by Unknown
He was quiet for a long moment, pondering his next words. Just staring at her, his expression intense.
“I think we should head over there now and have him check out this ad.” He said, moving away and turning off the computer he had been using.
“You could just say you don’t want to talk about it.”
He ignored this and without a word picked up his bag and shuffled across the library before she could respond. She sat there blinking for a moment. Then after one last glance at the ad and the chat box, still waiting for her reply, she turned off the computer and got up to leave. Running to catch up with James as he walked out the library.
***
James drove to his apartment. He had given Rose directions so she could meet him there. By the time they arrived, drops of rain had started to fall from the sky. He got out of the car and waited on the doorstep. He finally saw her come around the corner, pedaling fast, one hand holding the handlebars and the other holding a book over her head in a futile attempt to stay dry. He laughed as she pulled to a stop and locked her bike to a nearby rack. She then ran up the steps and punched his arm.
“You were laughing at me weren't you? Some people can’t afford a car.”
“I did no such thing,” after putting his key in James held the door open, gesturing for Rose to enter. She did and he followed. The apartment building housed four separate apartments, each containing two bedrooms and one bathroom. James’ was on the bottom floor and as he walked up to the door he could already hear Jordan on the other side, playing a computer game with the volume turned up. He glanced at Rose; she was watching him waiting patiently. He paused before putting his key in the door.
“Jordan is a bit odd. And not the most tidy person. Sorry.”
“That’s ok; I can handle a little bit of mess.”
He chuckled and unlocked the door calling to Jordan as he did.
“Hey, Jordan!”
His friend sat on the grey couch in the center of the living room, fixated on the large flat screen TV, fingers about his controller. There was a pile of laundry scattered next to him and an overflowing big bowl of cheese puffs on the coffee table. James turned back to Rose and smiled. So far she didn’t seem to be bothered, he only worried she might think this was how he lived as well. He turned back to Jordan and walked into his line of view.
“Hey, Jordan!” He yelled. Jordan finally noticed him and turned down the volume, then paused his game and stood up.
“Hey, James! What’s up!? You're home early.”
“Well, this is my friend Rose.” He gestured in Rose’s direction and Jordan swiveled to look at her, surprised.
“Oh! A pleasure to meet you Madam.” he bowed, one hand holding the baseball cap on his head so it wouldn’t fall off.
“You too.” Rose laughed and closed the door behind her.
“So what brings you both here?” He asked, shooting a meaningful glance at James. James frowned in response.
“Rose here is trying to find a job, and she found this ad online. But it looked kind of suspicious so we were wondering if you could do us a favor and check it out? Maybe see who the number belongs to and if the ad is legit.” He noticed Rose fidgeting on the other side of the room, no doubt upset that he had not told Jordan what they had planned to say. But it wouldn’t work if he had said he wanted to see if a girl’s number was legit. Because Jordan assumed that he and Rose were together. He ignored her and focused on Jordan.
“Yeah, sure I can do that for you. Anything for a beautiful lady.”Jordan winked at Rose and she laughed.
“Great, thanks. Here’s the number and the link to the ad.” He handed Jordan a slip of paper then moved to the door. “I’ve got lots of stuff to do today so I’m going to take Rose home and then I’ll be back.” Without waiting for a response he opened the door and walked out. He heard Rose’s footsteps behind him and Jordan call out bye before the door closed.
“Why do you keep doing that?” Rose asked behind him.
“Doing what?” He walked out the buildings front doors and down the front steps. Nearly forgetting to hold the door open for her. It was still pouring outside and he hurried to the driver side of his car.
“Running away.”
“I’m not running away.” He retorted, getting in the car. “You can just leave your bike here and I’ll drop you off at your house. We can meet here tomorrow.”
“Thank you, and yes you are. You did it earlier and you’re doing it now. When I asked you about the track team in the library and now, I’m not sure why.” She said, sitting in the passenger seat. He could feel her eyes watching him but he stayed focused on the road.
“I have lots of stuff to do today, I already said that.”
“Ok. It’s just...never mind.”
Silence.
“Look it’s nothing personal. I just don’t like to talk about it.”
“Ok.” It was silent the rest of the way to her house. He could see her fiddling with her black hair absentmindedly from the corner of his eye. When he finally pulled up to her apartment building they awkwardly said goodbye, and agreed to meet at his apartment the next day around noon. She got out, running through the now pouring rain to her doorstep. After she unlocked the door she turned back and waved before going in, and he waved back, smiling.
When he got back home Jordan was still playing his video game, but the second he closed the door Jordan paused the game and turned to look at him.
“She seems nice.” He said, smiling.
“Yah she is.” He answered, walking into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Jordan hopped off the couch, following him.
“So are you two…”
“No. We’re just working on a project together.”
“Right.” Jordan stood there for a moment doubtful, and then went back into the living room. “She sure is pretty though.” The video game turned back on. James reached into the fridge and pulled out a plastic bag full of pills. With a sigh he emptied these into his hand and threw them in his mouth. Washing it down with the glass of water he had poured.
