Without waiting for Tarnia to be completely out the door. I tore into the pre-wrapped peanut butter and jelly sandwich and gulped down the pre-packaged milk. They were straight from the cafeteria line, meant for Amazon students. They were safe.
I saw the nurse staring at me from across her desk. The sandwich was pre cut. I offered up half to her. “Would you like some?”
“No. Thank you.” Honestly, the food sucked. It was cafeteria food meant for kids, but it was in Amazon proportions so it was filling. It quieted my stomach and made me feel a bit more alert, at least.
Just as I finished downing the sandwich and was beginning to feel bloated from the milk, a new element entered into the equation to make me feel sick to my stomach. “Right in here!” an all too familiar voice said.
Raine Forrest entered the room. Behind her, an Amazon man with a gut that hung out well over his belt was wheeling something in on a dolly. It was something like a big glass tube that was almost as big as a Tweener and framed with steel. Near the top end was a latch and a panel with different knobs. The inside of the glass had wired bulbs, like heat lamps at a fast food joint all up and down it. All told, it looked like something of a cross between a bug zapper, a tanning bed, and a cheap air conditioner.
“Right here,” Raine Forrest said. “Right by the socket.”
The guy with the dolly slid the monstrosity off and grabbed a clipboard from off the top. “Sign here, please.”
“Gladly.” I watched as the school receptionist signed for it, and handed the clipboard back. The big man tipped his hat, and turned around, leaving with his dolly.
The nurse asked my question for me. “What in the world is that?”
“It’s an instant body hair remover,” she said. “For people who need a Little help keeping clean.” I felt my lunch threaten to come back up. Even when she wasn’t looking directly at me, I felt Raine’s mental gaze. She was sizing me up. Window shopping. Ready to get herself a new doll.
The nurse got up from her desk and walked up to it. “I’ve never seen one like that, before.” Neither had I.
“It’s old,” Forrest explained. “This one came from the high school. Used for Littles who proved they were too immature to graduate. Haven’t had any in a while, so they weren’t using this.”
“Lots of mature Littles?” the nurse asked.
Forrest laughed at that. “Goodness, no. They’re just not enrolling over there. You know how it is.” We all did. “Mrs Brollish requisitioned it this morning. Just in case.” My entire body felt a sting of shock at that last comment. The room was filling up with elephants fast and no one was talking about them. I felt like the weight of those elephants might crush my skull then and there.
“How does it work?” the so-called medical expert asked.
