Surprise! :D

I finally finished this chapter, and updated it in time for the new year! woot!~

Read, enjoy, review please! oh, and Happy New Year! :D


VII

I watched Brian drive off. I stood there with the door open until a chilly breeze made me shiver. I was about to slam the door when I caught sight of Sammy. She came running up and rubbed my ankle with a purr.

I picked her up and cooed her name. I walked up to my room and set her on my bed, where she curled up on my pillow.

I pondered over Brian's words. What exactly had he meant? "I'm different, not like you." So? That made me the same, different from him with my diabetes. Or was he also diabetic? I shook my head. No, too many pieces were missing to fit. Did he have some hard-to believe condition?

I stopped my mind from wandering when I started coming up with make-believe imaginary curses that couldn't possibly exist.

To clear my mind, I put on my black metallic earphones and turned on my scratched pink iPod. It had suffered through many wounds from camping, long boring car rides or most commonly, falling through my sloppy unstable grip.

I shuffled through Kelly Clarkson, AC/DC, Evanescence, and even The Go-Go's, before settling on a song by AFI.

I thought about procrastinating on my homework until after my dad got home from work, but seeing my backpack in the corner, it seemed to glare at me with fierce invisible eyes. Even Sammy seemed to stare at me.

I surrendered to the textbooks.

I did about five Algebra 2 problems, then gave up and switched to Social Studies. I took one blank look at it- I had to make sure it wasn't my Spanish homework instead, because I could have sworn it was in some foreign language- and immediately shut the book and tossed it in my backpack. I sullenly worked on my chemistry- fifty review questions for the upcoming test next week. Easy, but tedious.

I yawned, and Sammy meowed at the break of silence. I leaned over to pet her, and suddenly felt like taking a nap. I decided to listen to something that would prevent me from doing so. I shuffled through more songs, turned to Sweet Dreams are Made of This by Eurythmics, and immediately felt a bit perkier.

"Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? I travel the world and the seven seas- everybody's looking for something…"

I continued to sing quietly to myself until Sammy jumped and hid under my bed.

I scowled at her.

"I'm not that bad, jeez! You're worse than Simon Cowell you know that?" I accused.

I tried to find some excuse not to do my homework. I really wasn't in the mood.

I stalked downstairs to the refrigerator. I already had my snack earlier, and it was too early to eat dinner, so I looked for something relatively carb-free. I rummaged behind the leftovers from a couple days ago and found a mozzarella string cheese and a can of Diet 7-Up.

I sipped my soda in silence. It was suddenly so quiet without the TV blaring and the computer humming in the office, all with my dad talking on the phone with some friend of his.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and snapped out of my thoughts. It was a text from Faye.

Wuts up? Was that u getting in Brians car earlier?

I quickly typed out a response.

Ya, missed the bus. He took me home. End of story, no big deal.

I waited no more than thirty seconds for a reply.

Right… I gtg, but I expect a full report tomorrow, no missing detail!

I grinned and rolled my eyes.

I heard my father's silver Mustang roll into the driveway. People always marveled at how impressive it looked, but truthfully, there was always at least one thing wrong with it each month or so. This time, the passenger door could only be unlocked manually from the inside. It was a pain.

The door slammed open and I turned to see Dad walk through the door.

"Uh, Dad? What's wrong, you're home an hour early!"

"How's my girl? Boss let me go early; I have a party to go to. Did I tell you about that?"

I shook my head no, but was not surprised. My dad had troubles with prioritizing (which is where I inherited that problem), and often forgot to tell me things in advance.

"Oh, well you remember my friend Rick?" Again, I shook my head. "Oh. Well he's been my friend since high school days. Anyways, today's his birthday and he's having a huge barbeque dinner. You want to come? He's a great chef," he begged.

