Friends?
by Elizabeth Arnold
The porch swing creaked as it swayed back and forth, and
Lake watched as the small grey car pulled up the driveway, the gravel crunching
beneath it. The door opened and Toby and Naomi climbed out of the car. The two
of them must have carpooled again. Lake liked to consider the three of them a
trio of best friends that always had each other's backs, but Toby and Naomi
were a duo. When Naomi was feeling sad, she always went to Toby for moral
support. When Toby found a new game to try, he always asked Naomi to try it
with him first, then Lake. He was a second option. They were not a trio. They
were the inseparable duo and Lake.
Lake walked down the porch steps to greet his friends. He
would have said hello, but Naomi seemed to be starting a heated discussion that
he would rather not be a part of.
“So you were out with
Daniel again Thursday,” Naomi said maliciously, “weren't you?”
“Yeah. Don't tell me
you're going to go on and on about how you don't like him, again.” Toby
snapped, “I already know what you think. You’ve been telling me about how you
think Daniels a jerk ever since he and I became friends”
It was no surprise to
Lake that Naomi was mad about Daniel. She had nothing good to say about Toby’s
new friend, and Lake did not blame her. He wasn't fond of Daniel either.
Daniel tended to put people down. Whenever Lake was around Daniel, he was
constantly the butt of Daniel’s jokes. Naomi had been around Daniel more than
Lake had, and likely witnessed more of Daniel’s rude behavior.
“Well he's a jerk.”
Naomi lashed out “ He’s never shown a bit of kindness. Never been nice to
anyone except you. He makes fun of Lake behind his back and you just let it
happen!”
“Well- well, you're just
wrong.” Toby hissed, “There have been plenty of times when he was nice, you just
ignore them, and-”
“Guys,” Lake cut in
“Could you please just stop.” He looked at his two friends with concern. The
duo never got this mad at each other. They had the occasional small fight but
nothing as big as this. Why did they choose to have their biggest fight on his
front porch. Lake could not handle his friends' explosive personalities
clashing.
“Lake I will stop when
Toby realizes that Daniel is an- I’ll stop when Toby can name multiple times
when Daniel was nice to us for once in his life.” Naomi snapped back.
Toby opened his mouth to
speak but decided against saying anything. The group of three sat down on the
porch steps. The silence between the three was so thick that they could feel
it. Lake looked from Naomi to Toby. The duo refused to make eye contact with
anyone. Toby stared at his feet, glancing to the side then looking away. Naomi
looked at the road in the distance and twiddled her thumbs.
Lake hated seeing
his friends fight. Both were too stubborn to back down. Naomi had a
point, but was it worth losing Toby’s friendship over. In Lake's mind, Naomi
and Toby were joined at the hip. Naoi and Toby were supposed to be inseparable,
but they were not. The inseparable duo had been separated, and Lake had just
let it happen.
An Angel in Disguise
by Brooke Burch
“Tala?
Is that you?”
The girl turned around
to face the familiar voice coming from the payment counter.
“What
are you doing here Lane?” she sighed, “Aren’t you supposed to be helping your
girlfriend develop photos for some contest?” Lane laughed dryly while rubbing
the back of his neck.
“We
got into a little argument so I came here to pick up some food for us. Speaking
of, what're you holding?” Tala looked down at her hands, having forgotten what
she was at the diner for in the first place.
“Oh.
I’m putting some fliers up for the rink. We haven’t been getting as many
customers as we need lately, so I told my lola and dad I would help in any way
I could--which happens to be putting fliers up around town and the school.”
Tala shrugged with an apologetic smile and turned around to face the corkboard
on the wall.
“What?
If I had known earlier I would’ve brought some of my friends to the rink this
past weekend.” A loud ringing came from Lane’s back pocket. “Sorry, give me a
second, her highness is calling.” With a roll of the eyes, Lane took the call
and walked a few feet away. Tala stood still to listen in on his conversation,
not noticing someone had been standing beside her.
“Hey,
I heard about your situation. Your name’s Tala, right?”
“You
heard correct, and yours?” She finally looked beside her and saw a tall blonde
girl with probably the best legs she’s ever seen.
“My
full name is Violett Tailor, but I prefer to go by Lettie,” Lettie smiled
before gently grabbing a flier from the stack on the booth beside them. “A
flier for a roller skating rink? From what I heard, your family owns
this?”
“Mhm,”
Tala nodded, “My lola and lolo opened it up back in the seventies after they
immigrated here from Manila. The rink did really good up until about 2007, but
from then on we started getting less and less customers.” She faced Lettie and
realized that the blonde looked really familiar. “Have we met before? I feel
like I know your face.” Lettie laughed and put the flier down.
“We
have. I actually come to the rink on my weekends off, not to mention we’ve got
2 classes together.”
“Oh
my gosh, I am so sorry. After hearing this, I am starting to remember you.
Y’know, you skate pretty well for someone who just comes on weekends. You
should think of joining our roller derby team, you’ve got the legs for it
anyways.” Lettie’s face blushed before Tala realized what she had said.
Immediate regret flooded her body. “Wait, wait, wait, I swear that is not what
I meant. Your leg proportions are perfect for professional skating is all.”
Before she could continue with the word vomit, Lettie stopped her saying
everything was okay.
“Honestly,
I would love to join the team. I think I could even convince some of my other
friends to join or at least stop by the rink that way you guys could get some
money. Here, let me see your phone, I'll put my number in it, that way you can
contact me later with the details.” After giving her number, Lettie apologized
for having to leave. Tala stapled up her last flier before waving goodbye to
Lane, who somehow was still arguing with Amber over the phone. She plugged in
her earbuds and walked home while listening to Fleetwood Mac on blast.
* *
*
Ding!
A new text message.
Lettie: Hey! I was able
to gather four of my friends to join your team and come with me to the rink
today to check it out. With your permission, of course :)
Tala: That’s great! I’ll
meet you there after school later.
“Ahem,
Miss Dimaano, you are aware that I have a no phone policy during class,
correct?” Almost instantly it seemed as if Tala’s heart stopped. She had been
busted.
“Yes,
Mrs. Francis. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
* *
*
“This
is Q-93.5, you’re listening to 90’s hits on 9. Up next, is Poison by Bell Biv
DeVoe.” As soon as Tala got up to wipe off her counter once more, the faint
sound of laughter caught her attention. Looking out the window, Tala saw three
cars pull into the parking lot of the roller rink. Smoothing the few wrinkles
out of her outfit, she walked up to the door to invite the customers in.
Walking through the door was Lettie, along with six of her friends Tala didn’t
recognize. Once the group was inside, Lettie proceeded to introduce everyone to
each other. Supposedly the group had been friends for a few years and were
nearly inseparable. Tala longed for a relationship like that. She let the group
know they could go ahead and start skating after they were all settled with
gear.
