The Miracle Clinic

Chapter 34 - The East Side (1)

Overcast clouds swirl over Starlight City on this dreary winter morning. And sitting on his bed looking at them is Marcus Veridan. He lays there for a moment, letting his thoughts gently blow by like the wind outside. Eventually, the young teen wills himself out of bed as he starts his morning routine.

He brushes his teeth in the dull bathroom to the right of his room, then puts on whatever clothes are in his closet, and then makes his way to the kitchen. The fridge door opens as he glances at the food sitting atop cold shelves, he stares at them all as he contemplates what to eat for breakfast. Eventually, he decides to take out a carton of eggs, crack a few open onto a pan, and let them simmer while he also starts up the coffee machine.

The blank, almost stock-photo-like walls catch his eye as he stares off into them, imagining what could have been hanging up on them as his eggs sizzled.

Eventually, with the food now made, Marcus sits down at the lifeless counter in the lifeless house and begins eating. He glances around the counter noticing the absence of the once commonplace notes his parents would always leave for him. Now with those as nothing more than a mere footnote in his memory, Marcus finishes his breakfast and starts to wash the dishes in the sink when...

Ring-Ring-Ring-Ring-Ring!~

Marcus looks as the landline phone buzzes next to him. With one hand still on the dishes, he reaches his other to grab the phone. He answers it before resting the phone on his shoulder so both hands can keep cleaning.

"Hello?" Marcus asks as he scrubs the soap all around the pan.

"Yo Marcus, it's me, Ronnie!" Ronnie remarks through the phone, "How's your weekend?"

"Oh, hey Ronnie! It's been going fine," Marcus states as the water rinses the soap off the pan, "just the same as usual."

"Ah I see," Ronnie states through the phone before switching topics, "But hey, you excited for the gala tonight?"

"Wait, that's tonight?! I thought it was in December," Marcus states puzzled as he lays the pan on the drying rack

"Dude, it is December. You lose track of time or something?" Ronnie jokingly questions.

Marcus takes a look at the calendar hanging on the wall and notices he hasn't marked any of the days in weeks.

"I, I guess I have," Marcus responds as he turns the water off, "But yeah, I'll be there! We meeting up at Burrito Bistro?"

"Yep! See you there!" Ronnie states before hanging up.

Marcus dries his hands off before setting the landline phone back down. He then walks over to the calendar to take a closer look at things. He flips back to the start of the calendar and sees that he always used to never miss a date on it. That is until...

October 12th, 2013. Just over two months ago. Around the time Marcus told Elizabeth & Alex about...well, everything.

As Marcus then begins to fill out the dates he forgot to mark down, he recalls all the other fun memories he experienced that kept him preoccupied from all this.

He thinks about how he got to meet many new friends, some he never imagined to ever chat with. How many people they've helped in the club, both in big and small ways. He even recalls how their new member, Cameron, seems to enjoy going to the club too even if he doesn't attend all the meetings.

Marcus finally crosses off today's date – December 8th, 2013 – and sets the marker down. Despite all of those days where he's gotten to meet so many new friends and faces...do they see him in a similar light? Or are they just tolerating his presence?