The Nobodies

1: Town Curiosity

© Amber Kalkes 2015

Song: "Superstition" By Blanche

Chapter One: Town Curiosity

Staring at the ceiling fan above me. The candles on the fireplace mantel flickered with every turn of the blades but the wind failed to cool me down. It was hotter than hades that day and the fact that I could melt into my chair was a real possibility. Of course I couldn't go anywhere at the time. Gran had her appointments today and that meant I was supposed to sit here and roast like a Thanksgiving turkey.

"Sylvie, honey, can you got get Miss Lucinda and I a glass of iced tea?"

"Sugar or lemon?" I asked flatly while peeling myself from the chair.

"Lemon" They both said.

With a nod I headed to the kitchen and got the refreshments. This was what my job mostly required when Gran was doing her appointments. I was the errand girl while she earned the cash. It was a thankless job and usually I felt like either a trophy wife or a glorified servant. Neither were something I aspired to but when duty calls and Gran rang the bell, I came a runnin' all the same.

After getting the drinks and lingering a bit in front of the freezer, I came back into the sitting room. The client for the day barely paid me any notice or paid me thanks as I sat her glass beside her. I didn't mind it really though. How could I when everyone who came here acted just the same? To them we were a means to an end.

Usually people kept their distance from us. They thought we were strange or crazy. Of course tunes can change when people think they're lives are in crisis. And that was usually the reason people came to our house. Despite the name-calling and sometimes even violent behavior, people were more willing to push prejudice aside when they needed something.

That was the reason Lucinda Lynn Crowe was able to come off her high horse and grace us with her presence. The reason behind their rivalry was never made clear to me but it was as strong one. Miss Lucinda was from one of the families that founded the town of Thornton and in a small town like where we lived, that meant something. In the right situation some could even say it meant everything.

"Hmmm." Gran hummed, looking over the tarot cards before her.

She was a beautiful woman, my Gran. With her wheat colored hair, cat like brown eyes and wide bright smile, she could make anyone look twice. Even if she was in her late sixties the woman could outshine any woman. Not even Miss Lucinda could argue with that.

"Well?" Miss Lucinda asked, clearly annoyed about Gran's hesitation.

"Well...it is very interesting."

Sighing heavily Miss Lucinda was getting more irritated by the second, "What is so interesting?"

Ducking under behind the book I was pretending to read, I tried to hide the smile blossoming across my face. Being the outcasts we were, it wasn't often that we were given the chance to fight back against our bullies. So when the opportunity would arise, we'd take it. Especially if the matriarch of the mighty Crowe family was the one who needed to be knocked down a peg.

"Are you feeling ill?"

Miss Lucinda's thin eyebrows rose at the question, "Not that I can think of."

"Hmm..."

I peeked over my book and I took a peek at the cards. It became clear to me pretty quickly that Gran was just messing around. Nothing in that woman's cards said she was ill. If anything, it just proved that she was going to live long enough to make life just as hard for everyone as she normally did. When Miss Lucinda's bright blue eyes move over to me and narrow I hide behind me book. No way was I going to have her hateful eye on me.