Chapter 10: Seeing Things

The morning flew by in a blur of activity until, suddenly, it was lunchtime. The kids gathered around the tables, each one with a plate, cup, and fork in front of them. Sofia and Ashley took circuitous routes around them as they dished up the day's meal—chicken alfredo pasta with sides of green beans and strawberries. And some milk to drink, of course.

The kids waited with varying degrees of patience as the food went out. It took a few gentle reminders to make sure they waited until everyone was served. As the last plate was filled, however, Ashley clapped her hands together. "All right! What do we say?"

"Thank you for the food!" The class chorused together before digging in. The usual din of constant conversation and activity silenced, giving way to the clink of forks on plates and soft chewing sounds. Well, mostly soft. Rory wasn't exactly the quietest eater.

"Rory, let's chew with our mouth closed, ok?" Sofia gently reminded him.

The boy stared at her, but closed his mouth obligingly. He then proceeded to shove another massive forkful of pasta into it, filling his mouth to the point that he physically couldn't close it. Sofia just shook her head.

The lights dimmed as Ashley drifted about the room, closing blinds and setting up beds in preparation for the post-lunch nap. Sofia began pulling out blankets to help. As they worked, her stomach rumbled.

That pasta smells so good it's making me hungry. Thank goodness I'm going on lunch first…

Her heart sank. Her lunch. Her lunch. She'd run so late that morning that she hadn't even brought one.

Shoot.

Sofia's mind raced. As much as the daycare had in the way of coffees and teas and other drinks, they didn't seem to stock any food or snacks. Worse, the place was so out of the way that she doubted she'd have time to drive to town, pick something up, and drive back before her break was over. Even if she did, she certainly wouldn't have time to eat it.

She groaned. First she'd slept in in, then she'd almost hit a deer, and now this… Today was not shaping up to be her best showing.

"What's wrong?"

Ashley cocked her head curiously. Evidently, Sofia had let some of her distress leak through to her expression. "Ah. I just realized… I forgot my lunch."

"Oh! Is that all?" Ashley smiled. "Then why not have what they're having?"

Sofia opened her mouth, then closed it again. "That's… I mean… can I?"

"Of course! There's always a bit extra, so why not?"

Why not, indeed? When she put it that way, it seemed like such an obvious option. Yet Sofia had never considered it. That was kid food, made for kids. Except…

…It does still smell really good…

Sofia bit her lip and nodded. "Sure. If it's really ok. I'll grab some once I go on break—"

"Why wait? Go right ahead! We've already finished most of our naptime prep. And as a matter of fact, I think we might have an extra plate…"

Ashley ushered her toward the partially-full serving bowl of pasta, seemingly deaf to her objections. Giving in, Sofia dished herself up some food. It certainly looked as appetizing as it smelled. Though looks could be deceiving. After all, kids had vastly different tastes from adults, didn't they?

Hesitantly, she lifted a forkful of the fettuccine to her mouth. As Sofia tasted the food, she very nearly dropped her fork in surprise.

Holy cow. This… this is AMAZING.

She dug in, eagerly downing forkful after forkful. She felt like Rory with the speed at which she was stuffing herself. The taste was unbelievable.

Those kids get to eat stuff like this for every meal? Seriously?! They don't even know how good they have it. I feel bad for their moms, having to compete with cooking like this.

Her meal was occasionally interrupted by requests for seconds from the kids, which she quickly fulfilled. Even with that, Sofia's fork clinked against the bottom of her empty bowl all too soon. She decided to hold off on refilling it, though. The dish was pretty popular among the kids, too, and she didn't want to take too much.

One by one, the children finished their food. They ran through their bedtime routine of putting away chairs, stacking dirty dishes, and using the bathroom one last time before making their way to their beds.

Sofia knelt down to tuck Penny in. She ruffled the girl's curly brown hair and smiled. "Sleep well, ok?"

She was rewarded with a sleepy smile in return. As she straightened, Sofia found Ashley drifting toward her. She gestured around the room with a whisper. "You can go on ahead. I'll get the rest of them to bed."

Sofia nodded gratefully. "Thanks. Want me to do anything before I go?"

"Hmmm…" The woman tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Nope, I don't think so. They'll come by to grab the dishes when they're ready. Although, if you're still hungry, maybe you should stop by and ask if Gretchen has more of the pasta in the kitchen?"

