Chapter 17
Angela sat by the hospital bed holding Ms. Roland's hand in hers. It had only been a few hours since Angela found Ms. Roland at her house at the bottom of the stairs. But even with all that time that had passed, she could still feel her heart beating out of control. Her tears burned hot against her cheeks. She wasn't sure how long she had been there, but when the door opened, she saw Derek and Abbey walk in.
"Hey girl, you doing okay?" Abbey said taking a seat next to her.
"I'm fine, it's Ms. Roland I'm worried about." Angela replied not taking her eyes off her elderly friend. "How did you guys even know I was here?"
"Well, we went by your place to see you, but Brock said you weren't there. Told us that you had gone over to see Ms. Roland." Abbey answered.
"So we thought we would come pay you both a visit, but when we saw the ambulances pull out we tried to follow you gals here. But dude, traffic was just messed up. Took us forever to get through." Derek continued.
"We just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Abbey finished.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I did go to see her, but when I got there, her door was open and I found her at the bottom of the stairs. I don't know what happened, I just called 911 and came with her here to the hospital." Angela explained finally looking up at her friends. "The doctor said it was a good thing I found her when I did. What ever happened, several of her ribs had been broken and her colon had been knocked loose. The doctors aren't sure she'll make it through the night." Angela explained feeling her eyes over flow with tears again. "I just can't leave her, I don't care if my Dad gets mad about it, I'm staying here with Ms. Roland tonight. I can take the heat from him later."
"That's my girl. Don't let your old man control you." Derek said giving Angela's shoulder a shrug.
"Angela, you know that we're here for you at anytime if you need us." Abbey said rubbing Angela's back.
"I know." Angela answered brushing a strand of silver hair out of Ms. Roland's face. "You know she and my mother were really close friends before my mom died. Mom would go by to see her everyday. I wish I could do that for her that often, but I still see her as often as I can."
"She seems like she would be a good friend to anyone." Abbey said looking at Ms. Roland's peaceful expression.
"Yeah she does." Derek answered.
Out of nowhere, Angela's phone started to buzz. She looked and saw the caller id. "Oh crude, it's Miguel! I completely forgot I was supposed to meet him up at the school today for final rehearsals!" she cried out. "What am I going to say to him?"
"Just tell him you're visiting a friend in the hospital." Abbey said pushing the answer button.
Angela didn't have time to panic as she heard Miguel ask her where she was. "I'm so sorry, I'm at the hospital I just, oh I forgot about rehearsals. I'm so sorry Miguel." Angela confessed.
"Are you okay?" Miguel asked sounding concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's my mom's friend, Ms. Roland. She fell down the stairs in her house and I went with her to the hospital when paramedics came to get her." Angela explained. "I swear I did not mean to stand you up. I'm so sorry."
"Angela, stop apologizing, it's okay. I understand. Look, I still have rehearsals going on now, but I'll be over there as soon as I can." Miguel answered her.
"No, it's okay. I just want to spend time with her for now. The doctors don't think she'll make it through the night." Angela turned down.
"Okay, well if you ever need me, I'm right here." Miguel answered before hanging up.
"Thanks." Angela answered hanging up.
Angela turned her eyes back to Ms. Roland as she took her hand again. "I'm right her with you, Ms. Roland, and I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Angela said rubbing the wrinkled hand with her thumb.
As if in response, she felt Ms. Roland's hand squeeze weakly around hers. Angela anxiously looked at her as she saw Ms. Roland weakly open her eyes.
"You really are just like your mother." She said before taking a deep breath and then letting it go.
"Ms. Roland? Ms. Roland?" Angela pressed.
All at once, the heart monitor started to flat line. "No! No! Ms. Roland, please wake up!" she cried as Derek called the doctors in and Abbey pulled her out of the way. "Please do something!" Angela pleaded.
Angela watched as the doctors rushed to resuscitate Ms. Roland, but after a few tries with the defibrillator, they had to call it.
"Time of death 5:47." The head doctor said looking at the clock. "I'm sorry."
"No, no!" Angela cried. "Not her, please not her!" Angela continued to cry as Derek and Abbey pulled her out of the room.
As they sat in the guest room, Abbey rubbed Angela's back as Derek got a hold of her phone and called Brock letting him know that Angela was going to be riding home with them. Angela didn't know what to think anymore. Ms. Roland was gone, her closest connection to her mother and one of the dearest friends she had ever had. After crying for what seemed like a couple of hours, Derek and Abbey finally asked her if she would like them to drive her home. Angela, not really registering anything anymore, barely nodded as Abbey led her outside and into their car in the parking lot.
