Chapter 2
"Alright sweetheart, are you going to be okay? I'm sorry I can't stay, but if I could you know I would. It's just the-"
"The job," concluded Maria. "I know mom. It's okay. I'll be fine."
"Okay, well, I'll call as often as I can. See you in a couple of weeks." said her mother. She kissed Maria on the head and left. Maria sighed and started to unpack, looking at everything carefully as if it was all she had in the world. In a way it was, her old life. She felt so lonely.
Finally she got to the duffel bag that she brought with her. She looked in and found at the top was the picture of her parents and her.
'Dad,' thought Maria and started to cry. She thought back to all the things that they had done together, the times when everything was happy and normal. She longed for those days and would give just about anything to have it back. Maria had been much closer to her father than her mother. Her mother always worked. Her father was a landscaper so he could stay home more often. Her mother was always off to other places showing people houses.
Unfortunately, one winter her father had a heart attack and died. That time Maria was 7. Now, all grown at the age of 20, she worked hard to be close to her mother. At times that was a hard thing to do, but through determination, it was all worth it.
Maria wiped her tears and went on sorting through her things. She brought out her CD player and popped in her favorite group, Hedley. She felt that she could relate to Hedley's songs. Maria lay on her bed and listened while thinking about her life and all the hardships that she had to endure, and soon, fell asleep.
* * *
"Code blue, code blue!" someone called over the P.A. system. Maria woke with a start. She heard the commotion outside and wondered what it was all about.
A nurse walked in and put her dinner on the table.
"Here you go," said the nurse cheerfully. "Go on and eat up. It's roast beef and mashed potatoes today."
Maria looked up and wondered how this nurse could be so cheerful, but then again, nurses have to be. It's their job.
"Excuse me, but what's going on outside?"
The nurse looked up with pity in her eyes. "Oh it's so sad. He was doing so well. I simply don't know what happened."
"What?" asked Maria.
"The boy's name is Josh Ramsay," replied the nurse. "He just had an overdose. He's been in and out of this hospital for 3 months practically. He was gonna be released next week, but...I don't know." said the nurse with a sigh. "It's so sad. Such a nice kid." The nurse shook her head and walked away.
'Josh Ramsay?' thought Maria. 'Isn't he part of-' and then it hit her. Marianas Trench. They weren't too popular yet, but they were becoming more and more known. Maria had been following them ever since they sang at her school. It wasn't that she was obsessed, just interested, but she hadn't been following them recently.
'Maybe they're not doing as well as I thought.' Maria sighed and began to eat her dinner.
