Tug of War

 

 

The two nurses at the front desk were super busy. They shook their heads at me. “No, there was no page,” one of them said. Clearly, they did not want to deal with a kid. “Trust me, we would know,” the other nurse said.

“But I heard it, I did!” I protested. “The page said ‘Bernice Blount, please report to the first-floor nursing desk.’ That’s me, I’m Bernice, but I can’t stand that name, so everyone calls me Bertie, unless they’re mad at me. And lately, people have been calling me Bernice a lot. Anyway, there was a page, and it was a female voice.”

The taller nurse drummed her fingers on the desk. “I’m the one who makes the pages, and I promise you, I did not page anyone, Bernice.”

She was not getting rid of me that easily. Someone had paged me. Someone had wanted me to come here. I had to figure out who and why, and fast. “Did anyone turn in a pair of lost sunglasses?” I asked.

Both nurses rolled their eyes. Digging out a cardboard box marked “Lost and Found,” the shorter nurse plopped it on the desk. “Make it quick.”

I searched the box. Ratty jackets, sweaty hats, a ripped crossword puzzle book, a pair of socks, some gloves, a stuffed animal, but no sunglasses.

Sliding the box back, I sighed. “Thanks anyway.”

The nurses seemed ecstatic to be done with me so they could talk about a hot doctor they both wanted to date.

Turning away, my face flushed red and my skin felt prickly. In my mind’s eye I saw something strange. The crossword puzzle book from the “Lost and Found” box. The front cover was ripped just enough to reveal the first puzzle, and a secret message meant only for my eyes.

I had to get that book. Turning, I said, “Wait, can I see the box again?”

The taller nurse was just now putting the box away. She gave me a look of contempt, and said, “Know what, kid? Go get your parents.”

Out of desperation, I gripped the other side of the box. When the nurse pulled, I pulled. A tug of war.

RRRRIPPP!

The cardboard box tore in two. Jackets, hats, the crossword puzzle book, and a pair of gloves exploded everywhere.

Now I was certain the nurses hated me. The shorter one called security on a landline phone. “We have a young troublemaker at the front desk,” she told someone.

Grabbing the crossword puzzle book, I quickly scanned the first puzzle. Someone had filled in only three answers to the clues: ROOM … TRIPLE … and … CINCO.