Angela didn't say a word the entire drive home, and she barely even noticed when Brock came out of her house and escorted her inside to her room.
"Can I get you anything ma'am?" he asked as she sat down in front of her vanity.
Angela just shook her head. All at once, her tears came falling down again and she laid her head down in her arms on her vanity. She heard Brock leave and shut the door. Not long after Brock was gone, she felt Tikki brush her hand. Angela looked up at her kwami and opened her hand as Tikki landed in her palm.
"I'm so sorry Angela. I know how much Ms. Roland meant to you." Tikki said looking up at Angela.
"It's not your fault Tikki. It's no one's fault. Everyone did everything they could." Angela answered slowly rubbing Tikki's head. "I just can't believe she's really gone. All my life Ms. Roland had been like a grandmother to me and now, I just, I don't know…" Angela said breaking down again.
Angela cried a while longer before feeling very tired. She just dragged herself into her night clothes and again cried herself to sleep. As she dozed off, she could almost swear she felt Ms. Roland brush her cheek and whisper good night to her.
The next day, Angela woke up and saw Tikki sleeping on her pillow. Angela got up and got ready for the day, but all her thoughts were on Ms. Roland and how she wasn't going to be around for her to talk to anymore, or how she would never be able to do her house for her again. The only consolation Angela got out of this was that Ms. Roland was with her husband and her mother again. Angela wondered if her and Ms. Roland were watching her right now, and if they knew that she was really Ladybug. If they did, she wondered if they would be proud of her for doing what she was doing. As she got on the bus for school, she felt Tikki poke her head out and brush one of her fingers.
"It's going to be okay Angela, you'll see." She whispered.
Angela weakly smiled at her kwami and rubbed her finger against Tikki's head. "What would I do without you Tikki?" Angela replied.
When the bus pulled into the college parking lot, Angela got off and was heading for the school building when she heard Miguel call for her. She turned around and saw Miguel coming from behind her.
"Hey, you doing alright?" he asked with his voice heavy with concern.
"Not really." Angela answered still feeling her heart acting so heavy. "Why?"
"Well, Derek and Abbey told about what happened last night and I thought you could really use a friend." Miguel said hugging her.
Angela normally would have felt extremely flustered by this, but right now, all she could do was return the gesture and her tears started up again. She cried into his shoulder as she felt him rub his hand on hers.
"Why? Why did she have to go like this?" she sobbed. "She was a very healthy woman for her age, so why? Why did it have to happen like this?"
"Life can be cruel to us that way. But hey, look, she's in a better place now and think about all the family that has been waiting for her in heaven that she can be with now." Miguel answered looking her in the eye.
"Yeah, you're right." Angela said wiping a tear from her cheek.
Miguel handed her a hankie and led her to first period. When Angela sat down, she was about to pull her textbook out when Jezebel came by and slammed her hand down on her desk startling her.
"Just what are you playing at?" Jezebel demanded.
"What are talking about?" Angela demanded.
"I think you know good and well what I'm talking about. You acting all sad and upset just so you can have Miguel act as your shoulder to cry on." Jezebel jabbed.
"I'm not acting and it's none of your business." Angela retorted.
"I think it is, Miguel is mine and I won't let you steal him from me with your pathetic little antics."
"Jezebel, that's enough!" Mr. Crone demanded.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from him got it?" Jezebel warned her. "Unless you'd prefer that I tell everyone what it is that your daddy does for his job." Jezbel threatened.
"Jezebel!" Mr. Crone warned.
"Jezebel, I think you and I need to talk outside." Angela said taking Jezebel by the arm and marching them out the door. "Look, I don't know how you found out what my dad does, but it's not your place to threaten me with that just because Miguel is trying to be a good friend. But since you want to play like that, let me tell something, if you think someone like you deserves someone as kind and considerate as Miguel, then you better think again. And do you know why? Because there is not a kind bone in your body, all you think about is yourself and you have no regard for who it is you hurt as long as you get what you want. Well I have some news for you, the world does not revolve around you and if you don't change your attitude towards other people, you are going to be alone and miserable for the rest of your life unless you learn how to treat others the way you would want to be treated." Angela said feeling hot tears of rage and embarrassment burn her eyes. "Now you can put yourself on as high a pedestal as you want but I am not going to let you threaten me with facts about my family that you have no business knowing or even sharing or talking down on my family just because you think your so much better than everyone else." Angela ranted at her rival as she swung open the door and went back to her seat.
Angela took Miguel's hankie and wiped the tears from her eyes. As class went on, Angela could feel the heat of Jezebel glaring at her, but she was too upset about Ms. Roland passing and Jezebel embarrassing her in front of everyone to care. When class was over, Miguel met her outside.
