| General Fiction posted June 10, 2017 | Chapters: |
...4 5 -6- 7... 
|
  |
Friendships develop during a disaster.
A chapter in the book The True Test
Survival in the office.
by jusylee72
| Background Students leave school early so that teachers can train for The STARR TEST, a standardized test in Texas. About an hour into the meeting Texas has its biggest earthquake ever( probably from fracking). |
Sherry's head hurt. She didn't remember her outburst. Patty and the other women took care of her.
"You fainted," Patty held a cool, wet paper towel on her head."Don't move too fast yet. We are okay. We don't know exactly what happened but we are safe for now."
"How long was I out? I don't remember much except the shaking."
"Not too long, only a couple of minutes, but you need to sit here for a while."
All of the women began questioning what happened.
Carolina opened the door to the copy room beside the lounge. "The room looks safe but let's stay in groups. I'm going to look out the window."
Patty stayed with Sherry.
The others walked slowly to Carolina's office. It was connected to Tommy's office. Ceiling tiles covered her desk but the floor seemed intact. Carolina opened the adjoining door. What they all saw next truly frightened them. An open space where the wall used to be showed the devastation below. The tall light poles in the parking lot no longer stood, some prone on the ground, others bent in half. Cars on their sides or backs littered the parking lot. Windshields were shattered. Carolina recognized her own car at least forty feet from where she always parked it.
A darkening storm moved in, the wind hammering the trees. The wind continued to rip the leaves off the branches. The lightning, still distant but frightening, would be here soon.
"We need to get prepared," Olga suggested finding flashlights and anything else they might need. "We have no idea how long we will be here. We must help ourselves."
They formed groups of two and carefully explored the office area.
After several quick trips into what was left of the administrator's offices, they scavenged enough supplies to provide some comfort. The principal's office had several flashlights. The VP had a private supply of coffee and creamer plus a hidden drawer of candy bars. Others had cushions and pillows on their chairs. One of the VP's had a supply of Campbell's soup. Carolina had the key to the soda and snack machines plus they still had some leftovers from the potluck lunch. They took the chair cushions into the lounge and made a makeshift dormitory. The lost and found boxes in the closet provided coats and sweaters that could be used as covers and pillows.
After an hour they met in the lounge. The storm loudly proclaimed a new danger to their lives. Their plans were simple. Tomorrow, when the storm cleared they would venture outside and search for the others.
They missed their families. Worry consumed their minds. All of them were devoted mothers and wives. Family always came first. The inability to change anything at the moment became the only thing that helped them to cope with it. Several hours later they shivered together when another tremor hit, this one calmer, not near as threatening yet at the same time terrifying.
Evening came. The rumble of thunder resounded through the damaged hallways. Lightning streaked through the sky. Sherry, Maria, and Patty took chairs and sat in the copy room just outside the lounge. Through the open doorway, they could see straight through Carolina's office into Tommy's office. Rain poured through the open space that used to be his window. The constant lightning provided an eerie light. Thunder came in waves.
"God sure is mad at someone." Maria grew up in the Valley with her grandmother. "Grandma would say that whenever there was a big storm. She told us the scary stories she'd grown up with in Mexico.
She told us El Diablo was riding the bolts of lightning and how thunder was God scolding disobedient children. It's a wonder I didn't grow up terrified of rain."
Patty admired these older women. She wanted to know more about them. Her natural nature and curiosity led to questions simple questions.
"Maria, why did you decide to be a secretary?" The innocence in the question stirred memories in Maria's mind.
"I grew up on the poor side of town. I didn't feel poor. We always ate and our family was full of love. I went to the local high school. I was the president of the Spanish Honor Society and I made very good grades. Back then Patty, young Mexican women like me were expected to act a certain way. My senior year the counselor at the school called me in and told me she knew the best school for me. There was a popular secretary school within walking distance from our neighborhood. I never questioned why they didn't think I was college material. It was expected of me. It was many years before I realized I was just as smart and capable as the others who were sent to college. If I had to do it over, I would have studied to be a lawyer. Now I am approaching retirement age. I couldn't change my life but I encourage my children and grandchildren to be whatever they want to be."
