The Wallflower's Bloom

Chapter 12: The Check-Out

Chapter 12: The Check-Out

That same day at school, everything seemed different. Christa seemed happy, but I could tell something was wrong. It was rainy and everything seemed as if it were going to go wrong. Which was the complete opposite of what it seemed in the morning.

Days are bitches, they beg to be remembered. They need to be remembered, if they are just another average day that you'll really never remember, there's no point. They have failed.

"BEEP!" I heard the intercom go off, "Mrs. White?"

"Yes?" Mrs. White answered.

"We need Jacob Green for checkout please," What? I never get checked out.

"Well come on, get your stuff packed up and come to me when your finished, I'll give you all of your assignments you will miss," she seemed timid, "Do you know why you're leaving?"

"No clue," I replied with a complete clueless tone. I quickly got everything cleaned up and into my bookbag, while I left my agenda in my hand to put the assignments in. I started to get up when...

"Jacob?" Christa asked with a slight cough.

"Yeah?" I replied, stopped in my tracks and sitting back down. A couple of heads turned to look.

"Let me see," she slowly gestured toward my agenda and I quickly realized she wanted it and I have it to her. She opened to this week's page and wrote something. I couldn't see what it was, since she had closed the book so fast.

"Well, I'll see you on Thursday," she said. Not thinking much about it, I went up to Mrs. White and got three assignments, which, I was hesitant of picking them up, from not eating to do any work whatsoever, but I did.

I said goodbye and walked into the hallway, almost forgetting to shut the door. I put my hand on the handle and in sort of a rush, pushed it closed, which made a really loud noise.

"Whoops...." I replied.

As I walked down the hallway, I kept pondering what had happened. Then I remembered, "What did Christa write in my agenda?" I asked myself, "I'll just have to see later." I was thinking about how amazing the day had been and how I would have much rather been checked out yesterday.

Right before I reached the front office, I realized something. "Christa?" I thought, "She said see you Thursday," I quickly stopped and kept thinking, "Today is Tuesday." I couldn't believe I missed that. What if that's what she wrote about in my agenda!? I'd have to see it in the car now!

I continued walking, with a faster pace, anxious to see what she wrote down, as I opened the front lobby's door to see all of my siblings there. I immediately was taken aback and worried.

"Come on Jacob," my mom choked up, "we need to go now, I'll explain on the way there." As I could tell, all of my siblings were clueless as well. It was an uneasy feeling that kind of made me want to throw up.

Something happened to dad, I kept thinking, he's dead, he's dead, he's dead. Tears began to surface in my eyes as I loaded into the car, squished in between all of my siblings. I couldn't look out the window, so I stared straight ahead. Where my tears were more concealed.

The trip was long, about half an hour, and a tear finally let go as I saw the hospital in sight. I can't, no, he can't be dead! He's my father! He had done nothing wrong! All this is the terrorists fault! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THEM.

Tears began to rapidly fly out of my eyes as I slowly let go and didn't care what my siblings thought of me. My dad was a great man, he doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve any of this.

...

As we walked out of the car, we all were dead silent, knowing why we were here now. The birds would no longer chirp, the rain was pouring down, the ground was wet and slippery, and we all knew he was doomed.

Once we got up to the clerk, she got up with a sympathetic attitude and said, "Right this way ma'am." We all followed her, already knowing the way by now from being here so long. The clerk directs us to another doctor, Dr. Geren, as he puts his head to the floor and opens the door.

"Beep, beep, beep," Dads heart was still beating! "DAD!" we all ran up to him. As my mom broke down in tears. We hugged him and we ecstatic to see he was still alive. My mom just cried even harder.

"Kids," she whimpered, "we're here to discuss an issue with your father," Dr. Geren, realizing that was his queue quickly began to speak.

"Your father has been in a coma for five months, with the hospital regulations, after six months in a coma, and there are no signs if improvement. The patient will have to be taken off of life support and pronounced dead."

Our faces dimmed, the news hurt, it hurt like you just had a hurricane right after a rainbow. We had just been told they will kill our dad.

"But why!?" I screamed, "Why must you kill him!? He's such a good person! He did nothing! NOTHING! He deserves a life, and I'm not just going to let him not have one, because of a hospitals regulations!" I fell to the floor, drowning in my own tears.

Dr. Geren leaned down right next to me, "Jacob," he began with a caring tone, "Your father will not get better, he will only get worse. Yes, he is alive, but he's not living. Would you like to keep him trapped in his own body, restricting him from all the joys in heaven? Jacob, you have to let him go. He will always be with you, even if it's not physically. He, your father deserves his heaven."

I looked up and cried even more. Yes, he was right, but what if heaven wasn't even real? I've never thought about it, but for my father, I need a heaven. He needs a heaven. Heaven was an escape, an escape from life, I wasn't sure if dad was ready, but no one would ever be sure. We all die, why does it matter when?

"Okay," I said, sobbing uncontrollably, while the rest of my siblings were about to.

"Lets go," my mom replied, still almost insane looking from the drama. We walked out of the hospital and checked out at the clerk. As we were walking home, still all crying, I saw Christa walk in, she noticed me and quickly hid behind her mother and walked fast.

Christa isn't okay either...is she?