A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait! School got crazy with tests and junk, so I haven't really had time to sit down and update… Excuses, excuses, I know.
Before I begin, there is one review I want to reply to briefly: to the Guest who mentioned something about not liking when authors make them feel obligated to review in order for a new chapter – I completely understand. It's not so much a threat or a bribe, but just a goal. There have been several instances where I've updated and didn't reach that goal; this update is actually being posted without the requested 13 reviews on the last chapter. Everyone has their opinions, and I completely respect yours, but please do know that I'm not gonna give up on a story if there aren't "enough reviews." I just enjoy the feedback :) So, please do keep reading; I just wanted to clear that up!
On another note (sorry for this novel I'm writing), I did a lot of research for this chapter and upcoming chapters, so please do not criticize me for being incorrect. If you have more knowledge on the topic, shoot me a PM for suggestions; I'd love that!
Okay, here we go!
In a small living room, surrounded by several flower arrangements and family pictures, a middle-aged woman frantically rushes by, muttering, "Okay, so she's got fresh clothes, her toiletries, and lots and lots of shoes… I gave her spending money already, and – oh!" She power-walks her way out of the room toward the kitchen, her twenty-year old son right on her heels.
When she returns, Robbie Shapiro gratefully smiles when she hands him the item she fetched.
"Now, Robbie," she begins, "Make sure she takes these –"
"Twice a day with food; I know," Robbie finishes for the brunette adult. "Mrs. Valentine, Cat will be just fine, I promise."
Mrs. Valentine sighs nervously. "I'm just worried, Robbie. She's never been on a trip without us, and I'm so paranoid something will go wrong, or she'll lose her medicine, or –"
Robbie smiles as he interrupts her for a second time. "Again, Mrs. Valentine, I'm going to be right by her side the entire time. I know what happens if she doesn't take the pills, so I'll make sure she does, okay?" He places a comforting hand on his girlfriend's mother's shoulder.
After being in a relationship with Cat for a year, her parents had finally accepted him as a part of their lives as well, so Mrs. Valentine did trust the boy.
She visibly relaxes, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. "She just needs some time away from home, I guess. I do too, but I don't exactly get that luxury." Mrs. Valentine then laughs unevenly, turning her head to find her son digging through a potted plant. "Frankie Valentine! What did I say about the plants?! They don't have dinosaur bones for you to dig up!"
And as the woman chastises her oldest child, Cat bounces into the room, giggling with enthusiasm. "Robbie!" She flings her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek. "Are you excited?"
"Yup, yup, cutie!" he replies just as happily, wrapping an arm around her waist.
They smile at each other tenderly when Cat's mother appears once more, holding onto Frankie's bicep tightly. "Now, Cat, don't forget your appointment with Dr. Lowe when you get back. She's going to do another evaluation for her records."
Cat nodded her head. "KayKay," she answers numbly. Dr. Lowe is nice and Cat likes her, but the redhead doesn't always want to answer the questions the older woman asks. "Do I have to think about it over the trip, though?"
"No, honey, go have fun!" Mrs. Valentine instructs while using her free arm to pull her daughter in for a hug. "Be careful, and call me sometime; I want to know what you both are doing so I can tell you what to buy me." She winks and kisses her daughter's forehead.
"Bye, Frankie," Cats says, exchanging yet another hug with her family member. He wraps his arms around his younger sister lovingly, but all of a sudden grabs her hair and tugs harshly. "Ow, that hurt!"
"Bye, Cat!" he exclaims before escaping his mother's grasp and bolting out the back door.
Mrs. Valentine stares in the direction her son is sprinting and runs a hand over her face. "I'll call the police. You two call me before you take off, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am," Robbie answers, rolling their suitcases toward the front door so they can load up the taxi outside.
"I love you, Mom!" Cat calls, but her mother is long gone looking for her son.
Robbie Shapiro clears his throat for a fifth time, obviously annoying the teenage girl beside him.
"Oh my God, Robbie, just tell me. You've been making noises like that for almost three minutes; what's going on with Cat?" Tori asks, shifting herself in the sand to get a better look at the curly-haired boy.
He sighs, finally admitting his news. "Cat has Schizophrenia."
Tori makes a distasteful face, scrunching up her nose in confusion. "Schizo-who-wha?"
Robbie buries his head in his hands momentarily, trying to think of the best way to explain his girlfriend's condition. "It's not easy to explain, but it's pretty much a disease that makes her unable to determine what's real and what isn't."
"And…" Tori urges for him to continue.
"She's been diagnosed with what's called 'Disorganized Schizophrenia.' But in order to determine that, she either has positive or negative symptoms. Negative symptoms are those such as being anti-social, depression, mood swings, etc.; so she obviously doesn't have that. Her positive symptoms, though, still aren't good to have."
Tori folds her hands in her lap and leans forward in anticipation. "So, what does she have?"
