Butterfly

24. Is This Goodbye?

Chapter Twenty-Four: Is This Goodbye?

♡ Jessica Washington ♡

Monday. The day I have been dreading for the past few days. I go back to school today, so this is the first full day I'll have without my mum. It's also the day of our English Literature project, so hopefully that'll go well. I also have work after school, which is fair enough, because I'm surprised that I still have a job after the amount of work that I have missed recently.

"Good morning," I say with a smile to Jasmine, Joe and Blake, who are all sat round the dining room table eating cereal. My dad stayed at the hospital overnight again, he hadn't come home at all since mum has been in hospital.

"Good morning," Joe grins, since neither Jasmine nor Blake are morning people. Jasmine mumbles something incoherent in response, while Blake grumbles something under his breath.

"Nice to see you too," I mutter in reply, before grabbing a cereal bar out of the cupboard. I eat this while I make myself a coffee, knowing that I'll need it to get through today. Hell, I'll need a lifetime supply today to get through it.

I leave the house soon after that and start heading to school. Once again, I look a mess. I haven't had time to wash my hair so it is just messily tied up in a high ponytail, while my face is free of makeup. I'm also just wearing a grey oversized jacket and some black leggings, with some black plimsoles.

When I arrive at school, it's clear that people have heard about my mum. I get looks filled with pity and sympathy, which makes me more irritated than the judgemental stares I usually receive.

I walk to my locker and take out the folder with our Macbeth project inside. We've made a PowerPoint to put on the screen behind us, but also have a few sheets of paper filled with notes of things to say.

Then I walk into my classroom, where I'm one of the first to arrive. Because I'm first, the teacher decides to walk over and speak to me.

"How are you?" Miss Ashworth asks me, sounding concerned. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. I understand that she means well, but surely she already knows how I am?

"Yeah, I'm brilliant," I reply, sarcasm filling my voice.

"I know you don't really want to talk about it. But if you do, I'm here, okay?" Miss Ashworth informs me, and I nod, smiling politely.

"Thank you," I reply, before people start walking into the lesson.

River walks into the room with Tyler, Marcus and Tom, laughing at something one of them has said.

"Hey, I didn't think that you would be here," River comments, sitting down beside me.

"Well unfortunately I am," I reply, slightly jokingly, although I think everyone knows that I'm just doing this to stop people thinking that I'm depressed. Because of this, River laughs to try and make me feel better, making me smile slightly.

"Well I wasn't doing this presentation alone," River replies, before the lesson starts.

River and I present our project first to get it over with. I talk about the context in which Macbeth was written, before River goes through the summary of what happens, including important quotes and scenes.