It
seemed like Lettie had done a bit more than just invite a few friends. A few
people at a time were coming in every 10 minutes. Tala felt like she was in
heaven. The rink was almost full by 7 P.M. She had seen more money coming in in
this one day than she had seen in a whole month combined. She really needed to
thank Lettie for this. Just what she’s seen today has made her see how having
friends and people to trust in isn’t so bad after all. Everyone she had gotten
close with in the past ended up hurting her. Lettie even convinced more of her
friends to join the derby team. Tala could easily see how so many people would
do what Lettie asked of them. She’s a good person. Maybe in the future she
could eventually be able to call Lettie a close friend. For now, Tala would
just have to suffice with being in debt to her.
New School, New People
by Max Cook
Ace stepped off the bus
and made his way into school, his new one anyway. Recently his family and him
had moved north to Pennsylvania, they had only been there for two months or so,
moving during summer break and now was his first day of school. He watched the
rest of the students separate into their friend groups in the common area as he
was greeted by the counsellor, during summer he was at his dad’s and hadn’t had
the time to check out the school and get his schedule.
She smiled before introducing
herself, though the room was too loud for him to hear her properly, she handed
him a paper and began pointing between room numbers and halls. His first class
was in the science hall, second in the academics, and so on. The only thing he
did manage to process out of their five-minute conversation was, “Hey! Dan,
come here please!” which was her calling another kid over.
He watched, who he
assumed was Dan, trot over, “Yes ma’am?”
“This here is Ace,” she
motioned towards him,” and you two have similar schedules for this semester
right? I was hoping you would show him around, help him if he needs it.”
After glancing over
Ace’s schedule, Dan nodded,” Uh, yeah sure, I’d be glad too.”
The counsellor walked
off after thanking him, leaving the two to chat, “So.. your Ace, yeah? Where’d
you move from?” Dan asked, trying to start up a conversation.
“Yeah and, um, Florida”
A startled look showed
on Dan’s face,” That’s awful far away!”
Ace would’ve replied
but, a bell rang through the room, startling the both of them, “It’s time to go
to our first class! You have Mrs Bab,” Dan pointed at the first name on Ace’s
schedule,” my class is right next to that, so I can walk with you.”
They made their way down
the hall, tucked close together cuz of the crowd.
“So this is your class
and I’ll see you during next passing period, alright?”
Ace nodded, waving,
before walking into the classroom. The others were sitting down, they didn’t
seem to have a seating arrangement just yet, so he just sat down at a random
desk, making sure he wasn’t too close to anyone else.
Mrs Bab walked in a
moment later, “Good morning and welcome to biology, as y’all should know from
your past years at school, today and tomorrow will be slow, getting papers to
parents. That kind of thing.”
Once she stopped she
passed out papers and the rest of the period was free time. The bell rang, Ace
left the room and waited in the hall for Dan. A minute later, Dan walked out
spotting Ace easily now that the hallway was mostly empty,” Sorry about that, had
some questions for the teacher. Soo, what is the next class?”
Ace pulled out his
schedule,” Mr Butts…” he snickered.
“Oh! He’s pretty cool, I
think he teaches computers. Though... don’t laugh at his name while he’s in
earshot.”
They both chuckled
before walking to the next class.
Bean Bag Disaster
by Allie Hataway
“Okay, my turn.” Kate, fanning mosquitos from her face,
took the bean bag from her cousin’s hand.
“Kate, if you
miss, I’m disowning you,” Kate’s dad threatened.
“Shh! I need to focus.”
“Hurry up!” Kate’s
little sister, Leah, whined. “I want to go, too!”
Kate glared at her
sister, then, squinting at the hole in the board, tossed the bag up in the air.
“Come on,” she muttered.
“Ugh! Kate!” her dad
shouted when the bag landed in the grass beside the board. “That’s the best you
can do?”
“I’m sorry! I was pressured.” Kate rolled her eyes, then
laughed.
“Excuses, excuses,” her dad said in mock anger. “Oh,
well, I guess I’ll have to win it for us.”
“Dad!”
Kate’s sister picked up a bag. “My turn!”
“You can do it, Leah!” her cousin, who was also her
teammate, yelled. “You’ve got it!”
“Why couldn’t you have been that supportive?” Kate asked
her teammate.
“I’ll do a cheer routine for you next time, if you want
me to,” her dad replied, waving imaginary pompoms.
“No, please don’t,” Kate laughed.
“Ugh! Guys! Be quiet.” Leah put her hands on her hips.
“I’m trying to take my turn.”
“Right, sorry,” her father said. “Drama queen,” he
mouthed to Kate.
“I know, right?” Kate mouthed back, then looked at her
sister, who, forehead majorly wrinkled, was concentrating so hard that it
looked like she was trying to use mind powers rather than get a beanbag through
a hole.
“Kate, do you see how concentrated she is?”
“Couldn’t miss it.”
“That’s how concentrated you need to be next time. Maybe
then you’d actually get a point.”
“Well maybe if you stopped distracting me, Dad, I’d be
able to--Ow!”
“Leah!”
“She wouldn’t stop talking!”
“Leah you still shouldn’t throw a bean bag at her.” Her
dad looked at her sternly.
“But--”
“No buts. We’ll talk about it later, in the house. Kate,
are you okay?”
“Yeah. It just surprised me. I’m fine.”
“Okay, good. Leah, apologize.”
“I’m sorry,” Leah grumbled.
“It’s fine.”
“Okay,” their dad said, “lets finish the game. Leah, go.”
“Yeah, here's your bag back.” Kate threw it at her hard,
aiming for her leg, but Leah, not expecting it, bent down to grab another, then
looked up right in time to get hit in the--
“OW! My eye!” Leah stumbled back, her hand over her right
eye.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Kate gasped, running
over to her little sister.
“Ow, Kate, why would you do that?” Leah looked up at her
with tears in her eye.
“I didn’t know you were going to bend down. I’m so
sorry.”
Her dad, who had been the first to get to Leah, looked at
her with visible anger in his eyes. “Why, Kate?”
“I’m so sorry.” Kate said, starting to tear up. “I
thought it would hit her in the leg or something.”
“Go get an ice pack.” Her father gave her one last
disappointed stare, then turned to Leah.
Kate ashamedly turned away and ran toward the house. She
heard her cousin burst into tears behind her. She ran faster, tears coming down
freely. I didn’t mean to, Lord, she prayed. Please let them forgive
me.
*
* *
“Kate, will you get me another ice pack? This one’s
melted.” Leah, splayed out on the couch beside her cousin, held out her bag of
water.
“Of course,” Kate replied indulgently, and replaced the
ice pack for the sixth time that day.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“Let me see your eye,” her uncle, who had been in the
house when it happened, said.
“Okay,” Leah shrugged, lifting up her ice pack.
Her uncle whistled. “Yep, you’ve got a shiner, all
right.”
“A what?”
“A black eye, Leah,” her dad informed her.
“Cool!” Leah grinned, which was not the reaction Kate was
expecting at all. She smiled at her sister, relieved that Leah wasn’t
upset.
“Kate,” her dad said, “I think you have something to say
to Leah.”
“Right.” Kate cleared her throat. “I’m really sorry,
Leah. I didn’t mean to hit you in the eye, but I guess that’s what I get for
getting angry. Will you please forgive me?”
“I guess so,” Leah said. “But I’m still going to tell
everyone at school it’s your fault.”
