Nicki&thePips

Chapter 20

Nicki had decided to wait for the kids to tell her their secrets. But she didn't realize that the day when things would start to unravel was so close at hand. Two weeks later, about mid-March, on a Tuesday Nicki was called into the school to pick up one of her kids.

"What did Jesy do this time?" Nicki said walking into the principal's office.

She was surprised to see Jade sitting in the chair where Jesy usually sat, her knees tucked under her chin as she hugged herself.

"Um miss Minaj thank you for coming." said Mr. Kiffin.

"What happened?" Nicki asked rushing towards Jade.

"Well the second grade had a visit from a clown today . . ." Marvin was cut off by Nicki.

"A clown? Jade's afraid of clowns!" Nicki yelled stooping so she was able to be face to face with Jade.

"Wait let me finish . . . Jade had refused to play with the clown like the other students and so after a while it came to try to cheer her up." Marvin continued. "Jade backed away but then he lifted her up."

"You let him near her!" Nicki yelled furious.

"I wasn't present at the time . . . anyway when the clown held her Jade bit down on his hand until he started bleeding. Even when teachers tried to pull her off she kept her teeth embedded in his flesh. In fact when they finally got her off one of her teeth were stuck in his hand." The principal said.

"Her tooth came out? Aww it's been shaking for a while . . ." Nicki started cooing momentarily forgetting what was going on because of the idea of Jade losing teeth.

"Um Ms. Minaj I'm telling you all of this because while it is normal for certain children to be afraid of clowns, Jade's fear seems to be on a different level where she feels endangered by their presence. She physically hurt that man." Marvin finished.

Nicki looked to Jade who was staring straight ahead with her eyes wide open. She looked worse than when she saw the clown at Leigh-Anne and Princeton's party. She wasn't hyperventilating but she was shaking. She looked terrified. "Jade?"

"Yeah I suggest you bring her home." Marvin said solemnly.

___________

Jade hadn't spoken the entire drive home. She had sat with her knees up to her chin. She stayed in that position as if she couldn't move. Nicki had had to carry her from the school to the car and then from the car to inside the house while she some how kept hugging her knees.

Nicki sat on the couch with Jade in her lap in the same position. "Jadey talk to me babe. It's okay the clown is gone." Nicki was trying to soothe her.

"C-c-clo-clow-w-w-nn . . . cc-c-c-lo-w-wn." Jade stuttered softly.

Nicki didn't know what to do. She just kept holding on to Jade hoping that her comforting would help.

After two hours Jade was sitting normally but still stared in space. Nicki had gone to make her some tea because she was shaking so much. She needed to calm down.

When Nicki was bringing Jade the tea she realized that she was mumbling something to her self. "Jadey what are you saying?" Nicki sat by her trying to get her attention. Jade's eyes were closed tightly and her mouth just kept moving.

"Got the medicine . . . need food . . . need food for Perrie . . . no f-f-food anywhere . . . but w-wait bread . . . bread on the bench . . . nobody's a-arou-ound . . . just take it, need to bring it back for Perrie . . . I p-promised . . . i-it's raining . . . and thunder storm . . . I feel ill . . . maybe getting the flu . . . but gotta get back . . . bread for Pe-perrie. Scary, scratchy voice . . . 'Give that back or I'll kill you!' . . . w-what to do . . . bread to Perrie . . . lightning strikes . . . a bloody, broken, disgusting looking clown with a a horrible drawn out face . . . possibly the most the most terri-ffying thing ever. R-run Jade r-run . . . need t-to escape . . . bring bread to Perrie . . . run run run . . . it it's chasing and yelling . . . sick to me stomach . . . dead end n-no escapppe . . . ladder . . . climb, climb climb Jade . . . clown follows . . . sob . . . sniff . . . at the top of the building nowhere left to run . . . clown moving closer . . . step back step away from the clown. . . trip and fall . . . hanging for me life . . . I'm a-a-afraid of heights . . . clown want to push me down to die . . . stepping on me fingers . . . got to hold on . . . don't want to die . . . can't fall a-a-afraid of he-heights . . . must keep bread and medicine . . . Perrie . . . Perrie I'm s-s-sorry . . . clown is leaving . . . got to climb back up. Heights . . . feel sick . . . ther-there goes whatever I had in me stomach." Jade suddenly stopped and opened her eyes. She took a deep breath. She looked lost and afraid.