Eye Contact

Eye Contact
Chapter 1

Ciera loved her work. Most of it that is. She was deathly afraid that she would catch every bug carried by the patients who came to the Community Health Center. Sitting at the front desk put her directly in contact with the patients who came there for medical care. And in Portland Oregon they had no shortage of sick patients.

Mondays always seemed to be busier than the rest of the week.

“New necklace?” Amanda asked in Spanish.
“Yeah.” said Ciera.

Amanda was Dr. Schultz’s nurse and one of Ciera’s closest friends. They often chatted in their native language which annoyed a few of the other employees who couldn’t understand what they were saying. But it was very helpful in dealing with the many patients who had arrived from Mexico. Many of them only spoke Spanish.

She had been sick much of her life and was always small for her age. She was 26 years old but looked younger. Born two months premature, her body was not ready to deal with the millions of germs in the world. Inevitably she caught many diseases that were going around. Her pretty brown eyes looked sunken but still had a sparkle in them.

It seemed that working as the receptionist at the Community Health Center might be the last place she would want to work. But there she was. Faced with dozens of sick people every day.

Her desk was messy and full of papers, pens and pictures of her family. She kept everything on her desk, including an assortment of antiseptic bottles, germ killing wipes, alcohol pads, and anything else that could be used to keep the area sterile. They were pushed up under the counter.

The top of the counter hid the germ killing collection from sight of the patients but not from anyone who worked at the Health Center. Many of the other people who worked with her considered her a nice person, but with a fixation on germs.

Amanda’s face was slightly flushed and moist. Her light blue nurse’s uniform hung loosely around her ample waist and had dark streaks on the right side that made it look dirty. She looked like a blue snowman with clothes on and was in stark contrast to Ciera’s slender appearance. Ciera’s quiet voice matched her small frame.

Amanda took a deep breath as a drop of sweat meandered slowly down from her temple. Walking the patients to and from the examining rooms and back made her hot and she sweated profusely. She wiped the drops away and rubbed her hand on her uniform over the stained area where many drops of sweat had been wiped before.

Amanda was open minded, friendly, and fun to be around. Not like some of the other people who worked there. Most of the other people thought Ciera was a hypochondriac, or worse. Amanda shared her concerns about being surrounded by germs all day long.

She hoped Amanda would not ask any more questions. But of course she had questions. She was always full of questions.They all tumbled out of her mouth, one right after another. She spoke rapidly and didn’t wait for a reply.

“So, what does it do?”
“Does it kill germs?”
“How does it work?”
“How much does it cost?”

“It’s something I saw on the Internet. I don’t know how it works exactly but lots of people said they felt better when they wore it. I think it was called ‘PowerBoost’ or something like that” Ciera replied.

The two inch cobalt blue stone was on a polished bronze chain and had a brownish smoky vein that ran through the length of the stone.

“It looks very nice.” said Amanda, but the tone of her voice clearly said that she didn’t like it.

Ciera told her that the blue crystal used energy from her body and sent pulses of electronic ions into the air that attached to any microbes and rendered them harmless. Amanda rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t work too well. I would hate to be out of a job.” Amanda winked and smiled as she met the next patient and took them back to their room. She added another drop of sweat to the stains on her uniform.

Ciera was relieved when the day was over and Amanda had been too busy to ask any more questions. Amanda always needed details. Lots of details.

Had Amanda known what was going to happen next she would have bombarded Ciera with even more questions.
Chapter 2

Tuesday was filled with the usual assortment of patient with problems, doctors with problems, and computers with problems. It was a long day and Ciera was relieved when it was over.

Portland Oregon was a great place to be. Lots of people, things to do, beautiful parks, and great shopping. But Ciera rarely took advantage of these opportunities except to get a latte after work.
The Koffee Korner was part of Ciera’s daily routine. Actually, it was about the only place she enjoyed going, except home. She came here to unwind. No cranky-pantsed patients to deal with, no over anxious Mothers to calm, and no one needed her help.

