DELETED SCENE: REBECCA & JOYCE FIRST MEETING IN THE NURSE'S OFFICE

 

I heard a noise, and when I opened my eyes I saw the girl peeking in around the curtain at me. She had a gauze square taped to her forehead and she held a bag of ice in one hand. I blinked at her, expecting to feel scared, but I wasn’t, which was unusual because I’d always been superstitious before. Whenever I spilled salt, I tossed a handful over my shoulder to hit the devil in the eye, and even though we weren’t Catholic, I crossed myself with the devotion of a nun. The girl looked at me and my forehead tingled.

 

“Do you pass out a lot?”

 

She pressed the ice back on her mouth, but she seemed completely comfortable standing at the foot of my cot waiting for an answer.

 

“No,” I said. “It just happened a couple times before. Once I was stung by a bee.”

 

“Whoa. Is it scary?”

 

She eyed me like my answer really mattered, and I felt myself wanting to impress her.

 

“Not really. It’s just like everything drops out of you all at once.”

 

“Did you pass out when you saw my blood?”

 

She balanced one knee on the end of my cot, and I had to remind myself. This creature might not be a girl at all. It could just be a disguise.

 

“Maybe,” I said. “I’m not really sure.”

 

“All that stuff I was shouting,” she said. “I had to make it up so fast. I was totally scared. I thought they were gonna throw me over.” She held up one hand and giggled. “Look. I’m still shaking.” Her fingers were trembling and I noticed that the blood had been cleaned off.

 

“That was smart,” I said.

 

When she smiled at me, there were charming gaps on either side of her front teeth. Above her left ear, a twisted clump of hair was sticking out, and I suddenly wanted to reach over and fix it. The recognition I felt was instant and overwhelming. Beneath her satanic exterior, this girl was exactly the same as me. A frightened twelve-year-old who didn’t know how to fight.

©Lauren Frankel 2014