Authors: Fiona Knightingale
Suddenly, they heard a high-pitched voice call out Mila’s name. It was Dot. Though she had never met her in person, Mila had shown Aubrey photos of her in the past and shared some interesting stories. Aubrey wondered with mild amusement if these people had any idea of what kind of antics Dot was actually capable of getting up to. “I’m so glad you could make it,” Dot told Mila enthusiastically as she reached them. “I’m Dottie,” she extended her hand toward Aubrey who was now trying to refrain from laughing. Her name and her voice were a little too comedic for her. She almost felt like she really was in a movie and wondered if keeping on that train of thought would actually help keep her from making some kind of fool of herself. She reached out and shook Dot’s hand while responding with, “I’m Aubrey, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Dot went on to point out where they could sit, talk about the food, and explain the activities in a very animated way. She was almost like a cartoon character and Aubrey could not help but wonder how she had become friends with Mila. This was
not
the type of person Aubrey could ever picture her best friend wanting to hang out with.
As soon as Dot walked away, Mila rounded on Aubrey with a smiled that looked forced. “She’s not usually like that,” she informed Aubrey quietly. Aubrey made an “oh” with her mouth and nodded, coming to more of an understanding. Dot, or
Dottie
as she had introduced herself, was being extra chipper because she was on some kind of board for the group that had put this event together. She was not being fake, Mila explained as they walked toward the buffet table, she was just being a more exaggerated version of herself. “I get it,” Aubrey responded as she grabbed two plates and handed one to Mila. They served food on their plates in silence before rejoining each other at the other end of the table and deciding on a place to sit. They chose a table that did not look as if it had been claimed right under a beautiful tree providing it with shade. They sat down and looked around while sipping on their glasses of water.
“This seat taken?” They both looked up to see a handsome, young man smiling down at them. He had a plate full of food and a glass of water as well. They shook their heads so he took the seat across them. “I’m Dave,” he said while waving at them, his smile not lessening for a second. They introduced themselves and he wasted no time in digging into the food on his plate. He did still make small talk between bites and it was not long before the three of them were getting along very well, in particular him and Mila. “So what do you ladies do?”
Mila launched into her shortened version of how to explain her job because the title alone did not do it any justice. When she had finally finished and he had commented on how interesting it sounded, he turned his attention to Aubrey. “I’m currently earning a Master’s and looking to work with youths from a disadvantaged background.”
“She actually goes into the field for the first time tomorrow,” Mila chimed in. She seemed to have this glow about her and Aubrey was unsure if it was because she was beginning to sweat a bit or if she was just very happy. Perhaps it was a combination of both. “Oh wow! That’s exciting,” he commented in earnest. He leaned forward looking genuinely interested in learning more about what Aubrey was doing. So she decided to go ahead and talk about it. For the first time since she had started graduate school, she truly felt the excitement of pursuing something that meant so much to her. She had been so stressed and overworked the entire time she had failed to see the big picture. Everything she worked for and everything she wanted as a career was finally coming together. She would finally experience what it would be like to be out in the field, interacting with the very people she wanted to help.
“Well, it’s the practical leg of my coursework. They send you to an assigned neighborhood for three months and you work with a target group of youths there at either a school or community center. They grade you based on performance. After that, if you’re eligible, you take a test and upon passing it you are awarded the Master’s degree.” She said all of it very quickly and one breath, the passion and excitement very obvious in her voice and in her eyes. As she began talking about her assigned neighborhood and the general information that had been given to her during the presentation, Dave shifted and made a face as if he recognized something. She paused and looked at him with a raised eyebrow, head cocked to the side.
“I know that area,” he told her. “A friend of mine did a similar program to your just last year and she worked there.”
“Oh, wow! What a small world! Do you recall anything she might have told you about it?”
He leaned back in his chair and tapped his index finger over his pursed lips as he thought about it, trying to recall anything that she might find interesting or useful. “Oh yes, I remember she told me about this guy named Antoine.” Aubrey leaned forward with rapt attention. “He’s supposedly like this big boss type of guy and people are pretty afraid of him. So if you meet him or hear about him, just be careful. Pretty sure he runs in some drug circles too.”
Aubrey gulped. She knew she would be exposed to completely new things, things that were far from favorable, but somehow hearing something like this so directly really jolted her. She did not know if she was ready for this or if she ever would be. She felt some panic coming up and she immediately stood up and excused herself to go for a short walk. Mila knew her best friend all too well and did not follow after her. Aubrey needed to be alone right now to walk and clear her mind before having some sort of panic episode. That was not what she wanted or needed to happen right now. This was neither the time nor the place. Plus, she did not want to work herself up into a state of panic regarding the job she was starting right the next day. That would only end up making matters worse. She walked around the gardens and admired their beauty, focusing completely on what she was looking at. It only took her a few minutes to calm down and regulate her breathing so she returned to her seat. She found Mila and Dave conversing quietly but were quite engaged in whatever it was they were chatting about.
“Everything okay?” Dave turned his attention to her as soon as she sat down, genuine worry written on his face. She nodded and apologized for leaving so abruptly. “I completely understand, it’s a scary thing. But it’s your passion. It’s so clear you really care about this and your dedication shows. I really think you’ll do just great,” he told her. Despite having just met her, he seemed to have gotten a good read on the kind of person she was and the things that mattered to her. And, for some reason, she found his words reassuring. She wanted to believe he was right and he did not seem like the type to just say something to make someone feel better. So they all continued talking and strayed away from any discussion of jobs or education. Nobody wanted to stress her out again but it did not feel like she was being treated as if she were a fragile being. It all felt natural, as friends had a good understanding of one another and had a lot share anyway. She was quite surprised at how the two of them had gotten along with Dave so quickly. But she did notice there was some subtle flirtation happening between him and Mila and she did not want to end up being a third wheel. She saw the familiar spark of interest in Mila’s eyes so, as the afternoon progressed, she decided to go ahead and mingle with the other attendees.
