Alice 4

“When you see her how do you feel?” Mr. Dawson asked. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “A mixture of fear and worry. It’s like I’m afraid she would do something dangerous and so I’m worried.” I explained. I could hear him scribble things down. “Do you fear that she would harm you?” He asked again. “No, well not really, I just feel like she will harm others, just like she did the first time.” I said. He sat up on his chair now and looked straight at me. “If you feel like this why are you taking the job again?” He asked. “I have no idea.” I confessed. Just then my phone rang. I got off the couch and reached for my bag. “I’m sorry.” I said quickly before he could complain. I answered the phone. It was Rodney. He needed some information to pay some bills. I made it as quick as possible and rushed back to the couch and smiled. Mr. Dawson wasn’t very amused. 

My first day back at the school was fine. I was teaching my old class but Alice was not in class. She had called in sick. I tried to be as normal as possible and halfway through the class I realized there was no need to be tense. I was teaching children. I don’t know how Mr. Dawson did it but he brought me down to earth again. He had the best explanation for what happened and delivered it to me perfectly. It totally put me at ease. I guess the money I pay him is worth it after all. Oh yes his theory. He said that I cared a lot about Alice because she and I had a lot in common and my inability to have a child drew me closer to her. The building almost collapsed because of what they said in the news (poor maintenance) and when I went to look for Alice the stress and anxiety affected my memory of what happened. It sounded cheezy the first time but when he explained it, it began to make sense. He also repeated my story to me and it sounded really absurd. My life was back on track until Alice came back to school the next day.

As always she sat in a corner at the back and didn’t utter a word. I warned the whole class to treat her nicely. The class was smaller now. About five children had left the school from my class. In the middle of the painting class, I heard someone scream from the back and turned around sharply. I walked over and saw Alice holding on to Karina’s hair. “Alice, what are you doing?” I asked with a little quiver in my voice. She let go of Karina’s hair and looked away. “Nothing.” She muttered. Karina was almost in tears. “Mrs. Hanson I didn’t do anything and she…” Karina complained bitterly. “It’s ok Kari, come and sit here.” I said and led her to an empty seat. I turned around and walked to my table. “Won’t you let her sit in the punishment box?” Cecil, another child asked. “Keep quiet and continue painting.” I said, feeling very bad. 

“Doreen, can I have a word with you?” Patricia, the Principal said. I was sitting in the canteen with two new teachers. I took a last bit of food and hurriedly excused myself. I walked into her office and closed the door behind me. “Doreen, hope everything is fine with you back in school.” She started. I nodded and sat down. I knew what she was going to say wasn’t pleasant because she was looking down the whole time. “I have been getting some complaints from some parents. I wouldn’t call you here if it isn’t serious. Four parents said you did nothing when their child was bullied in class. I know the kids have been through a lot but being too lenient isn’t a good idea.” She said. My heart missed a beat. “Why are you shielding Alice Taylor?” She asked again.

My eyes opened wider. “I..I..I’m not.” I stammered. Patricia folded her arms and looked directly at me. What was I supposed to tell her? “I’m sorry, I had it all wrong. The class used to pick on her because she was new so when they complain that she does something I usually think it’s a prank.” I lied. Patricia seemed convinced. “Oh ok, but I think you should keep an eye on this Alice girl because the complaints are very disturbing.” She said. “I will but could you do me a favour? Could you schedule a meeting with her parents? So I can have a word with them.” I added. She nodded and walked to the place she kept all the pupils files. “Taylor, Taylor…ah yes. Here we are.” She muttered and walked back to her seat. My heart was racing as she took out her glasses and flipped through the file. “Oh.” She said. “What?!” I exclaimed. “Her parents are deceased. She just moved in to this neighbourhood with her Aunt. I’ll call her then.” She replied.

To be continued...

Alice 3

After two sessions my shrink said I was traumatized from the building collapse and a constant load of stress. I wonder what stress had to do with this but hey he went to school for at least 4 years, he has to know what he’s talking about right? On my way home after my third session I had a call from the Principal. “Doreen hi, how is the therapy going?” She asked. “Oh it’s fine, I just hope it’s worth the money I’m spending on it.” I said and she laughed. “Listen Doreen you sound fine, we are kind of running short of teachers. Mrs. Newman wants to leave and we just had a tragic case yesterday. Could you come by the school today so we talk? I have to see someone right now.” She explained. “Ok, I’ll come by now.” I replied. I turned around at the next U-turn and headed for the school. I had to wait a while because the Principal was in a meeting. 