“Yeah, I guess she is.” He said to himself as he put his cup in the sink.
Chapter 4
Rose forced herself to sit still as the man in front of her read her resume. She was beginning to get a bad feeling about this interview. The manager, Carl, was a man with dark brown hair and a pointed nose, and he kept looking at her funny.
“So, you don’t have much experience in this field.” He said, looking over her papers.
“No, I don’t. But I’m a fast learner and I’m confident that I could really make a difference at this company.” It was another retail store and she didn’t really believe she could make much difference. But of course she didn’t say that.
“Yes, I see.” He said glancing at her, black eyes glinting. He set down the papers, still watching her. “How old are you?”
“I’m 23.” Her internal senses were on fire, but she ignored them. She really needed a job.
“And you’re single, married, what?” He asked leaning forward.
“I’m not sure how that’s relevant to me working here.” She said, hoping this would steer the conversation back to where it should be. He leaned back and picked up her papers again, looking over them as he responded.
“You don’t have a lot of experience, but I like you, so I’m going to give you an offer.” Here he made eye contact. “I’ll hire you and train you. If, you go on a date with me.”
Rose’s mouth fell open before she could catch herself, and she stood up, gathering her things.
“I think I’d like to try elsewhere, but thank you for your time.” she stood up to leave and he got up as well.
“Hold on a minute Rose.” He reached out to grasp her hand and she felt her heart race faster as she stepped back out of his reach.
“I’m not interested.” She said and walked out of the room. This was ridiculous! There was no way she could work there with that creep watching her, and she definitely did not want to go
out with him. She heard the door clink behind her and turned to see him following her. In that moment something incredible happened. Suddenly her rapid footsteps sped up faster and within the blink of an eye she was outside the building standing on the sidewalk.
She swiveled around to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. Just a second before she had been inside the building. She gasped and reached under for the necklace under her shirt. It was glowing again. It must have transported her, or made her faster, or something.
She thought about telling James, but after thinking about it a moment decided against it. Then she would have to explain her encounter with the manager and tell him she was desperate for a job; and she really didn’t want to do that.
By the time she got to James’ apartment her mood had improved a bit. The exercise made her feel alive and it was a beautiful day out. She spotted James standing by his car on the sidewalk. He was fiddling with his phone but put it in his pocket when she got closer.
“Hey.”
“Hey. So what did Jordan find out?”
“Well he said that the ad is definitely some sort of scam but when he tried to figure out who the phone number is registered to, he couldn’t find any information. And he spent like 3 hours trying to get rid of the hacking software that the ad put on his computer. So what I said about avoiding the computer you used in the library yesterday still applies. If he finds anything else or something turns up, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks. So I was thinking, today, maybe we should go to the orphanage where I grew up and see if they have any information about it.”
“Yeah that’s a good idea.”
***
The orphanage was a good sized building, one story but it spanned a wide area. The building was built out of grey bricks and that combined with the metal fence outside made it feel as though they were walking into a prison. The only sort of decoration there was that made the place feel a bit happier was a small planter box with yellow daffodils in it.
“Nice place.” James commented.
The wooden door was open, as it usually was during the summer and Rose walked in first, knocking on the door as she did.
“Hello?”
On the other side of the door was a small lobby area. With a single desk and chair, a stack of business cards, and a dry-erase board on the wall. There was a teenage girl sitting at the desk, bright red streaks in her black hair. She looked up at them with mock cheeriness.
“Well hi there, how can I help you folks this fine morning?”
James chuckled behind her.
“Is Ms. Alabaster available?”
“Why? Are you two looking’ to adopt?”
“No, no!” They both answered simultaneously.
“We’re not…”
“A couple.” James finished.
“Alright hold on a minute, I’ll go get her.” She laughed as she got out of the chair. A few seconds later a plump woman came into the lobby, graying hair in a tight bun, and frown lines clearly visible on her forehead. She gave them a bright smile when she saw them.
“Good morning! My name is Louise Alabaster.” She held out her hand. Rose hesitated and James reached out and shook it.
“James Rochester and this is Rose. She actually grew up here; I’m surprised you didn’t recognize her.”
Her smile turned into a frown and she gazed at Rose, recognition beginning to dawn on her.
“Oh, yes I remember now. What are you here for? Are you trying to get me fired again? Or complain about the facility?”
“No, nothing like that Ms. Alabaster. It’s about the necklace.”
The woman leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
“Not again Rose. For the last time, no one knows who your parents are and no one knows where the necklace came from.”
James glanced at her quizzically.
“Don’t you have records on all of the kids who come here though? Could I have my old file? The person who brought me here must have told you where they found me right?”
“Yes you can have your file. Shelly!” She screeched, turning to the door she had came in from. The teenage girl they had met when they first came in popped her head into the room.
“Yeah?”
“Take Rose to get her old files.”
