The Story of a Dying Girl
Hi. Thank you for reviewing, favoriting, following, or reading this story. I really appreciate it. I'm currently working on the tenth chapter of this story. School starts soon for me, but I will continue to update quickly because I work on this story almost every night.
So now, I present to you, chapter 5.
Enjoy!
Chapter 5:
The next morning was like waking up with a hangover, head thumping and trying to figure out what exactly had happened the night before.
Her lips.
I smiled again.
It couldn't have been a dream right?
The whole carnival and kiss.
What a cruel prank that would be?
What if it was a dream?
I looked down at my pillowcase and saw all this face paint smudged into it and I calmed down.
It had happened.
I grabbed my phone from my bedside table.
9:57.
I saw that I had a text from Cook.
"How'd it go last night Blondie?"
I smiled and walked into the bathroom, showering and then getting changed.
I dashed downstairs where mum sat at the dining table, sipping on coffee and reading the paper.
I quickly walked to her, slapped down the remaining money from last night, kissed her cheek, and was out the door before she could ask me any questions about how last night was.
I found myself at Cook's house before I even realized it, and opened the door, finding Cook and Paddy in the same positions as before.
Paddy's nose was bruised, and I grimaced at remembering the events of yesterday at the park.
Cook was at eating cereal.
"Naomio!"
I sat down next to him.
"You missed out last night mate, there was this girl, with like, fucking tip top jugs, just right in your face. Holy shit! Pretty good shag too if you ask me. Should have heard her moan."
That was already way too much information.
Paddy was unfazed, instead he was intently watching nameless cartoons on the screen.
"What about you? How's Emily in the sack?"
My eyes widened.
"For Christ's sake Cook, we didn't shag."
But we did kiss.
"Alright, alright. How was it though?"
"It was cool. We may have… kissed," I said quietly, hoping it would fall on deaf ears.
"Come again?"
"We kissed."
Cook gave me a shit-eating grin and slapped me on the shoulder.
"Atta girl! Tell me more."
"Her dad was scary. The fair was fun. I kissed her on her doorstep. That's pretty much the summary."
"Details Naomikins! Details."
"She wore jeans?"
"For fuck's sake! How was the kiss?"
"Oh! She has really soft lips and… it was, really, really good."
"Did you cop a feel?"
"What? No!"
He laughed, shaking his head as I swatted at him.
"Just asking Blondie."
We sat and continued to watch the cartoons, time ticking by seamlessly.
Before I knew it, it was dark out, and I still had homework at home.
I walked home and into my room, where I tried to tackle all the homework left until last minute.
Sitting at my desk, I easily got distracted.
It felt so good to win that damn dog for Emily.
I needed to find those movies.
15 movies.
How hard could it be?
I finished my remaining homework, and grabbed my computer.
I took out my list from where it sat semi-forgotten on my desk and unfolded it carefully.
An August Rain
The Incredible Adventures of Charles the Dog
Guilty of the Following
Vast Blue Ocean
Sea of Thoughts
A Quarrel in Paradise
Peering Off the Edge
Eying the Stranger
Lighting the Sky
Passion in Paradise
A New King
Heart of Silver
Sinking Ship
Orange Delusional
And finally, Emily's favorite. The one about the man and woman deeply in love…
Night of Love
I started Googleing.
Old movie stores.
Places to buy old movies.
Shop with old movies.
I continued to type in different variations until I finally found something.
An hour away from my house there was a small shop going out of business, known for sometimes selling old movies.
I quickly wrote down the name and it's address, slowly forming a plan in my mind so I could get those fucking movies to Emily to make her happy.
It was like the jacket.
I was cold, but I would rather have Emily be warm.
This would stress me the fuck out, but I would rather make Emily happy.
I went to bed, the plan growing and spreading and crying out to become real.
Monday hits hard, like a pillowcase full of bricks and the stale bread that was always served at Thanksgiving at my house.
Emily.
I would see her today.
What happens now?
Do I ask her on a date?
Are we dating?
Did she regret it?
No… did she?
I would just avoid her. If I avoided her, then I wouldn't have to deal with what happens now.
Perfect plan!
I got ready and walked out the door to the bus stop, waiting for the bus to pull up.
The bus rolled up slowly, and the bus driver already frowned at me, despite the fact that I hadn't actually fucked anything up.
Cook was in the back like usual, and I sat next to him as he slung his arm around my shoulders.
"Cook. I have good news."
"Spill."
"I found a place that sells old movies."
He smiled and threw his head back.
"That's fucking ace Naomikins! Where is it?"
I told him the location.
"Innit an hour away or something?" He scratched his head.
