Jinx

Chapter Two

"But you are not supposed to arrive until tomorrow!" Petra cried. The tight ball of worry in my stomach loosened. Just a little.i should have known.

I should have known Aunt Evelyn wouldn't have completely forgotten about me."No," I said."Today I'm supposed to arrive today." "Oh, no," Petra said, still shaking my hand up and down.

My fingers were losing all circulation. Also, the places I'd skinned grabbing the wrought-iron fence weren't feeling too good, either. "I'm sure your aunt and uncle said tomorrow.

Oh! They will be so upset! They were going to meet you at the airport. Alice even made a sign... Did you come all this way by yourself? In a taxi? I am so sorry for you! Oh, my goodness, come in, come in!"

With a heartiness that belied her delicate frame-but matched her handshake-Petra insisted on grabbing both of my bags, leaving my violin to me, and carrying them inside herself. Their extreme heaviness didn't seem to bother her at all, and it only took me a couple of minutes to find out why, Petra being almost as big a talker as my best friend, Stacy, back home: Petra had moved from her native Germany to the United States because she's studying to be a physical therapist.

In fact, she told me she goes to physical therapy school every morning in Westchester, which is a suburb just outside of New York City, where, when she's not in class, she has to lift heavy people and help them into spas, then teach them to use their arms and stuff again, after an accident or stroke.

Which explained why she was so strong. Because of the lifting of heavy patients, and all. Petra was living with the Gardiners, paying for her room and board by caring for my younger cousins. Then, while the kids were in school every day, she went to Westchester to learn more physical therapy stuff. In another year, she'll have her license and can get a job in a rehabilitation center.

"The Gardiners have been so kind to me," Petra said, carrying my suitcases to a third-floor guest room as if they didn't weigh more than a couple of CDs.It didn't even seem like it was necessary for Petra to take a breath between sentences. Amazingly, English was not even her first language.

Which meant she could probably speak faster in her native tongue.

"They even pay me three hundred dollars a week," Petra went on. "Imagine, living in Manhattan rent-free, with all of your food paid for as well, and someone giving you three hundred dollars a week! My friends back home in Bonn say it is too good to be true.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner are like a mother and father to me now. And I love Teddy and Alice like they are my own children. Well, I am only twenty, and Teddy is ten, so I guess he could not be my son. But my own little brother, maybe. Here, now. Here is your room."

My room? I peered around the doorframe. Judging by the glimpses I'd had of the rest of the house on our way up the stairs, I knew I was going to be living in the lap of luxury for the next few months...