To the Stars And Back

Chapter 5

Gakushuu stopped the car. Karma looked at him, still smiling. "Hey, why'd you stopped?". The other boy was still staring at him in disbelief. "You're serious" he stated. "It's cancer?"

"Actually acute Myeloid Leukemia" Karma clarified. "Problem?". When the other boy still didn't respond to him, as if he was carefully processing Karma's words, the red haired boy poked his forehead. "Hey, problem?"

"You have cancer" Gakushuu breathed. "So what?" Karma asked in his easy going manner. "That's a serious illness Karma!" Gakushuu raised his voice. "Shh! Don't be too loud" Karma covered the chicken's head. "Our baby might hear you"

Gakushuu couldn't believe it. This boy has cancer and yet he still acts easy going and without a care in the world as if his life wasn't on the line. "What stage?" He forced himself to ask.

"Why do you care?" Karma retorted. "Why? Are you the one with cancer? "

"Am I seriously the only one who has a problem with you having cancer?"

"It's only a problem if you treat it as one!" Karma reasoned. "And..like I asked, are you the one with cancer? No. You're not"

"You never told me what stage"

"Leukemia doesn't have stages" Karma chuckled.

Gakushuu frowned. "Is it THAT severe already?"

"Based on research..I have twelve months to live" Karma shrugged, as if he was just talking about how many dies is a butterfly's life's span was. "T-twelve months?" Gakushuu stammered.

"Yes" Karma smiled. "And if we don't eat soon, twelve might be reduced to eleven"

Gakushuu hurriedly started the car again and drove to the next town over in search of a place to eat. Karma cheered while cuddling the chicken "We're gonna eat little buddy!" he said, smothering the white hen against him. "Have we named you yet? I think we should name him..her..whatever"

"I think it's a girl" Gakushuu supplied. "How about Snow white?"

"because it's white? You lack creativity Gakushuu" Karma chuckled. "What about Chicken joy? Or buffalo wings?" He suggested. Gakushuu pretended to vomit. "No way!"

the two went back and forth on what name they should call their chicken. Before finally settling on calling her Goldie. Gakushuu was amused that Karma was talking to it like it was actually their child, cooing and making cutesy noises. He called Goldie his little baby.

"Our little baby" Gakushuu thinks. pretty soon they stopped in front of  an eatery, much to Karma's joy.

The two locked Goldie in the car and settled to get themselves well fed. Gakushuu ordering beef stew and promising Karma that he can stuff himself with as much food as he wants and that the bill was on Gakusshuu's wallet.

Not the type of person to turn down a free meal, Karma shamelessly accepts. Even praising Gakushuu and calling him his angel, which embarrassed Gakushuu and made him blush. "Oh, shut up" he muttered.

Their food soon arrived, and Gakushuu watched Karma enjoy his lunch of friend chicken, garlic rice, and salted eggs. "We have a pet chicken and yet here he is eating fried chicken and eggs without a care"  were Gakushuu's thoughts.

He looked behind him, at the car where their chicken was at. "Poor Goldie" he thinks.

In the middle of their hearty meal, his phone suddenly starts ringing. "Who's that?" Karma asks, looking st the caller ID. Gakushuu snatched the phone off the table and stood up. "Excuse me" he went outside.

"Hello?"

"Gakushuu? Where are you? Why didn't you come home?" His father asked immediately. Gakushuu sighed "Dad, we have a....free cut in class today" he lied. "Where are you?"

"I-" He messed up his hair in frustration. "I'm- dad I'm old enough to know what I'm doing, leave me alone"

His father made a noise of disapproval. "Know what you're doing? What are you talking about?"

"Just let me be"

"Go home now!"

"If this was mom I was talking to" he coldly said. "She'd understand" he hung up before his father could have another word in. He's guilty for doing this. But he misses his mom.

Now feeling down heartened, he entered the eatery and sat back in his seat. Taking larger portions of his food and barely even chew it before swallowing. Karma watched him for some time, eyeing the way he chewed his food and barely cut the meat. "My mom didn't had a say in me leaving either" he said. "She didn't know"

Gakushuu refused to look at him. Karma kept going "She knew I wanted to visit my dad, but my mom you see..she hates my dad, she HATES him really REALLY badly" he chuckled. "Last time I saw him- well the last time he showed up to us, he reluctantly gave me this watch" he showed him his wrist where lies an expensive looking Rolex watch.

Gakushuu finally looked at him again.

"I said to mom once, mom I have leukemia, I'm gonna die one day but we just don't have an exact date on which specific day" he chuckled, voice breaking. "But my only dying wish is" he cleared his throat. "For me to see my dad again, one last time before I go"

"Karma-"

"She said my dad's an asshole, and that she just doesn't want anything to happen to me that we wouldn't like"

Gakushuu reached his hand to place it on Karma's, but he stopped himself short. Karma didn't seem to mind, he continued on "So I said to her, mom if dad's an asshole let him be, he's still my dad and I accept him for who he is...because I think no matter how awful of a person the parent is, they'll stop for the sake of their dying child right?"

"I don't know" Gakushuu thought.

Then he watched the boy take out a pill bottle. And wordlessly took his medication right in front of him. Gakushuu placed a hand on Karma's free hand as a sign of encouragement, which surprised Karma, who smiled back at him as thanks.

He's going to miss that smile when they part ways