“That sounds like a question. I assume Alex got your classes straightened out this morning since I didn’t hear from you?”
“It was done by the time I got to the office.” I grab the page Alex gave me this morning. “I need you to sign this form so I can drop it off at the office tomorrow.”
Zander reads it over, then signs it and passes it back to me. “So, tell me all about your day.”
“Um, well, I have 3 books I have to read for English before finals in June since they didn’t cover the same books in Virginia. Chemistry and Biology were good. Alex booked the Saturday afternext to help me with the labs I missed, which is only 3 for both classes. History is following the opposite schedule to Virginia, so I’m familiar with what they’re studying the rest of the semester, so I’ll go back and study the January to March stuff. My track coach is my gym teacher. I’ll be training for track during class. I have until mid-April to meet qualifying times for any distance I want to run. After Friday, she’ll assess if I have enough endurance to attend practice on Mondays and Wednesdays after school.”
“The classes all sound good. I’m not very familiar with track, I’m afraid. Is getting fast enough for qualifying times a possibility by mid-April?”
“That’s only a few weeks away, so it will be hard. Oh, I’m going to need to get some Epsom salts, herbs, and essential oils for muscle recovery right away. Do you know of a place around here for that stuff?”
“The Epsom salts you can get anywhere, but I don’t know about the herbs and essential oils. I’d try E for the herbs and maybe Alex for the oils? Or Google,” he smiles. “Any problems today?”
“Um, nothing that wasn’t handled,” I say, looking down, fidgeting with my backpack strap.
“Summer,” Zander says, “please tell me.”
I raise my gaze and notice the worry on his face. “Just one issue. Someone pushed me into the lunch tray racks. The guys were there and took care of me. I told them I have an aversion to touch.”
“Are you actually okay? Your forehead is red.” He leans over his desk to get a closer look, brows drawn down.
“Yeah, I am. I’ve learned to deal with those kinds of things over the past year.”
That doesn’t seem to be what he wanted to hear, as a frown joins his face. “Please keep me informed if someone is bullying you or triggers you, Summer. I’m confident the guys will manage it, but please tell me too.”
“I can do that,” I nod.
“Good. Do you have something to work on for an hour while I get back to work?”
“Yup, lots.”
“You’re welcome to work in here, or the conference room is empty. It’s your choice,” he offers, his face relaxing again, now that I seem fine.
“I’ll stay here for now,” I tell him. I sit beside the desk, placing my bags on a nearby chair and text E and Alex about the herbs and oils. They’ll get my texts after practice. The place I used to order from takes about a week to deliver, so I search for other reputable companies. Not finding what I want, I switch to my coursework. It’s hard to do much work without my laptop, so I grab the book from English class and continue reading.
An hour later, Zander and I leave his work. My legs are stiffening, but it’s manageable so far. He takes me out to dinner at a local restaurant that serves fresh tacos and orders a sampler platter so I can try everything. I enjoy most of the tacos except the crab and shrimp, as I’m not a huge seafood fan. When Zander gets up to pay the bill, my phone rings. “Hi E,” I answer.
“Hi Summer. I got your text. What herbs do you need?”
“I’m looking for, like, bulk dried herbs. Not the stuff you get in a grocery store, but high-quality air-dried or low heat dried. I’m not familiar with the stores here, so I’m unsure of where to search.”
“Hmm, I’ve got some fresh herbs at my house, which doesn’t help you. I’m not sure where to look. I don’t know of any place in Mt. Pleasant. There might be something in Charleston, though. Text me a list of what you’re looking for, and I’ll see if I can find something.”
“Thanks, E. What about arnica cream? Where’s the best place for that?”
“You’ll want the stuff Alex uses. It’s the best we’ve found. He gets it from someone at the college. I bet he has some too, since they’ve just started training again for the diving season.”
“I’ll ask him. I sent him a text earlier, too.”
“Ok Summer. I take it you were running today?”
“Yeah. I’ll be running every gym class for the foreseeable future to get back in shape.”
“Alright, I’ll text or call you later if I have any luck finding the herbs.”
“Thanks, E. Bye.”
Zander comes back, so we leave the restaurant. I text E and Alex a more specific list of what I’m looking for as he drives. He stops at a pharmacy so I can pick up some Epsom salts, and by the time we get home my legs are hurting badly. I inform Zander I’m heading for a shower and bath.
