The Reader

Chapter eleven

After having my usual cup of coffee and some bread, I take a shower and get dressed. It's still early in the morning and the streets are quiet. I decide to wear simple bleached jeans, a black shirt and a brown leather jacket than matches with my backpack and boots. I let my hair dry naturally while checking the contents of my bag for the final time. I've put an old painting in red, brown and black of Regina in it too, following Hayley's advise of being more like Pocahontas. I remember wanting a blanket last time, therefore I put a thin but warm blanket in the bottom of the back. Now I'm satisfied with the contents and close the backpack. I pick up the book and start reading Once Upon A Time, starting on the page describing the morning after my dinner with Regina. I soon feel myself fading away and the next moment I'm back in the forest. Luckily it hasn't rained during the night, so I don't get mud on my shoes. That would make people suspicious and piss Hayley off. I start the half an hour walk which will take me to the center of the town.

The restaurant has already opened when I arrive, so I enter for some tea to warm up from the chilly morning air. As I open it, someone from the other side of the door bumps into me. I shriek as hot coffee spills all over me and burns my skin. "He missy, watch out!" A grumpy voice calls out, but I'm too busy trying to prevent the hot clothing from sticking to my skin. "Hello, I'm talking to you! You spilled my coffee." The man yells at me. I look up from my shirt to see Grumpy standing in front of me with an six empty cups. He looks at me with an amount of anger that makes me want to crawl into a corner to be safe. However I can't. He is looking at me as if he expects an explanation. "Can't you look out where you're going?" He continues shouting grumpily at me. Bystanders look up at the scene he's making. It would've made me blush if it wasn't for the fear of the man in front of me. Suddenly, he stops shouting. From the corner of my eyes I see all the other people quickly turn their hands and continue walking. Soft, cool hands land on my shoulders and hold me steady in a protective way. I don't dare to look away from the man in front of me, but I can make out the slender fingers on having a firm grip on my shoulders. I can smell her perfume in the morning air. "Is there a problem, Leroy?" She says calmly, knowing she's the one in charge here. Grumpy seems to be out of words for a second, before he angrily starts explaining how I threw his coffee on the ground. After just a few sentences, he gets interrupted. "I don't see any coffee on the ground. Are you sure you're making sense?" Grumpy starts laughing in an unfriendly way and talks back to her. I'm afraid they will start a real fight, which won't be good for any of us. Besides, I'm still getting burned. Therefore, I cough softly to get their attention. Grumpy ignores me and finishes his talk, but the women behind me lets one of my shoulders go so that I can turn around to face her. From inside the restaurant, I can see people looking at us curiously yet afraid. I'm pretty sure Ruby has already send someone to get Emma. I want both of them calmed down before sheriff Swann arrives. "I did run into him, but it was an accident. I wouldn't have thrown coffee all over myself on purpose." I vaguely wave at my shirt and the coffee stains on it. Regina wiggles with her fingers, like she's going to cast a spell to hurt Grumpy. I grab her hands to stop her from doing any harm. "Could we just go inside please? I'm freezing and burning." Just now, she notices the heat coming from my shirt. She immediately leads me into the restaurant. "You'd better be here when I'm finished with her, because I swear I will come after you!" She snaps angrily at Grumpy. I ignore all the stares as I run to the bathroom. As soon as I'm in, I pull off my shirt, not minding the other women in it. Somewhere in my mind, I recognize the ex-wife of Charming, but the burning on my skin is more important than the pretty blonde women. I throw my shirt on the ground, next to her feet. Ruby and Regina come walking in, carrying soaking wet towels. Ruby pushes them to my skin in an attempt to cool it down, while Regina sends the other women away, leaving the three of us in there. I sigh from relieve as the cold water cools my burns. "Are you okay?" Ruby asks me, looking in my eyes to make sure I can focus. I nod and tell her she'd better go back to the restaurant. The people will become restless. Some will go away, but others will want to see another fight between Emma and Regina. Ruby can't send them away, but she can keep them quiet. She agrees and heads back to wait for Emma. I sit on the floor. The cool stones are comforting now. Regina kneels down next to me and changes the towels. "You should've said you were hurt immediately." "You didn't gave me the chance," This seems to upset her, but I don't care. The burns are minor, but they still hurt. "Your first reaction was anger and hate towards Leroy. That's your problem. Hate is your first reaction to everything," She steps back and turns away from me. I feel sorry, but continue anyways. "Even when I told you, you first had to point out to Leroy that you were going to take your revenge." Her shoulders hang down and she crosses her arms across her chest in a protective way. "He hurt you." That seems to be the only explanation she can think of now. Eventually, I don't feel the burns as much. It feels like hours of silence have passed, but I know it can't be more than a few minutes. I throw away the towel, stand up and walk over to her. "Regina, it's not your fault. Eventually, you helped. That's what is most important, right? In the end, you know the right thing to do. Which is to help, not to hate." She looks up at me and smiles half a smile. "Normally, I wouldn't let people talk to me like that. However, something about you makes me think you're not a regular teenager. You seems to understand a lot more than people twice your age." I shrug. "Let's just say wisdom comes with experience."