"Wynn, can you stay after class with me, please?" Wynn lifted her head groggily from the desk to look at Miss Weeks, who stared at her with a worried expression. She nodded slowly and placed her sweaty forehead back on the cool desk, her eyes drifting shut as she fell asleep in class. Again. This was the fifth time now.
She didn't care anymore. Wynn simply went through the phases with no emotion. She didn't even feel angry or sad at her situation, the only emotion she felt was exhaustion and despair. Nothing brought joy to her anymore, she didn't even resist the beatings anymore, she simply just... Took it. She was sinking deeper and deeper from reality, the waves of a deep dark sea filled with hopelessness dragged her into the darkness. She didn't care. Wynn didn't fight it. She just let herself drown in her own melancholia.
She was roused by a gentle hand on her shoulder. Although her lungs filled with oxygen and her eyes were open, she wasn't here. Wynn was deep under the surface, feeling pessimism seep into her lungs and freeze her from the inside out. She slowly sat up and blinked her blood-shot eyes.
"Hey, Wynn. My daughter packed me way too much food, want some?" Miss Weeks was sitting at the desk next to her, pulling out two peanut-and-jelly sandwiches. Wynn looked at them and suddenly realized the hunger eating away at her insides. She hesitated, but Weeks simply nodded and she took one, sinking her teeth into the soft bread and letting the taste of peanut butter and grape jelly overwhelm her as she eagerly chewed it. "Heh, you're hungry. Here, take mine." Weeks handed her the other sandwich and Wynn devoured it.
"Thank you." Her voice was rusty from not being used. Weeks gave her a small smile. Wynn looked and saw her eyes were on some bruises she had covered with makeup. It was showing through. She swallowed heavily, "From the... The chemo." Miss Weeks looked doubtful, but she nodded slowly, biting her bottom lip as she surveyed Wynn for any more suspicious marks. Wynn looked at her desk and scratched at the wood absent-mindedly.
"You haven't been able to sleep lately, Wynn?" Miss Weeks looked up at the clock across the room. Wynn just sighed deeply and nodded slowly, tugging the bandana covering her recently shaved head nervously, Miss Weeks noticed her fidgeting and asked another question that terrified her, "are you okay, Wynn? Do you need to talk to someone?"
"Ah... I-I! Uh." Wynn stuttered and shook her head, "No! No! I-I'm fine. I swear." She forced a smile. "Just a little bit of insomnia, I'll try harder." She couldn't stop lying. Wynn couldn't stop. Was she becoming just like her mother? Is she going insane? Wynn looked down at her trembling hands and inhaled shakily.
"Okay." Miss Weeks looked conflicted as the door to the classroom swung open, revealing Wynn's worst nightmare -- her mother. She looked at the teacher-daughter duo and smiled. To anyone else, it was an open-mouthed smile with her pearly white teeth shining, but to Wynn, she saw it as a snarl; her mother was practically growling at her favorite teacher because she was merely a stepping stone in her quest to sop up all the attention her daughter generates like a sponge.
YOU ARE READING
Cancer (Their Story.)
Fiksi Umum(Yo, writing club kids, this is the story.) Two people are connected in a way that they can't even imagine. A profound connection that leads both of them to recovery in the face of mental illness and abuse. They both stand through the storm, letting...
