AllFreeNovel
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I inhale deep, collecting myself enough to run through the grounding exercise my mom taught me for moments like this. You can use any of the five senses, but the format is always the same—three, two, one.
Three things I can see: The hideous floral wallpaper that suffocates the room like a poorly wrapped Christmas present. The massively oversized maroon and cream area rug that sprawls throughout the space, its frayed edges bearing obvious signs of wear and tear. My reflection staring back at me in the shine of my polished black dress shoes.
Two things I can smell: A nauseating mixture of overpriced cologne and perfume. The distinct stench of some kind of chemical cleaner. If I breathe in too deeply, I can practically taste the bleach.
One thing I can hear…
“You okay?” A small voice breaks through my thoughts.
I jump, tightening my grip on the seat cushion to anchor my body while drawing my attention to a little girl suddenly standing beside me. I stare blankly at her for a moment, unblinking as wide green eyes stare right back at me. Glancing around in confusion, I confirm she is, in fact, talking to me. “What?”
“I said—” She places her hands on her hips. “—are you okay?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
“That’s rude.” She hops up onto the chair beside me, smoothing the fabric of her dark grey dress over her lap. Once satisfied with her efforts, she looks to me again expectantly.
“Are you lost?’
“No.” She shakes her head, sending her long reddish-brown hair swishing about her face. “I know where I am.”
“Okay…well, then do you need to go find your parents?”
“Nope.” She pops the P. Glancing down at her feet, she watches as she swings them freely out in front of her. “I know where they are.”
“Right…” I allow my gaze to drift about the room, hoping that if I ignore her, she’ll just leave. It’s a successful tactic I’ve used with others before. However, when several minutes pass with no such luck, I resort to more direct measures. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to be left alone.”
“Because your mommy’s dead?”
My head snaps to her attention. “Who do you think you are?”
She looks to me, her bright innocent eyes almost comically large for her face. “I’m Daphne.”
“Wh—? No, I mean why would you say that?”
“Why not?” She leans toward me, her face bearing a look of genuine intrigue.
“Well…” Why not? Good question. I do want to be left alone because my mom’s dead. It was a pretty straightforward question. I just intensely dislike the sensation it elicits inside me. Feeling the need to defend my reaction, I respond, “Because it’s not appropriate.”
Daphne’s brows draw together, forming a tiny crease at the center. “I don’t know what that means. I promise I’m smart. I should be in kindergarten, but mommy forgot to sign me up, so I’m still with all the four and five-year-olds in pre-k.” She wrinkles her nose in distaste.
I get it. Being in a class with people my age is mind-numbingly boring. I couldn’t imagine being stuck in a room of kids younger than me.
“Not appropriate means…” I take a moment to consider the best way to phrase so she’ll understand. “It’s not okay to do. It’s… bad.” Probably the quickest way to get my point across. Even pre-k knows the difference between good and bad, right?
“Like how lying is bad?”
“Yes!” I declare. Ha. See? I can relate to other kids when I try. “Just like that. Lying is bad.”
Daphne seems to ponder this for a moment. “Is everyone here for your mommy?”
“Yes.”
“Is she in that box up there?”
I don’t bother glancing toward the front of the room when I answer. “Yes.”
“So, she is dead?”
