When September Ends

5. Celebrity

August 24th

Monday morning began like any other. Skyla and Isabella got ready for school and then Pauline dropped them off. She was going to have lunch with Tim again. They had lunch every day. It seemed to be the only time they ever got to see each other except on those rare occasions he slept over.

When Skyla and Isabella entered the building though, normalcy went out the window. People were throwing questions at them like they were superstars caught in a huge scandal. Skyla tried to ignore them. She didn't want somebody twisting her words into something they weren't. After wading through the crowd of people who had come to get the first scoop, Skyla and Isabella ducked into the girl's bathroom. The interrogators got the hint when they didn't come out several minutes later and went on about their normal order of business.

"Can you believe this?" Skyla asked. "They can't wait to get a tidbit of gossip so they can spread it around."

"Leeches is what they are," Isabella said, slightly aggravated. "The next person who latches onto me is getting it right in the kisser."

Skyla laughed. Isabella glared at her hatefully before bursting into laughter herself.

"People are insane," Skyla told her.

"You should have seen them swarm us," a voice from the stall said.

Skyla and Isabella both looked at each other in confusion. The stall door opened and out came Kaley. The stall beside it opened and Kaitlyn walked out of it.

"We didn't even know until we got to school this morning," Kaley said with her arms crossed. "We found out from the frenzy."

"I'm so sorry," Skyla apologized. "It scared me so bad I forgot." She went over and hugged her friend. "I'm sorry." She pulled back and looked Kaley in the eye. Kaley couldn't hold her mad look anymore. Her face broke into a smile.

"I never could stay mad at you," she revealed. "What did the doctor say?"

"It was a false alarm," Skyla told them. "They said my heart was normal."

"That's great. I want to know all about it," Kaley looked at her watch. "It's getting close to the time for class to start. We better scoot."

"Yeah, maybe you if you can dodge the vultures," Isabella commented sarcastically. "These people annoy me. Frequently."

Kaitlyn laughed. She wasn't mad at Isabella for not calling her. She could only imagine what was running through her mind when she found out her sister was in the hospital. She knew if it had been Kaley, she would have been frantic with worry.

"Write me a letter in your first period and give it to me in second," Kaley instructed. "I want to know every single detail."

Skyla agreed. "Okay, but I'm not using the real names. You never know whether or not somebody might get a hold of it. I'd just die if what I have to tell you got spread all over the school." She looked over at Isabella. "And I don't want you saying anything to anybody you wouldn't trust with your life."

Isabella stared at her for a moment. "Okay. It means Kaitlyn is the only one I'll be talking to," she said with a sly smile. "I tell her everything."

With that said, the girls went their separate ways. Skyla couldn't walk to her first period fast enough. She got there in record time. Only one or two people stopped her on her way. She didn't want to be rude, so she said "no comment". She made it safely to her first period and ducked inside. She breathed a sigh of relief. Skyla walked back to her seat and plopped down. She got out her notebook and pen just like she did every morning. Michael apparently hadn't arrived yet. His chair was empty. His absence bothered Skyla a little bit more than she cared to admit.