Sun On Sunday

Chapter Two

"Move out of the way!" someone yelled at me as we walked through the halls going from sixth period to seventh period. I was being jostled between the swarm of bodies inside the confining walls of the halls. I was leaving Geometry to get to Chorus, the only place that makes me feel sane.

Just then, that same person pushed me out of the way, slamming me into a locker.

"HEY!" I shouted out to him.

"That's what happens when you don't move!" he shouted back.

I brushed myself off and just kept on walking. It wasn't worth fighting over. 

When I finally got to chorus and took my seat, my friends all crowded around me. They were all talking at once. I could only catch bits and pieces of all of their gossip. All I could hear "Ryan broke up with..." and "Tayla hooked up with Al last night." This happens everyday. Always neverending gossip.

"Let the girl breathe! Are you trying to kill her!?" Fay shouted over the noise of everyone else talking. This happens all the time too. She always jokes around with them to lighten the mood.

Fay has been my best friend since kindergarten. She was the only one who accepted me for who I am. Everyone else avoided me, like I was a monster with two heads. I never knew someone could be so critical of a medical condition.

Fay was different. Instead of letting me be the outcast and shunning me like everybody else did; she took me under her wing. She accepted me for who I was and didn't allow me to feel negative about myself.

She understood what I was going through. Her older brother, Alexander, also suffered from epilepsy, He was much older but he still hung out with Fay and me whenever I went over her house. He was really sweet and kind. When we were in third grade, he passed away. He was in his senior year of high school.

I had never seen Fay so depressed. She cried for weeks and months. I cried with her. He was like a brother to me. The passing of her brother brought us closer together. I went over her house every day to comfort her. We would laugh and cry together. I even slept over her house every weekend to make sure she would be fine.

Fay still misses him a lot. She cries every now and then, but she's used to him not being around anymore.

Sometimes when she's feeling down, we would imagine the life he could be having. We have created three different situations so far.

The first situation is that he is about to graduate college. He went to become a pediatrician. Alexander's first job would be to go to all the bad and poor countries and give vaccines to the children who couldn't afford the luxury of medical examinations. Alexander always loved kids. That's why he always hung around us whenever I went over to Fay's house. 

The second situation is that Alexander created a charity. We called it Generation Today. It helps kids make good decisions and get others out of rough situations. It also helps families get food and shelter. Alexander was always volunteering at the local church and soup kitchens to plant flowers, clean the town, and feed the hungry families in the neighborhood. He always loved giving back.

The third situation is that he moved one town over he went to college. Alexander got his degree in mechanical engineering. After recieving his college degree he got his own apartment and purchased two dogs to keep him company. He purchased a dalmation and a cavalier king charles spaniel. With all of the school loans, he also had to get a second job working at the town's grocery store to pay off his school loans and support himself financially. He would never accept help from people, Alexander only gave back. 

"SUNDAY!' Fay shouted at me while shaking me back and forth. "Snap out of it! What's wrong? What happened? Please tell me!'

That's when I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks and eventually dropping from my chin and down on to my shirt. 

"Fay, why don't you take Sunday out with you into the hallway and talk with her for a little bit. It might help to talk," Mr.Savano said. Fay stood up, grabbed my arm, and pulled me up out of my seat. She led me into the hallway. Once the door closed behind us, I crumpled on to the floor in a heap of tears and exhaustion. I buried my face in my hands and knees because I didn't want Fay to see me like this. I am always the most vulnerable when a wave of tears crashes over me. 

Fay wrapped her arms around me in a hug, not caring if she got wet with my salty tears in the process. "Listen to me Sunday, you can talk to me. Always remember that. Everything will be all right because I will always be by your side no matter what. Best friends forever, remember?" She paused just enough for me to nod my head yes. "Now please, Sunday, please tell me what is wrong. I'm here to cheer you up and to be your shoulder to cry on. Now please tell me what is making you so upset. I am ready to listen whenever you are ready to tell me."

I paused for a few minutes, contemplating if I should tell her or not. I didn't want to make her upset by mentioning her brother, but I also didn't want to make her worry. Eventually, I was able to choke back my tears and get a couple of words out of my throat. "I was thinking about Alexander, and the situations we created. I then realized I missed him a lot more than I have been letting on." That was all I was able to say. A new wave of tears crashed over me and flooded my eyes with water. My vision got blurry from all of the water welling up inside of my eyes.

Fay started to rub my arm and stroke my hair. "Sunday, it will all be okay. He is in a better place now. He isn't in anymore pain. I know that you miss him; I miss him a lot too. Just remember, he isn't in pain anymore. He isn't suffering. Think about the pain he was in, and now it's all gone. No more pain; just peace. No more pain, just peace. Thinking that way takes the leaden arrow out of your heart. Please Sunday, it takes away the pain."

Miraculously, it hurt less. The pain was still there, but more bearable than before, The tears were still falling, but at a much slower pace. They weren't welling up anymore. I wiped my face and there was nothing more but the smaller knot inside of my heart. 

"Hey, Sunday. It's Friday. You should come sleep over tonight. We can stay up late watching movies and eating popcorn, just like old times," Fay said.

"Sounds good. I'll have to ask my parents, but I'm sure they would be fine with it," I said.

"Great!"

"Now, ready to go back in and sing your heart out?" I asked jokingly.

"If you want to hear a dying cow," she joked back, nudging my arm as we walked back into the classroom.