When September Ends

20. Showdown

September 23rd--7 days

Skyla had never been more anxious to go to school. First of all, she wanted to see Michael so badly she could hardly stand it. The bond between them was a lot stronger now for some reason. Skyla couldn't explain it. The more she thought about it, the more she realized he truly was sent to her from Heaven. Their romance was a miracle and a dream come true. And she wouldn't let anyone threaten it. Not now, not ever. Skyla still remembered the dream of her funeral and the look on Carrie's face when she said Michael would be hers. It was the second reason Skyla couldn't wait to step into the school building. She was going to tell Carrie exactly what she thought of her. Anybody who was as nasty as she was deserved to know exactly what people thought of her.

Skyla slipped on a pair of the most comfortable jeans she had and a black hoodie over a white t-shirt in case she got hot. She did her makeup and fixed her hair like normal, only instead of leaving her hair down, she put it up in a ponytail. She looked like she was ready for a fight.

"Look out, Carrie," she mumbled to herself as she checked out her outfit in the mirror. "Here I come."

She and Carrie had a long history together. Ever since they were little kids in grade school Carrie had picked on her. Skyla never did anything about it because Pauline had always taught her girls fighting never solved anything. But some people were a little more hard-headed than others. Some people would never learn unless you were as nasty to them as they are to everyone else. Carrie was one of those people. And today, Skyla planned to take her down a peg or two.

She went and knocked on Isabella's door to let her know it was almost time to go. She opened it right away.

"I'm so excited about today," she revealed. "Skyla, are you sure you're up to this?"

"Don't worry," Skyla told her. "I've got angels in my corner."

Isabella smiled. "I sure hope so, because if she causes you to go into cardiac arrest or something Mom will have to come and get me out of jail. I'll kill her."

Skyla grinned. "I'll be sure Kaley keeps a hold of you then. I don't want you to get into this. The remark she made was about me and I'm going to be the one to tell her about it, okay? Just relax."

"When are you going to do this?"

"At lunch," Skyla said simply. "I'll have the biggest audience then." Skyla laughed.

Isabella laughed with her, but she twisted her hands nervously. She wouldn't see a minute's peace until this thing was over.

Their mom walked up the stairs and begged them to come on before they were late. They looked at each other and giggled, then followed her down the stairs. The ride to school wasn't at all silent. Pauline, Skyla, and Isabella talked about their shopping trip and Michael, much to Skyla's dismay.

"He is a beautiful person," Pauline commented. "Especially to stay with you when he knows you're sick."

"He's an angel," Skyla gushed.

Pauline and Isabella laughed. Skyla knew they thought she was just using the term loosely as an adjective to describe Michael's loyalty and behavior. They would have gone ballistic had they known he was a real live angel from Heaven.

Pauline pulled up to the curb and unlocked the doors. Skyla and Isabella told her goodbye and then she was off. Skyla stood to watch her mother drive away. A sudden wave of sadness came over her. She would miss this. Everything. Skyla sighed loudly.

"What's wrong?" Isabella asked.

Skyla had forgotten her sister was still standing there with her. "Nothing," Skyla lied. "Everything's fine. Let's go in."