Chapter 7
He turned around but did not look up at first. I could see him breathing heavily and his knit eyebrows showed he was thinking. He just stood there in complete surprise. But after he gathered his senses he looked up straight into my eyes. He cleared his throat and said “…I don’t like you though. I can’t. It’s too hard. I’m sorry.” And then he walked away. I rolled up into a ball and sobbed my heart out. I was still on the school property but nobody bothered to see if I was okay. I kept repeating his awful words in my mind. His scratchy voice he tried to cover up haunted my thoughts. His worried eyes were cast adrift and I could see his pain in his soul. His words hit me like a ton of bricks and kept hitting me until I fell asleep underneath the cold, hard snow.
I woke up next to an unfamiliar fireplace. I was sprawled out on a large, soft rug and had a fleecy blanket wrapped around my shoulders. There was no noise but the cracking of the fire. I started to smell something. What could it be? I gained the strength to pick myself up and carry me through the corridors towards the smell. I finally came across a huge wooden door. I twisted the handle carefully, scared to see what was on the other side. The door creaked as I slowly opened it.
“Come on in, honey!” said a woman. I didn’t know who she was but I could tell by her voice she was full of hospitality and soul. I didn’t open the door anymore. I was too confused.
“Are you coming in or what? I got some fried chicken right here for ya! There’s some biscuits in the oven and some greens on the stovetop. Nobody’s gonna bite you. Don’t be scared.” I watched her flip her fry pan once more before I entered. I sat in the stool next to the cabinets across from the woman.
“You hungry? I got plenty to go around!” She said as she salted the chicken.
“Kind of..” I murmured.
“What was that sweetie? I didn’t catch that.” She asked and held her hand up to her ear showing she could not hear me.
“I said sort of” I said loud enough for her to hear.
“Well make yourself a plate! Plates are in the cabinet right to the left of you.” I pulled on the drawer until I saw some decent looking glass plates. I got up and started scooping some of her greens onto my plate. I finally asked, “Who are you and where am I?”
