I had chemo on a Friday so I wasn't up to do much during the weekend. Once it was Monday though, I was glad to be up and out of the house. As I got up I took a shower, straightened my hair and threw on a yellow t-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans. I went downstairs about to go out the door when I heard my mother call to me.
"Ben! What about breakfast?"
"I've got a granola bar mom! I'll be fine!" I called back and before she could say another word I slammed the door shut. As I was walking I heard a group 5 or 6 guys biking behind me.
"Hey pretty thang! What is your fine pece of junk doin' out here all on yo lonesome?" one of the guys said. He was fit, black and handsome but if I could guess, I'd say he's a player.
"Ya babe! You wanna ride me to school? Whoops did I say me? I meant my bike!" another one said. All of his friends laughing at his joke.
"Actually, I'd rather not ride either of those pieces of junnk," I said with attitude. His friends all oooed like when you see people saying "yo mama" jokes.
"Nah. 'Dis girl just don't know what she be gettin' into!" the first boy said. That's when he biked up next to me and smacked my butt. I stood there in shock. A couple of the guys were howling and each one rode past me slapping my butt, except for the last one that rode slowly behind them. All I could think was, what A-holes.
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Once I got to school I told Hannah all about it. Her and I are the closest in our group of friends.
"If I were you, I would've smacked each one of them straight across the face!" she informed me.
"Ya, 'cause getting them pissed at me really would've helped my situation," I told her sarcastically.
"Hey sweetcheeks!" The first boy from earlier said leaning on the locker next to mine with the rest of his crew," so you plannin' on walkin every mornin'?"
"Do you plan on being an ASS everday?" I replied back.
"That hurts baby. 'Dat really hurts!" He said poking where his heart SHOULD be. "Know what why don't you and your babe of a friend right here sit with me aind ma homies' at lunch today. Ya know, get to know each otha' a little bit better." He winked.
"Um thank you but me and "sweetcheeks" here, all ready have friends," Hannah stepped in. I looked at her rolling my eyes.
"Really Hannah? Sweetcheeks?" I complained.
"Hey, he was the one that smacked them, not me! I'm just goin' by what he says" she said with her hands raised like she was going to get arrested. And her and the guy high fived each other laughing.
"Thanks for the support," I told her sarcastically.
"Well you two ladies think about it!" He called to us walking away. We never sat with them.
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It was 9 at night and I was tired of homework so I decided to walk to Starbucks.
"Daddy, I'm going to Starbucks! You want anything?" I called to him as I grabbed my sweatshirt and some sneakers.
"No thanks sweet pea. Be careful!" He yelled back from his computer. Lately, that's all he does. Just click, click, clicks away on his computer.
"Mkay. Love you daddy," I said as I kissed him on the cheek.
"Love you too!"
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As I opened the doors to Starbucks I was almost... relieved with the wondeful, freshly ground coffee smell that a little more than lingered in the shop. A boy was talking to another man across the counter. They were both wearing Starbucks outfits meaning they both worked there. I guess the boy's shift was over and he was getting ready to go home. The boy looked a little familiar but not much. I'd probably just seen him around town somewhere. Maybe school.
"Hello miss, what can I do for ya?" the older man said. His nametag said Rick, I thought the name suited him perfectly. He was in his late 40's, early 50's and the friendliest person ever. He was in here often but always very busy whem I came, so I never saw his name tag before.
"Hi! Can I just get a small coffee with cream please Rick?" I said smiling as I looked grabbed my money from my pocket.
"Sure thing darling!" He said with a smile that told me he was thinking,"I like this girl, she actually reads my nametag instead of calling me guy."
The young boy next to me was smiling and lightly shaking his head as if saying," This girl is somethin." He was leaning against the counter with both hands in his pockets of his baggy work pants. he had very short, black hair, and had a nice dark chocolate color to his skin. His eyes were a lighter brown, big and beautiful. It almost looked like he was wearing contacts.
"Did you want some coffee?" I asked the boy. He seemed to not be wearing his name tag.
"Sure, thank you," he replied, smiling at me. "I'll get another one of those," he called back to Rick. Rick came walking up with the two coffees and I handed him the money. He gave me back the change and I put the rest in tips. We walked over toward a two person table and sat down.\
"Oh, I'm Benna by the way. Most people call me Ben or Benny though," I said smiling.
"Miah," he said back to me smiling a little nervously.
"I like that name. Miah," I repeated it," is it short for something?"
"Jeramiah."
"It's nice. So, how long have you been working here Miah?" I asked him taking a sip of my coffee.
"I started a week ago," he answered. He had a soft, sweet voice. It reminded me a little of Evan Ross's voice.
"Oh that's cool. So... what grade are you in?"
"Junior," He told me," you?"
"Same. I'm sorry but have we met before?" I asked him, thinking hard of when we could've seen each other since I never remembered seeing him in school.
"Umm.... Did I see you in chemo once," he said calmy, trying to remember of any other times although it seemed he knew another time and just didn't want to share. I stared at him shocked.
"Chemo?" I asked him, trying to act stupid.
"Maybe not. We sat in beds next to each other one time and I told you to hang on 'cause you'll get through it one way or another," he explained to me. That's when it hit me. He looked different then, a little sicker, but it definately was him.
"Oh ya! How could I forget. So how are you doing? With your leukemia and all?" I asked him. We didn't really know each other, just the one talk we had after we both had chemo.
"Great actually. I might not have to do chemo anymore because the cancer is almost gone," he grinned," what about you? you look great! I'm sure you're doing great!" I choked at that last comment. Not on my coffee, but on a lump in my throat.
"I'm not responding to chemo anymore," I replied with my head held down, feeling like I was underwater being pulled down by a rock tied to my foot. This was when it actually hit me that I wasn't responding to chemo. I could only have a couple months left and I was acting like I was going to live longer than everyone else. This was when I knew, that would never happen.
"That sucks," he said, grabbing my shoulder looking straight into my eyes. I lost the world around me at that moment. Once I locked on his eyes, there was no unlocking.
"Ya, it does actually," I said, happy that he didn't feel sorry for me just because I was randomly chosen to be sick. I didn't want pity. I just wanted someone that knew how I felt. "I have to go," I said rushed and nervously. I stood up and walked fast to the door.
"Thanks for the-" he started as he stood while I walked out the door into the chilled night.
