Back to the Dream Page
Chapter 4
It had been a week since Juliet had gone on that field trip and things were still looking bad. The entire incident had taken its toll on his friend and she had been so weighted down with end of the year school activities for her graduating kindergartners that she hadn't had time to rest. And now, she looked like she was going to collapse at any moment. Lance gave a small cough from where he stood at the doorway to her classroom and she looked up, startled from her work. "Lance! What are you doing here?"
He walked closer to her, sitting in one of the tiny desks in front of her. "I wanted to see how you were doing. You look dead."
"I'm not dead yet."
"Keyword: yet," he grinned.
Juliet rolled her eyes and bent her head down to the papers in front of her. "What do you want, Lance? I'm kinda busy here."
"I see that. I was wondering if you'd like to take a break."
A weak laugh answered. "You can't be serious, Lance. I have way too much to do here. I have no time to take a break, at least not until everything gets done."
"I am being serious! You've been running yourself like a robot this past week! You need a rest!"
"There's only two more days left of school, and then the kids leave. Then I have a couple more days to clean up here and then I can take a break."
"You know I'm not taking no for an answer. I'm worried about you, kid."
"I'm not a kid," she answered back automatically, but weariness had crept into her voice. She looked up at him. "Look, I know you're worried. You're not the only one. But I've got to get this all done. I can't be left behind."
"Left behind what? You said so yourself that you've only got a couple more days with the kids. Why don't I help out?"
"Thanks Lance, but I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why not? What in the world could you have planned for them? If I remember correctly, they only have half days as well. What could you have crammed into that time?"
She frowned slightly at him. "Not much, really. They're all excited that summer's almost here and all I've been doing is distracting them for as long as I can."
"So what's the problem in that? The kids all know me and they always love it when I visit. Why can't I help out?"
Juliet finally leaned back, a thoughtful look on her face as she looked at Lance closely. He stared right back at her, challenging her to say no. After a minute of silence though, she shrugged. "All right, you can help out. But on two conditions."
"Shoot."
"One: Be prepared to get messy."
"That's fine."
"Two: You can't leave until I've dismissed you."
He grinned at that. "You have my word."
"And you'll wish you never made it, I'll guarantee it." Juliet grinned back. "Now help me with these certificates."
His eyes opened wide. "What? It starts already?"
"I told you I'm busy. No breaks until those are done and the report cards are filled out. Here's a pen and here are the certificates. The list of names is on that sheet on top, as well as the awards that they're getting."
He shook his head as he got up to get the papers from her hand. When he tried to settle back down in that tiny chair though, Juliet stopped him. "No, don't sit there. Your back will hurt by the time you get ten certificates done hunched over like that. Here, take my desk."
"But where will you work?" Lance protested.
She pointed to the reading corner where beanbag chairs and pillows had been put away neatly. "My back hurts from working at the desk. I'll work over there. It'll be more comfortable."
"If you say so," her friend said as they moved. He waited patiently for her to get the blank report cards, grade sheets, calculator, and pens before she left him the desk. As he settled down, his glance happened to go her way and he watched her as she walked toward one corner of the classroom and made herself comfortable. Watching her, he once again felt something start to worry him. From the back of his mind, a thought tried to make itself known to him but as he tried to grasp what was bothering him, Juliet looked up to find him staring at her.
"What's wrong Lance? You look pale all of a sudden."
The thought was gone and as frustrated as he was with that, he forced a grin on his face. "Nothing. I just can't believe you made me your slave here."
She flashed a bright smile and shrugged her shoulders. "You've done the same to me."
He groaned. "Payback?"
"Of course. Now get to work! There's a lot more to be done before we leave tonight."
"What!? Tonight!? I thought we were just going to fill these out!" He indicated to the papers in front of them.
"I just told you no breaks until these were done. We have a ton more to do." Before he could put a word in, she added one more thing. "Oh, Lance? Please use your best penmanship on those certificates. I don't want that chicken scratch of yours on those papers." And with that, she gave one final, devilish grin before turning to the papers in front of her.
Lance shook his head and bent down to the task in front of him.
Forty-five minutes had passed by the time Lance finished the last certificate. He released the pen and stared at his hand and flexed his fingers from the cramped position they'd been in for so long. Then he leaned back into his chair and stretched. Finally done with that, he shook his head and stood up, stretching again before glancing towards Juliet and smiling. There she was asleep, her head thrown back and her mouth slightly open. One hand still clutched a pen and the other rest on the stack of papers on her lap. Lance carefully took the pen out of her hand and took the stack of papers. He'd helped her out before, doing grades and he settled himself in a nearby beanbag chair to finish the task for her. She hadn't left much to be done though. All that needed to be done was to record the final grade onto the kids' report cards and make a copy on the official transcripts. Not ten minutes later, he was done and he looked back up at Juliet. She was still asleep, but now she'd curled herself up into a more comfortable position, resting her head on her hands. Lance watched her rest.
About time she took a break. She deserved it. She's always done this to herself, pushing so far and trying so hard that she's always on the verge of breaking. She doesn't realize it though. She thinks that she can recover each time. She has so far. But when will she snap? It'll only be a matter of time before she does. And then what? Will I be around to help her? This type of determination she has is so strong and she'll last quite awhile longer… But what's the good of the will when the body is weak?
Lance shook his head, frowning a bit before he tried to get himself to stand up. Immediately though, a wave of nausea washed over him and he quickly sat back down. A headache pounded his head and when he opened his eyes, his vision danced in the bright light. When the sickening sensations finally left him for the most part a few seconds later, he unsteadily sat up. There was only one thing that could have evoked the strong reaction he had just come through. Energy is loose tonight. Who's the victim this time? It certainly wasn't me… Then… A feeling made Lance look up then. His vision was still slightly blurred but he could see it, whatever it was. He could barely see the outline of a figure hovering over Juliet. He could feel its laughter mocking him as it bent down closer to pat her sleeping head. Lance's own soul screamed out in fury and his deep voice rang out in the room. "No! Get away from her!" He forced himself onto his feet but the quick motion left him dizzy and as he took his first step toward the intruder, fresh pain ripped through his body and he staggered back into the stuffed chair, collapsing.