[morriss003]

From Tales of the Ragoon-Sam's Winnings

Friday night the Wilsons and Ashley sat down to watch a program on TV. Ashley sat by Sam, and she watched as Leslie squeezed in between her mother and father. It was one of those family shows. Ashley watched for a while and then, as she thought of her own mother and sister, a great sadness came over her. She excused herself and went to the room that she shared with Sam.

For some time, she sat on the bed with her head bowed and her heart hurting. Seeing the easy way that the Wilsons dealt together as a family made her situation seem even worse. She thought of her mother, and how worried that her mother must be. Eventually she got up, and she made her way to the bathroom so that she could wash her face. As she looked at herself in the mirror, she began to cry. At that point, Leslie opened the unlocked door and came into the bathroom.

The younger girl was startled to see Ashley and even more so when she realized that the older girl was crying.

Alarmed, she asked, "What's wrong? Did you hurt yourself?"

Trying to smile as she brushed away her tears, Ashley replied, "Oh, no. It was nothing."

The teenager saw that Leslie was carrying a sleep shirt.

"My sister has one just like that," she said as she pointed to the shirt.

"Oh, this?" Leslie held out the shirt and looked at it. "It's a Runyon Silverstar shirt. He's so maggy cool. I love him."

"Yeah, my sister does too," replied Ashley. Leslie gave the other girl a thoughtful look.

"Were you thinking about her? Your sister, I mean."

"Yeah, and my mother too," confessed Ashley. "I wish that I could tell them that I'm okay. They probably think that I'm still in Merced."

Leslie nodded.

"Are you ready to take your shower?" asked Ashley.

Leslie nodded again. Ashley put her hands together, let the sink faucet fill them, and then rinsed her face. She left the bathroom to Leslie.

Leslie thought about her conversation with the older girl. She still wasn't happy about Ashley living with the Wilsons, but now she realized that Ashley was also unhappy. Later, as Marisa was tucking her in, she asked her mother why Ashley couldn't just call her own mother and talk to her.

"The Ragoon said that she can't, Sweetheart. And your father and I have been forbidden to tell them, too."

"So none of you can tell them? What would happen if you did, Mama?" asked Leslie.

"If they found out, they might send Sam and Ashley back to that place," was the answer.

"You mean Merced? That's what Ashley said."

"Yes. If we tell Ashley's mother that Ashley is living with us, and the Ragoon find out that we told her, then they might send Sam and Ashley back to the Merced Human Rehabilitation Center."

"How would they find out?" asked Leslie.

"The Ragoon have little tiny things that look like dust. They can hear what people say and report them to the Ragoon. I'm sure that they have some in this house, and I'm sure that they have some in Mrs. Thurber's house," explained Marisa.

"Eee...! Do they have little camera's too?" asked Leslie.

"They might," responded her mother.

"Eee...! They might spy on us when we are in the shower, like Jimmy Carson did," giggled the girl.

Marisa frowned. "Who is Jimmy Carson, and when did he spy on you when you were in the shower?"

"He's a boy," replied Leslie unnecessarily. "He peeked into the girl's shower at the pool. I still had my swimsuit on, but some of the older girls were naked. Sandy was there, and I think that Ashley's sister was there that day."

Marisa gaped. "How old is Jimmy Carson?" she asked as she wondered if she would need to contact the police.

"He's nine, the same as me," said Leslie uncomfortably. Marisa relaxed.

"Well, he shouldn't have done that," she said as she kissed her daughter good-night.

Leslie lay back and thought about what her mother had said.

Saturday morning, Leslie rode her skateboard over to her friend, Sandy's, house.

They played on the swings, slid down the slide, and rode up and down on the teeter totter. Eventually, the two girls went back to the swings where they gently rocked back and forth with their feet on the ground.

"Do you know Paula Thurber?" Leslie asked Sandy who was a year older than her.

"Yeah, I know her," replied Sandy. "She's a sixth grader. She's eleven. Sometimes I go swimming with her at the pool." Leslie thought about that.

