Chapter 9 #2
As the truck bumped down the road, she saw people begin to stream out the doors of the school building, next to the building where the kids slept and ate every day.
Her smile grew, so much that her cheeks hurt. The truck pulled up, and Nash was out and holding out a hand to her as soon as it stopped. She took it and turned to see all “her” kids running toward her.
She vaguely realized Rain had jumped out of the back of the truck as well, but most of her attention was on the children. Michael was leading the group, and the smile on his face was almost as wide as her own. Andrew, James, Natasha, and Sandra were there.
She scanned the faces of the children and realized they were all there.
Michael ran straight into her, almost knocking her on her ass. Only Nash’s hand at her back kept her upright. But he stepped back when she was swarmed by the kids. She laughed as they all tried to touch her, to prove to themselves that it really was her and she was all right.
Everyone was talking at once. Asking where she’d been, trying to tell her all about the helicopter they’d been in.
Their excitement and relief was contagious, and once more, Amanda felt something click inside her.
This was what she was meant to do with her life.
Teach. Mold and help guide kids to be the best people they could be when they grew up.
She hadn’t been with this group of children for that long, but they already meant the world to her.
She did her best to touch each child, to comment on how healthy they looked, how smart they’d been during their escape. They soaked up her praise, just as they always did.
They had a million questions, but she wasn’t ready to answer them just yet and wasn’t sure what to say, anyway. All she kept telling them was that she was fine. Tired, hungry, and dirty, but all right.
As her gaze ran over the children again, she realized one was missing. Little Bibi. Looking around, she saw some of the adults standing back, smiling and observing the reunion between the children and herself. Desmond was there, also with a small smile on his face. As were the other three teachers.
Blair was there too—and she was holding Bibi.
A very unhappy little four-year-old. The girl was squirming and trying to get out of the woman’s hold, but the matron of the school wasn’t letting her go.
She might be in her early seventies, but she was obviously still strong enough to subdue the child.
And Blair wasn’t smiling. She looked…shocked. Amanda could understand that. It wasn’t as if they’d been able to call ahead of time to let everyone know she was back. But she was confused as to why she wouldn’t let little Bibi come greet her.
Her attention was diverted from the owner of the orphanage by Joseph, wanting to know the name of the dog.
Rain was standing a little ways away, next to Nash, looking very unsure about all the excitement going on.
“That’s Rain. He found us in the jungle and was our faithful companion. He helped save our lives by alerting us when the bad men were around. Made us go a different direction.”
“And the man?” Natasha wanted to know.
“That’s Nash. He’s one of the helicopter pilots who came to save us all.”
“I’m so sorry I told you James was missing,” Michael said miserably.
Amanda hugged him tightly. “It’s okay. I love that you were looking out for everyone.”
“But I made you miss the helicopter!” he said, tears forming in his eyes.
“Look at me, Michael. Everyone, listen. Are you listening?”
A bunch of little heads bobbed up and down.
“I’m okay. I survived. That’s the important thing. I would much rather have gone through what I did because you were concerned about your fellow students, than to not have experienced it and left someone behind. You did the right thing, Michael. And I’m proud of you. I’m so proud of all of you.”
“All right, everyone, break is over. We’re so glad to have Miss Mandy back, but it’s time to return to class. Let’s give her a little space. You’ll see her later, after lessons are over,” Blair called out.
Looking over to where she’d been standing, Amanda no longer saw Bibi.
She assumed one of the other teachers had already taken her back into the classroom.
She was disappointed; Bibi was one of her favorite children.
She’d taken an immediate liking to Amanda, and had become one of her constant companions since her arrival at the orphanage.
The kids started making their way back to their classrooms, but Michael walked over to Nash and stuck out his hand. “Thank you for keeping Miss Mandy safe and bringing her back.”
Nash shook the boy’s hand solemnly. “She kept me safe too. We worked as a team.”
Michael looked a little surprised, then nodded. “Yeah, she’s pretty cool,” he said. Then he turned and ran back toward the school, joining his friends and classmates.
After the children were gone, Blair walked over. “It’s good to have you back.”
Amanda was surprised at the somewhat chilly reception from the founder. They’d never been super close, but they’d still shared quite a few quiet evenings together, talking about the kids, the mission of the program, and what Blair hoped to achieve in the future.
Blair had opened up in regard to what she missed the most about living in the US, and how eventually her plans were to return. She’d even admitted that she might consider adopting one or two orphans, but never mentioned any specific children.
But the woman who’d indulged in those intimate late-night chats didn’t seem like the same one standing in front of Amanda right now, speaking in a flat tone. She seemed almost…annoyed? Which made no sense.