Sofia felt herself unintentionally salivating at the thought. She nodded. At the very least, she could let the woman know how excellent the food had tasted. "Sure. I'll do that."

Turning toward the door, she paused. They'd turned the lights out for naptime, meaning the room was fairly dim. However, the little bit of ambient light still allowed her to see a small leaf in Ashley's hair.

Huh. Must be from when we went outside earlier… I can't believe I missed it until now.

She absentmindedly reached forward. As she plucked it out of the woman's tousled locks, Ashley flinched. "Ouch! What was that for?"

"Oh!" Sofia blinked. The leaf must have gotten caught—not surprising, considering its wild state. "Sorry. You just had something in your hair."

"It's ok," Ashley reassured her, rubbing at her head. "I was just… surprised, that's all. Well, see you when you get back!"

Sofia bid the woman goodbye, grabbing her belongings and heading out. Whoops. Should have been more careful… Sorry, Ashley.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Slinging her bag over one shoulder, she headed out. It was time to check the kitchen.

***

The kitchen was located in the middle of the building, across and a little way down from Ashley's Dragonlings. Sofia had passed it each day on her way to the classroom. Despite that, she had yet to actually go inside. She'd only peeked in during Ginger's brief tour of the facilities, nothing more.

The doorway stood open, the tantalizing scents that wafted into the hallway inviting Sofia in. They made her mouth water reflexively. As she approached, a cackling laugh sounded from within.

Well. I guess she enjoys her job, too. Maybe a little too much…

The kitchen itself was massive, at least twice as large as her mom's kitchen at home. Double ovens stacked atop each other along one wall, opposite an industrial-sized fridge and freezer along the other. One long counter hosted a whole collection of appliances, while metal prep tables lined the center of the room.

The place was expansive, to say the least. It seemed like overkill for a restaurant, not to mention a daycare.

"Why, hello, my pretty!"

Sofia's attention was drawn toward the stove. There, stirring a massive metal stockpot, stood a round old woman with gnarled fingers and a crooked nose. She was short in stature—not short short like Ginger was, but probably about five feet tall. It meant that she could just see over the edge of her pot when standing up straight.

She looked, for all intents and purposes, like the stereotypical depiction of a witch. All she was had to do was swap her tall chef's hat for a pointy black one. Though Sofia would never voice the thought. That would just be rude.

"Ah!" Gretchen greeted her with a gap-toothed smile. Her voice sounded as though someone had taken sandpaper to her throat. "Well, if it isn't our newest employee! What brings you to my domain, girl?"

"Hello!" Sofia greeted her. "I was just wondering if you have more of that pasta? I tried some in class and it was absolutely delicious. Plus I forgot my lunch today, so…"

"Oh, is that all? Of course, of course! Coming right up!"

Gretchen reached over to one of the other stockpots that rested atop the stove. A bowl appeared in her hand and she began heaping scoop after scoop of the pasta into it. Once Sofia was certain that the tower of fettuccine would topple over, the woman finally let the serving spoon fall back into the pot and waddled toward Sofia with a grin. "Here you are, girl. Eat up!"

"I…" Sofia eyed the comically large serving. "Thank you, but… I don't know if I can eat all this."

Gretchen waved her off. "Oh, nonsense! A slip of a girl like you needs all the food she can get! Someone needs to fatten you up, hmm?"

Sofia smiled hesitantly. Being "fattened up" was just about the last thing she wanted. It had taken her years to work off her freshman fifteen in college, and she had no desire to go through that again. Still, she appreciated the woman's generosity.

The cook returned to her original stockpot, stirring it with wide, circular motions. Sofia peered over curiously. "What are you making?"

"What does it look like? I'm preparing the snack for this afternoon."

Gretchen lifted a ladleful of some bubbling dark purple substance. It dripped back into the pot in thick glops. It looked… concerning, if she was being completely honest.

Sofia stared at her. "You… you make those? The snacks?"

The cook cackled. "Of course! What, do you think this stuff grows on trees? Well, some of it does, but…"

Sofia smiled at the woman's joke and shook her head. "I figured we bought it from the store."

