Catherine McMillan
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A few months have passed and I still have fever. It’s been two weeks already. I went to the doctor several times but he just gives me medicines to take. I got out of bed and opened the fridge to look for ingredients for breakfast.
“Geez. I need to do some shopping.”, I mumbled. I changed into decent attire and took my money. Thank God today is a Sunday and my break from work. I closed the door and locked it. The sun was shining brightly and at the same time it was hot. I opened my umbrella and started to walk my way to the supermarket. The people were friendly as always.
“Good morning Catherine!”, Mr. Grandpa greeted. I call him Mr. Grandpa because he just greeted me one day and I didn’t get to know his name. I only see him every time I pass here and he was okay with it.
“Good morning to you too Mr. Grandpa.”, I greeted back.
“Going shopping are we now?”, he asked.
“More like food shopping Mr. Grandpa.”, I replied. He laughed and said,
“You look like you’re having a hard time these days. Are you okay Catherine?”, he was concerned about me?
“I am perfectly well Mr. Grandpa. Don’t worry about me. I’m a strong girl.”, I assured him so he wouldn’t worry.
“Of course you are my dear. Now go on. Today’s Sunday and you know what that means.”, he smiled at me.
“Yes I do Mr. Grandpa. The supermarket will be swarmed with people. I’ll get going now. Have a good day Mr. Grandpa!”, I smiled at him as he waved goodbye. I continued to walk. I didn’t have enough cash for a bus ride since I just paid my apartment bills yesterday and paid my other bills the other day. I only have enough for groceries. I came across the watch shop. I went in to check but when I came near to where it was placed, it wasn’t there anymore. I asked the sales lady about the watch but she said some young boy bought it three months ago. What?! What did she just say? Did I hear it right? Someone already bought the watch I’ve been aiming for three months ago?! I almost have five hundred dollars and now, it’s not there anymore because someone had already bought it? What am I supposed to do with the money I saved up until now? Does this mean all of my efforts and sacrifices will just go to waste? Wait, I’m exaggerating right now. I shouldn’t over think of things. I exited the watch shop and ended up being disappointed. I reached the supermarket and took a grocery cart.
“Today sure is a nice day but my mood sure is foul.”. I went inside the market and took my grocery list out of my pocket.
“Let’s see.”. I went around, took some ingredients and I came across an umbrella. It was pink. It was just plain pink. Honestly, I have an addiction to umbrellas and I have a lot of designs for it. It goes the same with watches but I prefer umbrellas. Should I buy it? Well duh, of course I would. It would be an addition to my collection. I took it out of the basket full of umbrellas at went to the counter.
“Hey Catherine!”, Michael called out. I knew it was Michael. I could tell by his voice. I didn’t bother to look but he went to me anyway.
“What do you want now?”, I asked.
“Let’s go out today.”
“No thanks. I’m busy.”
“Busy with what?”
“Some things.”
“What things”
“Things I need to do at home.”
“What do you need to do at home?”
“Will you cut it out?”, I was starting to get irritated with the questions he was firing at me.
“Cut out with what?”, he asked again. I groaned and turned my back on him. The cashier gave my change and I immediately went out of the market in the hope of getting him out of my sight. Unfortunately, he was still following me. I was already mad at him. I turned around and screamed,
“What is wrong with you? Do have some issues with me or something? Get the hell out of my sight before I punch you in the face and kick you hard in your balls.”. He stared at me. There you go. That’s my true color. Black. I was a mean, bad-mouthed girl. A bully for short. I had bad records and I got detention a lot during junior high but my grades are “excellent” as they say. I walked away and I just left him there. Just because he’s the captain of the football team doesn’t mean that he can just manipulate people whenever her wants to. That would be so ridiculous and immature. The sun sure was hot. I was holding my umbrella with my right hand and my groceries with my left hand. It was quite heavy too. Half way before arriving at the apartment, I started to get dizzy. My head was pounding and my body got weaker. I walked a little faster since I was almost there but the moment I faced the gates of the apartment, I fainted.
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Dylan Wilson
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“Are we there yet?”, I asked.
“Be patient. Geez Dylan. You may be a nerd inside a hot guy’s body but you have some issues.”, Stacy said. So today, me and Stacy planned to visit Catherine since she’s been absent for a week now. She has to catch up with her studies since she’s a scholar and they have a grade to maintain unlike regular students. We arrived at some gate and I saw Stacy in shocking mode.
“Catherine!”, she screamed. I looked for the reason why she screamed and I found Catherine’s body lying flat on the side walk under the heat of the sun and there was grocery everywhere. She must have dropped it when she fainted. Stacy and I went to her. I carried Catherine and Stacy took care of the groceries. We called the care taker of the apartment who thankfully went out of the building and let us in. We then went inside Catherine’s room and Stacy locked the door.
“Let her rest in her bedroom. I’ll take care of these. Gosh, she must have gone shopping for groceries on her own. Geez Catherine, you know you’re not yet in the condition to go out.”, Stacy mumbled and went to the kitchen. I heard her yell that she’ll make lunch and I nodded. I went to her bedroom and laid her body on the bed. I took a handkerchief from one of her drawers; thank goodness I didn’t see something I need not to see, and wiped the dust and sweat in her face and arms. Thankfully she was wearing jeans so I didn’t have to wipe her legs. I wiped her forehead first then her arms. Then I wiped her cheeks and my lips formed into a smile. I don’t know why but every time I’m with Catherine, I feel happy. It’s like I want to be with her always. She’s nice and funny but she can lose her temper at times but I’m cool with that. Everybody has a negative side, right? I even have one too. After I finished wiping her cheek, she suddenly moved.
“Catherine?”, I tried to talk to her.
“Dylan? Is that you?”, she asked.