“I’m assuming you’ll want to get cleaned up.
I won’t keep you. The authorities will also want to talk to you about your ordeal.
Get your statement. I’ll call them and make sure they know you’re back.
” She turned to Nash. “Your friend will also be informed that you’ve returned.
He hasn’t left. He’s waiting at the nearby base for some word of your whereabouts.
I’m sure you’ll want to join him as soon as you can. I’ll arrange transportation for you.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“Your things are in the storage room,” Blair told Amanda. “I’m sorry, but we didn’t know if you’d be back, and it was…distressing for everyone to see your things in your room. So we moved them.”
Amanda was taken aback. She hadn’t been gone that long. And she couldn’t deny that it hurt…the assumption that she wouldn’t make it back.
Well, without Nash, that probably would’ve been her fate.
“Mandy will be coming with me to the base,” Nash told Blair.
Mandy looked over at him in surprise. She was?
“Because this op was sanctioned by the vice president himself, she’ll need to explain her side of what happened as soon as possible.
It’ll be less disruptive for the children if we do that away from here.
I’m sure they wouldn’t be comfortable seeing all the police and military personnel coming in and out to talk to Mandy. ”
“You are correct, that’s probably best. And that dog won’t be allowed to stay anyway.
It probably has a hundred different diseases.
It’s not healthy to have around the children,” Blair said, looking at the dog with disdain.
“I have work to see to. I’m glad you’re back, Amanda.
Come find me when you return, and we’ll discuss where we stand with your volunteer agreement, and what duties you’ll take on until it’s time for you to return home. ”
With that, Blair turned and walked toward the school.
Amanda could only stare at her in surprise.
“Wow. That was…interesting,” Nash said.
Amanda nodded. “Something’s wrong. She’s never acted like that toward me before.”
“Maybe she’s overwhelmed.”
“Do I really need to come with you to talk to people about what happened?”
“Do you want to stay here?”
The thought of being separated from Nash was an uncomfortable one. She’d gotten way too used to being with him. She’d have to eventually, of course, but the longer she could delay that separation the better, as far as she was concerned.
“Not really. But can I get my clothes first? I mean, it sounds as if it’s all packed up already, so it shouldn’t take long.”
“Of course. I’ll make sure that happens.”
Amanda looked down at Rain, who’d stayed at Nash’s side throughout her reunion with the kids, but he’d come to stand next to her once the children left.
“You don’t have a hundred diseases, do you, boy?
” she asked quietly. She was heartsick at the thought of having to be separated from the dog who’d worked his way under her skin, in a good way.
It hurt more than she wanted to admit to hear Blair dismiss out of hand the possibility of Rain staying with her at the school.
And she didn’t understand the comment about “where we stand with your volunteer agreement.” As far as Amanda knew, she still had three months to go.
She’d been there three months already, and spent one month in the jungle.
Maybe that was what Blair wanted to discuss?
Whether her time in the jungle counted as part of her six months or not.
And she was equally confused about what “duties” she’d take on until she went home. She was here to teach. Would she not be teaching anymore? And if so, why not? What would she possibly be doing here if she wasn’t spending her days with the kids?
Her mind was spinning. Something seemed way off, but she didn’t have the brain bandwidth to figure it out right now. Her belly was growling and she was eager for Nash to reunite with his friend. Obi-Wan had to be just as worried about Nash as she’d been about the children.
So, reunite Nash with his teammate. Then she felt as if she could eat an entire cow all by herself, then sleep for three days straight—after spending an hour in a very hot shower, of course.
But first, apparently she needed to speak to someone, explain what had happened from the day of the kidnapping and beyond.
The next few hours promised to be very busy, but Amanda blocked it all from her mind. One minute at a time. That’s all she had to get through. Whatever happened would happen. Besides, Nash would be there.
It was scary how fast she’d come to rely on him to watch over her. It wasn’t a bad feeling, just new. One she knew she’d have to break, because sooner rather than later, he’d go his way and she’d go hers.
As they waited for their ride to the base, Amanda closed her eyes and leaned against the man who’d been her rock.
They’d met under pretty shitty circumstances, but she couldn’t regret anything that had happened.
Because it had brought Nash into her life.
For how long, she had no idea, but she would treasure every minute she had with him, since she had first-hand knowledge that the future could change on a dime.
What she’d thought was her path in life had changed so many times in the last few weeks, months, she had no clue which direction she was going now, or even how she was going to get there.
All she could do was hang on for the bumpy ride and hope for the best.