From across the garden, Mila caught Aubrey’s eye and flashed her a knowing smile and a small nod. Aubrey returned the gesture before continuing her conversation with a small group of three women she had met. They were all talking about gardening and really going into details bout the magnificent work of the Cheshire Gardens. While it was very interesting to Aubrey and she certainly had some comments to contribute, it was not exactly what she wanted to spend the rest of the day talking about. She excused herself from the group and opted to wander around instead. She really enjoyed taking in the sights of her surroundings and inhaling the different scents from everything around her.
As the sun was beginning to scent, she decided to go back to the main area and look for Mila. She did not want to ruin whatever fun she might have been having with Dave but she did need to go home. She spotted them leaning against the tree next to their table, talking and laughing. She made her way over to them slowly with an apologetic look on her face. As soon as she reached the pair, Mila gingerly placed her hand on Dave’s shoulder and told him, “This has been a great time but I have to get going.” He made a quite sound of disappointment but followed it up with a nod. “I understand. Would you like to get together some time during the week for drinks or dinner?” Mila’s face lit up and she readily agreed, prompting them to exchange phone numbers. After they did, Mila nodded toward Aubrey and Dave turned to see her standing there.
He looked and sounded somewhat surprised when he asked, “Where did you get off to?”
Aubrey shrugged and replied, “Just did some mingling and looking around.”
“Hmm,” he said with a sweet smile. “Well, good luck tomorrow! It was really great to meet you. And if you have any questions, feel free to steal my number from Mila. I can even get you in touch with my friend if you need it!”
Aubrey thanked him and she joined Mila so they could walk out to the valet desk. As they stood there waiting for Mila’s car, she started gushing about what a great time she had with Dave and how happy she was to have met him. She then, as usual, apologized to Aubrey. Mila always felt the need to apologize when something like this happened. Aubrey waved dismissively, instead agreeing with her that it was a great day. They talked about Dave the rest of the ride home, with Aubrey having comments to add as well, and Mila ended by thanking her for coming along and wishing her the best of luck for tomorrow.
Aubrey walked up to her front door feeling tired and happy. She dropped down onto her couch and turned on the television, completely spacing out. She was not thinking about anything in particular at first but as something in the news caught her attention her mind drifted to tomorrow. No matter how much she wanted to relax and get a good night’s sleep, there was no denying it would be pretty much impossible not to focus on what would be happening in just a few hour’s time. She stood up and walked to her bedroom to get her outfit out and hung up on the back of her closet door as well as everything and anything she would need to get ready in the morning. She made sure her bag was all put together and when she was done putting everything in order, she changed into her pajamas before going back into the living room to watch some television. It was not even 8pm but she already felt sleepy.
She sighed and decided a bath was in order and maybe it would not hurt to go to bed early tonight. So she meticulously set up her bath, with her favorite combination of salts, and stepped in. She practically felt any tension in her body melt away as she enjoyed the music playing through her speakers and the way the reflection of the candle’s flame danced on her bathroom wall. She ran over the procedure she needed to go through for the first morning in her head. When she was sure she had every last detail down, she pushed herself out of the tub and toweled her body and hair dry. After slipping on her favorite panties, she crawled into bed and slipped immediately into a peaceful sleep.
It was Wednesday afternoon when the trouble started. After having had a very smooth first two days out in the field and excitedly filling her mother and best friend in on every last detail, her good luck came to an end. The kids in her group all seemed to like and even respect her but there was something that was holding back one student in particular. Her name was Mikaela and she seemed like the type of person who was rough around the edges just to protect however soft she really was inside. But she seemed afraid. No matter what Aubrey tried, Mikaela barely even spoke to her. On Tuesday she decided maybe Mikaela just needed more time than the other kids and, in her opinion, it was perfectly understandable. But it was on Wednesday afternoon that she would discover that was not the case.
As the kids were working on an activity she prepared, she caught Mikaela sneaking a look at her phone. Aubrey stepped up behind her quietly and peeked over her shoulder. She only glimpsed the words, “watch out when you come” from the sender Antoine. Aubrey’s heart plummeted right down to the pit of her stomach. She immediately feared the worst. Mikaela was in some sort of trouble with a major drug lord who scared everyone in this neighborhood. His name was burned into her brain ever since her short conversation with Dave at brunch on Sunday. How could such a young girl have gotten mixed up with someone like him? What could Aubrey do to help her? She knew it was a sensitive situation that had to be handled with the utmost care. She backed away quietly from Mikaela so she wouldn’t be aware she had looked at her phone and continue making her rounds in the room. When their session was over and everyone was going home, Aubrey decided to take a more careful look at Mikaela’s file.
She wrote down the home address and phone numbers listed, deciding to drive by that address to check it out. She knew it was risky but she could not fight herself on this. She truly felt the need to go. As she drove down the street she made sure to pay very close attention to all her surroundings. It was then that she discovered Mikaela’s listed address was not all that far from the community center she met with kids at but the sharp turn also made it turn into one of the darkest and dingiest areas of the neighborhood. It was almost as if this area were blocked off from the rest and not even sunlight could penetrate into it. She knew her car would stand out immediately so she made to turn around and head out. As much as she wanted to know more about where Mikaela lived as a means to help her, this was far too risky. That was when she spotted him leaning against a vandalized street sign. He was tall, very dark, and had a buzz cut. He was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt with very clean white sneakers. She noticed his clothes were much more fitted to his body than most of the men she had seen walking around the neighborhood. A chill crept up her spine and she broke out into a cold sweat at the intimidating sight of this man.