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We sit down at one of the picnic tables together.
“So what do you wanna ask me then, Miss?” the boy asks, pulling the bag open and stuffing a chip into his mouth.
“Can you tell me your name?” I ask, flipping the first page over on my clipboard to jot it down.
“I’m Beau Brant. I’m eight years old and I go to Caspian Springs Elementary,” he recites, around his mouthful of food.
“Thank you, Beau.”
He shrugs and licks salty seasoning off his fingers.
“My name is Sienna Bennett,” I tell him. “I was hired to work for Dr. Richard Thornton. He’s a psychologist and researcher over at Watford University. Dr. Thornton is trying to study people who live in towns like these, to understand what it’s like for them. He does it by interviewing them and getting their stories.”
“Are you a doctor too?” he asks, tilting his head.
I chuckle. “No, not yet. I’m just a lowly research assistant. He has a bunch of people like me going around to some of the towns nearby, to talk to people. You’re the first person today who’s let me talk to them for more than five minutes.”
“Probably cuz the Crimson Blades don’t like outsiders,” he says.
“I see. Who are the Crimson Blades?” I ask, trying to get more info out of him. “Can they help me with my project?”
“They’re like, the bosses,” Beau informs me. “They tell people what to do and stuff.”
“And what happens if someone doesn’t do what they say?”
Beau shrugs. “I don’t know.”
I refrain from rolling my eyes. “Well, they aren’t here and you can see that they aren’t saying that you can’t talk to me, right?”
His eyes dart around for a moment before nodding slowly. “Okay. What are the questions?”
I scan down the list. These are just pre-qualifiers—questions to see if people fit the parameters of our study. “What grade are you in?” I ask, choosing from the second column of questions.
Beau starts answering the questions I have and I write down what he says, checking off the criteria that he fits.
“Thank you so much for your help,” I tell him as soon as we’re done. “If you’d be interested in participating, and your parent or guardian will allow it, I can pay you if you are willing to sit down for a longer interview.” I start reading off our disclaimer. “Your participation is not mandatory. Your name will be anonymous, along with identifying information you give me.”
“What’s anonymous?” Beau asks.
“Means we’ll keep your identity private,” I tell him, looking up at him again with a smile. “If people read Dr. Thornton’s book that he’s going to write with the information, they won’t be able to find you.”
He pouts. “So I won’t be famous?”
That gets a laugh out of me. “Nope, sorry,” I apologize. “But you’ll help other doctors like Dr. Thornton, who can show his research to politicians and lawmakers and use it to make improvements to communities like this one.”
His eyes light up. “What kind of improvements?”
“Better education, maybe, and better community help. Lots of things. And maybe one day I’ll be one of those doctors,” I add. “I don’t get to work directly with Dr. Thornton yet, but I hope that if I do a good job I’ll get to study under him.”
Beau nods. “You’re still gonna have to get permission from the Blades,” he tells me. “But yeah, if they’re okay with it, I’ll do another interview.”
“Great!” I grab my bag and pull out my wallet. “Here’s my card. If you have any questions or anything, that’s my phone number. You or your parents can reach out any time.”
He pockets it. “See ya.” Slipping off the picnic bench, he takes off down the road and I glance back over the info he’d given me.
At least this was a step in the right direction. I’d spent all day here and Beau was the only interview I’d gotten. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon and I figured that was my cue to head back to my crappy motel room and work on compiling these notes.
The only cars in the parking lot when I return are a rusty pickup and a Charger. I double-check to make sure no one has been following me before unlocking my room and heading inside.
