Author's note: So this is going to be the second to last chapter of Day By Day! I really hope you guys enjoy! Sorry for all those cliff hangers ;)
It's breakfast, and I'm sandwiched between Bex and Liz again. We're 5 tables away from Zach and Macey. What happened last night... was it a dream? I didn't understand a thing! I was so dazed off and unfocused that I didn't realize I was staring at Bex for a really long time.
She looked up at me, "Cam?" I snapped out of it,
"Yea?" I answered, looking pretty stupid.
"Is everything okay?" She began to look worried.
"Yea, it's fine, everything is fine," I tried to make the word "fine" come out nice and okay, but it turned disgusting and wrenching. I'm stabbing my omelet with my fork.
Bex studied me for a couple of seconds, then she continues eating. Esmeralda, a girl from our Cove-Ops class, was talking about how she got her surprised phone call last night and she was sure to fail the assignment because she hung up on . The other girls said some other things, I pretended to listen, but I just got back to dazing, and of course scrambling my eggs.
"Cammie? Honey?" It was Liz, she was looking at me all worried, "Aren't you gonna eat your food? You barely touched it!"
I stuffed my face with a spoonful of destroyed eggs,
"Yum," I replied with my mouthful. Everyone stared at me and laughed a little.
I was trying to push the eggs down my throat when I heard coughing. Wheezing actually. It was Zach, he was coughing, and coughing, and COUGHING. Macey jumps up from her seat, ready to give him the Heimlich maneuver, She's kneeling besides him.
"Zach? Zach? Are you Okay? Zach? Can you hear me?" He's on his hands and knees grabbing his chest tightly. I'm standing up, ready to run over there and do something. But I couldn't move, I just stood up, and held a death squeeze on my fork. My chest seems to hurt more than his right now. He's still coughing and wheezing and he's on the ground rolling with Macey yelling for help.
He's coughing for about 18 seconds, and then he just hops back up on his seat like nothing happened. The entire cafeteria is dumbfounded.
Half the teachers were already in the room, ready to take action.
"Sorry," He said with a chuckle, "choked on my eggs," He announced, clearing his throat a bit. Suddenly, an army of staff grabbed and dragged him outside of the cafeteria. Macey's frantically running after them. The teachers shut the door, and just like that, he's gone. Madame Dabney stops Macey just when she's about to stampede outside.
"My apologies, Miss. McHenry. Headmistress Morgan would like to see you in her office." Macey just ignores her and walks through the door.
Mr. Solomon approached her, his face pale. He grabs Macey by the shoulders and steers her to my mom's office. The cafeteria is silent. Not a peep from a single student. My hand slams on the table.
"What's going on?" I demanded from Bex and Liz, "I saw you guys last night. Something is up, and you guys BETTER tell me,"
Liz calms herself, "Cammie, darling, listen, this isn't what it-"
"No!" I cut her off, "Tell me what's going on, RIGHT. NOW."
Madame Dabney appears behind me. "Miss. Morgan, Zachary just simply choked on his eggs, everything is perfectly fine."
"Yes! Because choking on a piece of egg and an army of teachers come and charges you out of the room is 'perfectly fine'!" I hadn't realized how horrible my tone was turning.
"MISS MORGAN!" Madame Dabney shouted, slicing the words off my tongue, "Please SIT and finish your breakfast!"
And with that, She turned around and left. I'm dumbstruck, my whole world ready to fall a part.
Well I'm pretty much used to this whole kinda thing. You know what I mean, not having anyone tell me anything, and that "anything" is about me. I've always been living in a world full of lies and questions left unanswered. And that's what it was like for a whole week after the "choking" incident. Nobody says a thing to me anymore. Bex and Liz are no where to be found. School starts whether I'm ready or not. I go to bed and wake up and my dorm-mates aren't even there. I eat lunch by myself, and walk to class by myself. The seats in class that belonged to Zach and Bex remain empty. Mr. Solomon acts as if nothing is going on. Whenever I need my mom, she's always busy and locks her office door. I'm completely alone and deserted. I have no one to go to, no one to cry on, no one that I trust anymore. Yes, it's been a week, and none of my family and friends are anywhere to be found. Whenever I tried asking Madame Dabney, she just waves her hand and shoos me off.
I'm under the staircase on the windowsill again, thinking and wondering. Wondering when I will receive my phone call from Mr. Solomon. Wondering where in the sane heck is Bex and Liz and Macey and Mom and Tina and Zach this whole week. Wondering what Mr. Solomon's voice might sound like over a cell-phone.
I'm digging into my book bag for the phone, making sure it's not damaged. I'm frantically looking for an "ON" switch but there were no buttons whatsoever.
I put the phone back on my lap, rest my head on the window sill. And then it happens.
SNAP!
Just like that. The phone lights up. There's two pictures on the screen, a Green one that says "ANSWER" and a Red one that says "CANCEL" It's a touch screen! That's why there were no buttons! I take a deep breath and pressed ANSWER.
"Hello?" I said, holding it up to my ear. I expected to hear Mr. Solomon's low, soothing voice, but what I heard was nothing I was prepared for. It wasn't Mr. Solomon. But it was... Macey?
She's in a panic attack.
"Cam? CAM? Is that you? Is that really you?" She says in a hurry,
"Uh.. yea?" I replied, wondering if I should hang up for not.
"CAM! Cam, Listen to me, you need to LISTEN to me, are you listening to me?" Her voice is quivering.
"Yes..." I answer slowly.
"Zach. Zach. He's dying." That snapped everything in my body, I'm jumping off of the window sill now.
"Wait, what? Macey! What's going on?" I'm paralyzed at her words. I'm pacing back and force like a maniac.
"Two months ago, he was diagnosed with Radiation sickness. It wasn't a natural disease, they couldn't find a cure. He was given 30 days to live before his lungs and his body gives up on him. He's in the Northern Hospital right now, the one by the Catholic Church. HURRY CAMMIE! HURRY!"
I could feel my chest tighten and my muscles beginning to limp. I can feel the world spinning and buzzing and I'm not ready for any of this.
She didn't have to tell me to hurry, because the next thing I knew, I'm flying out the Academy Doors, running pass the Catholic Church, and insanely crashing into the Northern Hospital.
Next Chapter Soon!