Drowning

IV

Assembly

Emotions. It is the very thing that makes us human. You can have happiness, pride, excitement, relief. Every emotion can be considered good. But what would you be if you didn't feel hurt, or pain, or despair? You can't have the good without the bad.

There is no light without darkness. The trick is to balance your emotions, so the bad doesn't seem so terrible, and you can truly appreciate the good.

Grief. Feels like emptiness in your heart, a shear of nothingness that somehow takes over and holds your soul and threatens to kill you entirely. How can grief be considered 'good'?

It gives you this heavy feeling that's like the weight of the world is resting on your shoulders, and there is nothing you can do to get out from under it. It's like this hole in your heart that is the shape of the one you lost, and that makes you feel the need to wipe away any non-existent tears that you want to form but can't.

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Shawn now sends a lot of his time in his bedroom. Nearby his bedroom window were the tips of trees, a way for him to watch the seasons change in real-time. From the bare wands of the wintry days to the promise of spring buds and green leaves of the summertime awaiting their golden days. The rest of the room was simple, neat as it is.

He sits in his bay window for hours a day, looking outside. His whole life revolved around Quinn. It is just as sad as it sounds, but Quinn helped Shawn with a lot. She was there when Shawn's parents weren't.

She was there to pick him back up when he fell off the monkey bars at the playground. She was there to help him study for a test when he didn't understand what the teacher told him. She was there to take care of him when he was sick in bed with a cold.

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When Shawn's phone rings, he gets pulled out of his daze. He tries to lean over and reach his phone lying on his bed from his bay window, but instead, he plunges face-first off the soft cushions and onto the hard wooden floor.

Stunned, he reaches up onto his bed to find his phone above him. Fiddling with the comforter under his palm, he finally locates his phone. The caller ID reads, 'Mia Diaz'. He presses the 'answer' button and brings it up to his right ear.

"Hello?" He mumbles into the speaker.

"Hey, how are you?" She asks in a worried tone.

"Better than ever," He says sarcastically.

"Did the school call your house earlier today?"

"Probably, I didn't answer it though," Shawn yawns.

"Well, they are having an assembly on Monday."

Shawn tilts his head to the wall where the calendar hangs. He sighs. "It's July, why would they gather us in the middle of summer holiday?"

Mia pauses for a moment while she's deliberately picking her next words. "They want to talk... about Quinn."

"Oh," He says.

"You don't have to go, but Reid and I are going to show our respects."

Shawn thinks hard for a second. "I'll go."

"Really? You know we don't want to force you."

"Yeah, I'm sure." He stands up from the hardwood floor.

"Okay, I'll text you the details later."

"Okay."

"You're really stong, Shawn, you know that, right?" Mia tells him.