Power Outage

It's the end of Summer, new home, new school, new life, all over again for Lucinda and her mother, after finally getting settled into their apartment, after moving in at the start of the Summer. It was a hot one, indeed. The weather was just starting to cool off when school is set to start. For the past, two weeks Lucinda and her mother have been shopping furiously to get all the school supplies needed before classes started. For some reason, in addition to the usual paper, pencils, and folders needed for her classes, Lucinda's mother decides to get her a really expensive game system to go along with the new school year. Lucinda liked the game system, however, upon receiving it a strong sense of foreboding filled her as though waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Lucinda's mother always tried hard to please Lucinda by purchasing presents for the girl. Lucinda thought the gifts were nice, but not what she needed or really wanted. Lucinda was quickly developing a hatred of shopping. Not wanting to offend or hurt her mother's feelings, Lucinda accepted the present, grudgingly.

On the way home from the spree, Lucinda and her mother passed a garage sale. Cheryl, Lucinda's mother, shot an excited glance at her daughter. "Want to stop?"

Lucinda moaned, whining. "Do we have to? I hate garage sales."

"We'll just look for a few minutes." Cheryl pulled the car over. What Lucinda's mother wanted to do, she got to do. Cheryl was the adult, Lucinda was the child just along for the ride.

Lucinda decided to offer a compromise. "How about you go look, I'll stay in the car and read?" Lucinda slouched down in the passenger seat, raising a leg to stick her foot out of the open window, while picking up a book.

Cheryl gets out of the car ignoring her daughter's comment. She meanders over to the tables, piled high with wares. After twenty minutes, Cheryl opened the back seat of the car, in order to load in a large, heavy, metal object. Lucinda, having returned to the real world when the door was opened, peered at the bulky thing, with obvious curiosity. "What is it?"

"It's a typewriter." Cheryl huffed and puffed, working hard to find a spot for her new treasure, where it would sit safely until they got it home. Satisfied at the product's placement in the vehicle, Cheryl straightened herself up, beaming with pride at her new acquisition. "It's all metal, so it's an antique. It's broken, so we'll have to take it somewhere to be repaired."

Lucinda buried her face in her hand. "If it doesn't work, why'd you get it?"

Cheryl climbed into the driver's seat, starting the car. "I got it for you. With the grade level you're in, at school, you might need to do typed reports. You'll see it'll be very useful to you."

"Whatever." Lucinda rolled her eyes at her mother, then focused on the cool, outside, breeze blowing on the sole of her foot.

Cheryl not allowing a pre-teen to dampen her spirits. She found a place that repairs old ancient typewriters, dropping off her new prize. Cheryl paid for the typewriter to be fixed along with a new ribbon to go with it. The ancient machine would be ready by the time school started for Lucinda. With that little errand out of the way, it was time for Lucinda and Cheryl to return home.

A few days later, it was Lucinda's first day at a new school. She'd just gotten out of bed, and headed to the bathroom to do up her hair and get ready for the day. New school equals new people to meet. Lucinda was always shy at first around new people, not knowing exactly how to talk to them or how to behave, fearing the other kids wouldn't accept her right away, and start picking on her, to bully her. Seems every year her and her mother would move, so every year it was new place, new school, new people. Lucinda no longer bothered trying to make friends at her new schools, anymore. What was the point, if she'd be leaving again at the end of next year. Hair brushed, Lucinda throws her hair back into a simple ponytail, picks up her book bag, and runs off to wait at the bus stop.

There's three other kids waiting for the same bus to pick them up and take them to the same school as Lucinda. Lucinda stands off to the side, away from them, to wait patiently. Soon the bus arrives, Lucinda is the last in line to get on. Once on the bus, she looks for the first available seat behind the bus driver next to the window, to sit. Fortunately, the first one available, is the one directly behind the driver. In all the school buses that Lucinda's ridden on, she's always sat, directly behind the driver closest to the window. She stares out the window, watching the world go by, completely oblivious to the bus, and one brave boy that decides to sit next to her, just sharing the ride with all the other kids, on the way to school.

The school resembled a gigantic brick, one-story, block with windows. There were big glass double doors at each end and on the sides. A circle drive, with a handful of parking spaces on one side, signified the front of the building. In the back of the building, there was a large field, surrounded by a oval gravel track, for outdoor sports. Susses arriving to school usually dropped kids off at a much larger parking lot on one side, allowing children to enter the building to attend classes.

