PODs

by Michelle Pickett

  “All right, then. I suppose we’re redecorating,” I mumbled around bites of cereal.

  I heard a chuckle behind me just before a hand reached around and took the pastel box from my hand. I smelled him before I turned to look at him. I already knew what I’d see—gray eyes. Not a dull, lifeless gray, but a shiny, silvery gray with just a hint of blue. Slowly, I turned and looked up. He shrugged. “Far be it from me not to give a girl what she wants,” David said with a grin.

  He walked off and sat down next to the boys’ bedroom door. It was about the same place I’d first seen him doodling when I entered the POD.

  I sat on the floor about ten feet from him, halfway between him and Katie. Tiffany sat adjacent to me at the wall separating the bedrooms and bath from the living area. George started his art masterpiece on the kitchen wall, Aidan and Seth in the hallway. Jai Li watched us like we’d gone insane. Maybe we had.

  Josh sat on the couch and rolled his eyes. “Coloring on the walls. I guess the people who fixed the raffle did pick a bunch of children.” A pile of candy wrappers littered the floor around his feet. Had he brought an entire suitcase filled with junk food?

  “You’re going to pick those up, right?” Tiffany frowned at the wrappers on the floor.

  Josh shoved another little candy bar into his mouth and smirked at Tiffany as he flicked the wrapper on the floor.

  Tiffany sighed, and I gritted my teeth. We’ve all got to live with each other for a year. Can’t he even try to make an effort to get along?

  “Two rules,” Katie announced. “Keep it clean, and let’s have some fun!”

  I wasn’t a very good artist. It ranked right up there with being a champion athlete…and the way I’d broken Molly Garner’s nose last year—while running track—was testament to my talent as an athlete. So rather than draw something completely heinous and force everyone to look at it over the next year, I used a paintbrush to write words.

  I wrote some of my favorite quotes. Tiffany stopped on her way to the bedroom and watched. “‘Some people drountain of knowledge, others gargle.’ Hmm, is that quote meant for Josh?”

  From the couch, Josh frowned and flipped her off, then shoved earbuds in his ears and started nodding along to the beat of his music.

  “Yeah,” I said under my breath. “He’s the gargling type.”

  “What other quotes do you have?” she asked, looking around me to see what else I had written. “‘When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice’ I like that one,” Tiffany nodded.

  I smiled. “It’s a Cherokee proverb.”

  I also painted some random words like peace, joy, and love. I wrote whatever came to mind, like I would in my journal. I did most of it down at the floor level so it’d be hidden as much as possible by furniture, hoping someone with talent would draw something spectacular above to mask my mess below.

  I was painting my favorite verse from the Bible—Psalms 118:24—when Josh came up behind me.

  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

  “What’s there to rejoice about, Eva? Huh? Everyone is either dead or dying and you want us to be all happy and stuff? That’s kinda sick.”

  “Hey man,” George said, “cool down. We all deal with things differently.”

  “I don’t like her sanctimonious crap. I don’t want to have to read it every day.” He picked up a paintbrush covered in black paint and swiped it over the verse I’d just painted, the black swirling with the red I’d used, making a large, ugly splotch on the wall.

  “Josh, you’re a real—”

  “It’s okay, George. No big deal.” I picked up the black paintbrush and blacked over the red and black mess Josh had made. I evened out the edges and made a black square. As soon as it dried, I took a piece of white chalk and wrote the verse on the black paint.

  “There.” I turned and looked at Josh with a smile. “If you paint over it again, I’ll write it in permanent marker across your forehead when you’re asleep.”

  “Bitch,” he muttered toward the bedroom.er only ">“1 under his breath.

  “Spray hairspray over it,” David said.

  “What?”

  “The hairspray will keep the chalk from smearing.”

  “Okay.” I grabbed my hairspray from the bathroom and sprayed the wall. “Thanks.” I smiled at David.