“Real mature, Leah,” her dad laughed. “Now, Kate, your
mother and I have thought about your punishment, and I think we’ve come up with
the perfect one. You will be your sister’s personal servant for the next week.
Anything she needs, you’ll provide. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Kate replied.
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
Kate turned toward the hallway.
“Wait. Before you go,” Leah looked at Kate with a
pathetic expression on her face. “Would you get me a juice box?”
Kate raised her eyebrows and grinned at her uncle. “This
is going to be a long week.”
Never Say Never
by Kyla
Davis
A
million voices were screaming, but I couldn’t tell if they were from the stands
or inside my head. “JANE!” I snapped out of whatever trance I was in and looked
away from the mass of people in the stadium. Glancing around eventually my eyes
landed on my best friend and co-captain Kai Sanders. She looked at me with an
unhappy, stressed stare and motioned to the team ready to cheer it up and take
the line. I nodded and moved over to them and placed my hand on top of theirs’
and took a moment to take their faces in. The older players were concentrated and
serious, while most of the underclassmen looked as if they were either going to
throw up or cry from the nerves.
“Look
guys,” I started trying to sound as calm and confident as I could, “ we are
ready for this. Y’all know we’ve been training for this moment and every single
girl here is more than capable to dominate this field. Keep your heads in the
game and play smart. Once that whistle goes off, I expect all the nerves and
doubts to be gone and everyone to be 100 percent in. Are you with me?”
“Aye
aye, captain!” they all shouted. A big smile came across my face as we broke
the huddle. We sprinted toward the side of the field as the loyal fans
cheered in excitement.
“Welcome
ladies and gentlemen to the 2019 GHSA State Championship for girls soccer! Today
we have the previous state champions, the North Crest Lions,” the announcer
pauses and lets the visitors cheer for their team, “ and our very own hometown
South Crest Tigers!” The stadium erupts into a deafening roar as our friends,
families, and peers voice their pride. It takes a few minutes before the
announcer can continue. He states the guidelines and rules of the match and
instructs us to all rise and turn toward the flag as the national anthem plays.
Standing there I can’t help but feel like someone is staring at me.
Doubtful--since everyone should be looking toward the flag--but curious I sneak
a look toward the stands. One would think it would be hard to find anyone with
so many people packed together but within a second our eyes connected and I
instantly regretted looking.
Oh,
No! Of
course, he came. He said he would. Shut up, Jane. It doesn’t matter. You’re
going to forget you saw him and focus on winning the game. Exactly, shut him
out and get your head in the game. My inner conversation was cut short as
the anthem ended and the announcer came back on. “ Now to introduce our
starting players.” He started with the guest team and read out their starting
list. A few names were familiar considering they were our rival team but there
were also some I had never heard before and that made my stomach churn. “And
now for our home team...” as he read the names, numbers, and positions of my
teammates, they ran out onto the field. The cheers of the crowd
accompanying them as they did. “... and last, but certainly not least the
captain of the South Crest Tigers, our very own center mid and number 10… Jane
Jackson!” If the crowd was loud before, they were at full volume now! No
one--besides the opposing spectators-- was in their seats as I jogged out onto the
field. This was by far one of my favorite parts of the game. When I took the
field and got thunderous approval from the crowd, it made me feel on top of the
world. After taking a moment longer to cherish those few seconds of pure joy, I
flipped the switch. Everything not on the field became a blur and all my
attention was on my players and the ball. 5 seconds. 4. 3. 2. I took a
deep breath 1.
* * *
BAMMMMMP!
My eyes started tearing up. I looked at Kia in shock. My legs turned to jello
and I fell to the ground, my arms flying to my mouth as the tears were let
loose and started to flow. Kia and my other striker Madeline ran and tackled me
to the ground. “ WE DID IT JJ! WE WON!” Kia screamed in my ear as she squeezed
the little air I had in my lungs out. We had just won our first state
championship since my mom was in school and I was seconds from having a heart
attack due to adrenaline.
* * *
“Thank you, you played
great too,” I said to some girls from North Crest as I walked away. Who knew
saying thank you could be so exhausting. It took me 30 minutes just to get to
my parents with all the people that swarmed the field after the game. Mom had
squeezed me so tight that I thought my head was going to explode, and Dad, well
Dad did what he always did. He fist-bumped me, told me good job, and then gave
me the rundown of the game. I smile to myself, my dad is one of the biggest
reasons I am at where I am now and I owe him the world for it.
“Jane.” My stomach
dropped. No no no no. Not now. I stop dead in my tracks but do not dare
turn around.
“Leave. me.
alone.”
“Come on Jane, is that
how you talk to your brother?” he asked, stepping in front of me.
“Ah, you are no brother
of mine. Not after what you did to me,” I said coldly, all the feelings I had a
minute ago gone.
“Mmmm I see you still
haven’t let that little… mishap go.”
“LET IT GO?!” I shout,
getting mere inches from his face, “How on EARTH, could I let you turning the
guy I love go?”
He smirked and stepped
even closer. “Oh trust me, Jane you will after tonight.”
A Little Drug Problem
by John Conley
Ralph Conner, a 14 year
old boy, goes to Mountain County High School. No one knows why it's called
Mountain County. Maybe, the founder of the school liked how it sounded. He’s a
9th grader who was declared the youngest, but the smartest student in the
school. He hates being the youngest student in the school, but he’s happy that
he’s the smartest because there are seniors who don’t know what’s two times two
is.
After school, Ralph
rides his bike home since his house is across the street from the school. When
he gets home, he’s greeted by his dog who doesn't have a name since neither
Ralph or his parents can think of a name suited for him. After being greeted by
his dog, he enters through the back door and into the dining/kitchen room. He
does his homework on the kitchen table with a red an white square pattern cloth
over the table. It doesn't take Ralph long to do his homework since he’s done
most of it at school.
Usually after doing his
homework, Ralph goes to the house where his best friend lives which is close
by. His best friend is named Derik, Ralph’s only friend who struggles with his
algebra homework. Derik is an Among Us addict, he plays the game once he’s done
with all of his homework and chores. But if he has no homework and his phone is
lacking power, he’ll go to Ralph’s house instead. What both Ralph and Derik
have in common, is that they both have a great love of detective stories, more
precisely, Sherlock Holmes.
Ralph came to school one
Friday and noticed something rather odd. He noticed a 10th grade girl who’s
being pushed by a local officer and into the police car screaming and trying to
break her way out. It was very unusual since he always saw that girl being nice
and helping others and saw that another girl was being put into a separate
police car. He walked to the principal, Mr. San, standing by the door and asked
what was going on.
He replied, “Those two
girls were having a fist fight in the cafeteria. Very strange since one of the
girls was one of the nicest students. There’s also three other students having
strange problems as well. One of them claims to see a giant spider climbing the
walls which freaked him out, and the others are having similar hallucinations.”
Ralph thought about what
he said and said,“Mr. San, based on what you described to me, I conclude that
these five students were taking drugs, either intentionally, or
unintentionally.”
“How do you know that
these are the effects of drugs?”
“I learned it from
my parents when I was old enough to know what drugs are. My parents told me it
was bad for taking them and explained the effects they can have. Since both the
local and county police lack drug dogs due to this town's zero percent criminal
rate, my theory can not be proven correct.”
