Normal | Scott McCall

24

"Avni, you must go to school." Padma said. It had been a week and a half since Jude died. The funeral and burial had passed but Rita still cried, the night replaying in her head. Rita nodded and got out of Jude's bed, where she would sleep since that night, and went to get ready.

"Do you want me to take you or can you drive?" Vishal asked, sipping on his tea. Rita held up the car keys that still had Jude's keychain on it. She slipped on some sneakers and grabbed Jude's jacket instead of hers. She waved at her parents as she walked out and got into the car.

Rita turned on the car and pulled out of the driveway but by the second stop sign she was balling her eyes out again. She kept driving, slowly, and eventually got to school. She pulled into a parking space and walked out. Rita could feel eyes on her but she didn't care. Usually, she would want to disappear if she had the attention she was getting but now it didn't really matter to her.

"I'm so sorry." She heard repeatedly and she couldn't help but roll her eyes each time.

"Miss Singh." The counselor called out and held up a box.

"These are Jude's things." The lady said. Rita took it but didn't dare open it.

"If you ever need to talk, just come to my office." She said and Rita walked away. She got to her locker and took out the stuff one by one, stuffing it into her own locker.

"Hi, Rita." Kira said, trying to unlock her locker. Rita looked at her to show acknowledgment and crushed the box before closing her locker. She walked away, ignoring Stiles and Lydia looking at her but glanced at Scott, giving him a nod as he smiled and waved at her. She threw the box away and went into class.

"Nice to see you again, Rita." The math teacher said, giving her a small smile. Rita pulled out all the work she had missed and handed it to the teacher. She looked at the empty seat where Jude used to sit in and sniffled, wrapping his jacket around her tightly. The day went by slow just like every day since that night had felt to Rita. It was only lunch but she felt like it was supposed to be dismissal time already. She sat alone and picked at her food, feeling the breeze blow. Stiles sat in front of her and gave her a small smile. He took her milk and gave her his water instead.

"I know you're lactose intolerant." Stiles said. Malia soon joined them but didn't say a word to her. Kira then joined and gave her a small smile, then Lydia, and finally Scott sat down next to her.

"Can I hold your hand?" Scott whispered. Rita looked at him and nodded slightly. Scott slid his hand into her's slowly, just incase she changed her mind. He brought it up to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, just like she would do to him. Liam saw her and rushed to the table, pushing Kira out of the way to hug her. Rita looked down at the boy and hugged him tightly. Liam reminded Rita of Jude when he was fifteen so she wanted to keep him close.

"How are you feeling? Thumbs up or down?" Liam asked, looking at her intently. Rita had chosen not to speak since Jude passed so Liam took that into consideration every time he would see Martha video chatting Rita. Rita held her thumb in the middle.

"That's progress! The other day it was thumbs down." Liam smiled. Rita nodded and shrugged. Liam began to fill her in on what she's missed and she listened to him intently.

"You made the softball team, by the way." Liam said. Rita's eyes widened and couldn't help but smile. Her smile surprised Scott and Stiles, even though it wasn't the same as before but a smile was a smile.

"We're going to Mexico, too." Kira said, making Rita's smile fade and looked at all of them worriedly.

"Don't." Rita said, squeezing Scott's hand. They looked at her, surprised at the sound of her voice.

"We have to, Ri." Stiles said, softly. Rita looked down and nodded.

-

"Come out of his room to eat something, Avni." Padma said, sitting at the edge of Jude's bed. She shook her head and closed her eyes to try and go back to sleep. Taking two or three hour naps had turned into a regular thing and most times she would skip meals because of them.

"Please." Padma pleaded, not wanting to see her living daughter become as dead as her son while she was alive.

"I'm not hungry, mama. I'm just tired." Rita said with her eyes still closed. Padma nodded and got up. She was reassured that Rita would be okay because she had finally spoken again.