The Forgotten One

Chapter Six

I awoke to the shrill sound of an alarm clock, sitting up and searching the room for it. Eventually I crawled out of my warm bed and went to the dresser where I fumbled with the buttons until I had managed to turn the alarm off. Switching the lamp on the bedside table on, I found a pair of soft grey sweatpants and a light blue tee-shirt. It took me a little more time to dig out the brand new Nike crosstrainers that Mrs. Jensen had packed into my things, remove the tags, and lace the shoes. I put them on and pulled a large grey hoodie down over my head. Quietly I made my way out of my room and down through the field to the pond. A little awkwardly at first, I began jogging around the perimeter of the water. It didn’t take long to get into my rhythm and empty my head of everything but the sound of my feet on the gravel track and the steady rhythm of my heart.

              When I had been bounced from one home after another, put out because the men in the family wanted to look at me or touch me, or sometimes because the women were insecure, I had used running as my escape. It had been a long time since I had been running, being that I had spent a long stretch of time on the run in Portland, but I hadn’t realized I had missed it. Not until the sheen of sweat began forming on my brow and I could feel my muscles warming up and the endorphines coursing through my body. It was amazing how meditative and relaxing running was for me. I didn’t have a lot of things in my life that made me feel good, and it made me think about how I could change that. Meeting new people and being in a situation where I didn’t need to constantly wonder when I was going to be assaulted or thrown out was a scary feeling. It almost felt too good to be true.

              I looked at the watch on my wrist and saw that it was nearly five am. Quickly I made my way back up the hill and into my room. I only had a few minutes to shower and dress if I wanted to catch breakfast with the Reynolds’ and I was starving. With only minutes to spare I made my way up to the porch and knocked gently on the farmhouse door. Mrs. Reynolds opened it and smiled at me, motioning me inside. There I found Mr. Reynolds already reading the paper and enjoying a cup of coffee.

              “Good morning young lady. I saw you out running around that pond this morning. I’m glad that you’re an early riser and that you care about your health. That to me is a good sign of character.” Mr. Reynolds sat his paper down and looked at me over the spread of food at the table. “I told Betty here she had better make a nice breakfast, seeing that you were out there working up an appetite. How are you getting on at school?”

              “I like it. I made some friends already. Amanda and Adam Harris.”

              I poured a cup of coffee and helped myself to a stack of pancakes and eggs from the plates on the table, taking Mr. Reynolds cues, as he helped himself to the food. We both reached for the hashbrowns at the same time and he laughed, motioning for me to go first. I wasn’t shy about piling my plate high. Mrs. Reynolds had made enough food to feed half the Senior class at my school and still have leftovers. She seemed pleased at the large plate I piled for myself, and even brought me a tall glass of cold milk.

              “Amanda and Adam Harris. They’re the twins. Dr. Harris has been my dentist for some five or six years now. Good people there. If I remember right the girl is real smart. Runs about everything over at the school, and her brother is a pretty big football hero around here. You could do way worse for friends over there, that’s for sure.”