Page 1 of Halloween Hottie
Chapter One
ELIZABETH
Istep out of the shower at six on the dot. I have one hour to make myself presentable for work. Every day it’s my own personal challenge to not be late. Not that it would get me fired or anything, but I don’t want to make it a habit. Not many people I know can say they love their job, but I can. I’m the nurse at an elementary school—who wouldn’t love getting to see all the cute kids every day? Besides, half the time they come to my office, they’re just playing sick to get out of doing a test.
Truth be told, I never loved the thought of being in the medical field, but health care workers were in high demand, and if I chose that path, I would always have a job. I didn’t enjoy the time I spent working in the ER or in the hospital setting, so when I stumbled across this job, I jumped on it. I’ve always loved kids, but I didn’t go into teaching for a reason. While I love playing and talking with kids, I know I don’t have what it takes to keep their attention and focus in order to actually teach them anything. Maybe I should’ve just gone into daycare.
With my hair dry, I apply some smoothing serum and pull my hair into a bun atop my head before adding a small touch of makeup. Just some concealer under the eyes, some blush to give my face color, mascara to make my eyes pop, and a coat of shimmery lip-gloss. I head to my room and dive into my closet to find something appropriate to wear.
It’s fall and Spirit Week for the high school football team—every school in the district joins in on the fun. Today is Hat Day. I guess I should rethink the hair. I pull on some skinny jeans and a school T-shirt. It’s royal blue and has a big panther on the front—our team mascot. I know I have a hat in here somewhere…
I begin digging through boxes and totes. I pull a box out of the back corner and open it. To my surprise, it isn’t a box of my things. No, the things inside belong to my ex, Steve. Ugh, Steve. I wasted far too much time on that one.
Steve and I broke up a few months ago, and I kicked his lazy, lying ass out of my house. Apparently, he forgot a box, and I didn’t want to be reminded of all his lies by having to look at his belongings. I pick the box up and carry it out to the curb. My bare feet are freezing on the cement driveway, so I run back to the house after dropping the box by the trash. Back in my room, I pull on some ankle socks and my favorite black Chucks. I eventually find a hat and stand in front of my dresser mirror to put it on and pull my freshly done ponytail through the hole in the back. I pull some wispy strands of hair out so it lines my face nicely, and I head for the kitchen.
I grab a couple of frozen waffles out of the freezer and pop them into the toaster to cook while I make some coffee. I pour most of the pot into my big stainless steel to-go cup and fix it up with sugar and my favorite Starbucks creamer—white chocolate mocha. It’s nothing compared to what I’d get if I had time to stop at Starbucks, but as usual, I don’t. It’s probably for the best. I’m a serious coffee junkie, and I know half my salary would go to Starbucks if I had better time management skills.
My waffles pop, and I toss them onto a plate and smother them in syrup. I turn on the TV in the living room and watch the morning news, standing behind the kitchen island, eating my crap breakfast.
I scarf the food down and start a load of laundry before leaving. After the wash is going, I check my watch and see that it’s now 7:45. I turn off the TV. Grabbing the necessities—coffee, keys, phone, jacket, and purse—I head out the door.
I live in a small town in Southern Illinois. It’s almost Halloween, and this time of year, we sometimes get all four seasons in a single day. The mornings often feel like winter, late morning it feels more like spring. Afternoon is hot like summer. The evening turns cooler like typical fall weather, and at night we’re back to winter. Often, I bring a change of clothes with me so I can remove layers or add layers as the day goes on.
I pull my jacket on while walking to the car and climb behind the wheel. The car is so cold from sitting outside overnight that I can actually see my breath. I start the engine and turn the heat up as high as it will go. I shiver as I drive until it finally warms. However, the drive is short and by the time it warms up, I’m already at the school with seconds to spare.
I park in my usual spot, grab my things, and walk to the side door where I scan my fob to get inside. The school is already bustling with life, kids running up and down the hallway to get to class and teachers standing by their doors to welcome their students.
“Good morning,” I say to a group of kids who walk by on my way to my office. My office is located inside the main office. I open the door and step in. The secretary is already behind her desk, answering the non-stop ringing phone for absentees.
“Morning,” I say, walking into my small office.
The sectary, Lynn, smiles and waves with a pencil in her hand as she makes a list of students to mark as absent.
I set my purse down and remove my jacket, hanging it on the back of the door before putting my purse into the lockable cabinet. The morning is usually slow, so I go about checking over stock and ordering anything we’re low on. A grade school goes through a lot of Band-aids.
Someone knocks on the door, and I turn around to find one of the first-grade teachers, Mrs. Welsh, standing at the door with a little boy. “I think we have a fever,” she says.
“Okay, come on over and have a seat and we’ll check.”
The little boy walks across the floor and has a seat on the bed.
“What’s your name?” I ask, opening the drawer and pulling out the thermometer.
“Tommy,” he answers.
“How you feeling today, Tommy?” I ask, sitting down and rolling my stool over to him.
“My tummy feels icky.”
“Did this just start, or did you wake up feeling icky?”
He shrugs. “I didn’t feel good, but I didn’t feel this bad,” he answers.
“Okay, open up and keep this under your tongue until you hear it beep,” I tell him, putting the end of the thermometer into his mouth.
He does as I ask and a few minutes later, we hear the beep. He opens his mouth, and I remove the wand, flicking the cover into the trash as I look at the digital reading. “Yep, 101.2, you have a fever. Let me check your file, and I’ll see if I can give you some Tylenol while we wait for your mom.” I stick my head out and let Lynn know to call his mom while I check the files. She did sign a consent to give Tylenol, so I pour out enough and hand him a cup.
He takes it and drinks it down while I fill out a slip for his parent, letting them know what I gave, how much, and at what time. “Would you like some water?”
