Shock

-33-

When noon approached and the light through the windows got brighter, people all around the gym started moving around.

When I asked my dad what the commotion was all about, he told me it was lunch time.

We got up with the rest and made our way to the back of the gym, where a long table was set out. On it lay fruit, rolls of bread and varius types of beverages. It wasn't a buffet exactly, but after the crackers and cans of beans we'd gotten used to consuming the last couple of days, there wasn't that much of a difference.

"Awesome!" Peter cheered and rushed forwards, only to be held back by dad.

"We need to wait in line," he explained, motioning to the people standing in a neat row to our right.

We all followed him and joined the others.

As we inched forwards, I pined after the delicious looking fruit on the table.

"Hey," Nathan whispered, nodding towards the end of the table. There, a woman of around sixty years old sat, cheerfully observing the people crowding around the food.

I figured she was the one who made it, or at least got it from the kitchen.

I wondered why Nathan wanted me to see her, but then I noticed the small, first aid kit on the table next to her.

Seeing I got the message, Nathan nudged me forwards, and we walked over to the woman. She wore red, rectangular glasses, lipstick in the same colour and had blonde, short hair.

"Uhm, hi," Nathan said as we reached her.

"My friend got hurt while we were out on the streets." He motioned to me and I held up my pad-bandaged hand.

"We saw you have a first aid kit and were wondering if we could borrow it."

The woman looked at my hand and furrowed her brow.

"You don't have too. I'm a nurse, I'll fix you right up, honey."

"Oh, no, we wouldn't want to bother you. It's just a scratch, we can do it ourselves." I protested, but the lady shook her head.

"Nonsense. I've been sitting here for days. I'm happy not that many people got hurt of course, but to be honest," she leaned over, as if she was letting us in on a secret, "It's also quite boring."

I chuckled a bit and stepped closer.

"Okay then. Thank you for helping."

The woman smiled.

"Sit down, honey," she patted the seat to her right and I walked around the table to the chair.

Nathan seemed unsure of what to do.

"You can go back to the cot," I said. "I'm sure the rest will be there soon."

He shook his head and crossed his arms.

"I'm not leaving you alone."

"I'm not alone, I'm with mrs. ..."

"Chesterfield," the lady said.

"Chesterfield."

Nathan pressed his lips together and didn't budge.

I snorted and shook my head.

"Just sit here." I eventually gave in, vaguely gesturing to the seat next to me.

While he complied and walked around the table, Mrs. Chesterfield rolled up my sleeve and had a closer look at my bandage.

"Oh dear, is that..."

"A pad, yeah. It was the most sterile thing I had on hand."

Mrs. Chesterfield giggled.