"Yeah…"
"How we gonna get there?"
"Bus…"
"Don't know how many buses run over there."
"Car?"
"You got a car? That's fucking mint! I thought your mum's was in the shop."
"Your mum's car?"
He paused.
"So you don't have a car. She'll probably kill me… nah she'll be too drunk to notice. Let's do it."
There was a bit of sadness when he said that his mum would be too drunk to notice, but I knew he didn't want to talk about it, so I avoided it.
"Thanks Cook! You're the best, mate."
"I know Naomio."
He paused again. Also, that rhymed.
"Naomio. Romeo. Ha! Naomio is like Romeo. Speaking of that, what are you gonna do about your Juliet?"
"I don't know."
The bus stopped at school and we all got off, getting annoyed grunts from the bus driver.
He had a name, but he was always a dick to me, so I'm just gonna call him the bus driver.
That's my revenge.
Not very much, it must make me seem like one of those people who got vengeance on others by not cutting the crust off someone's sandwich.
We out to where lunch tables were, and immediately Cook nudged me.
"Innit that Emily?"
He pointed at a girl with bright red head.
"Yeah, I think so," I said, squinting, trying to get a better look.
She turned her head over to where we stood, and I ducked behind a trash can, Cook looking at me like I was mental, but hid behind it with me all the same.
"What the fuck are we doing?"
"Hiding."
"No, yeah, I got that much. Are we playing hide and seek or something?"
I rolled my eyes.
"If Emily sees me then I have to talk to her, and if I talk to her, I will either fuck everything up, or stand there awkwardly."
"Don't be a pussy, ask her out."
"What? Are you crazy? She's not gonna say yes. She probably regrets the kiss."
He face-palmed.
Cook, who once asked me if I thought it would be possible for him to ride in a kangaroo's pouch after he watched Kangaroo Jack, just thought that I was ridiculous. So ridiculous that he just had to face-palm.
"You're asking her."
"What? I just said that we are gonna avoid her until further notice," I said and looked at him like he was crazy, because he was.
What the fuck was he playing at?
He sprung up like a flower in April.
Fuck.
That was a cheesy as fuck metaphor.
That was awful.
Wait.
That's not even a fucking metaphor.
It's a simile.
Thank you Mr. Dirken for teaching me that distinct and most important difference.
This is sarcasm.
"Cook, get the fuck down, she's gonna see you!" I shouted whispered.
That's an oxymoron.
He started to stroll, yes, that motherfucker started to stroll, towards Emily.
"Cook! Cook! For fuck's sake Cook!"
Whether he didn't hear me or heard me and just chose to ignore me is unknown, I'm betting on the latter though.
He continued to walk closer to where she, Katie, and her friends sat.
"Excuse me, I-," Cook started to say, but didn't get a chance to finish.
I tackled him to the ground and we began rolling around on the grass, trying to pin the other one down.
This wasn't the first time this had happened, sometimes he was like a brother.
He was laughing and I tried to gain the upper hand, but I'm lanky, like I've mentioned God knows how many times before, and Cook is a lot stronger.
"Naomi? Cook?" I heard a husky voice.
I got distracted and looked in the direction from which it came from.
Cook used this to his advantage.
He pinned me down and sat on me.
"You done?" He asked, panting a bit.
"Yeah," I said begrudgingly.
He pulled me up and slapped my back playfully, removing grass from my hair and laughing.
"Naoms? What are you doing?" Emily said again and I looked over to see Emily walking over to us while Katie and her friends all seemed to be annoyed with us.
"Naoms? Ha… already got coupley nicknames and everything. You're well on your way to being whipped," Cook whispered and I elbowed him sharply in the stomach.
"Nomi?" Emily was now very close.
I laughed kinda sheepishly and rubbed the back of my neck.
"What are you two doing?"
Cook stifled a laugh in the background.
"We're just, wrestling… and stuff," I said.
"Why?"
"Um… I, uh… I said that wrestling is fake, and Cook said it's not, and wanted to prove just how real it is," I replied, a lie popping in my head, and I wondered how of all the things I could have said, I said that.
Emily laughed.
"And what do you think now?"
"Oh, it's still bullshit."
She laughed loudly.
"Naomio just wanted to ask you something, didn't you 'Nomi'?" Cook said grinning like a Cheshire cat.
I craned my neck, long blonde hair whipping to the side as I looked at him.
"What did you want to ask me Naomi?" Emily said softly, and I turned my head again.
A date.
Ask her on a date.
Just do it.
"Do… do… do you think we have a sub in politics today?"
If there were an audience, like some kinda Disney show with laugh tracks, they would have all groaned very loudly now.
