The Franklin Files

     Walking down that long hall to the front desk I kept thinking about what the guy had said, 'You're not going to tell anyone about me are you?'

     That was the last thing on my mind. I wasn't sure the guy had done anything wrong. He seemed a bit naughty but I didn't know that what he had done was illegal.

     The biggest thing on my mind is that I didn't want this getting back to my parent's that I had even been here. I was worried that they would want to call my parent's and then I would be in deep doo-doo, so I had no inclination of getting anyone in trouble. It seemed that the perpetrator's interests and mine coincided in this case. I wasn't going to report him because by doing so they may want to get my parent's involved, and that was the last thing that I wanted.

     When I finally got to the front desk of the recreation center, leaving this fifty foot trail of blood behind me, there was at first no one attending the front desk so I rang the little bell that was there on the counter. Usually I was more patient than that, but I don't know, I don't think I was bleeding to death, but I did think it was a bit urgent.

     A young woman came up to greet me on the other side of the desk after I rang the bell. She appeared to be about twenty years old, and was quite pretty and very nice.

     I told her that I was hurt and I needed help. She quickly came around the front desk and saw that my foot was bleeding.

     "Sorry about the blood all over the nice floor," I said embarrassed and pointing down the hall.

     "No worries kiddo, we'll have someone clean that up. Why don't you come over here and sit down." She said.

     She led me to a small sofa about fifteen feet away and I hobbled trying to keep my foot from at least touching the floor which just smeared the blood. She let me lean on her as we walked over towards the small couch.

     She sat me down on the couch and held my foot in her hand, and then said, "There's too much blood to see how serious this is, wait right here. I'll be right back."

     I waited there and in a few moments she came back with some antiseptic, some sanitized napkins, and some bandages.

     She just kind of squirted the antiseptic on my foot and started wiping away the blood with one of the sanitized napkins. After a few moments she had wiped away most of the blood, which has already started clotting, and she was able to see the wound.

     "Actually, sweetie, it doesn't look that bad. It's just a small cut." She said.

     "Oh God thank you, " I said to myself silently and then in silent mantra to myself I said, "Don't ask what happened - Don't ask what happened - Don't ask what happened..."

     "How did this happen?" She asked.

     I wasn't sure what to say. what could I say? I said, "Me and my friend were playing outside, and I was in my bare feet and I crawled inside the trash can, and cut my foot on the bottom of the trash can." and then to myself "Please believe me - Please believe me - Please believe me"

     "You really shouldn't play in your bare feet, there could be broken glass, nails and all kinds of stuff in the sand that you could cut yourself on," she said.

     "Yes ma'am," I said. I was starting to feel not myself again. I was feeling kind of giddy; kind of silly and my mind felt good.

     She smiled at me. She was beautiful, and she was nice, and I wished she was my mom.

     She kept pressure on the wound for a few minutes, with a sanitized napkin until the bleeding completely stopped. During those few minutes, I actually began flirting with her. I don't know what got into me. I just turned ten years old-- she was a grown up! But suddenly all my anxiety was gone and I felt good. I was enjoying this.

     "OK, " she said, "I think all it needs now is a Band Aid."

     I smiled back, trying to be as charming as possible. What the hell was I thinking. Should I ask her out on a date? I was being stupid, I knew it, but I couldn't help it. It was like I was drunk.

     She put the Band Aid on my foot, and while she did so I kept flirting with her. This was so weird, because this was not like me. I would never do something like this. I was a little kid-- she was a grown woman. I was just being stupid, but she was nice and humoring me. 

     She even gave me a little kiss on the forehead, and told me I could go now. I really wished at that moment that she was my mom.

     I walked back down that hall, a different person than when I walked in. When I walked in I was full of anxiety, and now I had not the smallest trace of anxiety. I was on top of the world. And I had no idea why.

     Somewhere between where I was standing in the hall, and walking back towards the entrance where I came in, I lost my memory, again.

     I was walking down the hall, heading back outside, where I was expecting Scott was waiting for me and hoping that the pervert had taken a hike; I mean the stanger that had been playing with us. It seemed to me if he was so worried I would tell, he should probably just take off. Isn't that what you would do?

     Only thing is, is I can't remember if he was there or not when I went back outside, because I actually can't remember ever leaving the recreation center.