Winter's Salvation (32 page)

             
“What’s Elijah going to have Mike do?” Drew asked Naomi after the rest of the children left.

             
“He’s probably going to have to clean the porta potties or something like that.”  Sam replied quickly.

             
Naomi watched the students walking back to their tents laughing and carrying on, everyone of them wishing they were doing whatever it was Michael was doing right now. 

             
“Ya’ll should go get cleaned up and get ready to eat.  I don’t want to be the last ones to get there this evening.”  She said to Drew and Sam as she gathered her books and notes. 

**********

              When Naomi showed up to the covered food truck, a line of villagers was already starting.  Her hunger was growing and she believed she showed up early, but the villagers began arriving earlier to ensure they would get their share of food.  Standing at the back of the line, she scanned the villagers in front of her and at the tables looking for Drew or Samantha. 

             
With six people left in front of her she finally saw them standing close to the end of the growing line.  She hesitantly stepped from her place in line and walked to them smiling at the villagers who gave her any acknowledgement.  Many of the people she passed paid her no attention, but it was not happenstance.  Some of them appeared to purposely look away from her.  She couldn’t help, but think this all stemmed from her kicking Michael out of class today.   

             
“I thought you would be here earlier?”  Naomi said to her children and stepped in front of them joining the line again.  She turned and said to the man standing behind them, “I was up at the front of the line, but jumped back here to be with my kids.”  She smiled at him and was taken in by his relatively clean shaven face.  He was a tall man in his mid thirties with a very pronounced chin and new stubble covering it.  His hair was well groomed and she was surprised she has never met this man.  More and more people were coming to the village, so she understood he was new, but his demeanor was one of comfort in his surroundings. 

             
“No it’s fine just jump on in.  It’s all good.”  The man said under a smile.

             
“Thanks.”  She began to talk to Sam when she was interrupted.

             
“We all have to stop what we’re doing early to get a good spot, but apparently not enough people are busy here anymore because this line continues to get longer and longer every day.”  He showed his seniority, by his comment and also began to grab the interest of the people behind him. 

             
Naomi felt she had created enough bad publicity today and she was exhausted from replaying Michael’s and her argument.  To stop any hostility she spoke very politely and slowly.  “I am sorry it appears I had butted in front of you, but I was already in front of you up there.” She pointed to the head of the line, “I stepped out to be with my children.  Sorry for the confusion.” 

             
“There’s no confusion.  I’m quickly realizing if you have any type of responsibility you will get screwed.”  He threw his hands up and began talking in third person.  “I guess you just won’t eat today Jason.  Who cares if you work all damn day for this shit ass village.  If a pretty face decides it wants to step in line because her kids saved her a spot.”

             
Drew was quick to stop him and pushed him into the people behind him.  “Fuck you!”

             
Naomi completely drained pulled back on his arms.  “Don’t worry about it.  He’s just as angry as the rest of us.  I got some food at our place.”        

             
“You can get in front of me.”  The woman in front of them offered.  Naomi had thanked her and put the children in front of her. 

             
“I’m not hungry after all, but thank you, so very much.”  Naomi responded and walked over toward Elijah who sat in the middle of the filling tables.  The grass in this area was dead from all the feet traveling on it and sat across from the sheriff, as he put a large amount of white meat into his mouth.   

             
“Did you get your food yet?”  He said after the food in his throat fell into his stomach. 

             
“No not yet, I am beginning to see that I may not have been your best choice as a teacher.”

             
He pulled his eyebrows together making creases in his large forehead.  “Explain.  I think I am a decent judge of character and I believe you are the best person to teach our youth, but what seems to be bothering you?”

             
“If I am unable to explain to an adult, if there are fifteen people in line in front of you and one person decides to step out of line to join some people behind that person, but still in front of you, there is still fifteen people in front of you.”  She threw her arms up in the air in defeat.

             
“No I believe you explained it perfectly well, because I’m not the brightest star in the sky by any means and I understood perfectly.  The problem you are faced with is some people are just stupid.”  He stood up from the table, “Hold on.”  Elijah walked to the roach coach and went to the back.  After a minute Naomi saw him walk back around the mobile cafeteria with a plate of food in his hand.     

   
              He placed the plate down in front of her.  She looked at the plate and then to the man that made her get out of line initially.  He had watched Elijah carry the food to her and now she gave the man a look of triumph.  “Thank you.  I appreciate it.  I am absolutely starving.” 

             
“You’re welcome Ms. Naomi.”   

             
“So what are your plans for Mike?”

             
Elijah put a piece of cut meat into his mouth and chewed it while he thought about her question.  He chewed it for a long while not saying a word and Naomi got the impression he didn’t have any plans for the boy.  “You know, Michael is a good kid,” he swallowed and then began to cut into the meat again, “and some children are just destined for other paths than the norm.  He will conform to our society, but it is going to take some remedial discipline.”  He put another piece of meat in his mouth and began to think again.  When he swallowed he picked up his conversation.  “I had a dog once named Jasmen that basically destroyed everything.  It didn’t matter what it was.”  He started to chuckle to himself.  “My mother’s brand new shoes, my dirty old ones, my mother’s hand bags, even her new set of pots and pan handles.  Now that I think about it she might have just not liked my mother.”  Laughing even harder now and it got the attention of everyone at the other tables.  “Jasmen was a great dog, after a while.  A year or two it took until we finally figured out what to do with her.  She had, so much built up energy, that she would have to displace that energy onto whatever she could and she generally did it by breaking and destroying anything in her path.  The way we got her to stop her path of destruction and a trip back to the pound was to make her use up all that energy.  And also beat the shit out of her.” 