Cook groaned, and face-palmed.
For fuck's sake, he once asked me if I thought that the movie The Birds was based on a true story.
Emily's smile faltered, but it was brief, blink and you might have missed the way her eyes sunk a bit and her shoulders heave and drop like she was disappointed in me.
"No, I think we won't have a sub. Stuck with the same old teacher," she laughed, but it wasn't genuine.
It was that polite laughter that can be heard at a dinner party with stuck up guests who drink fancy wine and wear expensive suits and drive fancy cars.
Cook coughed loudly.
"And… uh…" I started to stutter.
"And?" Emily was looking at me like a five year old crying hysterically trying to complain that some kid had just taken my toy.
I shut my eyes like the next words might hurt me, because depending on the response I got, they might just do that.
" Adatewithme," I rushed out.
"What?" Emily said encouragingly.
"Would you… like to…"
"Would I like to what?"
Bloody hell Naomi, this wasn't fucking charades, ask Emily on a date.
"Would you like to… go on a… social arrangement with me, in which… we might hold hands… and possibly kiss?"
That was one of the worst ways that I could have phrased that.
"A date?"
"Some might call this, particular… social arrangement that, yes."
"Yes."
"It's okay if you say no."
"Yes."
"No really, it's alright."
"Yes!"
"It was the kiss wasn't it? I'm a shit kisser, huh?"
"You're a great kisser. And yes I want to go on a date you space cadet!"
"Really Emily, it's okay."
"For fuck's sake… yes!"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
"Oh, that's a relief," I breathed out.
And then I realized something.
I am going on a date with Emily Fitch.
The Emily Fitch.
The girl with the pretty long red hair and chocolate eyes. The girl with a beautiful smile and a laughter that sounds better than anything else. The girl who's mouth tasted of the sweetest thing and something distinctly Emily.
The girl with cancer.
But I will forget about that last part, because I don't want to think about it.
And I will not think about it there is yet another painful reminder and I find myself with a lump in my throat.
I smiled brightly, and continued to look at Emily like an idiot while she went back to sit with her friends before school started, and Cook hit my back playfully.
"She's like… gaggin for it and shit."
That was his way of saying that he thought that Emily really liked me and that we would make a great couple.
Or that she was waiting desperately for me to shag her.
It's probably the latter.
But I would like to think it's the former.
The bell rings and I walk to Mr. Dirken's class.
I take my seat and watch as he sits down in his chair.
"Today we are learning about… blah… blah, blah… blah… blah blah."
If you can't tell, the blahs indicate that I am no longer listening to Mr. Dirken, only barely watching as he writes some fancy words on the whiteboard and begins to point at them desperately.
"This is the… blah… blah… blah."
The bell rings and I realize that I have barely taken any notes.
Fine with me.
Mrs. Incart was sitting at her desk, crying hysterically, and her "water" smelled a hell of a lot like something else.
Why the hell no one had said the maybe this wasn't okay, I hadn't the slightest idea.
She lifted her head up, mascara streaked down her face, but not pretty like Emily's.
It was crazy.
Her hair was in knots and she had snot coming out of her nose.
"Sometimes, you… little children, you… kiddies, people… people… don't want you… anymore. Sometime… fucking, sometimes… they want your bitchy neighbor," she slurred and grabbed her water bottle, tilting her head back and taking a huge gulp.
"Fucking Tiffany. What's so special about… fucking Tiffany?"
I didn't know Tiffany, so I could not tell Mrs. Incart what was so special about her.
"… I heard she gave her nineteen year old pool cleaner head…"
This was supposed to be some kinda, "haha, you're not so great" moment, but the whole thing just felt really fucking sad.
"My husband… fucking Jerry. He just… he was fucking Tiffany. Can you believe it?"
Can I believe that he was fucking Tiffany?
Tiffany of all fucking people?
Probably, because I didn't know any of these fucking people, so I will assume that they all have a giant block party orgy.
Because at this point, that seems pretty plausible.
"So… I told him, I said, 'Jerry. I'm keeping the cats! You… you gotta leave the fucking house.'"
Yep, she showed him.
Her phone text.
"Hold on. I… got… a text on… on my cellular… uh… what's the word? Oh… ha… it's phone."
And with that she grabbed it.
"Guys… guys… it's okay. Jerry says… he says sorry. He said… said that the first… two, no three... times didn't mean anything. The rest… were accidents."
What a romantic, huh?
I really do sincerely hope that for Mrs. Incart's sake, she finds someone better, someone who doesn't fuck Tiffany more than three times. If it were once, and he did it for different reasons, maybe then. But it wasn't like that.