"It sounds great, but I have a bunch of homework, and we already have a huge project worth a quarter of our grade in chemistry." So, we didn't exactly have a huge project. I hated to lie, but the party just didn't sound like fun. I wasn't fond of barbeques or get-togethers, especially if everyone wanted to talk about random topics like school and books and stuff. Ugh.

He nodded. "Fine, just don't go to bed too late, and get your stuff done, I trust you."

I returned the nod. "Dad, don't worry. I know how to take care of myself," I reassured him. He smiled back.

"I know that, just remember it's your fault if you stay up so late you're incoherent the next morning." I rolled my eyes.

"Just go and have fun," I laughed.

He hugged me, made sure he didn't forget anything- I handed him his keys- and walked back outside.

When I heard the door click shut, I sighed at the returning silence.

I absentmindedly wondered what Brian was doing now. Doing his homework? Doing something fun with his siblings? I had a sudden desire to meet them.

I looked at the clock- 5:12. I'd have to eat in about fifteen minutes. Until then, I decided I would finish my homework.

I went upstairs to fetch my backpack. After I grabbed my Algebra 2 book and notebook, I suddenly remembered I had forgotten my TI-83 graphing calculator in the math classroom.

"Well that'll make things difficult," I muttered to myself. I finished all the problems I could without the calculator, then decided to go online to find a website with a graphing calculator I could use.

I was finally able to finish the remaining questions, but before I knew it, I was checking my email and distracting myself on the web. When I finally looked at the clock, it read 6:18. I groaned.

I sprinted to the kitchen and found my kit. I nervously checked my blood. The number read 82; not quite low, but heading that direction.

I quickly gave myself my shot while microwaving the leftovers I found. They looked something like spaghetti, but tasted just as good.

After I ate, I resumed my homework. I kept a closer eye on the clock.

When 7:30 rolled around, I took another shot for my snack. Draw up insulin, pinch the sin, insert the needle- ow, press the plunger, take it out. Meal after meal, snack after snack, day by day.

I searched the fridge for a small snack, but paused my hunt when I felt my phone buzz once again. I retrieved my scratched blue flip phone and looked at the caller ID. It was my mother calling.

I took a deep breath and pressed the green button to answer. The last time I talked to her was the day I left with my dad, nearly two months ago.

"Hi Mom!" I said as I applied as much cheeriness as I could to my voice.

"Michaela, it's been so long, I miss you"

I sighed. "I miss you too, but I've been busy with school, my diabetes, my life…"

"Speaking of diabetes, I assume you've been taking good care of your blood sugar?"

"Yes Mom, I can take care of myself. It's.. been high sometimes, low sometimes, but I think I'm still just adjusting to the school schedule."

"Are you remembering all your shots, snacks, checking your blood every time you eat?"

"Mom! I told you, I can take care of myself. I'm fine." I didn't want to tell her about my late dinner and latest blood sugar levels. Thankfully, she didn't ask.

She ventured into as many topics as she could think of, like school and friends, where I replied with appropriate responses. The she asked if I had a boyfriend.

"Mo-om!" She's asked that same question nearly every day after school last year. Back when I was anti-boy and anti-dating.

"Sorry honey, just curious," she softly laughed. "I guess it's same old, same old."

I pursed my lips together so I wouldn't spill about Brian. The second I'd tell her about him, she'd never hang up. To distract her from venturing further into the topic, I asked her how life was back in Shelton. Her response was quick and short, with a simple "fine". A few seconds later, I heard a sigh, breaking the awkward silence between us.

"I'm sorry Michaela; you probably still have homework to do. I should have thought before calling you at this time, I apologize."

I wanted to reassure her, to tell her that it wasn't her fault, but I couldn't find my voice.

"Bye sweety, I love you." She hung up before I could respond.

I stared at my phone as it flashed the conversation length. Nearly fifteen minutes of yet another attempt at an unsuccessful conversation with my mother. I simply could not communicate with her without it somehow ending up badly.