             
Naomi did not really like the comment all too well and it was evident on her face.

             
“Things were different back then and we weren’t so touchy feely with everything like we are today.  Or at least, were, past, recently; or recently past.  You know what I mean.  Anyway I would strap a book bag onto her back and I filled it with rocks.  Small ones and light ones until I found what she was comfortable with and what she could handle without hurting my girl, and then we would go out back and my brother and I would throw the foot ball back and forth.  The whole time Jasmen would run back and forth between us trying to get the ball.  In just an hour she was completely wore out and she would pass out until we came back from school and then we would do it all over again.  The moral of the story is my shoes and my mother’s items were never bothered again.  Mike is like Jasmen.  I just need to find out what I can do to displace that energy and whip him into the model member of the village. 

             
“Thanks for dropping Mike off to us.  We really could use that extra hand.”  Eric said as he sat next to Naomi straddling the bench surprising her and jumping into their conversation.  “Jay told us to give him the shit jobs that no one else will do.”

 
              “I guess you know where I placed him then.”  Elijah said facing Naomi smiling as if she just found out a big secret.

             
“Yeah he said he needed a little motivation to get his act together.  So he could join the rest of the village.”   

             
  Elijah leaned over to Naomi and talked quietly to avoid any ease dropping.  “I placed him in the care of the motor pool and Doc.   When the motor pool is finished with him or at sun set when we shut down, he would be dropped off to Doc.”

             
Eric moved in closer to the two, “You could not have dropped him off at a better time and we are actually really glad you did.  We were about to draw straws about who was going to be the unlucky S.O.B. to pull the corpse out of the wheel well of the truck.”

             
“He might learn his lesson sooner than we thought then.”  Elijah let out a chuckle. 

             
Naomi was distracted and disgusted by his job assignment, but was very curious as to what exactly happened and how he was going to get it out.  “So you actually have to do that?  Pull stuff out of the trucks like that.  And what happened that one of them got hung up in the truck?”

             
“Well nothing special, really.  We were on our way back and one of them walked out between two parked cars and we hit it.  Nothing special about it, other than getting hung up in the tire.  It is done, I mean no longer moving, but it has to be removed.  We were literally getting ready to figure out who was going to do it when you walked in and called for Jay.” 

             
“I wonder how many times he is going to get stuck doing jobs like that before he comes back to class?”  Naomi asked both of them.

             
“What?  He did something in your class today to get him kicked out or something?”  Eric asked Naomi.

             
“He was being a pain and a distraction and Elijah just happened to be walking by and pulled him from the class.” 

             
“I imagine he is going to play it up for a week or so and then find a way or a reason for him to be back in class.  Michael is not the type to apologize and he will tough it out for a while until he thinks he can keep his dignity.”  Elijah put the last bit of meat into his mouth and swallowed, “You will never get an apology from that kid, but he will be a different kid when he comes back.  I can assure you that.”

             
Eric responded, “Yeah Jay said to make his visit as miserable as possible.  We already have a few jobs designated for him.  Once he’s done with the stuck ghoul he’s going to clean the chimney vents in the shops and of course he will be in charge of custodial services.”  

             
Naomi was pleased with the repercussions of his actions in class today and as Drew and Sam sat with them, she changed the subject to other village issues and began to eat the meal Elijah had gotten for her. 

**********

              Darkness came quickly that night and the wind started to blow stronger with the dark clouds.  The black clouds brought a little bit of rain, that everyone knew was only going to get stronger.  When the sun set here at the village most activities stopped if nothing was going to be cooked on the fire pits and when it rained, the village turned into a ghost town. 

             
With a crack of thunder Naomi shot up from her dream.  She felt the urge to use the bathroom, but was hesitant because of the rain.  Eric rolled over and opened his eyes and saw she was sitting up. 

             
“You alright?”  He asked.

             
“Yeah the thunder woke me.  I think I should use the bathroom though before this gets worse.”  She responded and pointed to the sky. 

             
“I think that might be a good idea.”  He said and thought he could make out a smirk of a smile while she slipped her shoes on.   

             
The rain was beginning to beat faster on the wooden roof and Eric could feel the scaffolding shake and could hear the sound of her feet travel down the metal ladder.  The dirt paths were beginning to fill with mud and her shoe sank deep into a puddle when she stepped off the ladder.  Eric could hear the sound of her cursing, but could not make out what she was saying.  He looked out the plastic sheeting that acted as a window and watched the dark figure run to the make shift porta potties. 

             
She ran to the main road trying to avoid the gathering puddles by jumping from dry spot to dry spot.  Naomi saw two people throwing a tarp over one of the tents in the circles and as she watched the two men she recognized one of the men as Michael.  Except this time instead of the clean cut and well dressed teenager, he was now wet from the rain and covered in mud from the duties he had been performing.  Michael met her stare and watched her as she got to the main road and jogged up it.