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Post by Zia Williams on Aug 8, 2007 8:40:40 GMT -5
The gym was dark, and deadly silent - except for the almost inaudible humming of the AC in the background. It was cold in here too. A chilly cold - that one might feel in the beginning of winter.It was probably because of the AC. And for this reason, Zia had donned her sweatshirt to come out here. Sniffling slightly, and wiping stray tears from her eyes, she wondered exactly why she had chosen to go to the gym? "Because it's deserted - and people rarely come in here when it's not a sports season," a voice chimed in her head. She pulled her sweatshirt closer around herself and walked over to the corner of the gym, where plastic bleachers were set up for indoor sports events. Climbing the steps, she went up to the top row, heading for the seat that was in the corner.
She pulled out her sleek, black iPod, and plugged the headphones into her ears. Maybe listening to music would stop her misery. She put the iPod on shuffle, and first song that came on - Misery Business by Paramore. Even Zia - who was pretty miserable at this point - had to slightly smirk at the irony. The song's quick melody and upbeat tempo played into Zia's ears - but it wasn't helping. She was having one of her moments. The ones where, she was remembering the days she had spent with Ryan, and it was making her miserable. She wiped another tear from the corner of her eye - smudging her makeup - but she didn't care. She missed him, dammit. Leaning back against the wall, and putting her feet on the bleacher seat below her, she thought back to the day when Ryan had been diagnosed with terminal leukemia.
Zia poke Ryan, and taunted, "Haha. You have to go to the doctor's!" Ryan smirked back at her, "Oh yeah? Well, at least I'm not annoying like you are!" he exclaimed, slapping away her pokes. Zia frowned. "I was just kidding, Ryan!" she whined. "Yeah, well, you're not the one who's sick," Ryan muttered, as he crossed his arms over his chest. They were back at the doctor, the second time this week, because they had gotten Ryan's test results back. The nurse called Ryan in, and Zia - as well as her mother, Melanie - walked in with him. As Zia sat in one of those small chairs they have in the exam rooms, she couldn't help but think that her brother looked smaller, skinnier, and paler than she was. It scared her. The doctor came in through the door, his expression dormant. "I'm afraid we have some bad news..." he started, as he looked at Melanie. "From the results of your son's tests... It looks as though he has leukemia... And with how far along it is... It's terminal. I'm really sorry," the doctor sighed, looking about ten years older in that one moment.
Melanie emitted a loud sob, and ran over to hug her son, who looked confused. "Mom," he said, poking her. "What's terminal mean? And what's leukemia?" he asked, furrowing his brows. This caused Melanie to sob louder. The doctor looked at the mother and son with a sorrowful expression. "How long does he have?" Melanie asked, suddenly, looking up. The doctor seemed taken aback. "Well, at this point, it looks as if, 3 or 4 months." Ryan looked at the doctor with panic. "How long do I have? 3 or 4 months? Wait, mom, am I going to die?!" he exclaimed. Melanie pulled him closer, and shushed him. "It's okay Ryan, it's okay," she managed, through her tears. Zia had not moved an inch from her uncomfortable chair. What did this all mean? She didn't understand it.
What she did understand, though, was that Ryan was dead a month later. He didn't even last two months - and Zia was devastated. This memory brought a fresh batch of tears to her eyes, and this time, she didn't even bother holding it back. She let it all out, sobbing quietly into the arm of her sweatshirt, her makeup running, and her eyes turning swollen and red. But, again, she didn't care. She'd do anything to get her brother back - anything.
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Post by shellyness on Aug 8, 2007 9:56:09 GMT -5
Courtney decided that for once, she wouldn't go out and socialize but go out for a walk instead. She needed time to think..she needed time for herself. She walked slowly, her hands in the pockets of her light jacket. She looked sick, the hint of pink that was usually on her pale skin no longer there. Her blonde hair seemed faded and worn out, and her blue eyes looked cold and distant. Courtney felt empty inside. Almost numb, and she couldn't quite explain it. And when she didn't feel numb, she would have bouts of anger, lashing out at anyone within close distance. Of course, her friends had suffered the consequences. Because of this, she had kept her distance from others, not wanting to cause issues. Especially now. She glanced up, and realized that she was just outside of the School's gym. Shrugging, Courtney opened the door and walked in, noticing it was unusually silent..and dark. She shuddered somewhat, feeling the cold begin to seep in threw her jacket and crawl up her skin.
