Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Handful of Sand Chapter 28 Page 1

It was Saturday night and Sandy was bored.

The teenager was in the kitchen, staring out the window. It was dark in the backyard. There was not anything exciting to watch. The swing and the clothesline were empty. The shed was as silent as ever. There was not even the shadow of a stray cat to be seen.

Momma Lois was away on a little holiday with Petra and that brat Juneida. Lisa, a former resident of the Home, had some event going on with her college. It involved running a hotel or something like that as part of her course. Guests were required, the roles which were to be filled by the relatives of the students involved.

(That was as far as Sandy understood. What she did not know was that Lisa was taking a course in hospitality management and the event was one where students would experience firsthand the operations of a hotel.)

Momma Lois was the closest person Lisa ever had to a mother, so she qualified as a close relative. Petra was quite attached to Momma Lois so she could qualify as a baby sister of some sort. But the requirements had been pretty stretched to include Juneida. How had she qualified!?

By that same stretch of the rule, Sandy should have also qualified. Sandy had wanted to go! It was a weekend away in a fancy hotel! Oh, she could be sleeping in comfy beds and eating yummy food. And who knew what else the hotel offered for recreation.

However, Momma Lois had told her to stay home and finish her homework. How unfair!

(Again, unknown to Sandy, the truth was that Momma Lois needed a little break away from her brown-haired ward. Sandy could be a handful sometimes. Especially since her disappearance when she had been kidnapped two weekends before. Momma Lois had been really stressed then when Sandy had not returned the whole day.)

Oh, and Sandy still had her month of being grounded to suffer through. It was punishment for getting not only herself but also her friend into trouble that weekend.

But it was not her fault! She was kidnapped!

However, if she could not keep herself safe, if she could not stay away from danger, then she should not be allowed out on her own. And with that argument, Momma Lois had grounded Sandy.

Sandy was not alone in the Home. Celeste had chosen to stay behind since she had homework and her part-time job. At that moment, the ebony-skinned teenager was upstairs finishing her homework.

By the way, Sandy had her own homework finished. Really! Celeste had made good use of Sandy's Christmas CD (everyone should know which CD) to get her brown-haired roommate to finish her homework.

Momma Lois had arranged for a temporary caretaker over the weekend. Mrs Reubens should be in the living room, watching the television.

Sandy left the kitchen to check the living room. Yeah, Mrs Reubens was still there and the television was on. However, the elderly woman's head was at an odd angle. When Sandy checked on the woman, she found that the adult was asleep.

The teenager turned off the television. Then she looked at the clock on the computer desk. It was still early.

Sandy determined that she was really, really bored. She decided to go check on Celeste. Her roommate would probably kick her out of the room before long. But maybe she could have a moment or two of fun before that happened.

As Sandy stepped out of the living room, she heard a light slam from the front door. When she went to investigate, she discovered that the wire mesh door beyond the front door was swinging back and forth in the wind. Sandy secured the door. Then she locked the front door.

Wait. Sandy did not remember unlocking the door when she went to check on the mesh door. Maybe it was a momentary lapse in memory.

Sandy climbed up the stairs and went to her room. When she opened her room door, she found Celeste asleep with her head cradled in her arms on the desk.

Weird, everyone was sleeping early that day.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Sandy from behind. A sweet-smelling cloth was slapped over her mouth and nose.

Sandy tried to struggle but one of her arms was held firmly while the other was pinned against her side. And of course she could not scream with the cloth covering her mouth.

She started feeling woozy and her legs refused to bear her weight. Then everything went black.

Guess Sandy had decided to sleep early too.

***

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