“A very well done
observation, I’m going to call the chief of the state police. He’s a friend of
mine, and I’ll ask if he can bring some drug dogs if your theory is
correct.”
After Ralph’s first
period class, he unintentionally walked right into Brian. He bullies him
whenever he gets his hands on Ralph. “Whacha doing nerd?” he asked.
“Going to my second
period class,” answered Ralph, “Should you be doing the same?”
“Aw heck no! I’ve got
better things to do.” He quickly grabbed both of Ralph’s arms and yanked him up
from the ground. One of his gang members ripped open a locker door with immense
strength, and Brian shoved him into the locker door and closed it on him.
“That’ll hold him long enough for him to be late for class. Let’s go boys.”
It took Derik fifteen
minutes to get the principal to unlock the locker where Ralph was stuck. Derik
was in Ralph’s first class so he was able to see all that happened to him. It
took a while to get Mr. San because he was in the middle of a conversation with
the chief of the state police. When Mr. San was able to get Ralph out of the
locker, he gave Ralph a sticky note with a written excuse for Ralph’s second
period teacher.
The next day, five more
students are either being pushed into a police vehicle, or in the nurse's
office. No one knows where the items, what Ralph believes is drugs, are being
stored for the students to consume, nor whose been doing it. Chief Joe has come
with four state officers to investigate the problem. They have founded nothing
but dead ins.
At the end of the school
day, Ralph noticed something strange with Brian’s gang. They usually go into
Brian’s pickup truck to cause mischief, but instead, they’re heading to the
back of the school. Ralph decided to follow them to see what they were doing.
He found that they were unloading plastic coolers from a black pickup truck
with a dent the size of a basketball on the right tail light. The person who
was driving the truck was Brian.
“Get a move on jerks, I
don’t want to get caught unloading these drugs into the school, especially with
the chief around,” said Brian in a firm voice.
Brian might have done
stupid and cruel things, but this is worse than he has never done. Ralph
quickly pulled out his Samsung 4G and screenshotted the whole crime. Ralph
moved away with silent crunching below him undetected. He rode his bike as
quickly as he could to the police department where he founded Chief Joe,
sitting in the captain's office looking at the records of the ten students that
have been affected. He has a gray mustache, as well as gray with white strands
on his head with round glasses. The chief looked up and saw Ralph covered in
sweat as well as his shirt, and asked, “Who are you, and what are you doing
here?”
“I'm Ralph Conner, and I
have evidence that the highschool student Brian has been smuggling in drugs
with three accomplacise,” he answered as he placed his phone on the desk with
the video on the screen. The chief slowly picked up the phone and pressed the
triangle on the screen.
“Get a move on jerks, I
don’t want to get caught unloading these drugs into the school, especially with
the chief around.” The chief took a deep
breath and placed the phone on the desk. “This is something that we need to
solve this problem, but how do I know that this was all an act?”
“What I showed you is
the truth and only the truth, you can arrest him and his accomplices, and if
they’re innocent, you can arrest me for giving you false information.”
“Allright, you have a
deal, if you’re correct, these drugs will no longer be a problem in this town,
but if you’re wrong, I’ll have to arrest you and the drug problem will still be
at hand.”
“Okay,” answered Ralph
in a calm tone.
The next day, Chief Joe,
Ralph and the four state officers entered the school, and there was Brian and
his gang in the center of the school, shoving Derik around. “Are you Brian?”
asked the chief.
“Ah yah. Why do you want
to know?”
“It has come to my
attention that you’ve been smuggling drugs into this school facility.”
“Drugs, yeah right,”
laughed Brian and he immediately punched Chief Joe square in the jaw. That
caused a fight to occur with everyone fighting each other. People were screaming
and yelling in the center of the school with fists and bleeding noses. No one
was killed, but there were serious injuries from a bruise to a broken jaw. The
police hauled away Brian and his gang, and off into state penitentiary.
“Ralph Conner,” said
Chief Joe, “you've done great service to this school and town. Your actions
will not be forgotten.”
“Thank you sir,” said
Ralph. The drug case was solved and closed. Ralph once the least popular
student in school is now the most famous person in town. He will never have to
worry about Brian anymore and wanted to be a detective like Sherlock Holmes. He
hopes that he’ll be as good as what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has described
Holmes.
It’s Not Over Yet
by Johna Bowen
“Joann. Joann. Joann!”
Joann woke up to see
Elizabeth staring at her, waving her hands in front of Joann’s face. She was
lying on a couch in a lounge area for the staff.
“Sorry, I was uh, uh,
what was I doing?”
“You were going over the
key points in the finance department during our quarterly meeting, and you
passed out in the middle of your speech.”
“Oh, uh my bad. Let me
get back and finish the speech.” Joann tried to get up but Elizabeth stopped
her.
“Joann, the meeting
ended 30 minutes ago. After it ended, I moved you in here.”
“Oh, am I in trouble?
Are the superiors upset?”
“I don’t think so. I
think they’re just worried about you since you passed out and all. Speaking of
which, how are you feeling?”
“I’m okay I guess. I’m a
little light headed and dizzy but I think I’m okay.”
“I’ll go get you a
bottle of water. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay, thanks.”
Elizabeth returned a few minutes later with a bottle of
water and she asked, “Do you want me to go get you some food, medicine,
anything to help?”
“No thanks, I think I’m
going to go home and rest.”
“Okay, just text me if
you need anything and I’ll come by after work.”
Joann nodded her head,
and Elizabeth left the room. Joann could not help but think about why she had
all of a sudden passed out. She had always had good health. She exercises
daily, eats healthy, she does everything right. She decided to go home and get
some rest like Elizabeth recommended she do.
* * *
It had been two weeks since Joann passed out in the
middle of her meeting. Her dizziness and exhaustion had yet to go away, and
since it was unusual for her to be feeling this way, she decided to make a
doctor’s appointment.
When she arrived at the doctor’s office, they seated her
and Elizabeth in the waiting room, and Joann started to panic. “What if there
is something seriously wrong with me? What if I have to take time off of work?
I can’t! I can’t! I can’t!”
Elizabeth hushed her and said, “Calm down, take a few
deep breaths. I’m sure it’s nothing major. Probably just a small bug you have
to get through.”
As Joann took a deep breath she said, “Yeah, you’re
right, I knew there was a reason I brought you along with me.”
A little while later, Joann was called to the back to be
seen by the doctor, Dr. Megan Fisher. Joann described her symptoms and Dr.
Megan wanted to run a few tests. Although nothing seemed wrong on the inside,
Dr. Megan found an unusual mole on Joann’s back and they did a biopsy to be safe.
Dr. Megan returned after taking the samples to the lab
and she said, “It’s gonna be a couple hours before we find out the results
since we had to send them to the dermatology department. There is no reason to
worry, but we will give you a call as soon as we know.”
Joann replied, “Okay, thank you so much.”
Joann and Elizabeth left
the doctor’s office, and Elizabeth was trying to talk as much sense into Joanne
as she could. “Joann, you cannot assume the worst, this could be something
minor so don’t worry until you have a reason to.”
