by E B Brooks
She must have fallen back asleep at some point, because she dreamed of her second year at Wings of Refuge.
Maddy had just arrived home from school and headed into the kitchen to grab an apple before going upstairs to do her homework.
“Where is she? I’ll kill that bitch!” Nikki screamed from upstairs.
Maddy froze, her body starting to shake uncontrollably. The apple tumbled from her hand and onto the floor. The blood drained from Maddy’s face while every muscle in her body screamed at her to flee. The door was right there!
Before she could convince her feet to move, a hand clamped around her wrist.
“She’s down here,” Shelly yelled while smirking at Maddy.
Maddy jerked her arm, but Shelly had a death grip on her.
“Let me go, Shelly. You, of all people, know what’s about to come down on me,” Maddy pleaded.
“Hell, yeah, I do,” Shelly sneered. “If I let you go, she’ll turn on me. I’m done with that.”
Maddy hung her head in defeat.
Nikki marched down the steps, followed by Tess then Lea.
Not looking at the girls, Maddy put her hand out in front of her. “I just got back, Nikki. What the hell could I have done?”
Nikki grabbed a chunk of Maddy’s hair and pulled her head up till she looked at her.
Maddy let out a grunt, reaching behind her to pry at Nikki’s fingers in her hair.
Nikki held a sweater out in front of her. “You did this on purpose. You shrunk my favorite sweater.”
“N… no I didn’t.” Eyes wide, Maddy shook her head.
Maddy distinctly remembered hanging it over the line downstairs just so it wouldn’t shrink.
“So, if you didn’t do it, then I guess a ghost did?” Nikki smashed Maddy’s face hard against the wall, pushing in right where her jaw connected.
Nikki kept pushing until Maddy was sure her jaw would break. Then, Nikki let go.
Maddy observed the girls, knowing it had to be one of them who set her up. Everyone looked scared except for one girl who held her hand over her mouth, covering a smile.
Damn, Lea. Why did she get such a kick out of seeing Maddy in pain?
“Lea did it!” Maddy said, hoping that, just once, Nikki would believe her.
Nikki turned and looked at Lea.
Lea just rolled her eyes.
Maddy was too busy glaring at Lea to see the punch coming. Nikki socked her right in her eye. Maddy’s head flew back, and before she knew what was happening, another blow struck her stomach, making Maddy double over in pain. Maddy eyes watered, and she franticly wiped away the tears. How could she protect herself if she couldn’t see a hit coming?
She couldn’t escape the next blow, though, and lost her balance. There was nothing to grab on to, to stop herself from falling. She landed hard, and a sharp pain shot up her spine.
Fuck, that hurt.
“Stupid bitch can’t even walk,” a deep voice laughed.
Oh, great, the guys were home from school just in time to see the girls kick the shit out of her.
“Please, Nikki, don’t do this,” Maddy pleaded.
“Shut up, you worthless piece of shit. You never should have been born. You can’t do anything right. Get her, girls.”
Blows came from all around her. Even the guys got in on it with their taunts.
Maddy tried to protect herself as much as possible by curling into a ball. She wasn’t sure what hurt more, the blows or the insults.
“No one wants you; no one ever will. You’d be doing yourself and us a favorite by killing yourself,” Nikki snarled as she got a good kick in.
“What the hell is wrong with you people? Get out of my way!” a deep voice yelled over the top of everyone else.
“This has nothing to do with you. Mind your own business, newb,” Lea stated.
“Move out of my way before I make you move,” the new voice threatened.
Feet shuffled around Maddy, and a hand touched her back.
“I’m going to pick you up. It might be painful, but just hang on.” He gently picked her up.
She winced and let out a groan. “I can walk.”
“Relax, I got you.”
Between the tone of his voice and those words, Maddy relaxed into his hold.
He carried her upstairs to his room, and she wiped away her tears as he set her down on his bed. “Sorry it’s such a mess. I just got here late last night. I’m Ryan.”
Maddy woke with a start, her head filled with thoughts of Ryan. Her first real friend, her first protector, and the first person she ever lost. Wings of Refuge had taught her not to count on anyone for help, and Ryan had taught her the cost of caring for someone. Was that why she’d never been able to connect with Mike?
But she was building a new life, away from who she’d been in the past.
Maybe now it was time to risk her heart again. She didn’t want to be alone forever, and meeting Player had given her a boost of confidence.
Maddy uncurled from her corner and stiffly got up. She headed to the bathroom and crossed her fingers as she tried the water. It sputtered and groaned, then brown water flowed out. She let it run to wash the rust out of the pipes. Her muscles were ecstatic she’d be able to take a hot shower. Sleeping in the corner all night had given her a stiff neck.
After her shower, Maddy spent some time looking up different routes to take to school using online maps. She found three ways.
The shortest took her through an area that had a lot of abandoned shops and houses. Too many places for people to hide. She’d only go that way during the daylight hours and would make sure she carried her knife with her.
The next way took her through what looked to be a safe neighborhood. She’d have to cross a parking lot to reach the main road that led to the school. Most of her walk would be spent on a four-lane highway, but there seemed to be a sidewalk.