"Do you resent the way they treated you now that you know what you could have been?" Patty, for all her 24 years, seemed incredibly vulnerable.
"Resentment has filled my mind at times. However, I married well. I lived and loved well. The little things get to me sometimes. Sometimes our bosses still refer to us as "The Girls". I don't think they mean it badly, but we are professionals and we do our jobs well. For example; The teachers never have to clock out to eat lunch, and they have 48 minutes compared to our 30, yet if we don't remember to clock out and back in we are reprimanded. Often times, we are treated with disrespect by parents and sometimes by administrators, but there again if I dwell on that I might become a bitter old woman. How much fun would life be if I lived that way?"
Sherry listened to Maria as she talked to Patty. In this short time, she developed a strong bond with this young lady. Patty indeed was a lovely soul. I wish she could have met my son.
The night turned into a grown up slumber party where new relationships developed and old friendships deepened.
At one in the morning, Maria decided to stop talking and call it a night. The storm was still raging. Patty and Sherry stayed a short while longer.
Sherry noticed concern in Patty's eyes. The two of them hadn't talked about the rape or possible pregnancy with the others.
"Sherry, we still don't know for sure that I am pregnant, but what if I am? Do you know Doug, the athletic trainer? He asked me out this morning. We were going to a get dinner and a movie. I really want to get to know him. He seems funny and kind and I like that in a man. If I am pregnant, I'm sure he'll reject me."
"Patty, we really don't know anything yet." Once again her Psychology Voice responded. "We can only live the day we are given. Don't rush tomorrow. Work on who you are today. The rest will work itself out."
Listen to me. the one with pills in her medicine cabinet, ready to commit suicide. How hypocritical is that? I suppose it's my training. This young girl has her whole life to live. I always was a good counselor.
Sherry couldn't admit her heart felt a small bit better. Her medicine cabinet still held her secret.
"Let's call it a night and hope the others are safe in the auditorium. We'll talk more tomorrow."
They had no idea how wrong they were.
"You fainted," Patty held a cool, wet paper towel on her head."Don't move too fast yet. We are okay. We don't know exactly what happened but we are safe for now."
"How long was I out? I don't remember much except the shaking."
"Not too long, only a couple of minutes, but you need to sit here for a while."
All of the women began questioning what happened.
Carolina opened the door to the copy room beside the lounge. "The room looks safe but let's stay in groups. I'm going to look out the window."
Patty stayed with Sherry.
The others walked slowly to Carolina's office. It was connected to Tommy's office. Ceiling tiles covered her desk but the floor seemed intact. Carolina opened the adjoining door. What they all saw next truly frightened them. An open space where the wall used to be showed the devastation below. The tall light poles in the parking lot no longer stood, some prone on the ground, others bent in half. Cars on their sides or backs littered the parking lot. Windshields were shattered. Carolina recognized her own car at least forty feet from where she always parked it.
A darkening storm moved in, the wind hammering the trees. The wind continued to rip the leaves off the branches. The lightning, still distant but frightening, would be here soon.
"We need to get prepared," Olga suggested finding flashlights and anything else they might need. "We have no idea how long we will be here. We must help ourselves."
They formed groups of two and carefully explored the office area.
After several quick trips into what was left of the administrator's offices, they scavenged enough supplies to provide some comfort. The principal's office had several flashlights. The VP had a private supply of coffee and creamer plus a hidden drawer of candy bars. Others had cushions and pillows on their chairs. One of the VP's had a supply of Campbell's soup. Carolina had the key to the soda and snack machines plus they still had some leftovers from the potluck lunch. They took the chair cushions into the lounge and made a makeshift dormitory. The lost and found boxes in the closet provided coats and sweaters that could be used as covers and pillows.
After an hour they met in the lounge. The storm loudly proclaimed a new danger to their lives. Their plans were simple. Tomorrow, when the storm cleared they would venture outside and search for the others.
