Claire tossed her genetics book off her bed and rubbed her
temples. The petite brunette had begun to question her lifelong
dreams of attending medical school. If she couldn't handle
undergraduate study, it didn't bode well.
It also didn't help that she had to play babysitter to her annoying
teenage sister Vicki during Spring break. Weren't college
students supposed to be doing wild and crazy things at night
during break?
Claire took a squig of bottled water from her nightstand and
decided she give genetics one last shot. No sooner did she
reach for the book than she heard an aggressive knock on the
door to her house.
"Vicki, you want to get that?" she yelled. When her sister didn't
answer, she swore and ran downstairs.
The pounding continued. She stood on her tip toes and peered
through the main entrance's peephole. Outside she saw a
grizzled old man, drenched with rain, holding his chest painfully.
"Who's there?" Claire asked, fear creeping up her spine.
"I need to use your phone. There's been a terrible... uh...
accident," the man's voice quivered. He sounded injured.
He looked too old to be dangerous, so she opened the door.
"Here's my cell," she handed the device to him. "Do you need
anything?"
The old man grimaced. "Yeah, a lesson in how to use this thing."
Old people, she thought. Claire explained the function of the
"Send" button to the man.
"Thanks," he growled, voice tinged with sarcasm. "Actually, could
I trouble you for a glass of water?"
Claire headed to the kitchen, but something in her peripheral
vision caught her eye as she went past the living room. Vicki was
splayed out on the couch in front of the television, a spilled glass
of water on the floor beside her.
"Vicki?"