a garage sale. It has bells! It's so jingly."

"You should ride it to school one day so I can see," Luc said.

"See!" Catherine said, turning back to Mr. Jacobs. "Mr. Long thinks so too."

"Okay, Katie," Mr. Jacobs said, ruffling her hair. "But I have to install the training wheels first."

"I said you can't call me Katie anymore!" she said. "There's another Katie in my class."

"I can't still call you Katie at home?" he said. He shook his head. "I knew I should have picked you a less common name. How about Annie?"

"You can't call me Annie either," Catherine said solemnly. "I'd be stealing my sister's name."

"Your sister is long-lost, Katie," said Mr. Jacobs. "I don't think she'd mind you using her name. It'll be a hand-me-down, just like your bike."

"We should go home now," Catherine said, pulling on Mr. Jacobs's sleeve. "I want to ride my bike!"

"All right, all right," he said, patting her hair again. He looked at Luc. "How is Cora?"

"She's all right," said Luc. "Still same, but at least she woke up today."

Mr. Jacobs nodded. "Tell her I hope she feels better. Thanks for looking after Catherine again. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodbye," Luc said. He waved at Catherine.

"Bye, Mr. Long!" said Catherine, and she took her father's hand. He led her to the car, and they disappeared inside its yellow confines, rolling slowly out of view. Luc checked behind him to see that he hadn't left anything behind and walked down to the bus station.