She delved in further, lost in thought, unaware that she was not alone in the vast gym. It was still the beginning of the year. She had time to think about her future, right? Courtney knew that she had to put the fun and games behind and get her act straight. But oh, it was just so confusing. She wanted to be like her sweet father, a well known surgeon in the Salem area. But she also remembered going to work with her mother, who was in the fashion industry. At a young age, she was always put into beauty pageants, or she always playfully modeled on the runway.
"Courtney, sweetie," her mother had called, grabbing her purse and jacket. It had been the end of the day, thank goodness. Courtney turned to look at her mother. She had been at the end of the runway, pretending to pose. Giggling, she did the European, her hips swaying to the left, and then to the right, before gracefully turning her feet back around and walking back to her mother. "Mommy, did you see!? I did it! I did it just like those other pretty women, mommy!" Gabrielle's eyes widened lightly in shock. Her daughter had much potential in this industry. "Yes, sweetie. I'm proud of you."
Courtney smiled at this memory, feeling the colour rush back into her cheeks. She didn't remember the last time her mother had said she was proud of her, but it was a wonderful feeling. She wanted to BE someone, not just the local librarian at the Salem Library. That was just not what she had imagined. It was either follow in her father's footsteps or her mother's. Ooh, tough desicion. She felt a wave of panic overcome through her. What if she picked the wrong one? What if she was stuck with the one that she, in reality, did not want? Pushing this thought aside, Courtney blinked as she heard sniffling. "What the--?" She turned around to see the figure of someone sitting at the top row of the bleachers. (Ya'know, I got the sudden image of Neelsville in my head xD) She realized that it was Zia, apparently unaware as well that Courtney was in the gym too. She thought for a moment. Sometimes, she would leave Zia alone, and other times, she would comfort her long-time friend.
Courtney made her way up the steps, scooting up to Zia and placing an arm around her. She knew why Zia was crying, of course. She had even been there when it happened, she had gone to the funeral as well. Courtney remembered Ryan quite vividly, the way he had always made the two giggle whenever they were at one another's house. He was one person that you would never forget. "Don't cry, Z," Courtney said in a consoling voice, running her hand through Zia's hair. "I know you miss him." |
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Post by Zia Williams on Aug 8, 2007 15:14:46 GMT -5
Zia almost anticipated Courtney's arrival. Though Courtney was one of the, 'Queen Bees' of the school, and she herself, was an 'Artist', it didn't change anything between them - though usually, cliques refused to mix at MHBS. She sniffled into Courtney's shoulder, taking another painful trip down memory lane. She couldn't fucking believe that it had all happened a little more than 7 years ago - she still had nightmares about it to this day. When she was still pretty young - about a year or two after Ryan's death - she blamed herself. She thought she had somehow caused her brother to catch the dreaded disease. She learned from her mother that no one really knew where cancer came from, so she should stop worrying.
"Ugh. Court... I miss him so much," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. She noticed with a start that her iPod headphones were still in her ears, and the song that was now heard blasting from them was, ironically enough - I Miss You, by Blink 182. Zia glared angrily at the small display of the music player - as she pulled away from Courtney - feeling as though the small piece of equipment were taunting her. She turned it off, and pulled the headphones out of her ears, throwing both them and the iPod into her bag with a huff. Bringing her knees up to her chin, she sat in fetal position, staring across the dark gym to where the basketball net was located. She was still sniffling a bit, but just having Courtney here with her, by her side, made her feel the tiniest bit better.
"Do you still remember him?" she asked, after a split second of silence. "That's what I worry the most about - that I'll forget him - erase his image out of my memory," she whispered, her voice breaking. Furiously wiping her eyes, as she noticed that new tears had begun to brim her dark blue hues. "Fuck. I don't want to cry about this anymore - but I can't help it!" she complained, in a voice that said, 'help me'. Shaking her head, she continued, "I mean, I can barely remember what colour his eyes were, or his favourite things!" she exclaimed, rubbing her hands into her eyes deeply - almost as if she wanted to rub all the tears out of her eyes - forever. "It just isn't fucking fair," she finally whispered, finished.
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