“Oh Doreen come.” She said when she walked out her guests. “They are from a recruitment company. Things are not going well for us at all. I have to deal with parents worried about our building, parents withdrawing their kids and now our teachers are running out.” She said taking off her glasses and wiping her eyes. This school has been the best for years. I can’t lose it now.” She said. She was very sad. “Don’t worry Patricia, it will be fine. Why don’t you offer the teachers more money or some kind of insurance?” I asked. “I did my dear but they turned it down. Mrs. Newman wouldn’t even listen to the offer. She said she just wanted to get away for good.” She replied. “Oh wow, and what tragic case happened yesterday?” I asked curiously. She hesitated for a while. “When Mrs. Newman left we got a TA to fill her place for a while. She fell off the stairs yesterday. My guess is she tripped off a toy. She’s in the hospital now. It’s a minor injury but the press is on my tail now. Even if a teacher catches a cold it would go against me.” She explained. This was worse than I thought. 

I agreed to start work the next week. I pushed my therapy session for 4pm which was after school. That made Patricia very happy. She was pretty fond of me because she was a very good friend of my mother. I scrumbled through my bag to get my car keys when I got to the car park. When I finally found it, it fell. “slippery fingers” I teased myself. “Teacher!” I heard a little girl scream. I turned around immediately. It was Alice and the wind was blowing through her dark brown hair. She run to me and hugged me. “Hiii, how are you?” I asked, hugging her back. She had a wide smile on her face. “I’m fine. I missed you, are you coming back?” She asked back. “Yes I am.” I replied. “Yaay, I like you. I made you come back.” She said. My heart missed a beat. “How did you make me come back?” I asked bravely. She just smiled and said. “I have to go. Bye teacher.” Then she ran off. I rushed to the car. “Teacher!” She called again. This time I was startled. “Yes.” I managed to say. “Your keys are on the floor.” She said and run off again. I smiled and picked the keys up. Did she hurt Mrs. Newman and the TA?

To be continued...

Alice 2

“Alice!” I screamed. “Doreen, it’s just a dream.”  My husband said holding my hand. I turned to look at him. “I can’t forget what I saw, Rodney. It’s so scary.” I said to him. “I know, I know.” He said and pulled me closer to himself. I knew he didn’t believe me but I didn’t blame him. I mean he didn’t see what I saw. He held me the rest of the night. When he was asleep I snuck out of bed and went online. I googled ‘violet haired girls’. The results were either characters of Japanese animes or X-Men. Just when I got tired of searching I saw something that made me pause. “Anytime my baby cried it seemed like her hair turned…”I read but just then the lights went out and the computer went off. My heart jumped even though this happened sometimes. I rushed back into bed and into my husband’s arms. 

“Good morning.” Rodney greeted when he came to the hall to eat breakfast. I had already made his food. “Wow, you made all this for me? Maybe you should be home more often. Gosh last night’s dinner was amazing.” He complimented. I smiled broadly as I poured him some tea. “Look your school is on TV.” He said with toast in his mouth. I turned the volume up. “The Achievers School was built 14 years ago and had maintenance work done on it ever two years so it’s very near collapse is a great mystery….”The reporter said. “You see? Rodney it’s not normal.” I shot at him. “…who are experts in architecture and archeology said the building was probably not built properly, especially with a weak foundation. Investigations are still being carried out but the school is asking the parents of the students to exercise patience because the building is being rehabilitated and will be running very soon. Cynthia Thompson…” She went on. I turned it off and looked at my husband. “It felt like an earthquake that day. She was doing it so she won’t have to go to school.” I said. He dropped his fork and turned to me. “Reeny, I think you should find a way to stop thinking about this, ok?” He said. He was right. I nodded and managed to smile. 

I went shopping later that day. After I put everything into my old car I saw Mrs. Sevron walking towards me. “Oh Doreen I heard about what happened to the school. I’m so worried, do you know when the renovations will be done? I’m even afraid to send Gifty back there, no offence the school is good but I’m just worried you know?” She complained. I could see the worry in her eyes. She was right in a twisted sort of way. If Alice was still in the school, it could really be dangerous. “Honestly if I were you I would start looking for a school for her. I have no idea how long the renovation will take.” I replied. It seemed like that was exactly what she wanted to hear. We spoke a little while and I left. 