The last way… Forget it. Let’s just say it was a very scenic route.
In the afternoon, she left her apartment to head toward school.
She stepped outside and covered her eyes. The sun was shining bright. The skies were the bluest blue she’d ever seen. Shaking her head, Maddy still couldn’t believe it was August. If she was still in Ohio, she’d need an umbrella.
She was used to walking everywhere she went but what she wasn’t used to was all the cars the closer she got to the college. When she started walking on the side of the highway, there were lot more cars buzzing past her than what she was used to in Martinsville. The speed limit was forty-five miles per hour, but it felt like most people were flying past her a lot faster. After walking for a bit, she was relieved when the massive red brick building with a white clock tower came into view not that far away. The clock tower was the admin building. Every pamphlet she got from Lockhaven featured that clock tower, so she knew she was close.
Maddy left the highway and walked the streets of the town. She passed the bookstore and a few other stores that would be helpful. When she rounded the corner, the street opened to a large, grassy area with stone pathways leading north, south, east and west. Right in the middle of that area, a fence surrounded a humongous statue of the school’s mascot, a Husky.
She chuckled. It looked like she was on campus. Fragrant smelling magnolia trees and other trees were planted along the stone pathway, and different sized buildings were on the outskirts. According to the school map, if she headed north past the husky statue, then made a left, she’d be at the cafeteria.
When she found the right building, she opened the double-doors and cold air blasted her. Ah, that felt wonderful. She stepped farther inside and walked through the turnstile into the cafeteria. The smell of pizza sauce, fresh bread, and the sizzle of burgers hit her. She’d never seen anything like it, but she assumed it was what a carnival would look like. Pizza, pasta, burgers, salad, everything she could ever want to eat. Different colored awnings hung over each section that let students know what the food options were.
&nb
sp; Maddy explored the different areas before it was time to head to work.
Right before her shift started, she strolled over to the cashier. “Hey, I’m starting work here today. Do you know where I report in?”
The young girl pointed to a door over on the right. “Wait there. Janet will be right with you.”
Maddy thanked her and walked to the door. Her hands were sweating like crazy, and she wiped them down her jeans, wishing she hadn’t eaten those powdered donuts for breakfast.
The door opened, and a tall woman in a white chef’s coat with her pink hair covered by a hair net walked over to her with a big smile. “You must be Madeline. Welcome. I’m Chef Janet, but since you’re not one of my little chef minions, you can just call me Janet.”
Maddy relaxed, glad her boss seemed to be a nice person. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you. Please, call me Maddy.”
“Follow me. There’s paperwork to fill out, and we need to go over your schedule to make sure everything is correct.”
They headed back through the same door Janet just came out of, then down a small hallway. It opened into a huge kitchen four times bigger than the one at the group home and was sparkling clean. Students were cooking all over the place.
When Janet suddenly stopped, Maddy almost ran into her back. “Something’s burning! Come on, people, you all should know what you’re doing! Nothing should be burning!”
She stalked over to the right side where a girl stood with her head down.
“Georgie, this is the third time you’ve burnt that sauce.” Janet picked up the pan and threw it in the sink. “Start over and get it right this time or find another profession.”
Janet proceeded to the end of the kitchen then disappeared down a hallway. Maddy scurried to catch up. Maybe she wasn’t as nice as she first appeared. In the hallway were two doors, one at the end was open and looked to be a small lunchroom. The other door was on the left which Janet was unlocking with a key. She walked through and left the door open for Maddy. The room was a typical small office; a desk sat in the middle of the room with two chairs in front and a large bookcase filled with cookbooks was behind the desk.
“Have a seat, Maddy. Excuse the mess, I keep saying I need to spend a Saturday and clean this disaster area up. I just don’t have time between teaching and running the cafeteria.”
Janet pointed to the two chairs, Maddy took a seat and wondered how anyone could work on a desk that was so messy. There were stacks of paper all over her desk, on top of the computer, and on the keyboard.
Janet was rooting through the stacks. “Now, where did I put your paperwork? I hope I didn’t scare you out there, I need to turn into Gordon Ramsay sometimes. They’re second-year culinary students; they think they know everything.” She moved over to the stack on top of the computer. “They all would be excellent chefs if they just got their faces out of their phones.”
She moved to the pile in the middle of the desk. “Aha, here’s your paperwork. Take a look at this and make sure the address is correct and days and hours are correct.”
Maddy took the papers and read them over. “Yes, ma’am, they’re correct.”
She took the papers back and flipped to the next page, she pushed some of the stacks to the side so she could lay down the paper and point to a section.
“These are standard forms for the school, saying you are who you are and that you’re working here as part of the grant process and that you’ll be paid sixty dollars a week.”
Maddy’s head jerked back. “Wait, I’m being paid? I thought I had to work here for the grant.”
Janet leaned back in her chair and let out a huff. “I wish you weren’t the first student to be surprised that they’re getting paid. Of course, we wouldn’t expect you to work and not get paid. It’s not much, but it helps.”
Maddy signed on the X at the bottom of the paperwork. Janet collected the paperback and placed it on top of the computer.