“Okay, you’re right. I
just need to breath for a second and get out of my head.”
* * *
The next day, Dr. Megan called with Joann’s lab results,
“Joann, your test results show you have a type of skin cancer called metastatic
melanoma that has affected your liver. This explains your exhaustion and
dizziness. We have caught it early so all you will hopefully need is surgery on
your liver and then hopefully you will be almost 100% cured. Worst case
scenario you have to start treatment.”
Joann took a moment to
take it all in. After she got off the phone with Dr. Megan, she called
Elizabeth and told her. Elizabeth came over with a pint of ice cream and tried
her best to help Joann.
After a few moments of
silence, Joann said, “I think I need to go see Amy.” Amy is Joann’s twin sister
who lives in California. “I haven’t seen her since her and Will got married.”
“Didn’t they get married
5 years ago?” Elizabeth asked.
“Exactly. She’ll know
what to do and I want to meet my niece and nephew before all this cancer stuff
starts affecting me.”
“Go for it.”
“Really? You really
think I should?”
“Totally.”
“Alright then. I’m going
to California.”
Joann packed her bags while
Elizabeth booked her a flight. Luckily, there was one seat left on the earliest
flight to California. Joann called Amy and said she was coming out there that
night. She asked Amy if they had a spare room for her to stay in for a few
nights. As soon as her plans were set, Amy took off for the airport.
* * *
During Joann’s flight,
she experienced some dizziness and she felt like she was going to pass out
again. Little did she know she was going to have to be taken to the hospital
the second her plane landed.
When Joann awoke, she
was in a hospital bed with Amy and her family standing around her.
“Oh my gosh, you’re
awake. Thank God, I was beginning to worry,” Amy said.
“I’m okay but this is
why I was coming to see you, Amy. I have a metastatic melanoma that has spread
to my liver. I wanted to get to see you one last time before I started the
surgeries and treatment. I wanted to meet my niece and nephew. I should’ve told
you when I called but I wanted to do it in person. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Jo. I’m just
glad you’re awake. The doctor said that you wouldn’t be able to fly home until
you started feeling better and your oxygen levels went up.”
Joann stayed in the
hospital for two more days and then she decided to rest at Amy’s before heading
back home. She spent quality time with her family, just like she wanted to. She
went through the surgeries and treatments and came out on the other side just
fine. Joann realized she needed to start appreciating the small moments in life
because you never know how much time you have left. Thankfully it’s not over
yet for Joann.
New Place, New Life
by James Cairney
"See ya around, Michael. Or rather, hope I
don't!" Michael made the long, painful walk up to the office to get signed
out. On his way, he received jeers from all his former victims, empowered by
the fact he couldn't retaliate. Finally, he made his way to the front office,
where not even the sweet old secretary bid him goodbye. Out the front door he
went, and he clambered into the U-Haul with his dad.
"Well son, you ready to get rolling? It's a long,
long drive up to our new home," Dad said with a smile. The longer the
better, thought Michael. Most people felt sad when moving, but Micheal, he
felt invigorated. This was the day he could finally leave behind his former
self. Oh, how he hated what he was. But his was the day all that could—
"Wanna stop to eat, Mike?" Dad broke Michael
out of his thoughts.
"Sure dad, let's hit up Zaxby's." Michael
readjusted in his seat, looking out the window. Night had already fallen. After
sitting in a drive through and wolfing down his meal, Michael began to settle
in for a long night of sleep on the road. Tomorrow would be the start of his
new life.
Michael woke up, groggy and stiff from sleeping
upright.
“Here we are, son. Point Springs,” Dad said, pulling past
a sign welcoming them to the town. Looking down at his watch, Michael
gasped.
“It’s only five-thirty? Dad, can I go to school? Maybe I
can get the tour and meet some people.”
“I know you’re ready to
go, son, but let's wait for tomorrow. Maybe you can meet the neighbors. Oh, here
we are. Home sweet home.” Dad pulled into the driveway of a good looking two
story house, surrounded by similar houses as far as the eye could see. He
stopped the truck, then began to unload some of their things.
“Can I go look around?”
“Sure, son. I’ll be here if you need me.”
Michael grabbed his bike out of the back of the truck,
and began to pedal down the street. There wasn’t much to see in the early
morning light, so eventually he circled back around to help his dad unload, and
eventually retired for the night, tired from a long day of moving in.
Beep beep beep. Michael’s alarm woke him from a fitful sleep,
and he clambered out of his sleeping bag and went to the bathroom to brush his
teeth. Today is the day, he thought as he got ready and drove to school.
For years, Michael had been craving a clean slate, and now was his chance. When
he arrived at his new school, he first got a long speech by the principal that
he zoned out during, until he was finally introduced to another student, who
would be showing him around.
“Hi, I’m Michael. Nice
to meet you,” said Michael, holding out his hand.
“Dave.” The kid who was
greeting him looked at him with a cold, wary stare. “Bathrooms are down that
hall, your first period is down by the gym, and the lunchroom is right here,”
said Dave, pointing as he went.
“Did I say something?”
asked Michael, confused.
“Don’t play dumb. I’ve
heard all about you,” scoffed Dave as he stalked off. Michael struggled to
process what had just happened. Then, it hit him. As a final act of revenge,
one of his former victims must have tipped off this school to what he was. A
sinking feeling began to develop in his stomach, as he realized all his grand
plans had gone down the drain. With a sigh, Michael accepted his new fate. I
guess I am destined to be the bully forever, he thought to himself.
“How did school go son?
Did ya meet anyone new?” Dad asked, looking across the table at Michael.
“It’s just school. More
of the same,” Micahel said dejectedly.
“It could be so much
more though. This is your new home. Think of all the possibilities.”
“There are no
possibilities.”
“Of course there are
possibilities, son. You just have to realize that even when a door appears
closed, it could just be as easy as twisting the knob to open it again.
Michael thought about that for a moment, then returned,
“But what if the door that you really hoped to go through has been shut,
locked, and bolted, and the door you hate remains wide open?”
“Then you grab your bolt cutters and get through that
door. The easiest path is often far from the best one, we just don’t believe we
can achieve our best.”
After dinner, as Michael was laying in his sleeping bag,
he thought about what his dad said. With hardened resolve, he knew what he
would do tomorrow.
As he arrived at school, Michael saw Dave crossing the
commons area.
“Hey Dave, wait up. I want to say something.”
Grudgingly, Dave stopped moving and turned to face
Michael. “What do you want?” Dave asked.
“I just wanted to say, I know what you have probably
heard about me, and I just wanted to say, that isn’t who I am. I came to this
school looking to be a new person, but my past has come back to haunt me. I was
too scared to change myself, because it would be hard. I want to be a better
person.”
Dave looked at Michael right in the eyes, and walked off
towards a group of people. Michael, you idiot, I knew that was a bad idea, Michael
thought. Just as he was about to resign all hope, he heard Dave’s voice behind
him.
“You know man, you seem alright. Wanna go out to get
something to eat tonight?” asked Dave.
Michael smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, that would be great.”
