Voodoo or Hoodoo

‘You need one of those showerhead attachment things.’ said Byron. We were in the break room and I was standing at my locker, changing my shoes. We had to wear shoes which could be shined: Taggs was a classy discount department store.

‘You attach it to the tap, and it has, like, a little rod which stands up from there, the hose and showerhead are attached to that. You can adjust the height.’

‘That’s what I need.’ I said. ‘Baths are depressing.’

‘You’re telling me.’ he said, spreading peanut butter on saltine crackers, one by one, then sprinkling salt on each. ‘Sitting around in your own shit.’

‘Exactly!’ I said, slamming my locker closed and sitting down at the table, across from him. I looked at the clock on the wall. I still had six minutes until my shift started.  

An old woman shuffled into the break room, never lifting her feet from the ground. Her shoes were some sort of soft looking leather slippers. I thought maybe she was afraid they would slip off if she lifted her feet too much.

Byron had been about to say something when she had entered the room, but closed his mouth and rubbed his chin as he stared across the table at me. I had no idea what was going on, so I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. The steady chatter of the customers just outside the break room was a pleasing white noise. No screaming kids were nearby at the moment.

The doors to the break room swished open and closed as the old woman exited again.

‘That old woman.’ said Byron.

I opened my eyes.

‘She’s into voodoo.’ he continued.

‘Voodoo?’

‘Oh yeah.’ he said. ‘Lotsa voodoo in this town. So watch out, they say she hexes people.’

‘You mean hoodoo.’ I said.

‘Huh now?’

‘Voodoo is just a religion.  It’s hoodoo that has hexes and shit.’

He started popping crackers into his mouth. ‘Hoodoo, voodoo, who gives a shit? Just don’t cross her is what I’m telling you.’

I watched him eat for a bit. ‘If she is into hexing people, she probably knows who’s talking about her behind her back, and who isn’t.’

He stared at me. ‘Shit.’ he said.