  He shrugged, not looking away from his drawing. “No problem.” David had drawn a sweeping mural across one entire wall of the living area. It was a forest filled with trees, their leaves colored red, yellow and orange. A figure—I couldn’t tell if it was male or female—raked fallen leaves at the side of the road. The road wound through the hills of the landscape until it disappeared in the horizon, which held a large autumn sun.

  “It’s beautiful,” I whispered. I didn’t know I’d said it out loud until he turned and smiled. I could almost feel the chill of the autumn air, smell the leaves on the wet ground, hear them crunch under my feet.

  “Thank you. Your border around the floor is… interesting.”

  “It’s okay,” I laughed. “You can call it horrible. I’m under no delusion that I’m an artist. You can paint over it if you want. I wish you would, actually.”

  He smiled but didn’t answer. He was adding something to his mural and I stood on my tiptoes to look over his shoulder. When he was done, he dropped his arm to reveal another figure in the painting. The person sat cross-legged on the ground, reading a book.

  “I wish I had your talent, David.”

  “I like that,” he said with a small frown.

  “What? That I think you’re talented?”

  “No. I like how my name sounds on your lips.”

  I felt the blush crawl up my body until my face burned with it. My breathing became shallow; I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs. Why did that one little statement get me so… so… confused, elated, off-balance?

  Seth rounded the corner and spied David’s mural. “Whoa! That’s wicked cool.”

  “What’s cool?” Aidan asked from the hall.

  “You gotta see what David’s done. Get out here.”

  I took the distraction as my cue to make a quick exit. I didn’t know what to say to David. It wouldn’t be a good idea for any of us to become involved while we were living in the POD. If the relationship went sour, it would make our living arrangement worse than it already was. We already had Josh’s attitude to deal with. We didn’t need two people bitter from a break-up added to the mix. No, there was no way any of us should become romantically involved. None.

  No relationships in the POD, Eva. Your rule. Not even if the guy smells as good and looks as yummy as David. Wow! Where did that come from? And how come I want to tell him that I liked the way his name felt crossing my lips?

  I walked down the hall to my bedroom. Tiffany was there, trying to paint moons and stars on the ceiling above the baby’s crib.

  “Tiffany! What are you doing?”

  “Decorating the ceiling. The baby won’t have a mobile. This will at least give it something to look at.” to see each other.ldorSU

  I had a good idea, even for me. I went back into the living area and whispered to Katie what I wanted to do. She smiled and nodded.

  I walked over to David, determined to ignore his earlier comment. “Would you help me and Katie?”

  “Sure, Eva.” He smiled.

  Now I just had to get Tiffany out of the bedroom.

  “Tiff? Come on, it’s time for a break.”

  “‘Kay.”

  She meandered into the kitchen, one hand pressed against her back and the other on her belly, and dropped onto a chair. “What’s our MRE lunch for today? Is it spaghetti? Spaghetti? Or… gasp… spaghetti?”

  “Have I told you how much I hate spaghetti?” I pushed my meal away.

  “It’s come up once or twice,” she said with a laugh.

  Tiffany ate her lunch before falling asleep o
n the couch. She slept most of the afternoon, giving David and Katie enough time to finish the mural around the crib.

  “It’s awesome. She’s going to love it.” I could hardly wait for her to wake up so we could show it to her.

  “It’s not too bad,” David said with a small smile. “It’s the best we could pull off with what we have to work with.”

  “I think it’s beautiful.”

  “Oh, the baby, the baby, we must paint something beautiful for the illegitimate baby,” I heard Josh whine behind me.

  “Stay out of this, Josh,” I said, not turning around.

  “Don’t worry, Evangelina. I don’t want anything to do with the baby or your little surprise party for its mommy.” He stuck his head in the bedroom and looked at the mural. “It’s okay, I guess,” he said, before returning to the dining area to stare at his laptop screen.

  Finally, after what seemed like the longest nap ever, Tiffany woke up. She made her way to the bathroom and we all snuck into the bedroom, giggling like little kids. When she opened the door from the bathroom I called, “Hey, Tiff? Can you come in here a sec?”

