Two Nurses Short of an Asylum

Chapter One

Chapter One
As I shuffled along the hill filled dirt road, which the townsfolk called Utpa Way, I felt myself lose control of the small scooter Uncle Jack had built for Bailey before I got here, and before I knew it, I was on the ground.

Being the tough little girl I was, I held back my tears and sniffled a few times, then stood up on my feet and brushed off the small stones that were lodged into my knees, arms, and elbows. I rubbed off the dirt which had been scuffed on my overalls, and I took a deep breath. I picked up the scooter, which had not been damaged to my luck, and I got back on it.

Even though I was right handed, I pushed with my left foot. I tried my hardest to ignore the fact that there was blood seeping through the denim overalls and down my forearms. Knowing that Uncle Jack would see it, I felt the wind wipe away my tears for me. Pushing with my left, I rode past the cornfields, kicking up the dust behind me, and followed the smell of the burning engines of the tractor's all the way to 247 South Hyde Rd.

"Edyth Rae? What in tarnation is goin' on with your elbows and overalls?" Mrs. Riley Lamona, who lived just across the way, had noticed what I was trying to hide all along, and had taken time out of watering her gardenias just to call me out.

I stopped and hopped off the scooter. "Elbows and overalls? All due respect, Mrs. Riley, but I don't see nothin' wrong with me," I said, holding my head high and trying my hardest to fool her.

She walked up and stripped off the overalls, only to reveal my knees' wounds, and I sulked my head. She frantically tried to clean it off with a small piece of cloth she pulled out of the pocket on her dandelion dress, but nothing was stopping. She pulled my inside by my ear.
I was thrown into the downstairs tub. Hot water was turned on from the faucet, and she maneuvered my leg underneath it. It burned, but I held strong.

"I can't believe you tried hiding this, Rae. You could've gotten an infection, and a nasty one at that," she said disapprovingly, only making harder to hold back my tears.

"But---"

"Don't you "but" me, little missy. Y'all should've come straight to me or gone to Jack. Did you really think you would get away with this all when you had blood soakin' down your leg?"

"No," I said hanging my head. "Please don't tell Uncle Jack, please. I wasn't supposed to be ridin' that scooter."

She raised her left eyebrow at me.

"It's Bailey's."

She shook her head and cleaned my elbows. "I'll put bandages on them for you, but I will not help you come up with a lie to tell your family."

I nodded my head.

She sent me off, not allowing me to ride the scooter home, which even though she was our closest neighbor, it was still a half mile walk.
Once I found myself on the property, I snuck around Clarise's horse pen and put the scooter back into the tractor trailer as quiet as I could.
I rubbed my hands together in an odd mixture of relief and satisfaction, and I strutted outside and walked across the back yard and made my way into the basement.

I heard frantic footsteps speeding down the stairs.

"Rae! Oh my goodness, where have you been?" Uncle Jack asked, sweat falling down his face as he brushed the dirt which I had not gotten off myself. I squirmed around as his strong hand tapped my knee over and over again, trying not to make the pain noticeable.

"Where have you been?"

"Well all due respect Uncle Jack, but I've been right here this whole time."

This is my go to response; a compulsive lie that sneaks out from my lips no matter if I wanted it to or not. It has its prevails, but most of the time it does not fool anyone. Uncle Jack usually can determine the lies, no matter the situation.