Holding Grudges

"What's up with Lischak?" Grace Polk, Joan's friend, asked as she followed Joan outside. It was two-thirty in the afternoon on a Monday and they were just getting out of school for the day. "She's been all...dazed out...lately. She's usually going on and on about how wonderfully useful mitosis and meiosis truly are," Grace said in her usual sarcastic tone.

Joan, not paying much attention, stared forward as she continued to walk while in deep thought. She was still thinking about the dream she had the previous night. She wondered if it was God just playing with her or if Judith was trying to tell her something.

Grace gave her friend a weird look. "Uh...Earth to Girardi," she said, waving her pencil in front of Joan's face.

Joan quickly shook off her thoughts. "What?" she asked.

Grace sighed. "You didn't hear a word I said."

Joan looked at Grace briefly. "I'm sorry, it's just...I'm kind of zoned out today..."

"Must run in the family. You're zoned out stoner-style while your brother is zoned out into the land of cells, cytokinesis, telekinesis, and pretty much any other -kinesis."

Joan raised her eyebrow at Grace and kept it raised as she looked forward and saw an African American woman bending over and picking up trash off the school lawn. She rolled her eyes and looked at Grace.

"Hey, I'll catch up with you later. I just thought of something I left inside..." Joan mumbled, keeping her eyes fixed on the woman.

Grace shrugged and continued walking. "Whatever, dude."

She and Joan went their separate paths as Joan approached the woman.

The woman fixed her posture and looked at Joan. "Do you recycle, Joan?" she asked.

Joan gave her a dull look. "You're God. You should already know."

God (in garbage collector form) laughed. "Just thought I'd give you an opportunity to give me an honest answer. Now, do you?"

Joan, keeping the dull expression on her face, inquired, "What was that dream about last night? Was it a dream?"

"Were you asleep?"

"Duh."

"Then it was a dream!" The woman laughed and continued picking up trash and gathering it in a garbage bag. She held up an empty soda bottle. "You know, if more people recycled, things like these wouldn't end up on the ground to be destroyed over several months' time. Instead, they would be recycled and reused. Something good would come out of them."

"Yeah, and you'd be out of a job, too," Joan smartly replied. "What's the deal with all these weird dreams lately?"

"What? You don't want to see Judith anymore?"

"You make it sound like we're dating! And I'd love to see Judith again, but remember? You killed her off. 'Tune in to the next episode of the Bold and the Heavenly to see who God decides to kill off next!'"

"It seems that you've picked up on Judith's sense of humor."

Joan stared at God. "So does that mean she's still ... joking around?"

The woman held Joan's gaze for a few moments before saying, "Grudges aren't good, Joan. They don't do anything for anyone. They only create bitterness. Something bad comes out of something that could have been good if given the chance." She held up an old, rusty aluminum can that once served as a Coke can. "See this? It's old, rusty, and bent up. Had it been recycled, it could be a new can right now. Instead, it was discarded and wasted. It turned into something useless."

Joan stared at the woman, trying to process 'her' words. "Wait, are you trying to say that I should give Ryan a chance? Try to be friends with him or something? Because I'm not going to. He's evil."

The woman gave Joan a serious look, which was something God very rarely ever did. "Use caution around him, Joan. He didn't used to be this way."

"What do you mean?"

The woman fixed 'her' eyes on Joan before picking up 'her' bag. "Be careful around him." She walked off with 'her' bag in 'her' hand.

Joan frustratedly threw her hands up into the air. "Oh, that tells me a lot!" she exclaimed. "Ugh!" She stalked off.