Sacrifice

Chapter Thirty-Eight

This chapter contains medical emergency and EMS.

Crybaby woke up on a Monday morning, feeling more well-rested than usual. She thought back to the night before and remembered crashing in her bed right after she finished an assignment. She stretched and scooted to the edge of the bed, then got up and walked over to her calendar on the wall. She looked at the date and thought for a moment. It's now been a month since the annual carnival opened up, meaning it's been nearly a month since her friendship with Angelita ended. In that month, Crybaby went through a process of grief, reflection, and acceptance. Yes, her heart still hurt at the thought of Angelita. She missed her and the rest of her friend group terribly. But she was finally starting to accept what she'd lost and what she still had. Her relationship with Ben was still very much alive and becoming more stable. No more sneaking around or feeling guilty about their time together. They both felt like they were once again able to be purely excited about seeing each other. Crybaby picked up a pencil from her nightstand and crossed off that day's date on her calendar. She then walked up to her wardrobe and opened it, starting to look through the clothes she had hung up. Her sense of style was returning, which in turn boosted her confidence. In the last couple of weeks, she found herself putting more effort into her appearance. Not so much for others as for herself. She'd grown tired of looking in the mirror and seeing herself looking so exhausted and miserable. She'd been working on herself as a person, as well. She was no longer dishonest towards people, and she was comfortable with herself because she knew she had a good, pure heart. She picked out a few articles of clothing from inside her wardrobe that would be cute but also fitting for the weather as it was starting to get a bit colder: a lilac sweater, a white mini skirt, black leggings, and black lace-up ankle boots. She then closed her wardrobe and went to the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she tied her hair into two ponytails- her old favorite hairstyle. She changed into the outfit she chose, then put on some light makeup. She left the bathroom to check the clock and saw that she had only a few minutes before she needed to leave. She turned around and looked at herself in the mirror again, then nodded at her reflection. She grabbed her bookbag and slung it over her shoulder, then went to the front door of her house and left to walk to the bus stop. She made it there in a couple minutes and the bus pulled up in front of her shortly. Most days, when Crybaby got on the bus, her and Angelita would glance at each other, causing both of them to feel a pang in their hearts. Today was no different. Crybaby took a seat and put her bookbag on her lap, then rested her head against the window as the bus took off. She enjoyed being able to get lost in her thoughts during the ride. In about ten minutes, the bus arrived in front of the school. Crybaby grabbed her bookbag and stood up to quickly squeeze in between some of the students walking down the aisle; she always tried to get in the line before Angelita could pass by her. She thanked the driver before she stepped off the bus, then started making her way to the corner of the courtyard she visited every day to meet up with Ben. He smiled when he saw her approaching. "Hey, good morning, my love," he greeted her, his arms open for a hug.

"Morning," she smiled, walking into his embrace and wrapping her arms around him. They hugged for a moment and then Ben backed up to look at her again. "You look so pretty," he said. Crybaby snickered, "Thanks."

"Really, your outfit is cute, your skin is glowing, your hair looks nice," he went on. Crybaby giggled as he spoke. "Thank you, thank you. You're cute too," she said. He grinned and put his arm around her while they talked about other things until the bell rung. Once it did, Ben grabbed his backpack from the bench in the corner. "I'll see you at lunch," he told her.

"Yep, see you later," she nodded, turning around to walk to her class. She felt a tug at her arm as she began to walk away, then turned back around with a playful eye roll, knowing what this meant. Ben gently pulled her towards him, "Wait, not so fast," he said with a smile. She laughed and they both leaned in. They shared a short, sweet kiss and then parted ways.