Oh, Lucy

Chapter Five: At Peace

From a young age, the nuns at my communion classes made a point of emphasizing that God tested us to make us stronger and more loyal.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

I remind myself of this scripture, James 1:2-4, once I receive the news that I have in fact moved on to the second phase of the trial. I try to think of it as a blessing, as this means that in some strange way I could hardly begin to comprehend, the drugs were having a positive effect on my body. Still, I have to remind myself of all of the beneficial ways this drug will impact my life to keep myself from voluntarily dropping out of the study.

So far the only benefit I'd found is that I might be able to live long enough to have a proper midlife crisis thanks to the drug, but I continue to think up other pros of staying in the drug trial throughout the rest of the week.

I can grow old. Or at least older. Old-ish.

I'm in the middle of finding the appropriate phrasing for reason number seven to keep going to Harbor Clinic when I feel a light tap on my shoulder.

I glance up and my eyes lock with Sister Jimenez's, St. Ita's version of a principal.

"Hello, Sister Jimenez!" I greet with all of the cheer I have in me. "How do you do this fine morning?"

"I'm great! Every day that I'm alive and well is a blessing from God!" She says, belting out her usual religious jargon. "I actually have a favor to ask of you, Lucia." She starts, and I look at her expectantly. After so many years working at Sister Jimenez's side, I was already used to being called upon for favors.

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to help, Sister Jimenez." I reply, all smiles. "What do you need?"

"Well one of our scholarship students, Sofia Flores, starts school today and I was hoping you'd be so kind as to show her around. She had to start school a bit late due to a death in the family so be extra considerate to her and let the other students know as well too, please. I wouldn't want them doing anything to make her feel uncomfortable."

I nod my head in understanding. "Don't worry I'll make sure she feels right at home at our lovely, St. Ita." I chime reassuringly.

"That's what I like to hear!" She cheers, patting my shoulder happily, "She'll be here in a few minutes, you can meet her at the main office and start the tour there. Don't worry all of your teachers have been notified. Thank you, so much Lucia. You're an angel sent from God himself. Que dios te bendiga." She says and then walks away. The smile immediately drops from my face as I begin to make my way to the main office. Happiness is beginning to feel more forced than usual and I can't begin to fathom how I'll keep the act up for long enough to show our new student around.

I enter the office and am met with a warm smile from who I could only assume is the new student. She looks nervous but is kind all the same, reaching out to shake my hand, her tanned skin glowing in the pale light of the room.

"Hello, I'm Sofia Flores." She greets, still smiling. I find myself easily smiling back.

"I'm Lucia, but you can call me Lucy. I'll be showing you around today, so if you're ready follow me."

She nods her head in confirmation and grabs her things, ready to go. We exit the office and I show her the basic landmarks of the school.

"Right here is the Language Arts building, hopefully you get Mr. Marrero as your English teacher, he's the best, and I have him so you'll know someone in the class! That building holds most of the math and science classes; avoid Ms. Valentina at all costs if you can, she's crazy, and over here is the auditorium. It's huge, would you like a tour inside?"

She softly shakes her head. "No, I'm okay, thank you." She replies, smiling weakly.

I can tell that no matter how engaged I try to be, she's not really focused on the tour and I can't blame her, I wouldn't be able to focus on my new school either if someone I cared about died.

"Listen, this isn't really a part of the usual tour but I'd say you have the basic layout down by now. " I say and she nods in agreement. "Follow me."

I lead her to the back end of the school, mentioning places here and there she might need to remember until finally we make it to the spot I'm seeking out.

It's so quiet in the garden that one could hear a pin drop, the flowers releasing a sweet and calming aroma into the air that's virtually unmatchable. "What do you think?" I ask, turning to face her.

"It's- it's beautiful." She mumbles, her expression becoming much more relaxed.

I walk over to one of the small benches and pat the spot next to me. "It belongs to the Gardening Club, but besides them, no one ever really comes by here. I-I used to come here a lot freshman year after my nonni died to just think about things. It's got a really soothing quality to it." I admit, breathing in the delicately sweet air. I feel her hand graze over mine, patting it lightly, and turn to meet her gaze. She looks grateful, her sad eyes growing ever so slightly happier.

"T-thank you." She whispers softly before taking her hand away and I nod slowly in response.

"It's no problem. You looked like you could use a place like this right now." I reply kindly and she nods and smiles a genuine smile before looking towards the garden once more, breathing it all in. I do the same, enjoying the feeling of the light breeze blowing around us. For the first time in a long time, I feel truly at peace.