I sighed and slammed the phone at the couch. I then collapsed on the couch, reviewing the conversation in my mind. What did I say wrong? Well, I didn't tell her about Brian, something I definitely did not regret. She would have pounced and tried to extract anything and everything I knew about him the second I said "yes".

Which made me think further, was he my boyfriend?

It wasn't official- we weren't dating, but it did feel more than just a simple friendship.

The more I thought about it the more I imagined his face, smiling at me with those sparkling golden eyes…

I blinked, and his smile faded and his gold eyes darkened to a deep brown, just shades from black.

I gasped, and shook the glaring image from my head. I looked for something to distract me from his menacing dark look. I turned to the computer in my room, always a successful distraction from anything.

First, I signed into instant messenger to see if Faye was online. IMing with her was guaranteed the best thing to keep my mind off anything.

I searched through long-lost contacts; some I haven't spoken to since fourth grade, but Faye was not among the online members.

I sighed, but then surfed the internet. After all, my motto was "if all else fails, go online". Okay, maybe it wasn't, but it sounded cool and true, right?

After a few minutes however, I became bored and grew tired.

I threw myself on my bed and stared at my off-white ceiling. My eyes focused on the light cover, filled with tiny black shapes. Gross, dead bugs.

I absentmindedly thought of the story of Icarus, the Greek guy who flew too close to the sun with his wax wings and died or whatever. The little Icaruses who flew too close to the attractive bright light bulb, ending their tiny lives because of their desires.

I sat up and shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

"Whoa, what in the world is my blood sugar? I really should check," I said to myself. Usually when I started thinking or talking absolute nonsense, it meant my blood sugar was not right. But then again, I've said some seriously random things with a perfect blood sugar too.

I thought of where I had placed my kit last. Let's see, down in the kitchen where I was looking for something to eat…

Something to eat. Crud. I gave myself the insulin to cover my snack, but had never eaten.

Which would explain my nonsense, and my slightly shaky hands I now noticed.

As I shuffled down the creaky stairs, I became more aware of my low blood sugar symptoms. Slight dizziness, shakiness, incoherent-ness, hunger…

I finally located the black zipper pouch, and opened it to test my blood sugar. After pricking my finger and letting the strip suck in the dot of blood, the number 57 flashed on the screen. Definitely low.

I groaned. How could I forget my snack, but remember my insulin shot? How stupid of me! Sure, it was a simple mistake, but with diabetes, a simple mistake could mean death.

I rummaged in the fridge- behind the salsa and next to the barbeque sauce- I found a single fruit punch Juicy Juice pouch lying on its side.

I scoured for more juices reserved for future low blood sugars, but sighed when none showed up. I'd have to remember to add it to the grocery list.

I stabbed the tiny silver film displaying the words "insert straw here" with the plastic yellow straw. I then sucked the juice dry, savoring the sweetness of the sugary juice.

I heard a light jingling noise. I immediately knew it was the tiny little bell on Sammy's collar, and I pictured her delicate white paws bounding down the stairs.

She greeted me with a chipper meow and rubbed against my ankles. As I bent down to pick her up, I noticed her golden eyes.

I always knew her eyes were that way, light ochre with an orange tint to the edges. I just now realized they were nearly the exact shade as Brian's eyes. "My eyes have always been brown," he had said. I knew he was lying, but why?

I cuddled Sammy in my arms, and she purred contentedly. I carried her up the stairs and to my room, where I dumped her on my bed. She squeaked in protest.

"Sammy, it's time for bed," I told her and myself. I thought about tomorrow, yet another school day that would no doubt drag on forever. However, I would see Brian. I smiled at the thought.

"The sooner I fall asleep, the sooner tomorrow comes and I'll be able to see him," I reassured myself, and I closed my eyes with a smile on my face.


That wasn't exactly my favorite chapter, I'm sorry... And it'll take a bit longer for next chapter, but I promise it will be more exciting! Just be patient, and I'll work on it! :)