Once inside the school, students were faced with a long hallway. To their left was a huge bank of metal, blue, lockers, with numbers in black on a silver tag and combination locks embedded in the doors, ending at a pillar. On the right, was a shorter line of lockers, that ended at the door to the school's library, which was always kept open during school hours, so kids could check out books, when they had time. After the library door, was another pillar, directly opposite the column at the end of the great block of lockers. Beyond the pillars, two doors on the walls, parallel to each other. One door led to a small computer lab, while the other led to a classroom. A stretch of two walls, one side with a large glass encased bulletin board, for school notices and reminders, the other side empty, followed, coming to their conclusion in a grand cross intersection.

In one corner of the intersection, was the alcove where the school infirmary, with nurse's office inside, and the school therapist. Across from this small corridor was the Gym, with separate small locker rooms for boys and girls to change for P.E. Across from the gymnasium, diagonal from the infirmary, was the school's main office, where parents picking up children for various reasons and visitors to the school check in before going on about their business. The school's main office, contains the Principal's office, where rewards and disciplinary matters are dealt with. Diagonal to the gym, across from the Main office was a glass case where trophies and school achievements are stored.

Continuing further down the main hall from the office and gym, more lockers and classroom doors can be found, coming to a gigantic archway, with large fireproof double doors embedded. Past the archway is an immense room, that is the school cafeteria. On one side of the cafeteria were long tables with benches attached, on the other a horizontal, U-shaped, railing was attached to a 4 foot partition that was half glass and half stainless steel. There was a hole on one end of the of the partial wall, where a cashier stood to take lunch money and give them clean trays that allowed people to retrieve their lunch. Students, typically, queued up for lunch, paid, got their food, then headed for the tables to sit and eat. After the lunch line, block of wall with a small bulletin board where the weekly lunch menu was placed. There was a stainless steel window, where dirty trays were returned, to be washed and reused. Coming to the end of the lunchroom, you find the double doors at the polar opposite end of the school where students enter the building, that are used for a fire exit in case of emergency.

Arriving at the School, Lucinda looks at her schedule of classes. Examining the school map, she quickly finds her homeroom, class. It's her language arts class. She takes a seat at the back of the class, in the row closest to the door. Her goal is to see and observe, not to be seen or cause trouble.

The teacher enters, the room, following the bell for classes to begin. He introduces himself as Mr. Hansen. Teachers' names meant little to Lucinda, before her father left her mother, Lucinda had been raised very strict, to be respectful and polite to all adults. She'll almost never use 'Mr. Hansen,' when speaking to her teacher, instead she'll use 'sir.'

Mr. Hansen passes out the new year's curriculum, and cards with locker assignments for the new students. "If everyone will line up, we can go into the hall, to find your lockers and see if your combinations work. If you have any trouble with your locks, I would be more than willing to help you. Please leave the papers with what we'll be covering in class this year on your desks. We'll discuss that, when we return from your lockers. "

Lucinda gets in line with the other students, holding her locker assignment card. "Locker 1301, combo 36-14-38." The card says, so far pretty straight forward for a new beginning. When the class is released into the hall, they follow Mr. Hansen to their block of lockers, halfway down the hall. Lucinda scans the row of lockers, locating number 1301. Finally finding it, she'll try to test out her combination. She'll try the spinning dial three times, then raise her hand. "Um… Sir? I'm having some trouble with my combination."

Lucinda looked helpless when Mr. Hansen comes over. "You don't have to call me 'sir,' uh…" He peered over her shoulder at the card with her name and locker information. "Miss Rayne. If you'll excuse me, I'll just borrow this." He took the card from her, as Lucinda moved aside. "I'll help you. You're new here, so you might not be used to this style of combination locks." Making sure Lucinda was watching, Mr. Hansen spun the dial, unlocking the locker for her. "See? You need to center the lock on zero first. Spin the dial at least three times past zero. Then, it's right, left, right, open. Here you are." Mr. Hansen, handed back the card. "I look forward to seeing you in class, this year, Lucinda."

Lucinda nodding to Mr. Hansen as he walks off. "Thank you, sir." She closes the locker, trying to combo, again, the way Mr. Hansen showed her, silently cheering, as this time the locker opens successfully for her. Putting her excess things away, Lucinda will close her locker, to walk back down the hall to Mr. Hansen's classroom, to wait, patiently, for the class to continue.

Eventually, the class returns, and talk of the curriculum for the school year will begin. Lucinda and all the students will be required to do several reports based on reading assignments, at different points during the school year, huge written and typed assignments will need to be typed and formatted, placed in plastic covers, and turned in in lieu of mid-term, end of semester, and year end final grades. They will count anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of the final grade for the class. The large written assignments for the big grades can be on anything, be it a report, story, or very long essay, but they need to be at least ten pages, not counting cover page and bibliography. Lucinda glanced over the required reading list, beginning to wonder about what to do her large exam papers on. She'll do some private brainstorming, at home later. They say everyone has a hidden talent, but Lucinda had yet to find hers yet. All the moving around with her mother had prevented her from finding it.