The Final Countdown
by Lauren Coley
“Take a deep breath for me, Ellum,” the doctor said as he
fastened the mask around my face. I felt the harsh cold of the hospital bed
cutting into me on one side, and my mother’s soft, warm hand on the
other.
“Good. And another,” I heard as the blinding hospital
lights cut into my eyes. I tried to block them with my hand, but I felt someone
gently lay it down. Again I tried with the other, but it too was held back onto
the bed. The only option I had was to close my eyes--I was so tired. The
tiredness spread through my body, starting at my toes and slowly working its
way to my chest and arms. I felt the weight lift from my arms, but even now I
could barely move my fingertips along the rough fabric of the bed.
“Okay, Ellum, you’re doing great, buddy,” the man looming
over me said. He tapped me, “Keep your eyes closed for me, okay? We are going
to countdown from 10 together.”
I tried to nod, my head barely moving. My body felt like
lead, sinking into the mattress of the bed. If I got heavier, would I sink
straight through? I wondered. Parting my lips felt like an impossible task.
The air in the mask that had been tickling my nose filtered into my mouth as I
began to count with the doctor.
“10…” the doctor started.
“9…” I continued.
Someone in the room brushed my leg, and suddenly I became
aware of a dull pain where they had touched me. This pain spread through my
thigh and into my knee. The aching ebbed and flowed in slow, steady throbbing;
I wanted nothing more than to move, as if somehow shifting positions would
distract my body from the pain in my leg.
“8, 7…” we said together, a shaky breath between each
number.
A blurry picture filled my mind; I was in my car, but I
wasn’t the one driving. I tried to focus my energy on the picture, and the haze
cleared enough for me to see a face. A round, younger face with blue eyes and
sandy blonde hair like my own had their eyes intently set on the road. The car
turned a corner, and I heard myself laughing as I reached out to ruffle the
young boy’s hair, almost if to say, “Good job, buddy!”
“6, 5…”
The picture in my mind cleared more as I felt like I was
breathing the fresh air from the open windows. The boy looked at me with a
smile brighter than the sun shining through the sunroof. His hands took a more
confident grip on the wheel as he drove down the road, and he slowly increased
the speed of the car.
“Slow down, Dash,” I heard myself say. “Turn here; we
have to get home before Mom does. I think it would be hard for her to miss that
my car is gone.”
“But Mom never lets me drive! Please, just a few more
minutes,” the boy begged. I felt myself smiling and pointed ahead at a stop
sign further along the road.
“I think you’ve had enough for today, bud. When we get up
here, I want you to push up on the long stick coming out of the wheel and make
the turn.”
“4, 3....”
Dash didn’t slow down as the vehicle got closer to the
turn.
“Please, Ellum, just a few more minutes,” Dash pleaded as
he turned to look at me. His big eyes had the same appeal as a dog begging for
just one more treat. I looked at the time and knew that we had already pushed
the drive too long. We would be lucky to make it home before our mom did. I
shook my head no and turned to look back at the road, Dash’s eyes still on me.
The stop sign was quickly approaching, and so were many other cars from the
opposing streets.
“Dash, slow down. Slow down!” I said urgently. Dash
turned and tried to slam on the brakes, but the little boy, while trying to act
quickly, stomped on the wrong pedal, and the car flew forward into the traffic
before them.
“2…”
The picture in my head was broken now. My ears rang, but
my arms were trapped beneath a seat belt that wouldn’t give, so I couldn’t
shield my ears from the sharp sound. I tried to turn my head, but my entire
body felt like it was laying the wrong way. Looking through the shattered glass
ahead of me, I couldn’t find the sky. I finally turned my head to find my
brother, but all I saw was an empty seat.
I hadn’t made him put his seatbelt on.
I twisted and turned, trying to escape, needing to find
him, but an agonizing pain in my leg sent a stabbing sensation through my body.
“1…” I heard a distant voice say.
And just like I had only an hour ago in the shattered
car, I once again fell out of consciousness.
A New Beginning
by Kenzie Hattway
Carter woke up to his loud alarm on his nightstand. He
hit the snooze button a few times before he got up. Carter got out of bed and
threw on some clothes. He went outside and cut the grass throughout the
neighborhood. He got home as the sun was coming up.
“This is the money I
earned this morning cutting grass,” Carter said, handing grandma the money. “It
should cover this month’s rent.”
“Thank you, darling”
“The bus is almost here, I better go now,” Carter said to
his grandma as he walked out the door.
He waited for the bus at his mailbox. The school bus
arrived later than usual. Carter walked through the bus, looking for a seat.
The school bully always found a reason to mess with Carter. This morning, John
Axel pushed Carter down the steps when the bus arrived at school.
“Your daddy isn’t here to protect you,” John said,
knowing Carter’s father has been in the military since they were in third
grade.
All the kids around him laughed and pointed fingers.
Carter doesn’t let it get to him much. He rubbed off the dirt and went inside.
Today was finals day at school. The last day before summer break, which means a
lot of tests. Carter made it to first period without running into John
again.
Mrs. Hamlock passed out the test to all the students.
Carter had studied so hard for this test, so he could make a good grade and
pass the class. At first glance, Carter was anxious about the test, but he
believed in himself. Carter was getting close to finishing the test when he
glanced out the window, and he saw a truck. The truck was almost identical to
his dad’s truck that sat in the garage every day collecting dust. Seeing this
truck made Carter feel weak. At this point in his life, Carter has never missed
his dad so much. Every day the bullies joked about Carter’s dad. He was
reminded of his dad every day. Carter’s train of thought was interrupted by the
teacher’s timer. It was time to turn the tests in. Carter hadn’t yet finished
the last problem, so he just scribbled down an answer.
The whole class was socializing with one another while
Carter sat at his desk by the window staring at the truck. The teacher used the
last twenty minutes of class to grade papers. Carter checked his watch. There
were five minutes left of class.
Mrs. Hamlock interrupted the class, “Alright, time to get
your grades back.”
It was Carter’s turn, so he walked up to Mrs. Hamlock’s
desk to get his paper. Carter nervously flipped the paper to see his grade, he
made a 95. He was overfilled with joy.
Carter felt a sudden change in the atmosphere. Suddenly,
the whole class went quiet. He turned around and was in complete shock. He
couldn’t move. Carter dropped his paper and the whole class turned to look at
him.
“Hey son,” said Carter’s dad from the door.
Carter ran up to his dad and jumped into his arms. They
were both crying, and the whole class was clapping. The bell interrupted the
moment. Carter and his dad cleared the doorway as the student left the room.
Mrs. Hamlock’s second period class was coming in, and the first person through
the door was John Axel. Carter whispered something to his dad. His dad walked
up to John.
“Hey young man, nice to meet you,” Carter’s dad said to
John as he went for a handshake. Carter’s dad squeezed John’s hand and he
started crying. The whole class was pointing fingers and laughing at John.
“Let’s get out of here son,” said Carter’s dad as they
walked out the door hand in hand.
Intruder
by Shannon Berryhill
The footsteps were getting louder, and Samantha just knew
they were going to be found. If Sarah doesn’t stop breathing so loudly, then
surely he’ll find us. Samantha thought. I can’t try to quiet her though
because that would make even more noise. Are we really gonna die here?