The bell rung and Mrs. Incart waved her hand dismissively, staring at her phone and laughing at something Jerry probably said.
The day passed uneventfully.
At lunch, I was sat in the library watching a video of a guy trying to jet sky, spoiler, he didn't do it very well.
And I went off to the rest of my classes.
Politics was interesting though.
Mum was always very into things like this, protests and rallies, and standing up for the little guy, who could never find his voice. Animal rights and no war.
I liked politics as a result of being raised in a house where hippies where flowing.
Dad was always a bit more toned down than mum.
When he left, and after my great aunt Tina, and after mum started smiling again, hippie hell broke lose.
Kinda.
I was woken up almost every Saturday for a protest.
The number of protest t-shirts I have is scary.
So is the number of picket fences.
And the number of flower crowns I have made.
Or all the times I tried to pawn off my hippie food at lunch.
Not that life with dad was that toned down.
Most of my baby photos involve me with either no shirt, or no clothes at all.
But, I'm getting off topic.
Things like animal rights and peace and all that are pretty much everything in my house.
But that's not why politics was interesting today.
It was interesting because as I sat in the back, listening to the class, writing down notes and shit, I kept on catching someone looking at me.
A certain redhead.
If you are waiting for something really interesting to happen right now, like I overturn a desk and make out with her passionately while my politics teacher stares, you will be sourly disappointed.
It's that she kept on glancing back at me.
No one really stole glances of me.
And this is not desperate ploy for you to feel bad for me or tell me how I must be wrong, because I have never actually cared.
I'm just Naomi, though. I'm your friend, Naomi. Not, your crush Naomi.
And that has always suited me just fine, so finding her continuing to sneak glances was strange, but also not the first time she had done this.
But anyways.
I'm sure you probably don't want to hear about that.
The final bell rung of the day and Cook and I got on the bus working out a game plan.
We would go to his house, make sure his mum was well passed out, grab the keys, and go.
And so that's exactly what we did.
Except there was one problem.
One small problem.
His name was Paddy.
And though I loved him 'cause he's like my little brother, he can be a little bit stubborn sometimes.
I think he got that from all the years with me.
But anyways.
Cook's mum was passed out in her bed with a bottle of red and her newest boy toy.
Her keys on the table.
We were about to leave, Paddy in his room, napping.
But of course he woke up.
"Where are you guys going?" He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"On… an… adventure," Cook said, which was a terrible thing to say to Paddy, who was now bright and alert.
Might as well of told him we were going into space to solve crimes with falcons for sidekicks.
"A really, really boring adventure," I said, hoping Paddy would go back to bed.
"For adults," Cook added.
"Can I come too, please? I don't want to be with mum and that guy that smells strange by myself?"
How can you say no to Paddy?
Answer: You can't.
So we all got into Cook's mum's car, and started to drive, Paddy eagerly jumping around in the back.
"We're going on an adventure! Going on an adventure!" He sang out.
After a bit he stopped.
"What do boobs feel like?"
And then he started again.
Cook began hollering, which was not good for us considering the fact that he was driving.
"Like fucking heaven!" Cook laughed out. "But Blondie here wouldn't know."
Cook was right, I was not equipped for this question, considering the fact that I had never seen or touched someone's boobs.
Not that stuff like that really mattered.
But I wanted to know badly.
I rolled my eyes.
"Pretty sure I have a pair."
"Don't count, Blondie. Tell me about a pair you've seen in real life."
I was silent.
Cook laughed.
"Shut it," I said and we continued driving, turning up the radio.
"Are we almost there?" Paddy asked.
It was kinda cute, or at least it would be if this wasn't the fourth time he asked it.
"Ten more minutes mate," I said.
And sure enough, ten minutes later, we parked in front of a small store with packed boxes and a large sign saying, "Closing down sale! Everything 50% off!"
Cook, Paddy, and I walked into the tiny store, a small bell ringing.
A woman at the desk looked up eagerly, like some kinda animal at feeding time.
"Customers! Haven't seen those in a while!" She smiled.
I walked up to her desk where she was flipping through some fashion magazine and took out the list from my pocket, unfolding it and turning it towards her.
"Hi, I was wondering if you would happen to have any of these movies."
"Oh, dear, I don't really know. I do know for a fact that they would be in one of these boxes though." She gestured apologetically to five, large boxes on the ground.
"This is a shit adventure," Paddy groaned.
Yep, it is mate.
Cook sat down at one box, Paddy at another, and I sat at the biggest one.
I tried to go fast, but not too fast or I would miss something and want to crush my head between to of these giant fucking boxes.
Eventually, I got a rhythm down.