"Hallucinations – mainly voices in her head, telling her stuff she doesn't want to hear. Delusions that make her paranoid to the people around her, and her speech; you've witnessed that, how she switches from topic-to-topic without even noticing? I'm surprised they didn't teach you this when you studied abroad…" Robbie finishes, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
"Me too," she agrees, looking out at the water again. "If those are her symptoms, what's 'Disorganized Schizophrenia?'"
Robbie yawns before beginning. "A lot of the same things, actually. Schizophrenia – disorganized, specifically – doesn't usually begin to show up until the late teens, and it comes gradually over time. In Cat's case, it was exactly that. So she still has the voices and delusions, and the speech, but she has emotional indifference, meaning that she can be happy one second then horribly angry or sad the next."
"Like mood swings?"
"In a sense," Robbie agrees, "But more extremely done. They also cause her to have inappropriate timing when it comes to reactions. For example, we went to my cousin's wedding a few months back, and during the bridal march, she just started laughing loudly and she couldn't help it. She apologized sincerely to the couple at the reception because she felt so bad, but there's only so much an apology can do when your wedding was practically ruined."
Tori nods sympathetically. "She does make medicine, right?"
Robbie bites his bottom lip. "Yes, of course, and she goes to therapy once a week. But the reason I'm telling you all of this is because I wanted to warn you…"
"Warn me of what, exactly?" she asks skeptically.
"We were in Europe for a few weeks, and she takes her medicine twice a day… She's not going to have a supply for much longer, because there's obviously no pharmacy… And once Cat runs out of pills, there's no telling what might happen."
The brunette bites at her lip, wondering aloud, "How many does she have left?"
Robbie exhales deeply. "Six, so only three days' worth."
"Morning Sikowitz," Andre greets happily, handing the older man one the plane's prepared meals and a water bottle. "You feeling better?"
Sikowitz smiles curtly. "Oh, just fine, thank you. Say, do we have any coconut milk to drink instead?" He holds up the water bottle and examines it closely.
Andre chuckles, moving away to pass out food to the others. "Afraid not."
Slowly, the others begin to gather in order to eat and start their day. Coming back from the shore, Tori helps a still-limping Robbie over to the blankets so he can sit down again, which causes the remaining survivors to wonder why they were together in the first place. But questions aren't asked and all is quiet, except for the crashing of the waves behind them.
When all the food is distributed, Andre finally takes a seat next to Beck, who's settled by Jade. After quite a few minutes of silence, Tori begins conversation, "So, I was thinking last night, while trying to fall asleep, about how to get off this island."
Across from her, Jade snorts loudly, covering her mouth so food doesn't fly everywhere. After she swallows, she retorts, "How, Vega? Are we going to call someone and tell them to pick us up?"
"Not exactly, but close," Tori replies, pointing a finger at Jade. "If I'm not mistaken, all airplanes have a satellite radio system, right?"
Andre shrugs. "Yeah, so?"
"So, if we can find that radio, we might be able to contact others and they would be able to see where we are!" Tori finishes excitedly, thinking of her plan as flawless.
"There is a problem, though," Beck interjects, gesturing to the wreckage not too far from the group. "Any radio would be in the cockpit, and as you can see, that is gone."
Cat bounces up a down a bit. "I did see smoke yesterday when Tori and I were separating stuff from the plane! It was coming from the jungle."
"Awesome," Jade says bluntly, picking at her food uninterestedly.
Tori smiles widely, high-fiving Cat for a job well done. "Then that's probably it! We just need to find the radio and we'll be good!"
Jade readjusts her sitting position, grunting in discomfort. "Well then, who wants to go in the mysterious jungle that almost killed me and Beck?"
The group immediately grows quiet as they exchange nervous glances with one another. Andre is the first to stand up. "I'll go, but I think we need at least three people."
"Count me in," Beck adds, also rising to his feet. He looks down at Jade, who seems shocked. "I'll just be more careful this time…"
Tori is the last to volunteer because it was her idea, and she concludes that Sikowitz and Cat will stay with the injured Jade and Robbie just in case.
So it is decided, and the three teens gather any supplies they find necessary for facing an unknown island, then Cat points them in the direction in which she saw the smoke. Andre tells the others that if they haven't found anything by sunset, they'll come back to the beach and try again another time.
They set off into the mass of greenery, unaware of what they are about to get themselves into.
A/N: Ooooh, guys, it's about to get goooood! ;) I can't wait to hear what y'all say about this chapter, and what y'all think will happen in the next! Oh, I'm so excited for what I have planned, but I can't spoil anything!
Please review! Again, the goal is always 13, but it's not mandatory! I just enjoy the feedback :)
Keep an eye out for a oneshot that I've written for Bade Prompts' Final Round. It will be posted on April 18th, which is a week from today!
Again, please review!
Thanks so much!
XxLadyStrengthxX