My Last Year

Miss Ronnie Schultz

I have a strong feeling y'all will like this chapter, even though it's UBER short. And I apologize for that...but nevertheless, hope you like it! <3 :D

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“Molly’s dying of cancer!”

As soon as the word’s left June’s awful mouth, the three jocks stopped walking and turned their heads to me.

“What? Are you serious?” Leo said, looking at me with concern.

“June, stop.” Jenny snapped.

“Jazzy, Susanne! Molly has cancer!”

The two blond cheerleaders kept walking by, but I saw Susanne smirk my way.

“June!” Abby said, slamming her into a locker. “Grow up, girl! This is your friend here!”

June blinked, her big eyes darted to me, and then she was gone.

Leo grabbed my free shoulder. “Is she serious? Cancer?”

I looked around at the people around me. Jenny reached out and touched my hand. What do I tell him?

“Whoa,” Jason said. “She does, man.”

The bell rang, but none of us mad a move. I barely ever spoke to Leo, Daniel and Jason. I never thought they even knew I existed.

“You okay?” Daniel asked.

I nodded slowly, but then shook my head. ”No,” I said. “I feel like I’m on death row! And now, June’s broadcasting it, those two…bimbos know and will spread it, and—“

I stopped myself. I shouldn’t pour out my problems on these people. I placed my head in my hands.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” It was the school Administrator, Mr. Stell. “What is the meaning of this? Get to your classes immediately.”

We scattered, but not before I heard Leo say “Don’t worry about the bimbos”

That made me feel perhaps a little better.

*          *          *          *          *          *

The phone rang and I rushed to get it. “Hello? This is Molly Kerks speaking”

A female voice rang through the receiver, sweet and warm. “Hi, Molly. My name is Ronnie Schultz—I’m a newspaper reporter from the “Daily Extra”—and I was hoping I could have an interview with you. Nothing really big, just a small column…”

Bewildered, I muttered something really intelligent like; “Whaaa?”

I heard her chuckle from the other line. “Molly, you are Preciouslife86, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. How did she know that?

“Well, then you’re the one dying…aren’t you? Of cancer?”

How rude. “Look, if all you’re looking for is a story, just go down the road a few miles and interview my crazy neighbor, Luis Gow, he worships rabbits.”

Again the woman laughed. “I apologize if I seem harsh with my words, Miss Kerks, that’s just how reporters are, you see. Now, all I’m asking for is an hour-hour and a half of your time, I’ll ask you a few questions, maybe a picture, and I’ll be out of your hair! Just like that! You won’t even know I was there.”

Did I want this? Did I want my story publicized? Well, I suppose that’s why I’m doing a blog about it, but still…

“When do you need it?” I asked.

“My deadline is on Saturday night, it’ll be in the Sunday paper.”

I glanced at our calendar. “How does tomorrow work for you?”

“Tomorrow’s fantastic! Thank you so much, Molly! You won’t regret this.”

*          *          *          *          *          *         

I drummed my fingers on the coffee table, sipping my black coffee nervously. I had pulled my hair back in a pony-tail ages ago, and Ronnie said she’d be here at 4:30. I looked at the clock. 4:32. Mom, Dad, and Peter were all out of the house, doing their stuff. The earliest they’d be back was 7:00.

I jumped as the doorbell rang. I hopped out of my seat and dashed to the door. As I opened it, it revealed a pretty girl who looked to be 18. She held out her hand.

“Hi, Molly. I’m Ronnie.”

I shook her hand and she grinned. “Aren’t you gorgeous!”

“Uh, thanks…” I replied. I brought her to the living room. “Do you like coffee?” I asked sheepishly.

“Is it black?” I nodded. “Absolutely!”

I hurried to the kitchen and poured her a mug. After being told that she hates sugar, I handed the cup to her. She set her bag down on the ground, pulling from it, a notepad, a pen, and an Advil.

“Migraines,” She explained. “Anyway, let’s get this started. My name is Ronnie, I’ve just recently graduated college. I mastered in journalism and so far have gotten fabulous feedback. Anything else you’d like to know before we go into the interview?”

“How old are you?” I said.

Ronnie laughed. “Yes, I know I’m very short and have a young face. I’m 23.”

I nodded, acknowledging her response.

She clicked her pen open and scribbled something down. To me, it looked like she had awesome handwriting. Though, I guess that might be crucial to becoming a writer. She looked up and gleamed at me.

“I’m so excited! Now, I know you have a brother, your twin, correct?”

I nodded, my heart sinking a bit. “Okay, I know a little about that so I won’t push the subject. Now, your parents. How did they take it?”

I explained that my mother took it rather hard, and my father took it even worse. All the while, Ronnie nodded her head and scribbled away on her notepad. When I was done, she looked up again, this time seriously.

“Have you told any of your friends about it?”

I paused, staring into her brown eyes. “Can we skip that question?”

She gave a small smile, and nodded, scribbling something else down. “How did you react when you got the news? How has your attitude change?”

More questions like this came and I answered them all. Soon, she took a deep breath and clicked her pen shut. “And that’s it!” She said. I took a look at the clock and saw that it was already 6:00! I offered to have her for dinner but she said she’d grab some Arby’s. When we got to the door, she turned to me and hugged me. “I’m so sorry.” She said into my shoulder. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I hope you don’t mind me doing this…”

“No, you go ahead. I can’t really lose much from it, can I?”

She gave me a grateful look and walked out the door. I returned to the living room humming the tune of Hallelujah as I went. I took a candle from under the coffee table and lit it, breathing in the scents. My muscles relaxed instantly.

I drifted into the kitchen and started a pot of water on the stove. I then moved to the television and grabbed the clicker remote next to it, turning it on. The news was on, and immediately I was drawn in. To the left of the newscaster’s head was the picture of the blog page I use! Then another picture flashed in the screen, causing me to fall into an armchair. My blog profile picture and name were on the television. Confusion coursed through me and I turned the volume up to listen.

“—is what is believed a fifteen year old girl, dying of cancer! But she doesn’t let that deaden her life of one year left, she is choosing to live it to the fullest, whether it’s by volunteering at a zoo, or skydiving into the Grand Canyon. This young girl has over three million blog views already, and has only a few blog entries up! The question is; who is Preciouslife86?”