Mayden: What Claims by Fire

Chapter 2

I'm stuck. Not where I should be getting stuck, deep in the woods. But right here on the second floor, hallway B, of the Sun Heritage Village's Pine Crest building. Dr. Garcia stopped me on my way out the door with Ana. Back when she was just a resident here, her daughter Maria was one of my two best friends. It's been a while since I've seen either of them, so I kind of have to talk to her.

My hands are in a sweaty grip on Ana's wheelchair handles. There's a sick feeling in my stomach, and a strong voice inside my head screaming at me: Turn around! TURN AROUND! At the same time, my mind is calculating all the possible permutations my plans for today could take. Dr. Garcia could be a witness now. I get a flash image of Ana's normally absent family yanking me into a courtroom for doing something terrible to their feeble old grandmother with Dr. Garcia reluctantly standing up to testify against me. She's weeping, not wanting to speak against me, but what can she do? Julie was wrong. Very, very wrong, she'll testify in her still strong Spanish accent.

Then I will be doomed. Completely, totally, and forever.

I forcefully reel my imagination back in.

Just. Stay. Calm.

"I'm glad you still come in to help out, Julie," Dr. Garcia says, looking me over the way every parent looks over their kid's friends. Am I the type who stirs up trouble? Do I get too close to the boys? Will I get into college? You become like the people you spend time with, Dad always says. Maybe every parent says.

"I like it here," I admit, using as few words as possible without being rude. This is not even remotely abnormal for me. I'm a watcher, not a talker. Everybody who knows me at all knows that.

I check out the wall clock: 11:32. I have zero minutes to spare, but I can't show it. She's the type to guess something is up and, even more, the type to mention it to Dad. Is something wrong with Julie these days?

Ana shifts in her chair as if she knows what's going on and is as impatient as I am. Not likely, but it's nice to think I might not be in this alone.

"I wish I could get Maria to come in with me," Dr. Garcia says in a distinctly fishing tone. "I don't know what keeps her so busy."

Note to all parents: Teenagers are not stupid. We will not throw our friends under the bus, even if those friends no longer have time for us because they are completely consumed by their ever-climbing social status.

I stare blankly and blink like I'm as dumb as Dr. Garcia must think I am.

"I haven't seen Rod around, either," she tries from another angle.

Rod is the third in our trio. Or, what used to be our trio, when all our parents worked here. His dad is still the head of admin, but Rod's way past coming to work on vacation days. That was over by the time we were twelve. Both he and Maria outgrew this place like any normal teenager. Now that he's got that new Mustang convertible, none of us see him much. I'm happy to get a text once every week or so, and only then because he needs something.

"Me neither," I say, glad it's the truth, then quickly add, "Oh look, it's time for Bingo." Actually, there isn't Bingo today, and even if there were, it would not start just before lunch. But Dr. Garcia won't think about that. I'm hoping she's busy enough to appreciate the excuse to get on with her day. She nods, gives the standard it's always good to see you and walks on.

I keep my deep sigh of relief to myself. Ana, however, lets out a huge, heaving "Ugh!" Does she know what we are up to? Could she know?

No. No way.

I check my watch: 11:35.

If this is going to work, I have exactly three more minutes to get out the door and beyond the part of the path that can be seen from the building. I need enough time for anyone looking to take Ana to the main lunchroom to see my backpack on her bed and assume I've already got her. This alone took significant planning. I set the stage for confusion at lunch half a dozen times before they finally got past the panic of a missing resident. Now they all just assume that if Ana doesn't show in the main lunchroom, it's because I have her, and we are in the guest cafeteria, or the staff lounge, or even all the way down the block talking to some of the more coherent old folks at the Village Grill. I made sure never to go to the same place twice in a row, so there is no obvious second place to look. Even so, if they catch me with her too close to lunch, they'll ask me where, exactly, we'll be today.