"Hey, I'm sorry about Jezebel. She's just…"
"Completely nuts and self-absorbed?" Angela finished.
"Yeah. I know people think that she and I are a thing but…"
"It's okay, no one thinks that. Anyone around here knows that a guy would have to be extremely desperate to be dating Jezebel." Angela joked. "Look, I'm sorry I missed rehearsals yesterday, I promise I'll be there today after school"
"It's okay, I know things must be really hard for you right now. But you're not alone, you've got some good friends here for you."
"Thanks." Angela said feeling her usual blush returning. "Guess I'll meet you at the theatre hall after school?"
"See you there Gabriella." Miguel joked waving good-bye as he turned to leave.
"Bye." Angela laughed.
The rest of her classes that day past by without many more problems. Though she was still pretty out of it throughout the day, but she was able to pull herself together as she approached the theatre hall for their final dress rehearsal. As she got into costume, she found herself thinking about what Ms. Roland had told her about getting over stage fright when she told her that she was going to be in the performance.
'Just breathe and let all your fears flow out with each breath.' She thought as she pulled her first costume on.
Just as she was about to walk out the door, she looked back at her purse and went back. As she opened it, Tikki looked up at her.
"Did you forget something?" she asked as Angela reached in.
"No, I just need to grab something." Angela said pulling out a string of colorful beads.
"I still want to know what that is." Tikki said as Angela put it in her pocket and headed for the door.
"I'll tell you after rehearsals, I promise." Angela said shutting the door. Stopping for a moment, she opened the door and opened her jacket let Tikki come with her. She felt so much better now.
When she finally made it out on to the stage, Miguel was waiting for her to start the first song.
"You'll do great." He whispered to her as the music started.
"Thanks Miguel." Angela giggled lightly feeling her usual self returning.
The dress rehearsals went by so fast and Angela felt that she and Miguel were doing so good as Troy and Gabriella. After rehearsals were done, Angela was just about to leave when Miguel asked if he could walk out with her. Angela accepted and they walked out the school building together.
"I still can't believe that you can sing so good and you have never been on stage before. How do you do it?" Miguel asked as they waited at the bus stop.
"Well, if you want to know, I have a secret." Angela said pulling out the string of beads. "This is why I can sing."
"Are messing with me?" Miguel teased.
"No, this is my good luck charm. I carry it with me all the time, it's how I'm able to sing without getting so nervous."
"Where did you get it? Did you make it when you were a kid?"
"No, my little sister did." Angela answered.
"I didn't know you had a sister."
"I don't anymore. I lost her the same day I lost my mom." Angela answered.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. You know for the longest time I blamed myself because I wasn't with them when they died, but Ms. Roland was the one who helped me get through it." Angela answered remembering how much Ms. Roland had done for her during that hard time. "She said that every child that dies goes straight to heaven to be with Jesus Christ. For the longest time, she taught me about being a Christian and sometimes I would even go to church with her if I could past my dad. She was the one who helped me find peace through God. And now she's in heaven with that God who gave her so much peace and comfort through all her pains and trials."
"She sounds like she was wonderful friend." Miguel said putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah she was." Angela answered.
"So, when did your little sister give you that bead chain?" Miguel asked looking at the beads again.
"Well you see my sister, her name was Valentina, she had gotten into my jewelry case when I was seven and had broken one of my favorite necklaces. I put up a big fuss at her about it and a few minutes later she came back to me carrying this string of beads she had put together for me. She said she was so sorry for breaking my necklace. I felt so bad about how I treated her, it wasn't like the necklace she had broken but I liked this one even more than that because she had made it from the heart as a way to make up for what she did.
"But sadly, it was the last thing she ever gave me. Three days later, my mom was bringing her to come pick me up from school but they never made it. On their way to the school, another driver wasn't paying attention and sped out of an adjacent street just a block from my school and t-boned them on the driver's side. My mom died instantly and Valentina had to be air lifted to the hospital. Doctors did everything they could and she held on but after three days, she just couldn't hold on any more and she died in the hospital.
"I've held on to this ever since because it's the last thing I have of her. Every time I have to go and do something new or something that I know is going to freak me out, I have it with me to keep her close and it helps me think of what she would want me to do if she were there with me right now." Angela said as she rubbed the beads between her fingers.
"I'm so sorry, how old was she?" Miguel asked.
"She was four, and my older brother Josh had just turned ten." Angela answered. "Sometimes I want to forget how broken my family has been since then, but I'm afraid that if I do, then I'll forget my mom and Valentina too."
"You know, where I'm from, we mourn our departed by celebrating them on a day for the dead." Miguel said smiling at her.
