Eudora's Baby

Chapter Three: Mrs. Greene

Jasmin followed the girl through the halls, down a rather dark and spooky stairwell, into the bowels of the house.  “Um,” Jasmin said, dragging her finger through the dust on the stair rail, “Does anyone ever come down here?”

Lori tipped her head to the side, as if she were trying to think and remember.  “No,” she said finally.  “Not really.”  The basement was another maze of halls and doors, lit with harsh florescent lighting.  She stopped in front of a set of double doors.  “Here it is.  See, I know where it is.” She said proudly.

“Thanks,” Jasmin said, pulling open the doors.

The lights flickered on, and Jasmin grimaced at the dust and cobwebs that covered the antiquated equipment.  “Okay, we’re going to have to get a cleaning crew in here.  Do you know who is in charge of the housekeeping, Lori?”

Lori scratched her hair.  “I think so.  I think it’s Mrs. Greene.  She always has the vacuum.” Lori covered her ears.  “I don’t like the vacuum.”

“Okay. We will look for Mrs. Greene later.”  Jasmin wandered around the gym, taking inventory.  There were free weights and barbells, a bench, a rowing machine, a bike, a treadmill.  There was a leg-sled and an elliptical.  A heavy bag was hanging in the corner.  There were some old mats in the center that could have been a place for sparring.  There was a small locker room to the side, with a dirty looking shower, and one toilet in a stall with no door.  Jasmin had really wanted to burn off some steam in the gym, but she was worried if she started stirring the dust in here, she’d end up with an asthma attack.  Maybe a shift and a run in the woods would be better, until she could find Mrs. Greene.

“Okay kiddo, lets go back upstairs.”

Lori crossed her arms over her chest.  “I am not a kid.”

“You’re not?  How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

She looked more like a twelve year old, but Jasmin wisely kept that observation to  herself.  “You’re right.  Definitely not a kid.  You are a young lady.”

“Yeah.” Lori said with a decisive nod.

Jasmin shut the lights back off and the odd pair made their way back through the cinder-block walled hallway, and back up the stairs.  Lori lead her back through the halls, and Jasmin again had the feeling like she was wandering through an old asylum for the insane.  They finally pushed through some doors that lead into the laundry.  Piles of clothes were sorted into baskets in front of two sets of industrial-size washing machines.  A TV was set up on a table in the corner, and Mrs. Greene was perched on a chair, watching soap operas, and eating chips out of bag.

“Ahem” Jasmin cleared her throat.

“Oh, for crying out loud!” Mrs. Greene scrambled to her feet.  She scowled at Jasmin, and then addressed Lori.  “What is she doing here, Lori?”

Lori shuffled her feet, and tried to dig her toe into the floor. “Miss Jasmin was lookin’ for you.  I’m her assistant.”

Mrs. Greene snorted.  “Well Miss Jasmin.  What do you want?”  She was a middle aged woman, with pasty, sagging skin and a face that seemed to be pulled into a perminant frown.

Jasmin felt her eyebrows crawling up toward her hairline.  Mrs. Greene wasn’t even trying to fake being friendly.  “Are you in charge of the housekeeping, Mrs. Greene?”

The omega, looking anything but submissive, pulled herself up and pulled her shoulders back.  “Yeah, that’s right.  You run out of toilet paper or somethin’?”

“I’d like you to organize a team to clean up the gym in the basement.” Jasmin said coolly.  She was having a hard time holding her red-headed temper in check.  Stay calm Jaz, kill her with kindness.  At the very least, be friendly and professional.

Mrs. Greene gave her dismissive glance.  “Well good on you, but you aren’t my boss.” She turned her back on Jasmin and sat back in her chair, giving her full attention back to her soaps.

Jasmin felt her mouth sag open.  She wasn’t a ranked member in Oakridge, but she was a respected member of the hunters.  She didn't have any real authority in this house, but she was hear with the Alpha, and that should count for something.  She had no idea what this middle aged omega had against her.  She fisted her hands at her sides.  She didn’t want to start a fight in her Luna’a new pack, so she shut her mouth, turned on her heel and left the laundry room without a word.

She really needed that run.

“Lori, I’m going to go out for a bit.”

“Okay, I’ll go with you.”

“No!”

The girl looked crestfallen.  “But you said… I was your assistant.”

“Right.” Jasmin pulled on her curls in frustration.  “Well I need you to stay here and assist me with something while I go out for a quick run.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.  Um.  Can you ask Beta Caleb if he can have the gym cleaned up?”

“Beta Caleb doesn’t do the cleanin." Lori looked offended at the suggestion.

“I know that, sweetheart.” Jasmin took a deep calming breath.  “But he is the Beta here, so he can give out the orders to get it done.”

“Oh yeah.”

“So you’ll go ask him for me?”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Good girl.” Jasmin checked her watch.  “I’ll be back in a couple hours.”

She quickly dashed out the door before the girl could try to follow her.  Jasmin wasn’t used to being around kids, especially not a girl with special needs like Lori.  She was used to be surrounded mostly by too much testosterone and big burly men.  She was one of the few female hunters in the Oakridge Pack, and she had worked hard to earn her respected position in the pack.  As soon as she hit the treeline, she stripped out of her clothes, and rolled them neatly at the base of a tree.  She shivered in the cold before she shifted quickly into her ginger-colored wolf.  At least her warm coat offered her some protection against the bitter cold.  With her breath coming out in puffs of steam, she pinned her ears back and took off at a full run to explore the surrounding forest.