The 3rd Experiment

Chapter 2

|Saturday, October 10, 1936|

"Raya! Come look at my toys! I set them all up!" Lily says, shaking me awake

"Oh, how I miss those 6 years with my own room," I mumble, throwing off the covers and following Lily into the living room.

She's set up her dolls around a plate on top of a cup so it looks like they're sitting around a table.

"This one's Bucky, that's you, Will, Eve, and this one's me."

"Where are mom and dad?" I ask, looking at her setup.

"Dad doll is in his room and Mom doll is in bed." She says, shrugging her shoulders and fixing Will dolls posture.

I reach for her shoulder and get her to stand up and then I wrap her in a hug

"What's this for?" she asks

"Just because," I say, kissing the top of her head and leaving her to her toys.

I walk back to my room and get out of my pajamas, checking on Eve who's still fast asleep in bed.

Finally dressed, I get to moms room and I pick up the cups and dishes left in her room. And I knock three times on the door of dads study to find that he's actually left for work.

I set out some crackers for Lily when she gets hungry and I leave the box for the other kids when they wake up. Then I go, heading to Steve's house.

***

I knock on the door and hear a frail voice call out, "Come in, the key is under the brick."

I kick the brick away and open the door, looking around for Sarah. I eventually get to her room and find her with some water and bread on her bedside.

"Hey, Sarah," I say, smiling and walking up to her side.

"Rebecca," She says with a grin, coughing up nothing but phlegm and blood.

"Here, drink some water." I pick up the cup from her bedside and help her sit up enough to take a sip and coat her throat.

"Do you know where Steve is?"

"No, I don't but... he couldn't have left more than 5 minutes ago." She says, stopping to cough every few words.

"I think I know where he is." I sigh and set her cup back down, "Are you going to be ok here?" I ask

"Yes, I will. Thank you, Rebecca. You've always been so kind."

"Bye, Sarah," I say, smiling.

I pull the sheets over her shoulders and turn off the lights. I scan the rest of the house, making sure there isn't a note I missed and I close the door, setting the key back under the brick.

I walk about a block to the store on the corner of Leaman and 101st St. I walk in and almost immediately find Steve in the snack aisle. I take a peek at his basket to see nothing but sweets.

"You might want to think of getting something with a little more sustenance," I say, elbowing his arm.

"Hey, Raya." He says, letting out a polite chuckle

"What are you stocking up for?" I ask, setting a snickers bar in his pile.

"Mom." He says, with a deep sigh, "I don't know how much longer she's going to make it, Raya. I want to get her something she'll enjoy."

"That's really sweet, Steve," I say, pulling his arm so he'll look over at me. I pull him into a side hug and walk him over to an aisle with some cans of soup. "Let's also try something healthy for both of you."

He picks out a couple of cans and we walk up to the register, setting everything down on the counter. I reach for my wallet before Steve can, making him roll his eyes at me and I know that he's going to try and return the favor at some point.

"Come on, let's get you home." I mumble, grabbing one bag and handing him the other. We talk the whole way back to his house. The conversation starts with his mothers health, then we move onto my mother and her unfortunate companionship she's made with alcohol. But eventually, we land on the clubs our school is offering this year. The conversations I have with Steve always tend to loop around in weird ways. But I'm grateful to have them as a distraction, for both of us really.

|Thursday, October 15, 1936|

I scrape at the corner of my desk with the tip of a dead pen while my English teacher rambles on about some iconic writing that will never apply to my or my classmates' lives. The schools have become crowded and underfunded so I can guarantee that only half of the lesson is accurate and less than half of the class is paying attention.

"What're you drawing?" The boy at the desk next to me leans over and asks

"A book. Just like the one we're supposed to be studying." I joke

"It's actually surprisingly detailed."

"Well, thanks," I say, mockingly offended.

"I didn't mean it like that, I only meant that it was good for being carved with a pen."

"I appreciate the compliment," I say, not looking up from my work of art. I keep jabbing the pen into the same spot, trying to add detail to the pages. Then, a quiet chime comes over the school's intercom and our teacher dismisses us for the day. I stand and pick up my bag, heading to the door when the boy from before stops me.

"Maybe I'll get you a real book."

"I won't turn my nose up at it," I say grinning and leaving the room. I head quickly to the classroom two doors down and meet up with Steve to walk him home.

"What'd you carve today?" Steve asks, adjusting the books in his elbow.

"You joke but I managed to create a picture of the book I was supposed to be reading."

"Wow, very nice." He says, grinning at me.

We walk for about five minutes, complaining about school, talking about my siblings, and whatever else comes to our minds. We get to Steve's house and see Bucky leaning against his porch, waiting to walk me the rest of the way home. Bucky hits Steve's arm as a greeting and the two of them talk for a moment, catching up on all of the gossip each one has missed out on.

They break off  their conversation and we all say goodbye, knowing we'll just be doing this again tomorrow.

"How was school today?" Bucky asks, pulling me into a side hug as we walk back to our house.

"It was good-"

"Bucky! Raya!" Steve calls out just moments after he has closed his door, "I don't know what to do. I don't know what-" He rambles out, frantic

"Hey, hey slow down. What's going on?" I grab a hold of his shoulders, trying to get him to breathe at a normal pace and explain to us what's happened.

"My mom, she's- She's not breathing." He says and it almost feels like my heart has stopped. "I just walked in and I found her there." He finishes, trying to gather his thoughts. My jaw is nearly unhinged as I glance at Bucky and back at Steve.

I set my bag down on the steps of his and his neighbors porch and seat us next to it. Bucky runs into Steve's house to cover Sarah up and close the doors, grabbing anything Steve might need overnight.

"Okay, come on, you're sleeping over at ours." Buck says, locking the door.

"No, I wouldn't want to-"

"Steve."