“Come out, come out, wherever you are. You can’t hide
forever,” he taunted as he drew nearer and nearer to the place where they were
hiding.
Samantha had a clear view of her older brother, Gillian,
across the hall. She had a sinking feeling that he was going to do something
stupid. She shook her head at Gillian, and mouthed a single word, “no.” Looking
into his eyes, she saw the apology there, but she could do nothing other than
watch in silent horror as her brother came out from his spot to confront the
enemy.
“Looking for me? You must be really bored to think that
terrorizing a high school full of students is the best way to pass time,”
Gillian said trying to draw the attention of their enemy away from the other
students.
“Well I was bored, but you must be stupid to show
yourself. You were better off hiding ‘cause as soon as I kill you I’ll kill the
others. They must be close if you're trying to distract me,” concluded the
intruder.
“How much damage can a knife do? All I have to do is get
to a phone and call the police. It can’t be that hard to outrun you.” Gillian
turned heading toward the office in hopes of finding a phone and calling the
police.
“You really are dumb.”
Bang! Samantha looked
into her brother’s eyes as he fell. The shock on his face told Samantha that
Gillian hadn’t thought that the intruder had a gun, but the worst part was watching
the light fade from his eyes. Samantha ran to her brother’s side without
thinking of the danger that still had them all cornered.
“Gillian! Gillian, wake up! You’re just pulling another
prank, right? It’s not funny, okay?” Samantha said hysterically.
“He won’t be waking up sweetheart. No worries, you’ll be
joining him real soon,” the intruder replied smugly.
Bang! Bang! Bang! The
following gunshots resulted in more death, but Samantha could only watch as her
classmates crumbled in heaps on the hallway floor. Memories of Samantha’s
classmates flashed before her eyes as the intruder turned to face her. I
should have done more with them, made more memories, but I kept my nose in my
books. Now it’s too late to do anything with them, Samantha thought about
the years with her classmates that she secluded herself.
“That kid certainly surprised me. Kid’s got guts, but he
sure is dumb,” the intruder spoke as if he kind of admired Gillian.
“My brother was brave, and he tried to save us,”
Samanatha defended her brother while looking down the barrel of the intruder’s
gun.
I guess we really are
gonna die here, Samantha reflected on
her earlier thoughts. Bang! Everything went dark, but it didn’t stay
dark. The light was blinding, but there was warmth.
“Wake up sleepy head,” a
familiar voice sounded out of the light.
As Samantha’s eyes
adjusted to the light, she saw Gillian standing not five feet away.
“Gil is that you? You’re
alive?” Samantha questioned, feeling tears running down her cheeks.
“What are you talking
about? Of course it’s me. Nobody else wakes you up in the morning. Why are you
crying?” Gillian asked, walking over to Samantha's bed and wrapping her in a
hug. “Shhh, don’t cry. Everything’s alright now.”
“Just a bad dream,
nothing more. Remind me to interact with people more, and make memories with
the people around me while I can.”
“Alright,” Gillian
promised, more than a little confused.
What River Road Took
by Riley Haley
“Do you know how it feels to have someone ripped from
you?!” Charla screamed through heavy flowing tears. Dr.Thorne’s facial
expression answered the question. “No... you don’t. You just sit there and tell
me, ‘It’s ok,’ and, ‘Everything’s fine,’ just because it’s your job, not
because you care!” Charla’s crying expressed her deep pain.
“Sweetheart I do un-,”
“What was her name?! Do you even know?” Charla cut her
off and questioned, trying to prove a point.
“Well, R- Ruby of course,” Dr.Thorne answered. Charla’s
crying lessened. Her mood changed when she heard her best friend's name.
“Yeah,” she faintly smiled through her pain. “Ruby.” She
wiped a tear from her cheek. Charla lied down on the lime green sofa and
whispered to herself, “Ruby Geller.” They sat in silence as Charla zoned out
reminiscing on memories of her best friend. The thoughts of her and her best
friend going on vacation, and seeing many movies together made Charla calmer,
if only for a moment. Memories were all she had now.
The Doctor sat there wondering whether to interrupt or
not. Charla was one of many patients Dr.Thorne had seen over her years of
practice, but she had acted out more than her other patients.
Charla loved Ruby.
They always made jokes about how they were connected. They matched each other's
energy so well, and they were so perfect for each other; not in a romantic way,
but in a way that when we lose someone we are so close to, it feels like we
have lost a part of ourselves too.
“Charla, I may not understand your exact pain, you are
right about that, but I do want to help you. I do care for you.” Dr.Thorne
placed her hand on Charla’s hand, “Sweetie I want you to walk me through what
happened if that's ok.” The doctor rubbed her hand and then pulled her own back
down by her side. Charla lied still for a moment. Dr.Thorne looked down at her
clipboard for a moment and then noticed Charla slowly sitting up and
positioning herself to get comfortable.
She tried to rush her story. “The
boys were there, Ruby was there, and so was I. She just-,” Charla couldn’t
finish her sentence through her tears.
Dr.Thorne stopped her for a second. “I know it has to be
hard Char.” She said sympathetically. “Can you give me more details? Don’t
rush, just take your time.” Charla let out a deep breath, wiped her tears and
nodded.
“I didn’t really want to be there, but Ruby had asked me
to go. Kai told her to bring me for his friend Lee to hang out with. Of course
I agreed. She really liked Kai, and I didn’t want her to miss this chance to go
out with him. Lee was cool, but not my type, he had red hair.”
“Yikes,” Dr.Thorne said sarcastically through a
smile.
“I know right,” Charla
let out a small giggle.
“We had eaten dinner at this place called Penny’s, Kai
really liked it-,”
“I know I asked for details Char, but can you fast
forward just a little bit to the accident? We don’t have much time left today.”
Charla nodded and said,
“Sorry.”
She took a deep breath
then began. “We were in the car after leaving Penny’s.” Dr.Thorne noticed
Charla fidgeting with her fingers. “We were actually having a really good time,
Kai was driving, Ruby shotgun, and me and Lee in the backseat. The boys gave us
the weirdest looks because we knew every song on the radio.” Charla was
smiling, Dr.Thorne noticed that. It was good. “Ruby was happy. It made me
happy.” She sat there in silence smiling for a moment remembering Ruby’s
smiling face.
“Keep going.”
“We came up onto an intersection. River Road.
That’s where we turned. That's where it happened.” Dr.Thorne noticed Charla
becoming anxious.
“Deep breaths Char, deep breaths.” She nodded her head
and did exactly what Dr.Thorne suggested.
“The road had nothing on it, it was surrounded by trees.
The only thing that even suggested human activity was an old house about three
miles down from the intersection. As came upon it, my mood changed
distinctively. Apparently so did Ruby’s. We both didn’t like the eerie vibes we
were feeling. She was uncomfortable, I knew it.”
“How did you know?” Questioned Dr.Thorne.
“I knew she was because I felt it. I got chills and then
looked at her sitting in her seat playing with her fingers anxiously. ”
“Without asking us, Kai pulled the truck over into the
ditch in front of the old house. We walked inside and I just remember an awful
odor hitting my nose. Fish. Rotten fish. There was a long window that stretched
across the back wall of the house as we walked through the front door. I saw
water through it. There was no light or electricity in the house, no cell
service either.” Charla shook her head as a new wave of tears hit her.
