The Moment

Chater One

It was over 6 months ago. She came into school, a sincere look upon her face. She took her usual seat next to me and put her head on the desk. I looked to her and saw tears streaming down her face. I put my arms around her shoulders unsure on what to do. She was stiff and rigid under my arm, something was very wrong. I stood up and took her hand, then walked her towards the girls’ toilets.

On the way there, we bumped into our form tutor. He looked from me to her, then back to me again. He gave a small nod and let us continue walking towards the toilets.

Once there, I hugged her. She was still crying. She hugged me back- tight. It felt as if she didn’t want to let go. But of course we had to. I slowly pulled away and looked her in the eyes. Her eyes, all puffy and red, were brimmed with yet even more tears.

I went into one of the cubicles and grabbed a handful of tissues. I went up to her, and as carefully as I could, I dried her eyes. I tried to smile, she tried to smile back. I gently stroked her cheek before saying “what’s happened?”

She looked back into my eyes; a grave, concerned look clouded her eyes. She went to hug me. I let her. Her voice broke with emotion as she whispered into my ear “you remember when I was ill all of last week?” She stopped and wiped her eyes from yet another wave of tears. After she’d dried her eyes, she continued.

“ M-my parents took me to the doctors to see what was really wrong… and… well…” She paused and looked at me with an expression I’d never see her use before. It was a look of pure fear. I was genuinely unsure whether I wanted to hear the rest.

“ I…I’ve got cancer…” We hugged there in the toilets. She was no longer crying. There was a deathly silence. Neither of us knew what do say.

“Please…” she began, “don’t tell anyone. At least not yet. I don’t think I’m ready for everyone to know” there was a hint of desperation in her voice.

“Please…” she begged, “don’t tell anyone. Promise me you won’t tell” And I promised. For I knew, this was no ordinary promise. This was a true secret, that didn’t need to be told.

A short while later, she had stopped crying. She dried her eyes and we went back to form. She didn’t speak much for the rest of the day. She didn’t eat much at lunch either, only a few sections of Satsuma and a couple of sips of apple juice.

At the end of the day we walked home together in silence, her hair blowing out behind her in the wind. I’d never seen her like this. So quiet and subdued. Whenever we walked home, we always walked the long way round. Through the park, round the shopping arcade and past the post office. But not today. Today we went straight from school and past the post office, and not a single word passed either of our lips. We lived on the same street, only a couple of numbers apart. Although today felt like walking miles apart, even though it was only a couple of doors.

Chapter 1 and a Half

That evening I spent my time in my room worrying about her. I spent many hours pacing the floor trying to figure out what to do. Nothing came to mind.

The week when she didn’t come to school was boring. I had no one to talk to, but she came back and we continued with our lives. She still looked ill, but I thought nothing of it at the time, I was just happy to have my friend back.

It was on the weekend when she had to cancel plans that we’d made. That’s when it sunk in. That’s when she went to the doctors. I thought she still looked ill, even though many times she repeated “I’m okay, I’m fine”