~
My alarm dragged me from the warm depths of sleep the next morning, and I nearly hit snooze until I remembered the hospital job. Groaning, I heaved myself from the blankets and staggered downstairs, making myself a very strong coffee with half of the contents of the sugar bowl mixed in.
A little bit before nine, I pulled out of the drive way, dressed in neat black pants and a white shirt. When I got to the hospital admin, Jacqui met me at the doors and steered me down a corridor.
“We’ll pop you in Dental today,” she said, walking so quickly along the hall that I had to hurry to keep up. “Stick with Jess, she’ll show you what you have to do for the day. You can go at twelve, don’t worry about finding me before you leave, but just remember to sign off.”
She bustled off down another hall after pointing me at the two double doors that led to the dental clinic incorporated within the hospital’s facilities. I tentatively poked one door open and stuck my head through.
“I’m looking for Jessica?” I said nervously to the woman at the desk.
“That’s me,” she stood up and reached over to shake my hand as I approached the desk. “You must be Rose; Jacqui said you’d be with me today.”
I shook her hand as patients began filing through the door. Jess showed me where I’d be sitting for the day and began taking phone calls with me watching on in silence.
A few hours later and I’d learnt all about the phone, and as a result, feared and hated it. I’d managed to hang up on a few people because they weren’t done talking. Jess had stifled laughter as they’d called her back in a rage.
“How about waiting for them to hang up first?” she suggested.
This ended in several stand offs, as the person on the other end of the line waited for me to hang up first. I stubbornly stood adamant on the other end of the line. Just as I’d decided to cut off the connection, the person on the end said tentatively, “hello?”
My finger was too far gone and I cut them off anyway. Jess had tears of laughter in her eyes when she realised what had happened.
“I’m sorry, Rose, you’ll get used to it after a while, I promise.”
I signed the little sign off sheet hanging in the kitchenette where I’d had my interview with Jacqui the previous day. As I drove home, I was unusually buoyant, and I stopped by the grocery store to get dinner. Despite what could only be described as an atrocious first day, I’d still spent the day being productive. I’d earned a whole twenty four dollars, thanks to my trainee wage.
I managed to spend twenty five on dinner, but I was too eager to get home to care. I stuffed everything in our tiny fridge and headed for the shower. I was just getting out as Mum got home.
“How did you go?” she asked, hanging her work bag up.
I recounted the day’s events to her, and she laughed harder than Jess when I told her about my antics on the phone.
“Did you enjoy it though, after all that?” she asked as I cooked lamb chops on the barbeque.
“I did,” I admitted. “I hope it gets better than today though.”
Over the next few weeks, I settled into the routine of school for three days, and then working over the next three. Having Sunday as my only day off turned out to be a blessing; I was so busy that I forgot how much I’d used to hate that day.
It was a Sunday night that I had the dream. It was my stalker, who I hadn’t even noticed had stopped stalking me over the past couple of weeks. He was sitting beside a river, the very same spot I’d go after school to read my book in silence. Except, in my dream, there was no car park, no board walk, no ‘No Swimming’ signs.
“You’re getting better at stalking,” I told him. “I haven’t seen you these past weeks.”
“I’ve been collecting the others,” he told me, standing up and staring into the depths of the murky water. “You and I are running out of time.”
I woke with a start, my head still foggy from the dream. What was I running out of time for?
I was suddenly filled with a desire to head to the river, just to reassure myself that it hadn’t changed to fit my dream. When school finished, I didn’t head home like usual; instead, I drove in the direction of the river, to my usual spot. I had a new book in my bag and I was eager to start reading.
I pulled into the car park, facing the river. Instead of taking my bag with me, I locked the car door and walked down to the water. It was glassy, reflecting the sky; just like it had in my dream last night.
Hang on. Today was cloudy. Why was the river reflecting the sun?
I peered into the water, hanging onto a nearby paperbark tree for support, and frowned as I realised I had no reflection.
I tried to reel back from the steep bank, but my hand slipped from the trunk of the tree. I yelled, just once, and tried to grab something, anything.
But my flailing hands didn’t catch anything. I plunged into the shining river and went under.