"Yeah, I know, my Dad is from Mexico too and we celebrate the day of the dead every year. It's the one time of the year I can actually talk about Mom and my sister to him without him shutting me down." Angela answered as the bus pulled up.
"I wish there was something I could do to help." Miguel said as she climbed on.
"You already have, thanks for listening." Angela said as she got on and the bus drove off.
When Angela got home, she went up to her room and sat down to do her homework. As she got started, Tikki was floating her desk.
"I'm sorry about your sister Angela."
"It's okay Tikki, it doesn't hurt as much to think about them anymore and now that I think about it, Ms. Roland is with them now, so it helps me feel better knowing that they're all together again. And talking about it with Miguel really did help."
"Especially since it was Miguel listening." Tikki teased.
"Stop it." Angela giggled.
"So, you think you'll be okay at the performance tomorrow?" Tikki asked.
Angela nodded and got back to her homework. After she finished her English homework, she got a text from Miguel asking her to meet him at the theatre before the performance tomorrow evening.
"He probably wants to practice our first song one more time before we have to go on." Angela said as she texted back saying she would be there. The rest of her evening, Angela practiced her lines and her songs with Tikki.
The next day all during school, Angela could feel the butterflies in her stomach getting worse as the time for her to go rehearse one more time before the performance grew closer. Finally, the time for her to meet up with Miguel arrived and she found him waiting for her back stage.
"Hey, glad you could make it." He said shaking her hand.
"Yeah, so what can I do for you?" she asked.
"I just wanted to tell you good luck and give you this." He said handing her a small metal dream-catcher on a long chain necklace.
"Wow, thanks." She said putting it around her neck.
"Yeah, dream-catchers for me have been pretty lucky and I thought maybe this would help you have good luck too."
Angela smiled as they went on stage and got into position for the first scene. As the play got started, Angela hardly noticed the crowd of people watching them, or how nervous she had been. Now all she knew was that for that instance, she was Gabriella Montez. The first few scenes of act one went along fine, but just as the final scene was about to start, everyone was called by the loud screaming coming from outside the auditorium. Suddenly, the doors flew open and someone yelled that there was a monster in the building. Immediately everyone started to panic and try to get out.
Angela managed to slip away back stage in the prop closet. "Time to transform." She said letting Tikki out of her jacket. "Tikki, Spots On!" she said transforming into Ladybug.
Ladybug then made her way into the hall, swinging up onto the rafters below the ceiling, hoping to get a glimpse of whatever was making everybody scared. While everyone was running, she heard Cat Negro land beside her.
"Good to see you already here mi senora." He grinned.
"Good to see you too." She answered. "What do you think they're running from?"
"Where is she!" they heard a loud shriek cry out through the halls as people started running faster.
Ladybug and Cat Negro turned around and saw what looked like a woman in modernized Shakspearian theatre clothes in a checkerboard pattern with a black and white mask on her face.
"Something tells me her." Cat Negro answered.
"Where is Angela Martinez!" the apparent new akuma shrieked again.
Ladybug felt her heart skip a beat, this new akuma was after her. Now she really needed to stop this new villain.
"What do you say we help her exit stage left?" Cat Negro joked.
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Ladybug answered.
As the last of the people made it out, just as the akuma was about to make it out, Ladybug caught her with her yo-yo.
"Leaving so soon? But you haven't even given us your autograph yet." Ladybug laughed pulling her back.
"You will not stop me, none can stop Theatrica." She declared. "And I will find the one who stole the role that was always meant to be mine. She wasn't fit to even be an understudy."
"We'll about that." Cat Negro declared coming from behind.
"Cat Negro, her theatre mask, that's got to be where the akuma is." Ladybug said eyeing the happy and sad faced mask on her hair dressing.
"Lo tengo mi senora." Cat Negro answered.
"Nice try." Theatrica said twisting Ladybug into Cat Negro.
Ladybug landed against Cat Negro and the two of them ended up in a tangled heap on the floor. Cat Negro managed to untangle himself from her but then he just got that flirtatious grin on his face again and Ladybug gave him a gentle shove off her.
"Look at you two, the perfect theatre couple." Theatrica said heading for the door. "Wish I could stay to see how this scene ends, but I have a wanna-be that needs to be taught her place." She said as her masks suddenly began to float around her. In a flash of light, her appearance changed to look just like Abbey.
Long black hair in two ponytail with the black glasses and her gothic outfit. The only thing that made it obvious that it was her was the masks that came to rest on her hand bag.
"Exit, Stage left." She said disappearing in the crowd.
"Well we know what she can do now." Cat Negro said helping Ladybug up.