She was a regular customer there and had become friends with Dina, the barista. It was one of the few friendships she had outside of work and her family. She avoided most people to stay away from germs. And everyone was covered in germs.

Ciera nodded hello to Dina as she placed her order. Dina winked a hello back.

Dina had two things that stood out. One was her muscles. Even though she was just over five feet tall she appeared much bigger. She worked out regularly and her body was proof that the exercise was working.

The lotion on her skin to make the ripples on her muscles shine and she looked like the champion in a bodybuilding contest. She could probably make a good living at modeling bikinis too as the curves weren’t limited to just the muscles in her body. Playboy would have gladly put her pictures in their magazine.

The other thing about Dina was her personality. Everyone loved her. Though there was always the rare person who hated her, usually an envious woman.

Dina’s boss, Elon, was very aware that she was a people magnet who brought in a lot of return business. That gave Dina a little freedom to mix a little more with the customers who liked the extra attention very much. Dina’s tip jar was a visual reminder of the benefits of being popular at a latte shop.

Ciera didn’t have many friends but she loved to talk with Dina. Their friendship had become closer over the past couple of years and had expanded to more than just chatting at the latte bar. They had met several times to go to movies, a country music concert, and to Dina’s gym.

The gym seemed so foreign to Ciera. She felt out of place even though the trainers spent a lot of time showing her how to use the equipment. She had trouble using most of them at their easiest setting. Dina had been going there for several years and was completely at home using the fitness equipment. She moved from machine to machine with a fluid grace. It was poetry in motion to watch her.

Ciera and Dina talked a lot. Sometimes so much that Elon had to remind them that there was work to do. All he had to do was stand near the cash register and make eye contact. Standing a little over six foot foot tall with a powerful, athletic body it was easy for him to get their attention. Elon appreciated that Ciera was a regular customer, but Dina still needed to tend to all the patrons.

After a few minutes Dina nodded to Ciera who headed to the end of the bar where the drinks were delivered.

As she walked to the bar she felt different. Very different. Her legs were strong but didn’t feel quite right. Usually she was pretty tired after working, but not now. “Weird.” she thought. She brushed it off as she chatted with Dina.

As Ciera reached for her drink she noticed that her arm felt awkward, just like her legs. Powerful but not easy to move smoothly. She grasped the cup and stood at the counter for a moment. Dina looked at her and saw something in Ciera’s face that was different.

“Are you OK?” Dina asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” she lied.

On the way back to her chair she nearly lost her balance. She felt stronger, but uncoordinated, like she was walking knee deep in a creek with slippery rocks.

Dina saw that something was wrong and came over to her table. “I saw that. What’s going on with you?” Dina asked. Her hazel eyes showed concern from a true friend.

“I’m fine.”
“No you’re not, now what is the matter?“ Dina tilted her head and tried to read Ciera’s body language.
“Nothing, I’m just tired.” Ciera lied. Dina looked at her and frowned.
“Really?” she said. The sarcasm in her voice said she clearly wasn’t buying the answer from Ciera.

“Yeah, really.” Ciera lied again.

“I don’t believe you one little bit.” Dina said and walked back to the bar. She turned her head and took another peek at Ciera as she left the table.

Ciera was feeling surges inside that started in her gut and rose to her chest and then up to her head. Her breathing became faster and made her face feel flushed. She practiced deep, slow breathing like she had been taught when she had experienced panic attacks and wondered if the same thing was happening to her again.

Ciera tried to focus on something else and opened her laptop. She scanned the Internet for articles about her usual interests, Hollywood, famous people, and, of course, anything about staying healthy but couldn’t stay focused.

Two weeks ago Ciera had been sitting at the same table and was searching the Internet when she saw a recipe for “that promised to strengthen her immune system, increase her strength, and keep her safe from the millions of germs ready to invade her body. Subconsciously she had felt that it might be too good to be true but still….. It was worth a try. She entered her information on the screen and hit submit.