  When she walked through the door and saw us all standing there, she looked wary. “Uh, what’s going on?”

  “We got you and the baby a gift. Well, some of us did the work, but the others supervised.” I smiled.

  David chuckled behind me.

  We shuffled to the side, revealing Katie and David’s mural of a summer’s day—the sun shining, birds flying in the sapphire sky, a little stream bubbling over some small stones as it made its way toward the horizon. A large oak tree stood in the center, a swing hanging from one branch. Flowers dotted the lush, green grass, and butterflies danced among them. The ceiling was midnight blue, edged in silver-gray clouds and filled with stars and a crescent moon.

  “Thank you,” Tiffany said between tears. “It’s beautiful.”

  I put an arm around her shoulders. “Well, we aren’t able to give you a baby shower, so we decided to give you and the baby this. Everyone painted something, except Josh. I wasn’t able to paint much, but it was my idea and they did relent and let me paint my own initials in the corner.” elephant sitting in the middle of , I would">“1

  “Yeah, and even that was pressing her artistic ability to its breaking point.”

  “Very funny, David. Anyway, we thought it would give the baby something to look forward to after the POD is opened. Fresh air, wide open spaces…”

  “Thank you. I don’t know what to say. It really is beautiful.”

  “Here.” David thrust a paintbrush at her. “I thought you might want to paint something on the mural, too.”

  Tiffany looked at the paintbrush and shook her head. “I don’t want to do anything to mess it up.”

  “Then just do a butterfly or flower. Write a message to the baby in a corner. Do anything you want, but do something. It should be from all of us, including you.”

  Holding the paintbrush next to the wall, Tiffany bit her bottom lip. “Okay,” she said slowly, “I’ll paint a butterfly.” She dipped the tip of the paintbrush in orange paint and took her time, mimicking the butterflies Katie had painted. “And I want to write something.”

  “Whatever you want,” David told her.

  She squatted down, wobbling from one side to another as she tried to keep her balance, but gave up after a few seconds and plopped onto the floor. “I’ll probably never be able to get up again,” she laughed.

  She chewed on her fingernail, thinking of the perfect message to write to her child, taking her time, getting it just right…

  One day you’ll run and jump and swing in a field much like this one. I can’t wait to watch you and hear your giggles. I can’t imagine loving a person more than I do you.

  Love Always, Mommy

  By the time the day was over and all the finishing touches done, a lot of the walls had been covered in paintings and pastel drawings. George drew fruits and vegetables along the walls in the kitchen and I doodled in places it would be hard for people to see if I messed up. There was still a lot of white space to cover up, but we decided to save that for another day.

  Month Two

  After our day of redecorating, we spent more time doing things together. We played cards and board games. Aidan found the television in the back corner of the linen closet, and we decided we needed a movie night to celebrate.

  “What are we celebrating?” Aidan asked.

  “Who cares?” Katie said with a giggle. “Hurry up, Aidan.” She handed him the cables to hook up the DVD player.

  “I thought your best subject was computer science and networking, Aidan. Seems like you’d be able to hook up a DVD player,” Josh said with a belch.

  Aidan opened his mouth to say something. Instead he let out a frustrated sigh and muttered something under his breath that made Katie break out in a fit of giggles.

  Once the television and DVD player were hooked up and working, we gathered in the living area, jostling for the best spots in front of the television. Aidan had found a horror movie and everyone was excited to watch it—except me.

  I sat on the floor with a scratchy blanket pulled up to my eyes. Josh plopped down next to me and yanked part of the blanket over himself. He rested his hand on my knee. I scooted over as far as I could, pull toward the bedroom.er only ">“1ing the blanket with me.

  “What? Untouchable?”

  “No, the blanket’s too small for two people,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral.

  “Too good for me?” he said with a smirk.

  Yes. I don’t like selfish jerks. “No,” I said, trying to give him a sincere smile. It was hard.

  “If you don’t wanna share, go get another one.”

