Final Breath

Four

Tyson is in the living room enjoying his afternoon bowl of Cap 'N Crunch cereal with some Disney Channel show on when I get home. Just like always when he sees me, he quickly puts the bowl down on the coffee table and runs over with wide arms to give me a hug.
"Hi, Ty!" his excited childlike voice greets me as he squeezes my waist as hard as he can, 'I've missed you!'
I can't help but smile down at him as I hug him back. He's so adorable. He's a little mini-me. We both have curly black hair, kiwi green eyes, porcelain skin, a lean build. For a ten year old, Tyson's already at five feet tall, precisely.
'I've missed you too, kid,' I eventually tell him and play with his hair. This makes him giggle and cling to me again. I kiss the top of his head and watch him go back to the TV and his dry cereal. I go upstairs, fighting the tears back as it hits me just that hard how Tyson isn't going to take me dying too well, especially since I can't tell him.

While cooking dinner for Tyson and I, since Dad works the night shift at his mechanic shop, I listen to the sounds of the TV in the living room. Tyson's still enjoying his Disney Channel marathon, occasionally laughing out loud to jokes I'm not even sure he actually gets. Even still, at least he's happy about something.
Want me to come over tomorrow after school? Tessa texts me as I stir a pot of baked beans on the stove and check the baked chicken in the oven for the millionth time in forty-five minutes. I hesitate at the text before I respond to it.
I haven't seen Tessa since I told her the news, mostly because I'm too scared she's going to treat me differently now that my results aren't what they've been in the past. I don't want to break up with her at all. But six months, though it seems like a long time, isn't that long of a time when it involves people who love and care about you.
Sure, is my only response before I return to cooking. Tyson's laughter from the living room at another joke from the show he's watching nearly makes me want to cry right there in the kitchen.

None of my teachers will allow me to do anything at all, even though they're all fully aware that I can still do the work. So basically I'm just sitting around the classroom taking up space and not being as productive as the rest of the class.
So what am I supposed to do for the seven to eight hours in a school I can't even write my name on a piece of paper on? Sleep seems like heaven. However, I'll be getting plenty of it soon enough.
I hear a lot about people playing video games and taking surveys for real money in their bank accounts. I already have a PayPal account and a Chime account, and apparently the money people earn goes towards the PayPal account. I'm not much of a video gamer, and I definitely hate taking surveys. However, if I'm getting paid for doing them, I don't see why not.
Besides, my funeral isn't going to pay for itself at the end of the day.