Gifts of the Blood

by Vicki Keire

  “Well,” Jenny said, “My daddy says your daddy’s nothing but a carnie-booth crook!” Jenny wasn’t entirely sure what it meant, but she was pretty sure she got the words right when it came to her daddy’s opinion of Dr. Goodling.

  “Everybody likes my daddy!” Ashleigh said. “That’s why everybody gives him money. Everybody likes my mommy, too. You don’t even have a mommy. Prolly cause you’re so ugly! She died cause you’re so ugly!”

  “Shut up!” Jenny screamed.

  “You shut up!” Ashleigh countered.

  “You’re stupid!” Jenny said. “Leave me alone!”

  “Leave me alone!” Ashleigh mocked Jenny’s voice, but made her sound extra scared. Her two friends laughed behind her.

  Jenny’s fingers dug into the pine needles beside her, looking for a rock, but instead she found a large pine cone with a lot of pointy tips. She picked it up, reared back, and threw it as hard as she could at Ashleigh.

  It struck the dead center of Ashleigh’s face, between her gray eyes, prickers jabbing her forehead and upturned nose. Ashleigh just looked shocked at first, but then her face reddened and she shrieked.

  She jumped on Jenny, knocking the smaller girl onto her back in the pine straw, then started slapping her with both hands, back and forth, again and again.

  “Stop!” Jenny screamed. Her hand flailed out and found Ashleigh’s face, and she raked her fingernails across it.

  “Ow!”Ashleigh seized a fistful of Jenny’s hair and pulled hard, ripping strands out by the roots. Jenny grabbed one of Ashleigh’s big braids and yanked it, making her scream again.

  A sudden shaking, coughing fit ripped through Ashleigh. Ashleigh kicked away from Jenny and rolled over to her hands and knees. She crawled away, wheezing, struggling to breathe.

  Neesha and Cassie stepped in front of Ashleigh to protect her, as if they expected Jenny to continue the fight. Instead, Jenny crawled back from them, stood up, and then backed away some more.

  She watched Ashleigh coughing on her hands and knees, and she felt fear deep, deep inside her gut. She’d broken the biggest “never” of all--never touch another person.

  Then she realized that the rest of the class had abandoned their games of freeze tag and kickball. They all stood on the edge of the playground, watching and pointing at the fight on the slope while jabbering at each other. Mrs. Fulner, the first-grade teacher, made her way through the crowd of kids.

  “Just what on Earth are you children doing?” she demanded.

  “Jenny Morton hit Ashleigh!” Cassie said.

  “Oooh…” Ashleigh groaned. She lay on the ground now, hands covering her face.

  “Is this true, Jenny?” Mrs. Fulner asked.

  Jenny couldn’t think of what to say to make all the trouble and attention stop. So she stuck with what she knew: mouth closed, eyes on the ground, until they left you alone and went away.

  Mrs. Fulner eventually did turn away, to check on Ashleigh.

  “Ashleigh, honey?” She stood over the girl. “Sit up. Let me see you.”

  “No,” Ashleigh groaned.

  “Ashleigh, up, now!” the teacher snapped.

  Ashleigh sighed. She rolled up to a sitting position, and she dropped her hands from her face.

  Mrs. Fulner, and most of Mrs. Fulner’s class, let out a pained gasp. Jenny felt a sickening, falling sensation.

  A thick red rash of swollen pustules covered Ashleigh’s face, hands and arms. One big bump high on her cheek burst and leaked a fat teardrop the color of Elmer’s Glue.

  “Ewwwwwwwwwww!” a dozen kids squealed from the playground.

  “She’s got chicken pox!” a boy yelled from the back.

  “It’s from her!” Ashleigh screeched, pointing at Jenny. “She gave me pox!”

  “She gave you Jenny pox!” Cassie said.

  “Jenny pox!” one kid shouted, and others took it up: “Jenny pox! Jenny pox!”

  “Don’t be ridiculous!” Mrs. Fulner said. “Ashleigh, let’s go visit the nurse, honey. I’ll call your mother.” She walked Ashleigh up the gravel path to the school building. She reached out a hand, nearly touched Ashleigh’s shoulder, then thought better of it and pulled back. The teacher shot a glare over her shoulder at Jenny.

  The crowd of kids chanted “Jenny pox! Jenny pox!” until Mrs. Fulner and Ashleigh were inside the building. Then all of them turned their heads and stared at Jenny.

  “What?” Jenny asked.

  The whole class ran away from her, screaming, to the other side of the playground.

  Thanks for trying this sample of Jenny Pox! The rest of the book is available at:

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