Almost instantly her screen came alive with several pages of advertisements. Some were about the best foods to eat to strengthen your immune system and others shouted the benefits of extracts and supplements. It took a long couple of minutes to close them all.

Ciera had tried eating the wholesome foods that are known to support your immune system and hated every bite. Eating raw fruits and vegetables was very difficult and she had to gag the food down. It seemed to linger in her stomach and cause her to feel upset. Her stomach rolled just seeing the pictures of carrots, broccoli, grapefruit, and spinach. She often had diarrhea shortly after trying to eat them.

She had picked up the list of ingredients at a health food store and put them into a plastic bottle that fit into her purse. It was a mixture of proteins, probiotics, amino acids, and other supplements with long difficult names. It was a ghoulish greenish color and didn’t smell pleasant either. Its taste was like milk that was starting to sour. But she believed it would prevent her from getting sick and she used it every day, even though she sometimes shuddered as she swallowed it.

She had added it to her latte every day for two weeks with no noticeable differences. Now something had changed. ”I wonder if this stuff is working.” she thought. She flashed a brief smile.

Ciera was careful not to spill any on her table. She was afraid what might happen to the finish and didn’t want to explain what she had spilled there.

Ciera got up to leave and waved goodbye to Dina who still had a concerned look on her face and waved back. Ciera put a smile on her face that didn’t convince anyone and pushed on the front door. It sprang open and bounced back, hitting her in the arm. “Holy shit.” she thought.

Her hands visibly shook as she stepped out into the sunshine.
Chapter 3
Ciera started walking towards her car. Her mind was spinning, her heart was racing, and she was completely unaware that the temperature outside was approaching 100 degrees.

“What is going on?”
“What’s happening to me?”
“Shit, shit, SHIT!”

The last word came out loud and distinct. About 30 feet away a middle-aged woman was just getting out of her car and overheard Ciera’s outburst. She shook her head in disgust and locked her car before heading to the Nordstrom department store. Ciera didn’t have a clue that she was even in the area.

Her hand was shaking as she put the key in the ignition and started her car. The little red Kia started then died. The engine stumbled when she started it again.

“Oh shit!” she thought.
“I don’t need any damn problems with my car.”

She made a mental note to take it in when she could afford to have it fixed.

Even the steering wheel felt weird. She put it in reverse and backed out of the parking spot. She decided to skip the Koffee Korner today and headed for home.

She drove over the Burnside Bridge and continued East on Burnside Street. She braked as the traffic light turned yellow, then red and she stopped behind the white car ahead of her. Looking into the mirror she saw that her face still looked flushed and she broke into a smile. She hadn’t smiled like that for years.

When the light turned green the car ahead of her didn’t move. It looked like the driver was looking down at his cell phone. Ciera tapped her horn. The car still didn’t move. She laid on the horn this time. The driver stuck his head out the driver’s window and made eye contact with her.

The veins in her neck began to bulge and she inched her car forward and touched the bumper on the car ahead.

She shouted out the window “Learn to drive asshole!”

The driver flipped her the finger and took off. She stomped on the gas pedal and stayed right behind him for a block before finally slowing down. She was still mad as hell and flipped him the finger as he turned onto another street.

“What a dumb shit!” she fumed.

The rest of the trip home went without any more confrontations. Ciera hated the inconsiderate drivers she had to share the road with and outbursts were not uncommon. She was a different person behind the wheel.

After parking her car she practically floated to her apartment. She felt powerful and moved easily. She felt alive, energetic, and certain that something magical was happening.

“This is definitely from the ‘PowerBoost’.“ “It’s working, It’s working!” she said aloud. Her thoughts went back to the benefits listed on the website. Stronger, more stamina, increased resistance to illness. “It’s happening right now.” she thought. She felt happier than she had been for years.

