When You Are Gone

Chapter 12

"Ah! Finally." Announced Rebecca as we left the exam room after our final examination. "Goodbye high school."

Craig and Stan were littering the premises with shreds of what used to be their notebooks. When theirs ran out they ran around asking for other people'. I even gave them my Physics notebook.

"Party at my house tonight!" yelled Ackley. His crew howled after him.

It was practically a post exam bash outside the hall. The teachers didn't dare to control anyone. Some were moving around getting their yearbooks signed, others were crying and most like Stan and Craig – who were no longer in the shirts were being plain loud and rebellious.

"Finally a free man." Rebecca nudged me. I don't remember if I smiled, it was difficult – everything was difficult that day.

"Why so blue, Smarts," Nathan said emerging with a smirk on his face along with Ethan.

"Cheer up, this is the last day of high school for heaven's sake, not a Math quiz," said Ethan and he started laughing with Nathan.

"Roman, you okay?" Rebecca asked, her expression transformed. No. I never have been. Maybe, I don't even know what okay means anymore.

"Yeah, I'm just going to miss this place."

"I know," she chuckled, "me too. Some of my best memories were made here." She was almost shouting over the havoc.

"Let me guess. The garage." I humored.

She smiled. "Maybe."

"Yo. Smarts!" yelled Stan when he noticed Rebecca talking to me. He started laughing wildly with Craig.

Rebecca was laughing too. "They are crazy," she said.

"Come on Becky, let's go." Nathan and Ethan were back. Nathan wrapped his gigantic arm all the way around Rebecca's neck. They just watched me like it was my cue to leave. "You can talk to our friend here some other time," he said, "We have to get those fireworks hot for tonight, remember?" he was smiling in her face. Their noses were practically touching. She smiled playfully in response.

"Will we see you at the party, Roman?" Rebecca asked when I walked away.

"Nah, Smarts is too cool for parties." Ethan replied for me.



That girl who looks like Francie was in the bus. She kept looking at me, maybe, I stared at her too much, I don't remember – everything about this day was difficult. The sight of St Angelo's got unsettlingly familiar. When I got in the hospital in Jonah's ward, everyone was there, all except Gina.

Jonah had tubes connected to his nose for food and liquids. He could only move his arms and legs but he didn't make a sound, he couldn't even cry. His doctor said the pain he was going through on a scale from 1-10, his was at least an eight. They had tried to reverse his ingestion of the lactose containing foods he ate but the drugs had caused an anaphylactic shock then he was completely incapable of processing almost anything now and could barely breathe on his own.

I walked out of the ward later to see Francie. She had asked about me so maybe she was going to be less cold after all.

Francie wasn't there anymore. Her aid informed me she had been discharged that afternoon. I went to her house after we left the hospital. It was almost sunset.

"Roman."

Francie's mother ushered me at the humongous mahogany door.

"Come on in...Don't worry about your shoes, really."