𝑷𝑳𝑨𝒀 𝑫𝑨𝑻𝑬 - Steven Hyde

sixty

60|THE S.A.T.S

"Goldie?" Kitty gently knocked on the door, poking her head in the girls room. Her heart sank as she spotted her niece cuddled under her duvet, barely moved in almost three days. "Sweetie, I brought you some cookies."

"Thank you Aunt Kitty." Goldie mumbled back, eyes staring ahead. Her greasy hair plastered on forehead, lips dry and dehydrated.

"Did you eat lunch?" Her aunty asked carefully, sitting on the edge of the bed. She stroked her hand over the lump in the bed, pained to see her this way.

"I wasn't hungry." She muttered, noticing the untouched food beside her bed.

"Okay, I'll clean up your lunch dishes." Kitty sighed, standing up and grabbing the dishes.

"Thank you."

Marigold lay in bed for a week straight, barely moving, only sleeping with occasional toilet breaks. Her meals went untouched, minimal food being consumed.

On the eighth day, Goldie's eyes fluttered open, the clock reading seven with the sun streaming through the gap in her curtains. She slowly sat up in bed, swinging her legs around and standing up.

She stripped the sheets from her bed, opened her curtains and grabbed an outfit for the day. Her hand hovered over the band tee in the back of her closet, debating whether she should throw it out. She turned away, knowing she can do it another day.

Marigold jumped in the shower, the vanilla shampoo cleaning the grease from her hair, a vanilla scented body soap lathering over her skin. She wrapped a fuzzy towel over her body, stepping out the steamy bathroom.

"Oh, a letter." She grinned to herself as she realised it was her SAT results. Goldie made herself a cup of coffee and sat at the breakfast table, her smile widened as she saw the high score.

"Goldie?" Red paused as he entered the kitchen, spotting his niece sat drinking coffee.

"Morning, Uncle Red." Goldie stood up, greeting her uncle with a kiss on the cheek. "I made you a cup of coffee."

"I'm so happy to see you out your room." He grinned, happily accepting the coffee. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." She smiled, sipping the hot liquid in her mug. "I'm thinking of making pancakes for breakfast, do you want some?"

"I could do with some pancakes." Red nodded along, sitting at the breakfast table and watching her cook. He could see the light had returned to her eyes, a sense of normality back to her.

"Oh, Goldie!" Kitty gasped as she walked into the kitchen, running to wrap her arms around her niece.

"Good morning, Aunty K." Goldie chuckled at her aunt's excitement. "I'm making pancakes."

~•~

"Well done, Fez." Marigold announced her presence as she wandered over the the table at the diner. "I knew you were secretly smart."

"Thank you, Goldie." Fez grinned, proud of himself. He shuffled over, allowing Goldie to sit down at the table.

"It's good to see you out." Eric nodded to his cousin, a happy gleam in his eyes.

"Is no one going to talk about the elephant in the room?" Jackie stated loudly, gesturing to the girl beside her. "Goldie went missing for a week and just suddenly showed up like it was nothing?"

"Have your parents brutally murdered in front of you causing you to suffer from multiple mental illnesses for the rest of your life." Goldie shrugged, sipping her soft drink as the table went silent.

"Anyway." Eric broke the awkward silence, turning to Donna. "So the SATs are in? Donna, did you see your scores yet?"

"Yeah, this morning." Donna quietly agreed, shrugging off her score. "I got a 1230."

"What? A 1230? That's great!" He said cheerfully. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Well, I didn't want to brag." She tried to act cool but her excitement got the better of her. "I mean, yeah, I kicked ass, but it's no big deal."

"Eric. Eric, honey." Kitty burst into the diner, racing over to the table to find her son. "I got the mail and your SAT envelope happened to be open, and the letter just sort of slid into my hand, and I accidentally put on my reading glasses, and I saw your score. You got an 800!"

"I got an 800? That's it?"

"That's it?" She questioned his lack of enthusiasm. "If 100 is an "A," eight of them is an A-plus-plus."

"No. No, Mrs. Forman, an 800 is not good." Jackie informed the older woman. "I mean, a pigeon can peck a better score than that."

"Really?"

"Donna did better. Fez did, too." The girl continued to state. "And his whole country's made of bamboo."

"This is awkward." Kitty froze in her spot, not knowing what to do. "I'll just...I'll go home and take down the streamers."

"She's such an amazing mum." Goldie mumbled to herself as she watched her aunt race home.

"Forman, the SATs prove nothing." Hyde stated to his friend. "I mean, I got a 950, and I don't even have any textbooks. Or a locker."

"Wait, wait." Jackie turned to her boyfriend excitedly. "A 950? Steven, I knew it. You do have potential."

"Yeah, imagine what I could do if I only applied myself." He joked. "Oh, well, guess we'll never know."

"I just, I can't believe I got the lowest score here." Eric said with disbelief, still in shock over his low score.

"Oh, Eric, someone had to come in last." Fez stated with motivation. "There is no shame in that. Well, there is a little shame. Shame on you."

"You know, who cares what anyone got?" Donna spoke up, trying to cheer Eric up. "It's just a stupid test."

"You know what?" Eric took her words to heart. "You're right. I don't care."

"I got 1030!" Kelso burst into the diner waving her results letter around with excitement. "Yeah! I did good on a test, man. Something's happening to me. I'm blooming like a flower."

"What did you get, Mar?" Hyde glanced over at the peaceful girl, ignoring Eric having a breakdown. "You're awfully quiet."

"I got a 1500." Marigold revealed, unable to contain her smile. "I didn't want to brag."

"Well done."

"You should be very proud of your 950, Steven." She stated, sipping at her juice. "I knew you had academic potential."