I was about halfway through the box, when I stopped.
The cover has a big black background, and in the center is a large, silver heart.
In silver writer underneath, it clearly read Heart of Silver.
I blinked.
Did I actually just find one?
"Guys."
Paddy and Cook turn their heads towards me.
"What?"
I hold up the DVD case proudly.
"Fucking ace Naomikins!" Cook shouts.
I put it to the side and fish out my list from my pocket.
I stand up, my legs feeling numb from being in that position for so long,
I walk up to the desk.
"May I borrow a pen?" I ask and she hands me one instantly and I unfold my list again, going down the list and crossing off my discovery proudly.
"Naomi?" Paddy says
"Hold on mate," I say, folding my list back up.
"Naomi?"
"Just give me a second Paddy cakes."
"Naomi?"
I sigh.
"Yeah mate?"
He passes me a DVD where the cover is a cliff.
Peering Off the Edge.
"Paddy! This is awesome!" I say, crushing him in a hug.
I unfold my paper and cross it off the list ceremoniously.
I sit back down and almost like magic I find another.
It was the one with the man's eyes who looked guilty, the same one I had accused of being a constipated fucker all that time ago in Emily's room.
Guilty of the Following.
I put it down with the other two and cross it off my list.
An August Rain
The Incredible Adventures of Charles the Dog
Guilty of the Following
Vast Blue Ocean
Sea of Thoughts
A Quarrel in Paradise
Peering Off the Edge
Eying the Stranger
Lighting the Sky
Passion in Paradise
A New King
Heart of Silver
Sinking Ship
Orange Delusional
Night of Love
We were getting a rhythm down.
It won't take long until we find all of them.
Unfortunately I was wrong.
I had gone through my entire box and not found anything other than new releases.
I guess it turns out that this place didn't sell that many old movies.
Paddy managed to finish going through his box, however by the time he was done he groaned and lied back on the ground, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
Paddy is always fucking tired.
I grabbed a second box and began sorting through it, desperate to find something else.
I was losing hope.
Cook finished his box, nothing useful being found.
I continued sorting through it, desperation increasing as I reached the halfway point with nothing new.
"Blondie! I fucking got one!" Cook howled and I twisted my head sharply, almost gave myself fucking whiplash.
He held up Sea of Thoughts with a cocky grin and I lunged forward, hugging him tightly and grabbing the case, putting it with the others and crossing it off the list.
I finished up my box with no new discoveries.
I grabbed the third and began going through it quickly.
Cook finished his with nothing new.
"Come on, come on, come on," I muttered to myself as I started to reach the last few cases in the pile.
I grabbed the second to last one and smiled largely.
It was Sinking Ship.
Five in one day.
What were the odds of that?
I had already gotten a third of my list, however I had a feeling that the others wouldn't come quite as easily.
We got back into the car, me quickly paying the woman and thanking her, giving her a large tip because I felt so bad about her store and I felt really good about finding a bunch of the movies.
Paddy was sleeping in the back as Cook dropped me off at my house.
"Thanks Cook. For everything," I said genuinely.
He smiled.
"No problemo Naomio."
I shut the door of the car and made my way upstairs, depositing the bag with the movies on my desk.
Dinner is quiet and I do my homework quicker than I thought I would.
I lay in bed that night, hand folded beneath my head, and think about Emily, and how brightly she would smile when she saw the movies.
Maybe she would be so happy that she cried a bit, or maybe she would laugh in such happiness and surprise.
Maybe everything would be okay if she had those movies.
Maybe the cancer would go away, and she wouldn't think about how young she was, and everyone would stop crying.
Maybe.
So there we go! Next chapter will be up either Thursday or Friday, probably Friday, but maybe Thursday. Hope you like this. Let me know what you thought.
Also, quick note of no importance really, like you can stop reading if you want, it has nothing to do with the story, I promise.
There's a song called You Always Hurt the One You Love by the Mills Brothers. I'm not mentioning it because I'm listening to it, but in the movie Blue Valentine, which I just saw and was tremendously sad, Ryan Gosling sings it on his ukulele.
I have no idea why, but I feel like it would be something Naomi would sing to Emily, well… maybe not because I don't know if Naomi would do something like that, but I feel like the song lyrics would kinda go with her.
Hell, JJ could be her wingman and play the ukulele when he's done with the baby. (Sidenote, I found that whole entire episode really bizarre and kinda unnecessary, but that's just me.)
What the hell is happening? I'm sorry, it's late and I'm tired, so I don't know why I just went into this long thing about this thing.
I'm sorry.
Anyways. Let me know what you thought.
Next chapter involves a Naomily date.