Gaia Bodichenko Makes a Stand

"Night Dave!"

"See ya Frank!"

Clank. Boom.

Gaia gave it five minutes after the outside door closed before slowly extricating herself from the science lab's supply cupboard. Man! It was stuffy in there!

Shouldering her backpack, she opened the door, looking carefully up and down the hallway, just in case there was anyone left in the school. It was well after-hours, though. There was no one in sight.

Making her way to the library, Gaia was looking forward to finding a good book, without her mother suggesting something more enriching, her dad asking if she got any exercise today and, oh, yes, has she studied? Without the damn triplets grabbing it out of her hands and treating it like a football.

"They just want to spend time with you!" her mother would say. "Why don't you read to them?"

But Gaia Bodichenko was twelve years old. The triplets were only four. She couldn't read them her books and she was tired of reading their baby books. She was tired of them.

"But they're so cute!" Katie Murphy would coo whenever she complained. "I wish I had triplets to play with!"

"You play with them, literally, every day!" Gaia pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. But then I have to leave. I wish I could take them home with me."

"Do it!" Gaia begged. "Any time."

But Katie already had two siblings, an older brother and sister who hadn't been exactly thrilled by her arrival. They certainly wouldn't welcome triplets. And besides, Gaia's parents wanted to keep them. There was only one solution. Gaia had to leave.

The library was dark, but, thankfully, unlocked. Using the flashlight on her phone, Gaia located the books she wanted and dragged one of the comfy chairs out into the hallway and settled in. When she got hungry, she ate the rest of her lunch that she'd been saving, along with Katie's leftovers. "I told my Mom I'm staying at your place tonight," she'd explained to Katie.

"If she calls, I'll tell her you're asleep or in the bathroom or something." Katie was a good friend, always willing to go along with Gaia's schemes, though they didn't usually involve lying or running away.

She had planned to stay awake reading all night. The empty school was spooky. Not the sort of place you'd want to fall asleep in. And yet, somehow, she had. The next thing she knew, there was a man standing in front of her, seemingly materialized out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Gaia scrambled out of her chair, ready to run or fight. Heart pounding, she answered, "Me? What are you doing?"

The man put his hands up and took a step back. "My name's Frank. I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "But you're trespassing."

"No I'm not! I go here!"

"Maybe. But it's after hours. You're supposed to be out of here by five, at the latest."

"What about you?"

"I pulled night duty. Security and clean-up. But my shift's over and I'd like to go home."

"I'm not stopping you," she swept her arm to one side in a 'be my guest' gesture.

They stared at each other.

"You hungry?" Frank finally asked.

"No," said Gaia. But her stomach gave a loud growl. Frank laughed.

"Be right back." And he shuffled off down the hall to the vending machines.

"Here you go." He tossed her a chocolate bar. "We got fruit roll-ups for dessert." He was eating a bag of chips. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then, "So why're you spending the night at the school?" he asked.

"I had to get away."

"Things bad at home?"

"You could say that. I've got three little siblings. Triplets. TRIPLETS! Can you believe it?"

Frank relaxed. He'd been ready to put his Child in Danger training into practice. Who to call if you suspect a child's being abused or neglected. No mention had been made of triplets in the home.

"They're four years old and they get into EVERYTHING! I had to get out. I can't take the mayhem. You know the last time I was able to read a book in peace? When I was EIGHT! What were my parents even thinking?"

"I don't suppose they had much control of it."

"But they DID! They wanted another baby and it wasn't happening. They didn't want me to be an only child. But they didn't ask me. I was perfectly happy. For eight glorious years, it was just the three of us. But then Mom read some child development book that said "Onlies are Lonelies" and boom! Fertility drugs. They knew the risks and they did it anyway. Totally ruined my life."

"I'm sure it's added a certain amount of chaos to theirs, too."

"Serves 'em right," she huffed. "This didn't have to happen."

"Will you go back, do you suppose? After your night away? Or is this the start of your life on the street?"

Gaia thought about it. "I'm not sure I want to be a total runaway," she conceded.

"It's a hard life," Frank agreed. "I worked in a shelter for a while. You gotta be tough."

"Well, I am," she insisted. "But if I don't need to stay out..."

"Yeah, good choice," he said. " Work things out with your parents. Stay in school. Life will be a lot easier."

"I guess so," she sounded doubtful.

"They'll grow up," he assured her. "Nobody stays four forever."

"Even when there's three of them?"

"Even then."

He looked like he was getting ready to leave. Gaia wanted to keep him there a little longer.

"You got siblings?" she demanded.

He laughed. "One. A sister. She's a brat."

"Like me?"

"Worse than you. She ratted me out to my parents when she found my stash."

Gaia's eyes widened.

"There went their offer to pay my tuition. I was going to go to art school."

"So that's why you're a janitor?"

"Yeah."

Gaia didn't know what to say. On the one hand, it seemed like a harsh punishment. But then, drugs were bad.

"It's a good gig, though," Frank admitted. "Regular hours. Pretty decent pay. I could do a lot worse."

"Do you still do your art?"

He shrugged.

"You should do your art," she insisted. "You could still make it. You're not that old."

Laughing, he said "I'm thirty-two," answering the question in her voice. "I got plenty of time. You do any art?"

"Sometimes. But the triplets destroy it. And play with my supplies."

"Hide 'em on a high shelf in your closet. And maybe spend some time with them. They'll be less destructive if they know you care. If they like you."

She shrugged off his advice. "Is that where you hid your stash? On a high shelf in the closet?" She felt very grown-up saying 'stash' like that.

He conceded defeat. "Yeah, but my sister's older than me, not four. I'm sure it'll work this time."

"You haven't seen them stacking chairs to get to the cookies in the high cupboard."

"Jesus," he muttered. "It'd be like living with a family of squirrels."

"EXACTLY! It's what I've been trying to tell you!"

"Well, you enjoy your peace. Don't do anything stupid. I'm gonna head out. You good?"

"I think so." Gaia was surprised. She'd expected him to stay and look after her. But she wasn't going to admit that she was scared. The school looked a lot bigger in its dark emptiness than it did in the daytime, full of life.

"Got your cell phone?" he asked.

"Yep." She flashed it at him.

"All charged up?"

"Yep."

"Cool. You can call home if you run into any trouble."

"And wake up the squirrels?"

"Maybe best to tough it out," he agreed, gave a small salute and headed off down the hall. Sometimes the cure for bad behaviour is bad behaviour, he'd learned from a few uncomfortable moments in his life.

A minute later, Gaia heard the door slam. She was all alone in the empty school.

"It's what you wanted," she reminded herself. "Some peace and quiet for once." Drawing into herself, she settled deeper into the chair, turning her attention to her book.

. . . . .

A car alarm snapped her awake. She checked the time on her phone. People would be coming in soon. She dragged her chair back into the library, put her books away and headed for the bathroom, staying there until she heard enough voices in the hall that she knew that she wouldn't be noticed.

Her mother texted her. "You're not at Katie Murphy's."

"I was," she texted back. "I left early so I could get to school. I have some studying to do." She didn't know if her mother would believe her or not.

But she texted back, "I'm picking you up at 3:00."

She might not believe her, but Gaia never got rides home from school. "Thanks, Mom."