  “Get your own.” I jerked the blanket away, sitting on the edges so he couldn’t get under it.

  When the movie started I held my blanket with both hands, covering my face—one side slightly lower than the other so I could peek over the top. I knew it was coming. The stupid lady was going into the dark basement alone. It was quiet. She walked further into the creepy room. I held my breath. I waited, my heart beating faster. My hands hurt from clutching the blanket. The lady stood in the darkest corner…of course the killer was going to jump out at her. I braced myself. The blanket ready to cover my eyes…

  “AHH!” Aidan yelled, tickling my side. I screamed and jumped up. He thought it was hilarious—the others did, too.

  “Aidan, you’re a jerk,” I said, scowling.

  I’d had enough scary movies for the night. Going into the bedroom, I climbed on my bunk. The hinges squeaked as I pulled open the cupboard in the headboard and grabbed a book. I’d just opened the novel when a shadow fell over the page. Expecting Katie or Tiffany, I was surprised to see David.

  “Hey,” I said, trying to remember how to breathe like a normal person. But every time I took a breath I smelled him and he smelled beyond amazing and that was a problem—at least for me.

  “Not much of a horror fan?” He tried to hide a grin and ran his hand through his hair. I watched the silky strands sift through his fingers.

  “What clued you in?” I was surprised my voice didn’t shake, since my insides were.

  “Well, you held a blanket up to your eyes the minute the movie started playing.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I did.”

  “You’re reading.” He rubbed his hands up and down the sides of his thighs.

  “Mm-hmm, I do that sometimes.”

  He chuckled. “I just thought you’d want some company. I mean, you are all the way down the darkened hall by yourself…”

  “Ha-ha, David.”

  “Eva, I…” He waved off his words. “I’ll let you get back to your book. See you tomorrow.” He smiled and walked out the door.

  What was that?

  Butterflies the size of softballs flew around in my stomach. I tried to shoo them away. No romances in the POD. It didn’t matter that he made my insides swirl out of place every time he was in m
y line of sight, smell radius or general vicinity—and, since we were locked in the same tin can, he was at least within one of those all the time.

  “Eva, move your person!” Seth yelled.

  “I’m trying. She won’t go where toward the bedroom.er only ">“1I want her to.”

  “You’re gonna get killed…”

  “Well, then help me!” I yelled.

  The five guys seemed to have no problem maneuvering their virtual men in the stupid video game. They had them running all over the screen. My person stood in place twirling around and around. She wouldn’t cooperate.

  “Your avatar is as stubborn as you are, Eva,” Seth laughed.

  I heard David chuckle behind me. “Ugh, I’m done,” I said when virtual me got killed for the millionth time. “Let’s play Wii Bowling.” I knew they wouldn’t. They were too involved with their little virtual friends running here and there.

  “Eva, face it. Gaming is not your thing.”

  “I told you. I suck at all things sports-related… even virtual ones. Except bowling on the Wii. Come on. You know you want to…”

  No answer. It was just as well. The last time we’d been bowling, my little hand thingy had slipped and flown backward, hitting David in the eye. But I had bowled my best game.

  “Hey, guys, did you know we have video chat on these things?” Katie tilted her laptop to show us.

  “Cool. Who’s the guy?” I asked with a smile. It seemed Katie had already made a new friend.

  “Cameron, but he goes by Cam. He’s in sub-POD Twelve. We’ve been talking a lot,” she said, blushing.

  “Hi Cam,” I said, waving at the screen.

  A young kid, around fourteen, smiled and waved. He never took his eyes off Katie.

  “Ah, young love,” David said, walking behind me and looking at the screen. Katie’s blush grew deeper.

  I grabbed my laptop and opened the intranet.

  “You looking for a boyfink from the f

  Chapter 8:

  Homework

  Month Three

  The fun had to end sometime.

  The chute running from the main POD to our sub-POD had only been used for our fruit and veggie delivery, birth control boosters for the three girls who needed them, and our blood checks, so the thing was only used once a week—until…