“This way.” Shelly said, and Rose got up to follow her. They walked through the hallway and Rose reached out a hand to feel the walls as they did. They felt the same as they did when she lived there. Cold and rough.
“You, ok lady? You’re acting kind of weird.” Shelly said, startling Rose.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. It’s just being here is bringing back memories. I lived here till I graduated high school.”
The girl nodded in understanding and continued leading her through rooms and empty hallways.
“Where is everyone?” Rose asked, glancing into an empty room as she walked.
“They’re all out on a field trip.”
“Why aren’t you with them?”
“I stole a package of cookies from the kitchen. I wasn’t even going to eat them all; I just wanted to bring something for the other girls. But we’re not allowed to have any.”
“So did I.” Rose laughed. Shelly turned around, surprised.
“You did?”
“Yeah except I stole it from a grocery store. But that was a long time ago. That’s the records room right?” She asked pointing to a locked room.
“Yeah, here’s the key.” She handed Rose a key that she pulled from her pocket and leaned against the doorframe while Rose looked for her file.
“Aha! Got it.” She held up a stack of papers triumphantly. “Thank you, Shelly.” She handed her the keys and Shelly locked the door. They walked back through the halls to the lobby, and as they did they talked about how they loved the little kids, and how Ms. Alabaster was crazy.
James watched Rose go then turned to Ms. Alabaster.
“So you run this place on your own?”
“I have a few staff members, a cook, cleaner, and nurse, but that’s it. You wouldn’t believe the amount of work there is to be done here.”
“I can imagine.”
She leaned forward and put her elbows on the desk, resting her chin on her hands.
“I’m not sure how you are involved with Rose, but I hope you know that she’s unstable.”
“Pardon me?”
“When she was 8 she failed an exam in school and she completely lost it. Wouldn’t stop crying for a whole day. And that necklace she won't stop talking about. She nearly threw it out the window one day, for no reason! She’s a crazy unreasonable girl and I highly suggest you don’t get too involved.”
“Uh-huh.” He had a hard time thinking of something to say after that and so they sat in silence until Shelly and Rose walked back into the lobby. Ms. Alabaster gave James a meaningful look, and then turned her irritated gaze on Rose.
“Is that all you needed today?”
“Yes, thank you. We’ll be leaving now.” She put a hand on Shelly’s shoulder for a moment then walked out the front door, gesturing for James to follow. He turned back to Ms. Alabaster for a moment.
“Thank you for the...kind suggestion.” He said, then got out of the chair and with a nod to Shelly left the building.
He was surprised to find Rose sitting cross-legged in the grass, the files laid out before her. He smiled to himself and sat down next to her. Her black hair was hanging in her face and he felt the urge to reach out and tuck it behind her ear.
“The lady there thinks you’re unstable.” He remarked.
Rose didn’t look up but kept looking through the papers, rapidly flipping through pages.
“Yeah, I know.”
“There’s not any solid basis for her saying that right? Cause so far you seem pretty stable to me, but we kind of just met. Should I be worried?”
“Probably not.”
“Well that’s comforting. Hey, how come you didn’t know the necklace was special before? Did
you never wear it before now? Ms. Alabaster mentioned you almost threw it away once.”
She stopped what she was doing for a moment and looked up at him.
“I wore it a few times but nothing weird ever happened like the gliding. Honestly until that day you saw me gliding, I kind of hated the thing. That probably sounds weird.”
“No, I think that makes sense. If you had it ever since you arrived at the orphanage then it would make you wonder who left you.”
“Exactly.” Her blue eyes stared into his and for a moment, time stood still.
“Oh. That’s odd.” James broke the silence when a thought occurred to him. “I wonder how it works, because that time when you started gliding was the first time it did anything weird right?”
“Yeah.”
“So maybe it’s like a dormant thing that only turns on if you’re in danger or something.”
Her eyes widened and she smiled.
“That’s good thinking! But...I’ve been in danger before and wearing it but that never happened.” She looked down, pondering.
“Hmmm. It must be more complicated than that.”
“Yeah. Oh hey I found something!” She held a paper closer between them so he could see. “It says the person found me at Dolshel forest, somewhere off the walking trail!”
“Awesome! We could go check things out there and see if we find any clues.”
“Oh, wait...I have exams this week. Would next week work for you? Cause I’ll be way too busy to do any searching this week.”
“Yeah, next week works better for me anyways.”
“Alright, next week it is.”
After leaving the orphanage they drove back to James apartment and swapped numbers before Rose unlocked her bike and headed home. As she climbed the stairs to her floor she passed one of her neighbors, Lauren, a nice lady who smelled oddly like lemons and had a little boy holding tight to her hand.
“Hello Rose.” Lauren said, pausing on the stairs.
“Hi Lauren. Did Joey like those cookies I brought the other week?”
“Yes, they were wonderful. Weren't they Joey?” She smiled and looked down at Joey who was now hiding behind her leg. Rose bent down and smiled at him. He smiled in return and nodded yes.