The List

Chapter Ten

After a week of exams and book reports due, the next Wednesday afternoon I decide to treat myself to something more worth while than being locked behind closed doors, nose stuck in a book. My last class finishes at three, so I go straight from there to my dorm, dropping off my books and grabbing my car keys. My mind continues to wander to what Rhett has got planned for this weekend. He teased me last week, with the promise that it'll be the best, and now that's all I can think about.

I'm almost to my car, when I hear someone calling my name. I glance in the direction it came from, and see Rhett running towards me.

"Where you off to?" He asks, once he reaches me.

"I'm done with exams for the week, so I figured I'd go do something a little more worth while for the evening." I tell him.

"And that would be?"

I just smile. "You're more than welcome to tag along and find out."

He grins. "Anything beats being fifth wheel to your brother and Nathan's dates tonight."

"Nathan's seeing someone?"

Rhett nods his head, climbing in the front seat. "Some girl named Tara. He seems to like her."

"Good for him." I say, starting the car.

Rhett doesn't ask any questions about where we're going, he only asks about how my classes are going.

"So why were you coming to my dorm?" I ask him, as we pull onto the highway.

"I wanted to see what kind of trouble you want to get into tonight." He says, grinning at me. "It's been over a week."

"Did you miss me?" I ask sweetly, batting my eyes at him.

He just rolls his eyes, with a grin. "No, I miss the excitement. Now tell me where we're going."

"We're going to a hospital." I confess. "To volunteer."

"Volunteer?" He asks.

I nod my head. "I used to go all the time back home, and I finally found a hospital close to campus that allows for people to come work with children."

I can feel Rhett's eyes on me, so I turn and meet his gaze. "That's an amazing thing."

I just smile back at him. "Well these kids have cancer, so coming to spend a few hours to play games and make them forget for a little while is completely worth it."

We pull into the parking garage and walk into the Children's Hospital. The sweet woman at the front desk greets us and asks what she can help us with.

"I'm here to volunteer." I say. "I think we spoke last week, I'm Carrigan James and this is my friend, Rhett."

"Oh yes." She exclaims. "We need more volunteers your age. These kids need friends."

I just smile sweetly at her. "That's why I'm here, so where do I start?"

She flips through a clipboard. "Well, we can have you go read or do arts and crafts with the kids. Or, I can assign both of you to your own specific child, and you'd be a mentor of. Which sounds best?"

I glance at Rhett and he shrugs his shoulders. "This is new to me; you did this back home."

"I think starting out with a group of kids, doing readings and stuff would be fun, then we get a chance to get to know all of them." I tell her.

She stands from the desk and asks us to follow her. "My name is Lydia if you have any questions, but I'll start today off by giving you a quick tour of the hospital so you know where you should be."