All evening long she could hardly think about anything except what “PowerBoost” was doing for her. The TV was on but she didn’t see or hear a thing. All she had on her mind was the miracle she was feeling inside. She smiled every time she thought about it. This was a huge change in her life and she couldn’t wait to see how much better everything was going to be.

Her phone rang and she heard Dina’s voice. “Hey Ciera! Just called to see how you were doing. I didn’t see you today and the last time I saw you, it didn’t seem like, well, you know, like you were feeling OK.”

“I’m great” she said. Even her voice sounded strong.
“I feel better than I have felt for a long time.” Ciera said.
“Hey, that’s great. I was worried you might be getting sick or something.”
“No way, I feel on top of the world.”

For the next 15 minutes they chatted as if they hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Ciera was on Cloud 9 but Dina felt that something wasn’t right with her friend and that worried her.

“Hey, I am heading to the gym tomorrow. Do you wanna come with me?” Dina asked.
“You betcha.” Ciera replied.
“Awesome, I’ll see you tomorrow around 10” and she hung up.

Ciera hung up the phone and headed to the kitchen to see what she had in the refrigerator for dinner. She was hungry and couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this.

Sleeping proved to be challenging and her mind refused to settle down until after midnight. She was excited. Finally she drifted off to sleep and dreamed about how much better life was going to be.

Chapter 4

Wednesdays at the gym were usually busy and today was no exception.

Ciera works out with Dina and does a little better than before.

Dina beams and encourages Ciera but tells her to not push too hard. She can hurt herself if she pushes too hard too fast.

Thursday she sees the white car again. She is stopped at a red light and the car is beside her. The driver is looking at his cell phone. Again. He looks up at Ciera and recognizes her. His hand comes off of the cell phone and he flips her the finger as he takes off. Ciera returned the gesture.

Monday Ciera arrives early and cleans up her desk, including moving the germ killing assortment to a basket on the floor next to her desk.

She thought “I probably won’t be needing these again but I’ll keep them close by just in case.”
Her face broke into a smile and she felt a little pain in her cheeks. The muscles in her cheeks that formed her smile were not used to being worked this often and were a little sore. Life felt great.

Amanda arrived at work a few minutes late as usual. She had a large family and getting them ready each morning wasn’t easy.

After work Ciera is full of energy and had trouble staying at her desk all day long.

Walking to her car she feels the tension in her shoulders slowly going away. It had been a pretty good day at work, maybe even a little bit fun. As she walked on the sidewalk she would try to avoid stepping on the cracks. No real reason why, maybe it was something she did where she was in control of her life. Occasionally she stepped on the cracks on purpose.

She arrived at the entrance to the parking lot and let out a tiny laugh. She had watched her steps for the last two blocks but had only seen anything else vaguely in her peripheral vision.

stops dead in her tracks. There is someone beside her car. And he is staring at her. She was barely aware that her heart was pounding like a racehorse running to the finish line.

“Shit!”

The man starts walking quickly towards her. There is no way to get to her car. She turns around and sees some people on the other side of the street waiting for a bus and she rushes towards them. Glancing back she can see that he is getting closer.

She darts between two parked cars and onto the street. She is focused on getting into the group of people where she thinks she will be safe and doesn’t see the white car barreling at her. The driver is the same one who was using his cell phone and had exchanged rude gestures with her. He has an angry look on his face as the car slams into her.

The car struck her legs first and she flew into the air on to have her head slam into the windshield with a thud. She flopped onto the pavement beside the car and blood dripped from her mouth and nose. A greenish fluid that had a bad odor leaked from her purse.

The ambulance was the first to arrive quickly followed by the Portland Police. Ciera was still breathing and they worked quickly to keep her head from moving when they strapped her into the stretcher.

“I didn’t see her coming Officer. She just jumped out in front of me and I couldn’t stop.” said the man driving the white car.