Noxious

14 | best of me

Rowan 

My day started in a shitty fashion. 

I let Milo's parents convince me to go to school while they stayed with him. I eventually agreed because I had just slept in the hospital chair all night and I needed to stretch. Milo had never stirred, he was a heavy sleeper anymore. At least his face looked peaceful. 

I caught the public bus back to my house because my feet hurt from all the walking. I was surprised when my mom wasn't passed out drunk on the couch. 

She actually wasn't in the house at all. I didn't really care. 

I grabbed my backpack, found an apple in the refrigerator, and then headed to school. I had missed the school bus and I wasn't going to wait for the next public bus at the bus stop, so I started walking.

 It was only about ten minutes before I arrived. 

The halls were empty, only the squeak of my converses echoed my movement. I was about to slip into my normal class, prepared for the embarrassment of missing first period and half of the next, but I was stopped. 

"Rowan Hayes?" 

I turned and the principal of the school stood there, arms crossed. "Yeah?" I answered. 

"Come with me, please." 

I gulped. I was in trouble. Only students who were in trouble were called to the principal's office. How had she known I was here? Had she been watching for me? 

I know I skipped class this week but I had a viable excuse. She had to know because Milo hadn't been here. 

In those next ten minutes, I sat in the chair across from the principal's desk and accepted the news that I could no longer attend her school. 

My mom hadn't paid my tuition fees and the institution could no longer offer their services. 

I felt like my entire world was crushing me. 

Shortly after, I left the principal's office as an official high school drop-out because I couldn't afford the tuition fees and I already knew my mom didn't have any money. 

I stopped by my locker and cleaned it out. For some reason, I was nostalgic. It wasn't because I would miss being bullied in these hallways, it was because all my memories with Milo resided here. Of course, we still had our adventures after school. 

But now it felt none of it was ever happening again. 

I left high school for good. 

With nowhere else to go, I went back to the hospital.

I was surprised when I pushed open his door and he was awake in his bed. He was staring off into space with a listless expression but he had woken up. My heart soared and I raced to his bedside, discarding my school stuff on the floor. 

"Hey," I said, "How are you feeling?" 

He blinked, slowly.  

I knew he couldn't speak that well, he had eventually given up last week. I tried to compensate by telling him stories. It just felt weird when he couldn't respond because I had to stop myself from thinking I wasn't talking to a person. I always hated one-sided conversations. 

"I burned that tree you always made fun of," I told him, "It went up in flames so fast, there was no way the fire department could save it." 

His eyes were glazed. There was no emotion there anymore.