They missed their families. Worry consumed their minds. All of them were devoted mothers and wives. Family always came first. The inability to change anything at the moment became the only thing that helped them to cope with it. Several hours later they shivered together when another tremor hit, this one calmer, not near as threatening yet at the same time terrifying.
Evening came. The rumble of thunder resounded through the damaged hallways. Lightning streaked through the sky. Sherry, Maria, and Patty took chairs and sat in the copy room just outside the lounge. Through the open doorway, they could see straight through Carolina's office into Tommy's office. Rain poured through the open space that used to be his window. The constant lightning provided an eerie light. Thunder came in waves.
"God sure is mad at someone." Maria grew up in the Valley with her grandmother. "Grandma would say that whenever there was a big storm. She told us the scary stories she'd grown up with in Mexico.
She told us El Diablo was riding the bolts of lightning and how thunder was God scolding disobedient children. It's a wonder I didn't grow up terrified of rain."
Patty admired these older women. She wanted to know more about them. Her natural nature and curiosity led to questions simple questions.
"Maria, why did you decide to be a secretary?" The innocence in the question stirred memories in Maria's mind.
"I grew up on the poor side of town. I didn't feel poor. We always ate and our family was full of love. I went to the local high school. I was the president of the Spanish Honor Society and I made very good grades. Back then Patty, young Mexican women like me were expected to act a certain way. My senior year the counselor at the school called me in and told me she knew the best school for me. There was a popular secretary school within walking distance from our neighborhood. I never questioned why they didn't think I was college material. It was expected of me. It was many years before I realized I was just as smart and capable as the others who were sent to college. If I had to do it over, I would have studied to be a lawyer. Now I am approaching retirement age. I couldn't change my life but I encourage my children and grandchildren to be whatever they want to be."
"Do you resent the way they treated you now that you know what you could have been?" Patty, for all her 24 years, seemed incredibly vulnerable.
"Resentment has filled my mind at times. However, I married well. I lived and loved well. The little things get to me sometimes. Sometimes our bosses still refer to us as "The Girls". I don't think they mean it badly, but we are professionals and we do our jobs well. For example; The teachers never have to clock out to eat lunch, and they have 48 minutes compared to our 30, yet if we don't remember to clock out and back in we are reprimanded. Often times, we are treated with disrespect by parents and sometimes by administrators, but there again if I dwell on that I might become a bitter old woman. How much fun would life be if I lived that way?"
Sherry listened to Maria as she talked to Patty. In this short time, she developed a strong bond with this young lady. Patty indeed was a lovely soul. I wish she could have met my son.
The night turned into a grown up slumber party where new relationships developed and old friendships deepened.
At one in the morning, Maria decided to stop talking and call it a night. The storm was still raging. Patty and Sherry stayed a short while longer.
Sherry noticed concern in Patty's eyes. The two of them hadn't talked about the rape or possible pregnancy with the others.
"Sherry, we still don't know for sure that I am pregnant, but what if I am? Do you know Doug, the athletic trainer? He asked me out this morning. We were going to a get dinner and a movie. I really want to get to know him. He seems funny and kind and I like that in a man. If I am pregnant, I'm sure he'll reject me."
"Patty, we really don't know anything yet." Once again her Psychology Voice responded. "We can only live the day we are given. Don't rush tomorrow. Work on who you are today. The rest will work itself out."
Listen to me. the one with pills in her medicine cabinet, ready to commit suicide. How hypocritical is that? I suppose it's my training. This young girl has her whole life to live. I always was a good counselor.
Sherry couldn't admit her heart felt a small bit better. Her medicine cabinet still held her secret.
"Let's call it a night and hope the others are safe in the auditorium. We'll talk more tomorrow."
They had no idea how wrong they were.
Teachers are an eclectic group, Math, science, home ec, fine arts, wood working, electronics, physics, cafeteria workers. Think of the possibility of so much knowledge in a disaster situation. Many are killed right away. No help can reach them for at least a week. What will they do with the dead? Food? Everyone is missing their families. Here is their story.
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