Being handed the first required book to read, for the class, the bell rings and Lucinda, along with all the other students in the room, are released to go off to their other classes, receive their new textbooks, meet new teachers, etc. At some point, lunch rolls around. Lucinda queues up with lunch ticket in hand. The school offered a free lunch program to students of low income families or children of disabled parents. In lieu of cash payment, students were given special tickets to exchange for their lunch.

Lucinda's dad was disabled. Even though he didn't live with Lucinda and her mother, he still chose to support the family financially. His child support came as a subsidy of disability payments Mr. Rayne received every month from the federal government. The money Lucinda and her mother got as a result of her father's disability went solely to the care of Lucinda. Mr. Rayne's impairment and the fact that Lucinda was receiving benefits of it, qualified her for the lunch program.

Lucinda waited in line, gave her ticket when asked, got her lunch, and went to find a spot at a table on the end to sit and eat. She was still new, the other kids knew it, so it might be awhile before she or they decided to approach her, to try to either make friends or start trouble with her. Not that Lucinda minded, she'd be leaving any friends she made at the end of the school year, anyway. In secret, Lucinda just hoped the other children would leave her alone, allow her to make it through the year, in peace. So she can make the grades required and pass on to the next grade level, at her new school, next year.

Libby Chandler, had the great misfortune of being seated at a spot on the table a little way down and across the way from Lucinda's, along with the even greater displeasure of being in direct view of the girl to watch while she ate. Watching Lucinda eat was like watching a cow chew it's cud. It was horrifying. Libby was the pampered and precious daughter of the school's principal. She got everything she wanted. If she didn't get her desires, she'd crush the people that stood in her way, making their lives completely miserable. Libby liked to surround herself with fake friends, that she could use and bribe to get what she wanted in the school's social hierarchy. Rachel Smith and Rebecca Moore were just some of the privileged few she allowed into her clique. Libby leans over to her friends whispering. "You see that new girl. Look at the way she eats. Like an animal. It's putrid. Something must be done about her. By the time I'm through, she'll wish she never came to this school."

Rachel and Rebecca both nodding in agreement. Rachel asks. "How are you going to do it, Libby? We'll help with whatever plan you come up with." Rachel grins enjoying the idea of tormenting a new girl.

Libby, pleased at having such loyal friends. "Well, first, we're going to complain to the teachers, see if we can't get her lunch table assigned somewhere else. Then, we're going to start rumors about her, so /nobody/ will want to be her friends. Also, we're going to do stuff around school, yell, say nasty things, put nasty things on the walls, and get /her/ blamed for it. By the time we're done, that new girl will be the most hated girl in the school." Libby giggles with her friends, coming up with more evil plans to make Lucinda's life a living pain. If only she knew.

Immediately after lunch, Libby and her friends made a beeline to Mr. Carter, the lunchroom monitor. The cruel clique began putting their plan into motion to sabotage Lucinda's peaceful new life. Mr. Carter blinked at the three girls in confusion. He hadn't heard a peep out of Lucinda all alone at her table, the area around there was spotless, as well. However, with three different girls all saying the same thing, and one of those girls being the principal's spoiled daughter, that left Mr. Carter with no other choice. Starting the next school day, Lucinda would be pulled aside and different arrangements would be made for her during lunchtime.

Libby, cackling with glee, exits the cafeteria with her friends. "Let's see how she likes lunch with the retards." She and her friends go off into the sea of students to start spreading more lies and rumors about Lucinda.

Lucinda, after a, seemingly, uneventful lunch, passes her tray through the window to the lunchroom workers. Heading off to the rest of her classes for that day. While she's walking, other students start taking great care to avoid her. She's completely unaware of the things Libby and her friends are saying about her. She continues life at her new school quiet and trying to be invisible

At the end of the dull day, Lucinda finally mounts the steps of her bus, eager to get home, to start her homework. Her algebra teacher, Mr. C, is the afternoon bus driver. He's a friendly sort of guy, waving and smiling to all the students as they come onto his bus. Lucinda in her shy way, smiles and waves back, taking her seat behind him. The bus fills, but the spot next to Lucinda stays empty. The boy from that morning has decided to sit elsewhere on the ride home. Not that Lucinda cares, she's just staring out the window, waiting for her stop to come.

When her stop finally does come, Lucinda stands, waits for the three that share her stop to get off, first, before leaving the bus. Dangling her backpack off one shoulder, she climbs the steps to her apartment, while holding onto the railing. She and her mother lived on the third floor of a three-story apartment building with no elevators. Using her key, Lucinda lets herself into her home. Upon entering, she tries the light switch, disappointed to find that it doesn't work. Unphased, Lucinda calls out to her mother. "Mom!? The lights don't work!"