“Yes. It’s me. Do you need anything? Water? Something to eat?”, I asked. She shook her head.
“Then what do you need?”, I asked again. Catherine sat up and looked down.
“Catherine? Is there something wrong?”, I asked. I got nervous all of a sudden.
“I just need a friend right now.”, she simply stated. I went speechless. Why did she need a friend? Does she have a problem right now? I held her shoulder and she looked at me.
“Catherine, I’m always here for you. I’m your friend, remember?”, I said.
“Then can I trust you?”, she asked. I nodded in response.
“I went to the doctor the other day. Recently, I always get dizzy and my head always hurts. Sometimes, like I remember this now but five minutes later, I forget about it. When I try to remember it, my head starts to hurt.”, she paused and took a deep breath.
“After my medical checkup, I saw the results. The doctor said, I have brain cancer. It’s still minor right now but it’ll soon worsen. Dylan, I’m scared. I don’t know what to do.”, she said. Catherine bursted into tears. I was shocked about what I just heard. Catherine has cancer? I mean, of all people, why her? Somewhat, I got mad.
“I was a bully at my old school. This must be the punishment I get for bullying so many people and getting drunk every night, for not listening to my parents and even running away from home. Here I am, all alone and I even discovered I have this disease. I – I just don’t know what to do anymore.”, She cried silently. The tears came out from her eyes and went down her cheeks. Her world must be shattered right now. She’s not the happy Catherine I knew after she started to have fever two weeks ago. She was silent and doesn’t smile like she used to. She failed one of her projects but the teacher reconsidered her grade because I asked my father to let her pass. Our teacher didn’t listen to what Catherine had to say and our teacher didn’t try to understand Catherine’s condition so in the end, she passed.
“Dylan. I’m scared.”, she whispered. I hugged her. It was the only thing I could do right now. I comforted her the best way I can and told her that everything will be okay. I pulled away and wiped the tears off her cheeks.
“I’m here, okay? Me and Stacy are here for you if you need us. After all, we’re friends. That’s what friends do. Now, stop crying. It’ll minus your beauty points.”, I tried to joke around and good thing she smiled.
“It’s nice to see that smile again Catherine.”, I said. She blushed, I guess, and looked down.
“Whatever.”, she whispered. I smiled and gestured her to lay down and she did. I covered her with her blanket and stood up.
“Stacy’s making lunch for us. I’ll bring yours here, okay? So get some rest.”, I told her and she nodded. I closed the door and went to the kitchen.
“How is she?”, Stacy asked.
“She’s conscious now.”, I replied.
“Thank goodness. I actually have a party tonight but I texted everyone that I canceled it.”, she said.
“You really care for Catherine, huh?”, I asked and she smiled.
“Of course. I love her and she’s like a sister to me. It’s been three months and the three of us are close now thanks to her. I never had real friends like you guys. So I’m willing to do anything for her. Even canceling the party just to attend to her. That’s how she’s precious to me.”, Stacy replied. I then realized, how much does Catherine mean to me? Could I also sacrifice something for her sake like what Stacy did? I questioned myself.
“Hello? Dylan to earth?”, Stacy asked. I was snapped back to reality thanks to Stacy.
“Oh. Sorry. I just spaced out.”, I plainly replied.
“Okay. Here’s Catherine’s lunch. Be sure to take it to her. I’m gonna clean the kitchen and do the households for her. It looks like she hasn’t been able to do maintenance around here.”, Stacy said. I took the tray and went to her room. I knocked on the door and I heard a faint voice coming from inside saying come in and so I did.
“Lunch is ready.”, I said and I tried to smile. Catherine was more pale than last week.
“I’m hungry because I didn’t get to have breakfast yet.”
“Then you should eat now. You need to eat a lot if you wanna get better.”, I told her and she nodded. Just then, Stacy came in bringing food.
“Hey Catherine! Why don’t the three of us eat lunch together? Will that be okay?”, Stacy asked. This made Catherine smile and nod in agreement. I stood up and placed a table beside Catherine’s bed. She sat up and I placed her food in front of her while Stacy placed everything on the table. Then the three of us began to eat.
“So how’s school guys?”, Catherine asked.
“Oh you know. Same old. But Mrs. Jenny finally gave birth to a baby boy. Isn’t that great?”, Stacy asked in excitement.
“Really? When?”, Catherine got excited as well. I just remained silent and continued to eat. You know how girls talk. They never shut up once a gossip arises. It’s been thirty minutes and we were all done eating.
“I’ll go wash the dishes. Stacy, stay with Catherine.”, I said as I took the things and closed the door.
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Catherine McMillan
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“Hey Stacy. How’s Dylan been doing in school?”, I curiously asked.
“Oh my gosh Catherine, I don’t know where to start. Okay recently, he’s not himself after he knew that you would be absent for several days. And guess what? He entered the ladies room by accident because he wasn’t thinking clearly lately. It’s so obvious that he’s worried sick about you. Also, he always calls me with your name by accident.”, Stacy said. This made me giggle because just imagining him in his clumsiness is funny. How much more if I personally saw it? But, it’s nice of Dylan to be concerned about me but he should compose himself.
“Really? That’s being a klutz.”, I said.
“I know right? And there was this one time last week where...”.. Stacy kept on mumbling but I couldn’t hear the words clearly. Before I knew it, I feel asleep.
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Dylan Wilson
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I went back to Catherine’s bedroom. I opened the door and saw Catherine sleeping soundly while Stacy laid her head on the table where we ate lunch and slept with Catherine. Well, I’m sure they talked a lot. Stacy is really talkative that there are times when me and Catherine fall asleep while listening to Stacy’s blabbering. We made her as our sleeping pill, especially during lunch breaks. I silently and slowly closed the door and went to the living room and watched TV. I’m starting to “not like” that man name.