"Yeah, but we also know that we can still her apart from anyone she may change into." She said grabbing her yo-yo. "No matter who she changes into, those masks will have to be somewhere on her disguise."
"So if we find the masks, we'll find her. Buen pensamiento mi senora." Cat Negro said following her out the door.
Ladybug and Cat Negro made their way onto the roof and scanned the crowd for anyone who was carrying the Theatrica's masks.
"Over there!" Ladybug said pointing to a man in a black suit with the masks hiding on his brief case.
Ladybug and Cat Negro landed in front of him as he tried to run away. Theatrica changed to herself and her masks did their dance again. This time when the flash appeared, Ladybug felt someone grab her and then force her arms around something. When she could see, she saw that she was somehow holding herself around the neck and Cat Negro was about to make a move for her. Ladybug knew what was happening, Theatrica was trying to confuse Cat Negro.
"Cat Negro help me." Theatrica said holding Ladybug's arms in place, acting like she was trying to get free.
"No Cat Negro, it's me, Ladybug." Ladybug tried to pleade.
"No, I'm the real Ladybug."
Cat Negro did look confused, but then he got a look in his eyes like he had a plan. He used his staff to push Ladybug back and then pulled Theatrica closer to him.
"I've got you mi senora." He purred at her.
"Thank you." Theatrica said moving to kiss him, but then Cat Negro got a hold of the masks behind her back and threw them to Ladybug, who was heaving a sigh of relief.
"How did you,"
"Ladybug would never have tried to make the first move like that." Cat Negro said with his triumphant grin. "That's my job."
Ladybug rolled her eyes and then smashed the masks on the ground, releasing the akuma. After the akuma was purified, she was able to repair all the damage Theatrica caused with her yo-yo. And Theatrica was changed back to her true self, Teresa who had pitched a royal fit when Angela was given the role of Gabriella instead of her.
"Olé!" they cheered together.
Ladybug split for the school and was relieved to see that no one was still around. When Angela mad eit outside, Derek and Abbey were searching for her.
"Girl, we were so worried about you." Derek said hugging Angela so tight she thought he was going to crush her.
"We thought something bad had happened to you." Abbey said joining in on the hug.
"No, I'm fine, really, now if I could please just breathe." Angela gasped as Derek and Abbey let her go. "I just hid in the dressing room is all. I just wanted to make sure it was safe before I came out."
Derek and Abbey then went on saying that she had better not scare them like that again and then they asked if the play was going to continue or if maybe they were going to have to do it again later. In answer to that question, Angela's phone buzzed saying she had a text message from the director. The message stated that because of 'recent events' the performance was going to have to be put off until the next week so they could get the set back in order and get more tickets in order to get everyone back to see the performance.
"Well, there you have it." Angela answered.
"You want us to take you home?" Abbey asked.
"Sure, why not." Angela said following them to Derek's car.
The whole way home, Derek and Abbey asked Angela what it was like performing with Miguel. All Angela would tell them was that she was lucky she didn't forget to breathe the whole time they were on stage. But she felt that for her was an accomplishment. When they pulled in front of her house, she thanked them for the ride home and said she would see them in class the next day. Up in her room, she slumped down on her bed and just wished she could fall asleep. Looking over at her desk, she saw that she still had homework to do.
"Just get it over with." She told herself.
"You did great today Angela." Tikki said as Angela sat down at her desk.
"Yeah but it would have been better if we had been able to finish the show." Angela said following her biology notes.
"Yeah but think about it, next week, you'll get to perform with Miguel again." Tikki teased.
"Cut it out." Angela laughed. "But you're right. I just wish Ms. Roland was here to see it." Angela said thinking about how Ms. Roland had told her the week before that she would have loved to come see her perform. "Do you think she would have liked it?" she asked turning to Tikki.
"She would have loved it Angela. Remember her funeral's tomorrow, so you'll be able to say good-bye to her properly." Tikki said with her bright smile.
"You're right Tikki. You know, she wouldn't have wanted me to be so sad about her dying." Angela said remembering how Ms. Roland never let anything get to her. "She would have wanted me to remember that death is only the beginning of a new life in eternity."
"That's good Angela, remember that and you won't miss her as much." Tikki agreed.
Angela smiled as she got back to her work. As she finished up, she saw that it getting late and Tikki had already fallen asleep on her pillow. Angela quietly got ready for bed and slipped under the covers next to Tikki. As she dozed off, she remembered how Ms. Roland once told her that when you fall asleep, there is always an angel watching over you. She wondered if the angel watching her now was Ms. Roland. That thought made it easier for her to finally fall asleep.
