Had someone told Johnny that “Can you please take Sandra Tscarediway to 57 Rosebend Avenue?” was a question to which he should answer no if he valued his peace of mind—he would have laughed.

Because, in fact, it was not a question but an instruction. And so the option of refusing did not in fact exist. The dispatcher who had given this instruction had made no mention of the fact that the person he was supposed to pick up and drive to Rosebend Avenue was an orphan, or that she was not going to be in a good mood. In fact, they had entirely failed to warn him that she didn’t actually want to go anywhere and therefore—when he pulled up into the driveway of the orphanage—she would not in fact come to the taxi but instead remain firmly seated on the front steps, staring him down. But since this was what happened, it was no particular relief to him when a portly woman with a red face pulled the girl up by the shoulder and bustled her into the car.

This last undertaking had turned into an ordeal, because it seemed Sandra Tsgo’scarediway was exceptionally good at resisting being bustled places, especially cars. When she first sat down in the back of the car, she had immediately made an announcement.

“I left my bag in my room.”

With an exasperated sound borernign on a sigh and a groan, the woman had hurried back into the building. In the meantime Sandra had made good her escpe, fleeing across the parking lot and behind a red sedan parked there.

Johnny had had no idea what to do. When the woman returned, he had told her where the girl had gone. Eyes narrowing, the woman had stormed across the parking lot after the girl, who had immediately vauilted over the car and darted back into the orphanage.

The ensuing racket was one that made Johnny decide never to have children or adopt. He had seen things fly form windows and heard shouts on every floor of the building. There was a crash and a number of bangs and he was horrified to see something suspiciously similar to a book case fall over inside somewhere. Fifteen minutes later a soaking wet and quivering woman dragged an equally soaking girl to the car, put her bag into the trunk and slammed the door.

Sandra had then pulled back her shoulder length mass of soaking tangled curls from her face and flashed him a smile.

“Good morning,” she had chirped—as if she hadn’t just proven herself to be the manifestation of trouble.

Johnny had sat back in his seat.

The drive was long, and with every passing minute he felt the tension slowly leaving his body, like air escaping from pursed lips.

“This will be the third house I go to.” She had announced out of nowhere. “Usually the director would drive me…but I wrote in white on his black leather seats, so he won’t let me within ten feet of his car anymore.”

Johnny nodded as if accepting what she was saying, but his mind was screaming: You have leather seats! Sandra smiled.

“I didn’t do it because I’m bad, I did it because I like to live up to people’s expectations. He said I was an unruly and misbehaved child. And the orphanage mistress had been saying I was certainly going to give them trouble. Why prove them wrong?”

She began tapping a ditty on the window.

Johnny kept an eye on her, the word white out and leather seats having put him on full alert. But the ride until the Rosette Complexe had been without event. When they reached the complex, Sandra had begun to frown.

“Is this a new complex?” she asked.

“Uh…no. It’s been up for a few years.”

Sandra had a suspicious expression on her face, but Johnny was busy looking for the house number. He pulled up into the driveway and popped the trunk.

Sandra had sat in the back for another moment before getting out and taking her bag. Johnny didn’t know if he was supposed to wait for her to get in, but Sandra decided on just standing in the driveway and looking at the house. And then at the one next door.

With a sigh Johnny drove away. He needed a coffee.

*^*^*^*^*

This was the beginning of a story I never really found a plot for because I was having too much fun with the details.

Let me know what you think. ^_^