Ghost Scarab

Bed Rest

It had been three days since Marc, Raven, and Brandon rescued me from the shower and I was going stir crazy. They insisted I needed bed rest and were treating me like I was made of glass. They wouldn't let me do anything and there was almost always someone around, which is why I was lying on the couch with Corey at ten in the morning watching the first movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

On the first day, I truly enjoyed the opportunity to rest. I couldn't remember the last time I had a day when there was nothing expected of me. I took advantage of the free time to catch up on my journaling. I finished up my library books. Corey even lent me a laptop to use and I researched what I would need to do to get my GED.

That part was fairly disheartening seeing as I learned that in order to take the test to get my GED I either needed to be 19 or have a South Carolina Verification of School Withdrawal form from the principal of the last school I attended. Corey was quick to reassure me, telling me that if that is the route I wanted to go they could work something out. Marc simply scolded me for worrying myself over nothing when I was supposed to be resting and they had me help him cook dinner for everyone, not that he would let me do more than chop up the mushrooms he was adding to the jarred spaghetti sauce to make it more interesting. 

It thrilled me to no end when Marc took my advice and tried roasting the cabbage, he had bought for dinner, with a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Boiled cabbage pales in comparison to the taste of roasted cabbage and it felt so good to have people compliment me for my cooking.

Everyone was there, even Kevin, (although he left quickly after the meal was finished), and I loved every second of it. This was the kind of family meal I had always longed for growing up but never got.

The next day I was starting to feel restless, and since I had finished my library books I thought perhaps I could take a trip to the library to return the books I was done with and get some new ones, but Axel was vehemently opposed to the idea, as were Brandon and Marc, (the others probably would have been opposed to the idea too if they weren't off on jobs). Instead, Axel let me pick out a book from his room and I selected Evolving the Alien: The Science of Extraterrestrial Life a book by Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart that discussed the theoretical biology of what alien life forms might look like.

I spent the majority of the day reading and around dinner time when there was no one around I decided to repay everyone for their kindness by making dinner for everyone. A quick examination of their kitchen showed that they had the ingredients I would need to make red beans and rice and I was just getting everything together to make it when Raven arrived home and proceeded to scold me for not relaxing.

He carried me into his bedroom, scolding me and threatening to spank me. He plopped me down onto his bed, sat down next to me, and proceeded to teach me how to clean and load a handgun.

Which leads me to this morning, with me snuggled under a nest of blankets on the couch with Corey watching The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. Corey had the day free and was determined that we spend the day watching the trilogy. He had looked sad when he realized I had hardly seen any movies growing up and with a mock solemnity that caused me to giggle, got on his knees, and swore to rectify the matter.

We were about two hours into the movie and I was struggling to stay awake when the apartment door opened and in walked Axel along with a woman I had never seen before.

She appeared to be in her late 50s or perhaps early 60s. She moved with a degree of elegance and grace that I knew I would never be able to match. Her hair was as dark as a raven's wing and the streaks of silver throughout only added to her beauty.

Corey quickly paused the movie as Axel provided introductions, "Corey, I'm sure you remember Ms. Alice Band."

"Of course, it's a pleasure to see you again," Corey said getting to his feet and moving to shake her hand. I hurried to stand too, although it took me a couple of minutes to untangle myself from my blankets.

"Sang, this is Ms. Alice Band. Alice, this is Sang Sorenson."

I politely offered her my hand and when she took mine I was a little surprised to feel calluses that spoke of a lifetime of hard work. "So this is the new bird that everyone has been talking about, it is an absolute pleasure to meet you," she said with a smile and a wink.

"Corey, Alice has a job that you might be interested in."

Suddenly feeling out of place and realizing they would probably not want me around while they discussed the job I awkwardly shuffled my feet and in a voice that was still rather hoarse said, "I can go wait in Corey's room or maybe go over to your apartment if you need privacy."

Axel smiled warmly and I could tell he approved of my offer to give them privacy, "That won't be necessary, we trust you. You can stay if you want to."

I blushed with pleasure at this and decided to join the group as they took seats around the kitchen table.

"One of our younger member's grandmother has become involved in an online Ponzi scheme. She was talked into it by her other grandson and she put nearly all of her savings into it."

"Who is it and where does she live," Corey asked.

"Mrs. Gunther, she lives in Florida, the St. Augustine area. It would be best to have someone talk to her in person. I'm hopeful we can regain what she invested. Maybe talk her into getting her money back before it becomes lost. The reward will be fifteen percent of whatever is recovered. From what her grandson has told us it's around two hundred thousand dollars that she lost."

Everyone was quiet for several minutes and I could see the gears turning in Corey's mind as he thought through the situation, finally he nodded, "That sounds like something I can handle, do you want me to do anything about the scammers?"

Alice simply shook her head, "We can't bring down the scammers, the best we can do is help her. She will be happy to get her savings back. By the way, the grandchild didn't know any better. He meant well, wanted to help her improve her retirement because she had been worried about it. So, there's no need to pursue him."

"They all think they are being helpful," Axel said with a sigh. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Not that I can think of. Here," she said and reached into her over large purse pulling out a file folder filled with papers, "All the necessary information is in here."

She set the folder on the table, "As always, it's been a pleasure, gentlemen. It was nice meeting you, Sang." With those parting words, she left.

Corey was already looking through the folder she left, "Who should I take with me? I want to leave in an hour or so."

Axel thought about it for a minute before saying, "Raven should be back from his job soon, I want you to take him with you."

Nervously I asked, "Can I come too?"

Both Axel and Corey turned to look at me. It was Corey who spoke first, "I don't know why you would want to, it's probably going to be pretty boring."

Suddenly I realized they might not want me to come along and with a blush, I hurried to add, "I understand if you don't want me to come, I don't want to get in the way but I'm going to go stir crazy if I have to stay put with nothing to do. Besides I've never been to Florida."

With a serious expression, Axel asked, "Are you sure you feel up to it?"

I nodded eagerly, practically on the edge of my seat from excitement. I wanted to see new places and experience new things and I was also curious to learn more about the kind of work the Academy does.

"Then as long as Corey doesn't mind I don't see a problem with it."

I haven't actually read Evolving the Alien, but it has been on my list of books I want to read for quite some time. The only reason I haven't yet is it isn't available at my public library.

The thing about roasting cabbage is real and if you haven't tried it you should.

Bonus points to anyone who knows where the name Alice Band came from.

Thanks again to everyone who has read, commented, and voted.