The Despairing Tribulations of a Doomed Boy

Chapter 14

Sunday

Otto didn't wake up until Ruskin brought him two sandwiches, a pair of socks and shoes, an old set of clothes, and a pitcher of water on Sunday. "How's your foot?" He asked.

Otto took a bite of the sandwich, shrugged his shoulders and pulled himself out of his sleeping bag to take a look at it. He had slept so hard that he hadn't even changed position from how he had fallen asleep on his back the night before. Good thing, too, he thought. Sleeping without his nose casing was terrifying.

His foot was swollen and throbbing, making the bandages tight around his arch. "Do you have any pain killers?" he asked Ruskin.

"Yeah," Ruskin said and pulled a bottle out of his pocket. "My parents are out for the morning. Who's this lady you're trying to get a hold of? Now would be the time to call."

"Nurse Vickers," Otto said around his food. "I don't remember her first name. Do you have a phone book?"

Ruskin climbed down from the attic and searched the house for a phone book, grabbing a phone on the way. Then the two of them went through the Vs, but to no avail. There were no Vickers in the phone book. "Maybe it's not her real name," Ruskin said, scanning back through the pages just in case.

"That would make sense," Otto said. "Apparently law-enforcement know about her, but haven't caught her yet. A fake name must be how she's staying hidden."

"So how do we find her?"

Otto smiled. "We?"

"What? Do you want me to make you hobble around town with a crazy guy after you? If you're telling the truth, this whole thing affects me too—and everyone! I'm not letting The Destroyer of the World limp around just to fall on his face. Jeez, remember that time on the school bus when that kid snapped your casing and nearly hit your button..." Ruskin trailed off in wide-eyed horror at the thought.

Otto took a drink from the pitcher of water and thought about his options. "I know there are other anomalies at the school who can get in touch with the nurse--"

"I knew it!" Ruskin snapped back to the present. "I was right all along!"

"But I don't know who they are," Otto finished.

"Oh. Well, that's unhelpful."

The phone rang at Otto's side. He handed it to Ruskin to answer. Ruskin looked at the caller ID and smiled broadly. "It's Lancret," he said and then answered it before Otto could voice his shock. "Hey, Lancret," Ruskin said as he started down the ladder from the attic.

Otto raised his hands in the silent question of "What the hell?" but was ignored and he was soon left alone again in the attic to eat his sandwich.

A few minutes later, Ruskin was back. "Hey, if you want to take a shower or use the toilet, do it now. My parents will be home soon and then I'm going to go meet Lancret and some others at the library for a study session.

"Okay, wait--"

"I'm serious, you'd better get your shower now. I can tell you about Lancret and all that later."

Otto gave him a hard look, but finally decided that a shower was more important than figuring out what a study session with Lancret and 'others' was all about. Maybe Ruskin had finally learned how to stop saying stupid things around girls. But much more likely, he had said even more stupid things and lied his way into something crazy with Lancret. That must be it, Otto thought.

Ruskin left Otto his hand-held games to play while he was out. As long as Otto kept them on silent, no one would know he was up there. Otto was happy to have something familiar to play with, but after a few hours, the excitement wore off and then the batteries wore out leaving Otto alone in the dark. He laid down on the sleeping bag and listened to the sounds of Ruskin's parents moving around the house, their murmuring talk, or that of the TV. The familiar intro music of the Daela RenoirShow let Otto know that it was 5pm. After a long time, he heard the front door open and close and Ruskin's voice mixing with his parents. But it wasn't until all the voices faded into sleep before Ruskin came back into the attic.