Granola bars, cereal, cookies—most of the snacks she'd seen so far were ones that she either recognized from her own childhood or had seen in the grocery store. Given that, it only made sense to assume that things like the cheesy penguin-shaped crackers the kids got were the same ones she sometimes grabbed off the shelves as a snack. But apparently not. Maybe the cute facial expressions stamped onto each one should have clued her in.

"Oh, heavens no!" Gretchen looked affronted. "Why on earth would I do that? I can make them just fine myself!"

As if to illustrate, the woman hauled the pot over to one of the metal worktables and set it down with a hefty thud. She then began to spread the purple substance across a rectangle of dough and roll it up.

Oh! It's fruit filling, she realized with some measure of relief. Those are just like the fig bars I used to love.

The nostalgia of a childhood snack combined with that kind of cooking ability? If those treats were anything like the pasta, they would be absolutely divine. She almost started to feel a bit jealous. That is, until she realized that no one would mind her sneaking just one or two at snacktime. After everyone else had eaten their fill, of course.

Thanking Gretchen again, Sofia bid her goodbye and turned toward the door, carefully managing her bowl of pasta as she did. She was so distracted by her balancing act that she nearly bumped into someone on the way out.

"Eep! S-sorry…"

Sofia struggled to stabilize the tower of alfredo. "It's ok! My fault, I wasn't looking…"

She looked up to see the newcomer, then had to crane her neck even higher. The woman before her stood at least two feet taller than Sofia, to the point that she actually had to duck to get through the doorway. Long curtains of dark hair hung down to her waist and obscured the majority of her face. Baggy sweatpants and an even baggier jacket similarly obscured her figure. Even her hands were obscured beneath overly-long sleeves. Her shoulders were hunched and rounded as though she were trying to hide, a completely fruitless endeavor given her monstrous stature.

"U-um… Excuse me…"

Sofia realized that she'd been staring. Not only that, she'd been blocking the doorway as well. She stepped aside as quickly as she dared. The huge woman ducked her head bashfully, pushing a cart full of dirty forks, plates, and cups inside. It clattered loudly as she called out in a voice slightly louder than a whisper. "Miss Gretchen? I brought the dishes…"

"Ah, thank you, Urka!" Gretchen grinned. "Go ahead and get started on those while I get the snacks in the oven. Say, have you met the new girl yet?"

"N-no…"

The tall woman turned to look at Sofia, then quickly averted her gaze. They stayed like that for a long moment before Sofia realized she wasn't going to introduce herself. She extended a hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sofia."

"A-ah… I'm, uh, Urka… But people call me Urk… A-at least, that's what they say when they see me…"

Sofia's brow furrowed as she looked at the painfully shy woman—and not just because of the depressing nickname. Something seemed… off about her. Not the obvious things like her unusual height or attempts to make herself seem as small as possible, though. It seemed like Urka's clothes were… shifting? The grey fabric looked rougher than it had moments before, more like elephant skin than cloth.

What's going on?

"Er… A-are you ok?"

Urka's tone took on a note of concern as she peeked at Sofia, who put a hand to her head. "Yeah… I just…"

Even as she spoke, the world around her became stranger still. Odd lights and colors bloomed in her vision. The appliances themselves seemed to shift as though floating through the air. She even swore she heard soft tittering nearby.

"On second thought… I think I need some air." Sofia shook her head in an attempt to clear it, then stumbled toward the door. "Uh… thank you again!"

Gretchen called after her, but she didn't hear the words. She was too preoccupied with the strangeness around her. The bright spots of color continued to float about her vision, and no amount of blinking or rubbing her eyes could clear them.

What is going on? What's wrong with me? Do I need to go to the hospital?

Her confusion only grew as she made her way down the hall. Each time she glanced inside a classroom, the teachers inside looked wrong. Their features were warped and twisted as though she were in some sort of fever dream. Worse, things around her continued moving and swimming about. She even started to hallucinate that the strings of lights hung on the walls were insects fluttering through the air like massive fireflies.

"You sick?"

Sofia looked up. There, standing in front of her, was an orc. Well, what looked like an orc. Whatever trick her eyes were playing on her made the teacher standing there resemble a literal green-skinned woman with tusks and brawny muscles. She wore a deep frown as she stared at Sofia.

The bowl of chicken alfredo pasta fell to the floor with a splat. Sofia felt the blood drain from her face. "...I think I need to go home."