"We should go swimming on Monday," suggested Leslie. "You could ask Paula too."

"Okay," agreed Sandy with a puzzled look.

"Do me a favor, okay? Don't tell her that I'm coming."

Sandy looked bewildered. "Why not?" she asked.

"It's a surprise. Please, please?" Leslie begged.

Sandy shrugged. "Okay, okay," she said to pacify her friend.

Monday afternoon, as Sam and Ashley were washing a fire engine at the second fire station, Leslie showed up at the municipal swimming pool. She saw Sandy and a girl that she recognized as Paula already in the water. Quickly, she removed her cut offs and top. She was wearing her swimsuit underneath. She showered and went to the pool, and carefully walked down the steps until she stood in the shallow two foot depths.

She lowered herself and soaked as she gradually became accustomed to the lukewarm water. The blazing June sun of the central California valley had heated the water, so it quickly became comfortable. After a bit, Sandy noticed her and slowly made her way through the water until she was at Leslie's side. The other girl followed her. A look of curiosity was on the older girl's face.

"Hi, Leslie," said Sandy as she greeted her friend. "This is Paula."

Paula and Leslie exchanged greetings.

"Guess what?" said Sandy. "Jimmy Carson is here today."

The three girls giggled.

"I accidentally told my mother that he peeked into the girl's shower," confessed Leslie.

"What?" the other two girls said in unison their faces worried.

"You shouldn't have told her that," said Paula with a scowl,

"Don't worry. I told her that he was nine," Leslie assured the girl.

She knew that Paula had a crush on thirteen year old, Jimmy Carson, although for the life of her, she could not have said why. Jimmy Carson was a dork. She did not know why her mother would care if Jimmy was thirteen and not nine, but she knew that her mother would care.

The other girl relaxed. She did not want Jimmy Carson to be peeking into the girl's shower to look at her, but she didn't want him to get into trouble either.

The three girls played in the water for some time before the water began to affect Sandy. She excused herself and went to the bathroom. Leslie looked around. There was no one close to Paula and her. She hoped that she was doing the right thing.

"I have a secret to tell you, Paula," she said.

Paula looked at her expectantly.

"Come close so I can whisper in your ear."

Paula came to Leslie's side and stooped down a little toward the shorter girl. Leslie moved her mouth right next to Paula's ear.

"Don't go nuts now. Listen. Ashley is living at my house with Sam."

The other girl recoiled. She had a look of astonishment on her face, and then her look turned to one of anger.

"You're lying," she said with a furious look. "Why did you say that?"

Leslie looked around. No one was watching.

"I'm not lying," she hissed. "Come back here. I'll prove it to you."

Glaring at Leslie suspiciously, Paula grudgingly move back to her side. Leslie put her mouth to Paula's ear.

"She saw my Runyon Silverstar sleeping shirt," she explained in a whisper. "She said that you have one just like it."

Paula's expression turned back to astonishment again.

"It's true," she whispered back. "No one knows about it outside of my family. Jack always used to make fun of it. Ashley is really living with you?"

"Yeah, the lizards say she has to. And she can't tell you or your mother or she gets sent back to that place. So you can't tell anyone."

"I have to tell my mother," Paula insisted. "She's so sad that I can't stand it. She still cry's, like, every other day or so."

"But don't tell her while you're in your house," warned Leslie. "My Mama says that the lizards have bug things in our house that listen to us. She says that they are probably in your house, too."

"All right," agreed Paula. She thought about it. "I'll tell her when we are not home."

"Better not say anything in your car either," said Leslie. The girls saw Sandy returning so they stopped speaking.

They play a while longer before they grew tired.

As they left, Leslie remarked, "I think that I'll come swimming again next Monday."

"Yeah, I might too," said Paula casually.

Sandy grimaced. "I can't come next Monday," she said sadly, "I have to go to the dentist that day. I have to get my teeth cleaned. My Mom always makes me."

The girls waved good-bye.

Paula wanted desperately to tell her mother the news about Ashley, but she couldn't think of any way to get her mother out of the house until the weekend.