Chapter Two: The Confrontation

Chapter Two - A Confrontation
"Sir, you're going to want to take this. This punkin needs some darn inspiration. And give her some suckers. Skinny as a skeleeton she is. And a Coppertone sample, bless her little heart." Bush laughed.
" Will do, Dolores." He kept his happy attitude, but inside, he was screaming.
"My one week of vacation, and this girly wants to chit chat." The door swung open, and a skinny girl with medium blonde hair stepped in. She was dressed casually, which gave the impression that she was poor. After all, this was the office of one of the most famous men in the world.
"Hi there, gal. What's your name?" She gave a toothy grin. It was August 9, 1999, 2:15pm. "My name is Patricia. I'm here to talk politics. " George laughed, and thought to himself, Another girl who wants to be all grown up-like
. "Mr. Bush, if you wouldn’t mind, I think this well interest you."Not much of a chance, he thought. She paused for only a moment, as if investigating the air. Then a satisfied look washed over her.
" You're wearing your wife's socks today because all of yours are dirty. You failed to do your laundry." Bewildered, George stared at her in awe.
"No." Patricia frowned.
"No?" "I just thought hers were more comfortable. " Patricia sighed.
"I know you don’t wanna ask, so I'll just tell you. I know cause they told me . The dust. One saw your laundry pile, it came from your wife's hair brush, and the other actually came from the sock." She pointed daftly at what looked like nothing.
"There he goes." George cut to the chase, a bit startled.
"It's possible you could be lying. " Patricia's eyes were unmoving the glaring into his, inspecting him.
"Deep down, though, you know. Soon Mr. Bush, I will be dangerous. I will control them. On my 6th level. You release my mother from prison, and you're safe." She walked closer and closer to him until she could smell the garlic in his breath. All the while he thought, I've seen some pretty troubled kids, but this one's a little over the edge.
" I will kill you, along with Gary Emerson, or anyone who gets in my way. This is your last chance." She turned around, taking a handful of suckers.
"Oh, and Mr. Bush, I'm afraid I was mistaken." She walked back to him one more time. He was turning white. " The dust only told me that they were women socks. They spoke of no Laura, not even a Bush. I'd give them back to whoever before anyone finds out. Nicely done. "
" I still can't get your mother out." She gave him a mischievous smile.
"Pretty soon, you'll have more to worry about than little girls unveiling your scandal-like family issues. Think about it. " And with that she hopped out content with her sucker bunch and small speech. Beep.
"Ah , sir, you forgot the Coppertone." Beep. Startled Bush stuttered into the receiver. " Woops. Must have slipped my mind, Dolores."



"Oh my little Patricia. You look like you had a good day." Jannette Jones was the nicest lady Patricia had ever known. She was smart, kind hearted, and the overall provider of those good fruit snacks.
" Hey Pat. What's up dude!" Patricia laughed. " Hey Jimmy. And happy birthday!" He smiled, but there was no joy to it. "I have to wait just one more year, and then they’ll leave me alone. The stupid dust." Hannah jumped in.
"Well, Jimmy, being 9 isn't so bad. I'm nine, and look how pretty I am!" He rolled his eyes in disagreement. Little Miss Hannah was the house drama queen. "It's okay Jimmy, you still get to play Jannette's dust games. "
"Yeah, but man, I wanna be regular, you know? Maybe Jannette'll let me go."
"Boys and girls, I need your attention!"
22 heads turned in her direction, all hoping it was snack time. "Before we start Jimmy's party," all the girls who were under age 9 sighed at his name in adoration", yes, well, we have to announce Jimmy's plan. " At this, everyone looked more solemn, like they were discussing something sacred, because they actually were.
"Jimmy plans to retire from this next year. He may stay with us after retirement, like Carry, Amanda, Gracie, and Fred, or go to a school. " Everyone clapped and cheered him on. If he left, the Jones Home would classify him as graduated. If he stayed, like Carry, he would be classified as Further work to do.
" Is everyone ready for a dust game?"
"Yeah!"
"First one to find tone that says something about Jaspers hair gets a slice of cake!"
Jimmy's plan was like all the rest, to retire from dust . Only one person besides Jannette, the owner, hadn't retired at age ten. And that was Patricia. No one looked very excited when she didn’t retire. It worried them all. No one liked dust talking to them constantly, and no one would keep it that way when given the choice. They all gave it up. Why did Patricia still want it? Did she enjoy it? The thoughts scared them. Patricia had always been different. Quite frankly, none of them were the normal jocks, but Patricia was just weird. She told them all of her mother in prison and she seemed outraged, but they never understood. Didn’t she love her father, too? How forgiving could she be to her mom? Lack of secretive attitude worried Jannette the most, and with good reason. Patricia would never keep her power quiet. Most kids in the home hadn't reached the 6th level. Most of them hadn't even had a chance to retire, because most were under age ten. They had nothing to defend themselves. Patricia was reaching her 6th. Jannette had never seen anybody in the 6th but herself. It scared her. If Patricia didn’t ever retire, if she kept this up, who knew what would happen. Dust controlling had a few things to it that no liked.
One) It had no written history
Two) It hadn't been explored- no guaranteed safety
And Three)It's scientifically impossible.
Now that was scary. Jannette regretted ever letting her not retire. She promised herself that she wouldn’t leave her alone any longer. She would watch. She would spy on Patricia Moore.