Publish Novellas 8 September 2021
EPISODE 9 – EVENTUALITIES
Miss Chambers finds herself answering for activities of her students even when she is not instructing them.
In Custody, December 2013
The knock at the door is loud. It is too forceful for a pleasant visit. Evelyn turns over in her bed and opens one eye. ‘This is when I miss living in that big old mansion,’ she thinks to herself while dragging her limp body out of bed. As though sleepwalking, she shuffles through the apartment to the front door.
“Who is it?” she asks wistfully with a hand on the doorknob.
“Police!” The voice outside is calm but firm.
Evelyn rolls her eyes while looking at the full-length mirror to her far-right. “Police?” she asks while opening the door. “Good morning gentlemen. How may I help you?”
“Good morning, Dr. Chambers. We have orders to bring you in for questioning concerning a child’s exposure to a controlled substance,” the police officer says.
Evelyn stares at him through sleepy eyes and a bewildered expression. “This is a bad joke, right?” she asks. “I have no children here, sir!”
“Oh, we are sorry, ma’am… I didn’t mean to make you think you’re under arrest. You are not. Rather, it’s two of your students. We just need to ask you some questions concerning the case.” the officer elaborates.
The moment he mentions her students, her mind goes into overdrive. The only one of her students who is an adult is Nicole. And Nicole isn’t in town anymore, having gained college admission.
“Okay, but I have to brush my teeth and change out of my robe if you don’t mind. You can come in and sit down. It’s cold outside. Do you officers want coffee or tea?”
The two officers shrug at each other. “Sure, either is fine. Thank you, ma’am.”
“Which one of my students are you talking about?” she asks while heating some coffee.
“Tanya Anderson and Daniel Grey,” one officer shouts to the kitchen as she enters the living room where they are seated.
Evelyn nods. Tanya was always the one with the penchant for trouble. “And what exactly did they do this time?” she asks as she hands him coffee.
“We are not at liberty to say, ma'am,” the officer replies.
She looks at him as though to say, ‘Look at you two drinking my coffee and sitting your uniformed backsides in my chairs while refusing to share information with me!’
‘I’m too old for these kids’ troubles,’ she thinks as she goes off to the bedroom to brush her teeth. She soon rejoins the officers, dressed in sky-blue denim pants and a white T-shirt.
“Okay, I’m ready” she says. They stand up and she leads them out.
Police Station
Evelyn walks out of the questioning room with a straight face but she is dying inside. She wants to find Tanya and Daniel and tell them off until they both melt. Looking around over and over again, she doesn’t see either of them.
‘I thought they were being released right now!’ she thinks to herself as she begins to leave the police station. She decides that it is her least favorite place after hospitals.
There is a shout from across the room. “Miss Chambers!”
She whirls around and there stands Tanya. “Oh my goodness! You silly girl!” Evelyn all but screams.
“How did you get us out?” Tanya asks.
“That’s none of your business. Next time you get into trouble, you call me.” Evelyn chastises.
“I know. I’m sorry. It just feels like everyone is leaving. Nicole is gone, Mary is gone, even Ted has relocated on a scholarship to Switzerland,” Tanya complains.
They step outside to avoid drawing attention to the conversation inside the police station.
“So you thought it was a bright idea to spoon-feed a child cannabis?” Evelyn asks.
“She has seizures and epilepsy. Her brain is getting damaged each time she has a seizure. I… we… had to do something!” is the excuse Tanya offers.
“So you fed a child cannabis!” Evelyn scolds.
“I’m sorry,” is the apology from Tanya.
“Me too.” There is a pause between them. Then Evelyn asks, “How old is this child?”
“Three plus,” is the reply.
“What were your results?” asks the instructor.
“Exceptional. She hasn’t had a seizure in over three weeks. Daniel thinks we should find a way to separate the intoxicant from the medicine,” is the pupil’s response.
“Good idea. And until you have done that, don’t feed it to any more children,”Evelyn warns.
“Yes, ma’am,” says the released troublemaker.
Exploring Merits
“Come, let’s find Daniel so we can talk further about this remedy of yours.”
The girl follows her quietly.
“Tell me all about cannabis and seizures,” Evelyn whispers as they get out of earshot.
Tanya looks at her with wide eyes. “You are not mad?” Tanya asks.
Evelyn peers with stern eyes. “I just got pulled out of bed by cops early in the morning because you could be facing criminal charges. Of course, I’m angry!” Evelyn snaps.
There is an awkward pause before continuing, “But I also know that you’re a very smart child. I’m sure you’re on to something here.”
“Miss Chambers!” The ladies turn and Daniel stands there. He rushes and closes the gap between them. “Thank you so much for….”
“Don’t thank me just yet, Daniel. I hope the district attorney hears my pleas and drops the case. Your freedom has a contingency. He wants us to prove within the next three weeks that cannabis could help seizures. If we do, we must name and thank him in the resulting research paper” The two students glare at her incredulously.
“Is that even legal?” Tanya asks.
“I don’t know, but I would rather give him a shout-out than have you two idiots go to jail,” replies Evelyn.
“The thing is, cannabis helping with seizures is not new at all. The only difference is many researchers are not really interested enough to separate the components to remove the intoxicating factor. Now, all we have to do is prove that when separated, it can still function and reduce or even eradicate seizures completely.”
The two students stare at her for a while, and then Daniel shrugs. “I’m sure we can do that,” he says with a grin.
“Good. Then get to work,” Evelyn says through her wry expression.
