She's a Freak

Half Day!

Carleigh's POV:
       
   "Carleigh? Come here, sweetheart." my mom called from her hospital bed. "What is it, Mommy?" "Listen to me. Whatever happens to me, you have to be strong. Can you do that for mommy?" I nodded. "Good girl." she said as she took my hand. I felt her squeeze it tightly once before she released it, her eyes fluttering closed. The T.V. by her bed made a long beeping noise. "Mommy? Mommy, what's that sound?" I asked. It kept going. "Mommy make it stop." I begged, shaking her shoulders but she didn't move. My daddy rushed in behind two men wearing white dresses. "Daddy what's wrong with Mommy?" I asked. My daddy looked sad and scared which scared me. He picked me up and took me out of the room. "No! I wanna stay with Mommy!" I cried reaching over his shoulder. "We can't, darling. We have to go." "But isn't she coming with us?" I asked, confused. "Not today." he replied. "But when can we see her again?" "Not for a little while, honey. She's going away on a trip." he told me softly. "Where?" I wondered. "She's going to a place where everyone is happy." "Sesame Street?" That was the only place I know about where everyone was happy all the time. "Yes, darling. She's going to Sesame Street."

        Bang! Bang! Bang! "Wake up, Carleigh! You're gonna be late." Jonah yelled pounding on my door. I opened my eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling. My vision was blurry and my cheeks were wet. "Was I crying in my sleep?" I sat up and reached under my pillow. I pulled apicture out and stared at it. I was maybe 2 or 3 when it was taken. When I was put up for foster care, this was one of  the only things I kept. This and my mom's locket I flipped it over and stared the date. June 19, 2002. The day my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I didn't know what that was at the time. My vision blurred again and I put the photo back under my pillow. I then went through my morning routine, got dressed,ate a quick breakfast and headed out the door. I rode down the sidewalk and looked ahead at the black car again. It was closer than it had been the last few days. The man was still wearing his huge sunglasses. He was laid back with the seat slightly reclined. He must have seen me, because he sat upright as I rolled by. He was really starting to creep me out. I looked away and stared down at the pavement. 

        "Hey, you!" a familiar voice shouted. I looked over my shoulder and saw Nat riding towards me on his skateboard. I slowed to let him catch up. I smiled at him and he did the same. "Hey, you wanna come over after school?" It was a half day, meaning we only had to go to school for the first few hours. On the first Wednesday our school had these half days. They were mainly so the teachers could plan the whole next out. The whole school got dismissed at 12:30. I nodded excitedly at the thought of spending most of the day with Nat. "Cool. I was thinking we could grab some lunch somewhere and then hang out at my place." I nodded again. He smiled to but he looked somewhat sad at the same time. I sent him a questioning look that asked, "You okay?" He noticed and perked up but I could tell he was faking it. He looked deep in thought for a moment before grinning like and idiot. "Hold still. I wanna try something." He stepped off of his board and tucked it under his arm. He took off his ID lanyard and tied it around the loop on his backpack. "Hold on to this." he said holding it out to me, still grinning. I did as I was told and he slipped his bag back on. "Hang on tight." I was about to wonder why when he took off running, pulling me on my board behind him. Being a football player, he could run super fast. I bent down a little to keep my balance and stood still, allowing him to pull me down the street. A wide grin found its way to my face as the wind whipped my hair around. Nat looked over his shoulder and chuckled at me. He ran all the way to school with me trailing behind. When we got on campus and came to a halt. I crashed into his back and he nearly fell over. "Oh hey there!" He laughed as I hopped off my board and picked it up. The bell rang and we ran to our first classes. "Let the torture begin."