She's A Good Liar

Chapter 3

*Chapter 3*

            Alice’s feet were moving too fast for her and she almost stumbled to the ground, but she caught herself and continued running. Her mother was going to brutally slaughter her for being late, or at least lecture her until her ears bled.

            Her mother had called her an hour ago and told her she wasn’t going to be able to make it to the hospital in time so she wanted Alice to see her nana before visiting hours were over. She completely lost track of time and forgot about the appointment. Now she was running down the street towards the hospital and shoving people aside.

            She reached the hospital and pushed open the manual doors, not having time to wait for the automatic ones. She slowed her pace as she approached the front desk and pulled her bag strap up on her shoulder. “I’m here to see Jane Thomas, please.”

            “I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over. You missed them by five minutes.”

            “Oh come on. Just give me two minutes. I need to check on my grandmother. It won’t take long, and I’ll be out of here before you know it.”

            The nurse at the desk looked tired, and small wrinkles were starting to form at the corners of her eyes. She nodded and whispered, “Hurry, or I’m coming in to kick you out personally.”

            “Thank you so much,” Alice said as she raced passed the desk and down the hallway. Her nana was in room 243b, a room she shared with another elderly woman. Alice found the door and opened it softly.

            Her nana was sitting up in bed, starring at the television that was playing an old episode of Jeopardy. She looked up as Alice entered the room, “Ah, Wnuczka*, I was wondering where you were.” She patted the bed next to her.

            Alice walked over, tossed her bag on the floor, and climbed up onto the bed next to her grandmother. “I can’t stay long, Babcia*, visiting hours have been over for a bit.”

            “Aww I see, you just didn’t want to get yelled at by your mother. Well, anyways, I’m still glad to see you.” She patted Alice’s hair and hugged her tight. Alice climbed down from the bed and picked up her bag.

            “I got you something, Babcia. It’s going to get cold soon, and I don’t want you getting sick.” She pulled out a lilac colored sweater from her bag and laid it out on the bed. Her grandmother smiled and lifted it up to get a better look. There was a pattern on the front with purple and white gems. “Thank you, Wnuczka. I love it!”

            “I hoped you would, Babcia. I should be going though, the nurse might call security on me.” She hugged her grandmother quickly, promised another, longer visit and left.

            She nodded to the nurse as she left the hospital, and began her walk home. She lived in a small town, where everything was all squished together on three different roads. The main roads were shaped like a square with no top, and had roads going off of each main street where houses and apartments were built. The hospital was at the bottom right corner of the box, and she lived off of the upper left road. The streetlamps always lit up the path, and the roads were always busy, even at night. People were walking home from unknown places, and cars were driving passed, heading to who knows where.

            Alice enjoyed window shopping, ever since she was young. The shops always had brightly lit displays, and they were always different every week. One shop, a small boutique, always had the nicest looking cloths. They looked like the dresses that women would wear in the 50’s.