Hey guys! Like I promised, this chapter is being posted two weeks from my last one, even though it's really late at night. But that's besides the point. The important thing is that I posted it at all. Yay me! Anyways, last chapter I kind of lied. Well not necessarily lied, just forgotten about a character. The one, the only Haley Daley completely slipped my mind and I am so sorry guys. So now this chapter is officially the halfway point, with 8 more chapters to go each of them these same characters from the first half. Also, I realize that most of these characters have gotten pretty OOC, but whatever. It's my first fanfic and I want to have fun with this. So I hope you'll forgive any OOC-ness or at least overlook it for now. In future stories, I will try to keep them as in-character as possible. Anyways, see you in two weeks and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Fact of the Week: Lemons change from green to yellow because of temperature change, not ripeness. (this means that you can eat lemons with green spots)
Disclaimer: Still don't own anything yada yada yada
Haley
"Valiant brother, will thou take my hand and follow thy true destiny?" I dramatically call out, making my voice resonate across the theater. I stand alone on the stage and wait to say my next line. Sure, now probably isn't the best time to audition for plays and movies and whatnot, but we've still got a lot of finances to cover and bills to pay off and I want to do my part to help. The prize money has only helped so much, so like it or not, I can't afford to mope around and feel sorry for myself and my teammates. Besides, Kyle has plenty of people by his side. I heard that this past week-and-a-half, Akimi's been to the hospital seventeen times. Which is more than the days Kyle has been in there! Kyle and I were never that close to begin with and I've been so busy I've barely thought about how I feel about this whole situation. Even when I first heard Kyle was in a coma, I could only spare him a few moments of grief. I have been going and going, never slowing down for a second. But it's all been worth it in the end.
"Great job Miss Daley, that will be all for tonight. We will call to let you know what happens." I nod as the casting director says this. I give a small wave goodbye and flash one of my signature smiles before high-tailing it out of there. I hop in my mother's car and let myself get lost in thought. It wasn't easy, coming home from such an amazing event in such a sour sorrowful mood, and our finances are still not fully paid off but hey, we no longer have to move! I'm so happy I get to stay here in Alexandriaville a bit longer. I'm a little disappointed we're not moving off to Hollywood or anything but I'm happy I get to stay with my friends a bit longer.
The loud screeching of our garage door jolts me from my thoughts. I get out of the car and go straight to my room, mumbling a lame excuse that I'm completely exhausted. Hopefully my parents will just chalk it up to a bit of stress and anxiety over this latest audition. I climb into bed and mull things over. What was I thinking before? Oh yeah, how I'm so happy we're staying here for now. I would really hate to not be here if Kyle wakes up. And yes, I said if. While I want to hold on to hope, I don't want to be too let down if he's lost. At least, that's what I've been telling my parents and family. I haven't really dwelled on the topic much myself, but deep in my heart I know the truth. My parents have never met Kyle so they don't understand the way he lights up a room just by walking into it. He can take any bad or awkward situation and make it a hundred times better by just being there. His open, laid-back presence alone could diffuse all the tension in a room. My parents will never understand what it would be like if he didn't wake up. They don't understand what the whole world could lose. But on the bright side, those acting lessons I've been taking are really paying off! I can act like I'm perfectly fine and no one questions it. I just plaster on the fake smile I've been practicing and go face the day.
Today is no exception. I wake up, mopey as usual, but manage to disguise it as grogginess before I leave my room. I skip downstairs, humming a bright little tune, acting like life is good. It's easier to act this way if I pretend that it's not my life. If I pretend I'm on a sitcom just acting the part of "Haley Daley", I find it very simple to go about my day as an ordinary teenager. It makes me feel detached from myself, as if I was watching these events play out from my living room couch, instead of actually living through them. Not the best coping mechanism, I know, but sometimes it's easier to just pretend the problem belongs to someone else. That way, it's easier to pretend it doesn't exist and I can live out my life without fear or crippling grief. I just can't. I take one final deep breath before walking into the kitchen where my parents are preparing breakfast.
"Good morning lovelies! Today is such a beautiful day!" I exclaim. I throw my hands above my head and do a little spin over to my father. I give him a huge hug then skip to my mother and give her one of her own.
"Good morning darling! I can see you're in a good mood." My father chuckles.
"Yup! Why wouldn't I be? The sun is shining, I just aced an audition last night and absolutely nothing could go wrong!" I should get an Oscar or something for how well I am at covering up my feelings and acting like everything is fine even though it most certainly isn't
"Well sweetie, seeing as you've done so much for us in such a short amount of time and you're always willing to keep going even when we can tell you're tired, your father and I decided to let you have the day off. You can do whatever you want!" My mother exclaims. I stumble back, completely surprised. A day off? A day all to myself where I can do whatever the heck I wanted to without any parental consent or guidance? The pure unfiltered joy I was feeling must've shown on my face as my parents beamed at me and looked at each other like they were having a telepathic conversation. And from the looks of it, they were saying pretty good things.
"Thank you! I love you guys so much!" I pull them into a tight group hug, the very real smile never leaving my face.
"Hey, no problemo kiddo. Your mother and I have noticed that you've been a bit stressed lately and thought it would be wise to let you relax and let off some steam. You're still only a twelve-year-old kid after all." My dad ruffles my perfectly combed hair and kisses my head. I just roll my eyes and run upstairs to grab the purse I never leave home with. I wave my parents goodbye and rush out the door before they can capture me in another bone-crushing hug. If you can't already tell, they are hugging people. But no matter how touchy-feely they can get, I will always love them and nothing can ever change that.
Once I'm far enough from the house I find a bench to sit on and whip out my phone. I shoot a quick text to the group chat I created for all of us escape game winners. No one has really texted on it though. No one has quite felt right about hanging out even just saying hi to each other without Kyle. He really was the heart of our whole operation.
Framethefame29: Hey guys! Just checking in, saying hi. I've missed you all so much! And I hope we can see each other sometime soon
I wait a few minutes then shut my phone in defeat. No one will answer and why should they? Without Kyle, none of us are even friends. And why would I have even considered the thought that they may want to see each other again after all that's happened? I sigh and lean my head back against the back of the chair. I sit, staring up at the sky wishing that I could fly and escape this torture called life. Now before you get any ideas in your head let me set your straight. I'm not saying I want to kill myself or anything, just that I want to be free of all of my burdens and responsibilities for a while. My head snaps up as I realize something. My parents granted me that wish by letting me do what I want today. Today only, I am as free as a bird and all with my feet still glued to the ground. There are no rules or regulations I have to follow today. I have no burdens to carry, just the head on my shoulders. I stand up and start marching off, a new sense of purpose flowing through my veins. This is the life, I think, this is so awesome. This is -
BBBBRRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!
I jump at the sudden noise. It takes a full 30 seconds for my heart rate too slow to a normal steady beat. Gasping, I pull out my phone to see what was so important it had to interrupt my giddy mood. I reread the notification three times to make sure my eyes aren't playing tricks on me. Nope, I'm seeing this clear as day: New message from BookelBerryBob. And if I'm not mistaken, the username BookelBerryBob belongs to none other than Sierra Russell. Why on earth she would choose a username like that I'll never know, but all I care about is that she responded. She actually responded. Quickly I open the message and see what it says.
BookelBerryBob: I'm at the library in case ur interested. I'll only be there for a little bit longer so u better hurry.
The smile on my face can't seem to stop spreading wider and wider. I finally have a direction. I finally have a friend again. I'm no longer like a bee, working and working until it drops dead. Now I am just plain, normal, twelve-year-old Haley Daley. And you wouldn't believe how great it feels.
