One Step Forward [ON HOLD]

Chapter 5

I woke up around noon. It was Saturday, sure, but everyone had to be at school for mid-terms by three. I jumped in the shower, letting the cold water wake me up because I'm usually a slow waker. I finished my shower and put on a pair of sweatpants and a purple sweatshirt. I walked into the kitchen to see that Alice was awake, too. She had her face in a biology book. She looked up to see me drying my hair with a towel.

"So you finally woke up," she said. "How you can sleep in till noon on a day like this I'll never know." She shook her head when I shrugged. It's not like I have to study.

"Did you eat yet?" I asked her. She shook her head to say no. So I walked over and took her book away.

"Hey!" she yelled, lunging over the table to get her book. I jumped out of the way at the last second and she fell onto the floor with a thud. I couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, Amber, give it back!" She whined.

"But I have a better idea," I said. I blow-dried my hair and told her my plan. "We're gonna go to the bookstore, y'know, somewhere quiet. We can get some bagels at the Java Junction on our way there. You get me?"

"Yeah I get you," she said.

We got in her car and went to the bookstore downtown. We studied for a good hour and a half. We left for the school at two-thirty. I wished Alice luck on her exams. She wished me luck before she left.

The test lasted three hours. I, as usual, did perfectly fine. All of my friends believed they did well. We decided to get together one more time before everyone went home for Thanksgiving break. So we gathered at mine and Alice's apartment.

"So what are you doing over the break?" Kai asked me. "Mother and father want me to come home and see them." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm going home to see my grandmother," I said. "What about you guys?"

"My parents are coming here for Thanksgiving," Daniel said. He groaned and we all laughed. We knew his parents didn't like that he was gay, and we really felt bad for him.

"Well I'm going back home to see my parents..." Bailey said, blushing. We all knew she was really looking forward to seeing her boyfriend, Anderson. We all smiled and looked at Alice. She shrugged. We already knew that she was going back to Canada to see her family.

The doorbell rang. Mail. I got up from the couch and got the mail out of the box and started to sort it.

"Alice, Alice, junk, junk, Alice..." My voice trailed off.

"What?" They asked me. I tossed Alice her mail and and sat back down on the couch and tore the letter open, scanning the note.

"Amber?" Alice looked at me, my hand over my mouth and face like stone. "Amber, what does it say?"

I handed the note to her and covered my face with my hands. I heard her gasp.

"Can I tell them?" She asked me.

I nodded.

"It's from a hospital in South Dakota. Her grandma had a severe heart attack and died this past week."