Rodney wasn’t home when I finished dinner so I went upstairs to take a shower and wait for him. As I wiped myself dry I saw a dress I hadn’t worn in a long time and decided to try it on. “Just as I thought.” I said to myself. The zip couldn’t close; I had clearly put on a significant amount of weight. My computer was on so I went over to it. I did the same search again and went to the website where the woman was talking about her baby. It was a website for new mothers and their silly stories. Some of the stories were adorable, other were just silly. The woman was in Chicago and this is what she wrote.. “At first I thought I was seeing things but it happened so often I realize it’s real. My baby’s hair always turned violet anytime she cried very hard. It was pretty hard to see because she had really short hair. Sounds crazy but it’s true.” There were 12 comments to her post and 10 out of the 12 of them said she was seeing things, crazy and one even advised that she see a shrink. Maybe I need to see one too. “Doreen!” My husband called. I almost fell off my chair. “You scared me dear. I didn’t hear you come in.” I replied. He threw his suit on the bed. “Oh sorry but have you heard the news? Your school has been fixed. They say it will be running next week.” He added. For some reason my heart missed a beat. “Rodney, I need to see a shrink.” I said.

To be continued...

Alice

“Why are you crying?” I asked the new girl. She had covered her face with her hands but I could see the tears falling. “I don’t want to be here. I want to go home.” She replied raising her head to look at me. Her eyes were red, she had been crying for a long time. “Oh don’t cry. I know you are new here but this school is not that bad. You will like it.” I said sitting close to her. “Tell me about your old school.” I added. She wiped her tears with her hands. “It was smaller than this. The boys didn’t make fun of how I talked and my mummy was a teacher there too. We used to come to school together and go home together too.” She explained. She had stopped crying and a smile was crawling up her face. “Wow, you know what? After the break I’ll tell the boys in the class not to tease you again and I will find you a new friend ok?” I replied with my arm around her. She nodded sharply. “Do you want a girl or boy?” I asked again. “Oh a girl.” She said very shyly. We both giggled.

I could tell she was better after our little talk. She wasn’t talking much still but she didn’t have that sad look on her face. I warned the naughty boys at the back to leave her alone. We were halfway into the math lesson when I heard her speak. “Mrs. Hanson, can I go to the bathroom?” She asked so politely in almost a whisper. I looked down at her and smiled. “Sure. You know where it is right?” I asked. She nodded and walked out very briskly. A few minutes later without any warning the tables and chairs started shaking. All the paintings on the walls fell violently. It was an earthquake!

“Children, go out now!” I yelled over the terrified screams all over the school. The siren was blowing and tried to get all the children out of the class as fast as possible, before the roof started to fall. There was a stampede of kids and teachers rushing towards all the exits. There were cracks in the walls now. Just when I got to the emergency exit it hit me, Alice!!! I turned around and rushed back upstairs. “Mrs. Hanson, what are you doing?” Another teacher asked me, grabbing my hand in horror. “There is a child in the washroom!” I replied and rushed off. The roof was getting weaker now. There was dust everywhere. I passed by the science lab and it was on fire! Alice.

I managed to get to the washroom safely and yelled her name. “Alice! Are you here?!” I opened the doors one after the other. I found her and what I saw was far from words can describe. She was standing and holding both sides of the cubicle walls. Her eyes were closed and her head down. Her hair had turned long and violet and was blowing all over the place.I looked at her feet and they were not touching the ground! “I hate this school. I want to go home.” She kept saying. She felt my presence and opened her eyes. Instantly the earthquake stopped and she fell to the ground. “My God, Alice.” I whispered to myself.