“Everything from that point moved so fast. Kai gestured
for Ruby’s hand, and she gave it to him willingly. They made their way outside
to the old dock on the river. Me and Lee stayed behind. He said he wanted to
show me something in the kitchen, so I went. My back was turned to the window
so I couldn't see them outside. He was showing me a really cool old oar that
used to be his father’s. Somehow during the time we were in the kitchen, Kai
and Ruby made their way to the front yard, towards the road. I was having a
good time with Lee for once. The bad feeling had thankfully left.”
“Really take your time on the next part for me Charla
will you?” Charla nodded. Dr.Thorne noticed her face having a glare on it from
the wetness of the tears.
“It was quiet before, really quiet. Standing there
leaning on what used to be a table, my heart started racing for some reason.
Lee was talking and doing so quite loudly, so I hushed him. He got mad but I
didn’t care, something was wrong. We stood in silence for a couple of moments
and all was well, nothing happened. I was relieved.”
Charla’s voice became
shaky and quieter to where she was barely audible. “J- just as L-Lee started
talking again I heard him, Kai, yelling and screaming, ‘Help! Help! Ruby!!’ Lee
took off without hesitating. I ran shortly after him. I had to open the door
and when I got outside, Lee told me not to go any further, he said I didn’t
want to see it. He was scared, whatever happened, it wasn’t planned. I pushed
by him and saw her,” Charla bawled through heavy tears, “l-laying there... in
front of that silver car, lifeless.” She buried her face in her hands and
bawled.
Dr.thorne knew by Charla’s crying that the story was
finished, she couldn’t bear to tell anymore of it. The alarm for 7:00 went off
on Dr.Thorne’s phone. Their session was over.
“Charla I am so proud of you for telling me this,” she
grabbed her hands, “I know it has to hurt, but it is doing you good to talk
about it even if it doesn’t feel that way now. Sit here, take your time, and
whenever you're ready you can go, I know your mom would love to give you a big
hug right now, I’m sure she’s just as proud of you as I am.”
Charla nodded, and Dr.Thorne left the room. She sat there
alone thinking about how useless she was that night. There was nothing she
could have done to stop it, now there’s nothing she can do to stop the hurt
caused by it. The grief and depression was her new normal. She sat bawling and
wishing... come back Ruby.
The Game of Life
by Carys Copeman
The whole lunchroom cheers as Royal, the MVP soccer
player, enters with her tray and gallon of water. Tonight's game is probably
one of the biggest games this season and the whole school is going to be decked
out in black to support the Lady Tigers. Royal and her teammates enjoyed this
pre-game hype. As they finally sat down and started to eat, a camera was shoved
in Royal’s face and a random lady asked questions like: “how does it feel to be
the school’s girls soccer MVP”, “what is it like playing four sports and
excelling at all of them”, “who pushes you to the best of your ability”, etc.
Royal has always been athletic and good at anything she tried and, most of all,
she keeps her grades up, having maintained honors her entire high school
career.
Lunch ended after what seemed like forever with everyone
pumped about tonight’s game. Royal had free periods for the rest of the day so
she spent her time drawing out plays that popped up in her head. Fifth and
sixth period passed and they were only 2 hours away from the big event, which
meant time for lots of warming up. Coach called the team together in a huddle
to share some news. He first talked them up for this win and then told them
that they just gained a D1 player for next year's season; that she is moving
from Texas all the way to Florida just to play soccer with the Lady Tigers. The
team did not know how to react to this: whether to be excited or intimidated.
Coach Sailor told them her name was Sadie Holton and that she was going to be
in 10th grade when she moved next year, just like Royal. Royal brushed it off
as nothing and everyone seemed surprised about that.
“Beep, beep, beep!!” The
pre-game time had expired and it was time for the Lady Tigers to take on the
Lady Panthers. Royal was in her usual position, striker, as she took the first
kick. She sent it back to her defense and let them play it through. She was
headed up the field as her best friend, Haxley, sent it up to her. Goal! The
crowd went wild and the student section blew their air horns in celebration of
Royal’s first goal of the night. The press box spoke: “Ladies and gentlemen the
Lady Tigers have scored a goal, made by Royal Hutcheson! Way to go ladies! It
is now 1-0 with 10 minutes left in the first.” The rest of the half
passed uneventfully until, just seconds before the buzzer went off for
halftime, time was stopped and Royal was on the ground surrounded by her
teammates. “Royal, Royal, Royal are you there!” said Haxley, “She’s
unresponsive, someone call for help!” Coach Sailor took off running to call for
EMS as the opposing team gathered together to pray over Royal and the Lady Tigers.
The ambulance got there 15 minutes later and she was still unresponsive. The
EMS crew put her on a backboard with a neck collar and loaded her into the
ambulance. They then carried her to the nearest trauma center, North
Coast Trauma and Care.
After an hour of seeing
doctors and filling out paperwork, Royal’s parents were starting to worry more
and more, no longer having the distraction of the flurry of paperwork. After a
multitude of scans and tests, the doctors determined the extent of her injuries
and provided an estimate/educated guess of the long term/short term effects.
What they found was not news anyone wanted to hear, especially a young athlete.
They walked into the room and greeted the family, “Good afternoon Hutchesons, I
see we have not had the best day.” Mrs. Hutcheson was not pleased by the
doctor's jokes, and took it rather offensively. “We have some news, Royal has a
cracked skull with a severe concussion/head injury. Since you have braces,
Royal, we cannot do a MRI on you, so you will be put in a neck brace for seven
weeks, then brought back for a follow up.” The doctors continued, “Until the
follow up, I need you to stay home and in the bed while wearing your neck
brace.” Mr. and Mrs. Hutcheson looked at each other with fear. Mr Hutcheson
then asked if there were going to be any effects and if so what were they. The
doctors proceeded, “Well that's where the news gets worse, we recommend for her
to not play any more sports. If she were to get another head injury or
concussion, the best case would be she would suffer severe brain damage
and the worst case, she would die. We do have some patients that do still
continue sports and take the risk, so the choice is entirely up to y'all,
but our recommendation is against it.” Royal thought and was scared, she
blocked out all conversation between her parents and the doctors. She did not
know what to do; she wants to play sports but she also does not want to risk
her life.
Seven boring weeks had
passed, and Royal was on the way to the follow up. After having to relearn how
to walk, she pretty much has mastered walking now and has regained her sense of
balance. Royal was a nervous wreck walking into the doctors office. She has the
opportunity to go to San Diego, California to play in the High School World Cup
with her travel soccer team in three weeks. Not knowing whether she wants to
take the risk and play or give up all hope is a heartbreaking and gut wrenching
decision. While waiting at the doctors office, she receives an email from the
travel team wondering if she is going to play or if the new girl, Sadie Holton,
needs to take her position on the team. Mrs. Hutcheson talks it through with
her and together they type up a response and click send. Together, the
family, doctors, and everyone in the waiting room breaks down into tears.
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