“Good. Everyone starts in desserts. I have two-floor managers. Lea works during the day. You’ll meet her on Friday. Grant is off today and will be back tomorrow. They basically run the floor since I’m always back here. If you have any problems, come see me.” Janet stood up and waved for Maddy to follow her.
“Let’s go get you introduced to Torr, who will be your partner in crime. The evening rush is about to start, so we’re throwing you to the wolves on your first night.” She locked the door behind her and walked back out into the large kitchen area. Janet stopped to smell the air before nodding and continuing forward.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to handling large, demanding crowds living in a group home. I can handle just about any scenario,” Maddy said confidently as she followed beside Janet.
Janet stopped and looked over at Maddy with a grin. “I knew I liked you right off the bat. I grew up in a group home, too. That’s where I taught myself how to cook. If I didn’t learn, every pour would have had grease dripping from it from all the fried food. That’s all they ever made because they were too lazy to make a real meal.”
Maddy laughed. “Oh, that’s funny. I said that if I ate one more piece of fried food, I’d be shitting out oil!”
A second later, she realized she said shit and covered her mouth.
But Janet bent over laughing. “Oh, that’s funny! We have to talk about how lovely it is one night after work.”
“I’d like that.” Maybe this job wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
Janet walked Maddy out to the kitchen and introduced her to her new partner. She stopped next to a girl a few inches shorter than Maddy. “Let me introduce you to Torrance. Torr, this is Maddy. She’s starting today.”
Like everyone else in the kitchen, Torr wore a net over her chestnut-colored hair, but slight curls were still visible. She turned to Maddy; her stunning, misty gray eyes looked cold as they swept over Maddy. “Hi. Call me Torr. I’m going to go over this quick, so please pay attention because the dinner rush will be here shortly.”
“Great,” Janet said. “I better get back to my minions before they burn down the kitchen.”
As Janet left, Maddy followed Torr around as she explained where everything was kept. Most of it was in a walk-in refrigerator.
The dessert station had three different sections. The first one was filled with ice and in the ice, there were containers of pudding, Jell-O, and other delights that needed to stay cold. The next station was covered in glass, and the backs were open so they could get in. This was where the pies and cakes were held. And the last displayed cookies and different confectionery that didn’t need to be chilled.
Maddy nodded. “Sounds easy.”
Torr let out a huff and rolled her head around and twists her upper body from side to side.
Maddy cocks an eyebrow. “Are we exercising?”
“No, just getting limber for the rush… in five, four, three, two, and one.”
The main doors opened and there was a rush of people. Maddy’s eyes went wide. Ahhh shit, where did all those people come from? Most of them wore football uniforms. Now I know why she was stretching.
For the next hour, people swamped the dessert counter, and Torr and Maddy ran around serving everyone.
Then, just as quickly as it started, it ended.
Maddy grabbed the counter to catch her breath. Torr was right beside her.
Torr looked over at Maddy, blowing her bangs out of her face. “Told you it was nuts.”
“Well, well, well. Look who it is, girls. The wannabe. I guess you didn’t make enough money again this year, or was it the weight you gained over the summer? We told you that you needed to keep that extra weight off.” She peered over the counter. “Looks like you didn’t listen and added a few more pounds.”
Brows arching in surprise, Maddy regarded the blond. She wore a blue sports bra with black around the edges and straps and matching blue shorts that half of her ass hung out of. The six girls behind her wore the same outfit.
Maddy glanced back at Torr, who was
now staring at the floor. Torr was far from fat. If anything, the rude blond was too thin.
The blond turned to face her fellow cheerleaders. “For those of you who are new to the squad, the trash over there tried out last year.” She pointed behind her at Torr. “Some idiot higher up thought it would be a good idea to have a scholarship student on the squad, even though she wasn’t good.” She glanced over her shoulder at Torr, then went back to her audience. “But she couldn’t afford any of the special equipment or the trips, so she got kicked out.”
The blond turned back around, crossed her arms, and nodded, sticking her nose so high in the air that Maddy thought she would fall over backward. But it was her Cheshire grin that Maddy wanted to rip off her face.
“She also thought if she was on the squad that the captain of the football team would notice her. Like he would notice her when I’m around.” They all laughed as the bitch leaned closer to the counter. “Guess who I dated over the summer, Torr?”
Maddy had had enough. Torr’s ears were red, and she was fighting back tears. Maddy wouldn’t stand there and let another girl get bulled like she did.
Scowling at the blond, Maddy stepped in front of Torr to draw the bitch’s attention. “Why don’t you back off, bitch?”
Everyone let out a loud gasp, and even Torr’s head popped up.
The blond gasped and her hand flew to her chest. “How dare you speak to me that way! Do you have any idea who I am?”
Maddy crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “No, and I don’t care.”
“Well, you should. I guess since you’re working here, you must be a scholarship loser, too.” Her hand fluttered around. “I’m Trisha Porterfield,” she smugly announced.
Maddy didn’t think her nose could get any higher, but then it did.
Maddy shrugged. “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
More gasps came from her friends, and some covered their mouths.
“You better learn that name. My father is head of the Board of Trustee. He can have you thrown out of here like that.” She snapped her fingers.