To be continued…

June force

We are already 10 days into the month eh? Oh well, better late than never! So as I did for ermmm that other month, I'm creating a theme for this month. I honestly love challenges and want to try something a little out of my way so this month, the theme for my stories would be sci-fi. Yup you read me, science fiction. I haven't written much on those so my dear reader prepare to be bedazzled!!! (not like the game tho, lol) They are gonna be like the normal stories I write; one off or in series. I hope you like them oh and don't forget to leave a comment when you read my piece...it's nice, I like that :)

OMG he's cheating! (part 10)

Naa and Sesi were sitting close together when she stormed in. Naa frowned immediately and stared at her. “Sesi, I want my stuff! I paid well for it besides you two seem back together.” She said rudely. “So you allow her to just walk in without knocking?” Naa asked. Sesi held Naa’s hand and turned to Zeba. “Zeba what is wrong with you? You know what, you want your music right?” He asked and got up. He walked to his study and brought a CD. “Here you go. End of contract now leave!” He thundered. Osh osh for Sesi! Naa had folded her arms and was smiling. “You heard him, now vanish.” Naa added. I honestly think that statement was what caused the whole calamity. Zeba was furious now…I mean wouldn’t you be? She made Jollof for him ooh, Lol. 

Zeba took the CD and put it inside her bag. Then she took out a camcorder. “Oh look what I found.” She said and turned it on. “Zeba!” Sesi yelled and tried to reach out for the camcorder but he was a little late. The sex video had already started playing. The worst part was the sound of Sesi moaning and saying ‘Zeba you have the most amazing boobs.’ This was very bad! Zeba laughed and said, “So Naa, do you have a video of your affair too?” All of a sudden Naa looked at her sharply. “Oh, you are surprised I found out about you and Philip? I really don’t blame you, I mean who can resist a pilot?” She added. “Shut up! You, you don’t know what you are talking about.” Naa cut in. “Look this place is getting hot. Sesi either she leaves or I leave.” Naa pulled a quick one. “I’m off, in fact I have all I want. Who knows maybe I’ll use our little sex tape for a video.” Zeba said trying to leave but Sesi held her arm. “Give me the camcorder, I’m not playing with you.” He said. He looked pretty angry. “Oh I’m sorry, our contract is over remember? Now take your two timing hands off me!” She shot at him.

 Naa got up and walked out. Sesi let go of Zeba immediately and turned to Naa. “Where are you going?” He asked. She looked at him surprised. “I’m leaving you to handle your business, honestly it’s too much for me to handle.” She answered. “Oh for real, how about Philip? Are you running to him?” He asked. I was really confused at this moment. “Sesi what are you saying?” Naa asked. My thoughts exactly. “Is it true? Did you do anything with Philip?” He explained. Naa looked very guilty, she looked like she was going to cry. I walked over to her and held her hand. “You want to go?” I whispered to her. Sesi walked to us and I stepped back. 

“Hey I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to make you cry. Naa I love you and I want you to be with me. My life has never been the same since I met you, I can’t live knowing I did you wrong or sent you into another man’s arms. I messed up, yes but if I could go back I’d change everything just for you. I know this seems like all talk but just say what you want me to do and I’ll do it. The reason why I took this money is because of you. I want you to be able to tell your friends your boyfriend is a successful man. I want to be the one to pay the bill every single time we go out. I know it sounds stupid but I’m insecure. The reason why I didn’t join your father and his friends is because I didn’t think I was ready financially to meet your father. What was I supposed to say? I quit my job to follow my dream and I’m struggling to get artistes? What would he think? His only daughter planning to marry a broke guy? I couldn’t do it. I guess I’m a coward but the fact of the matter is I love you and want you to have the best of everything. Please let’s work through this.” He poured out. My mouth was wide open. I had never heard anyone be so frank for it to come out so beautifully. Naa was crying and smiling at the same time. She hugged him close. I almost forgot about Zeba. It looked like she almost forgot about herself too. There was a tear in her eye. She walked out immediately without saying a word. I followed her, this time not like a little dog. 

“Zeba, are you really going to use the video?” I asked, concerned. She took out the camcorder and deleted the video. “No I’m not. I leave for Canada in two days. I hope I never see Sesi again but I wish I find a guy who would love me like he loves your cousin.” She said and the tear finally fell from her left eye. I walked over to her and hugged her. “Thank you.” I whispered and she managed a smile. She waved at me as she drove off. As I walked back to the house I could hear Sesi and Naa giggling. “Of course I love your boobs.” Sesi said. Yup, they were back again. This was amazing, who would have guessed? I mean, OMG they were both cheating! Lol. From now on if anyone says music, jollof or boobs I’m running away! See, hear and say no evil!!!!!

The End