text: S. N. Albright Insert Witty Title Here :) 
   
   
    Chapter 1 
   
      Kevin and I were walking down the hallway alongside each other to 5th period. When, out of nowhere, David Donnelley -a boy who was typically known as the school bully, and had completely disregarded school, leading to the effect of repeating 6th grade- had appeared from around the bend. He had a murderous, yet a sinister smile across his face.  
      Kevin and I had been best friends since we met in 6th grade. We both had almost every class together, so over the years, we’ve really gotten to know each other. We sat near the door in 4th period so that once the bell rang; we would be first out, avoiding the stampede of other kids.  
      I had always been rather afraid of David Donnelley. He was never very studious at all, much less pleasant to be around. He made his friends because they were more afraid to be his enemy, or his target.  
      When he walked around the corner, everyone in the hallway had stopped in his or her tracks. Kevin and I had been in the front of this crowd of statues. At first I wondered why everyone all froze at once. Most people usually just continue walking. But this was different. In David’s hand, held a small, most likely loaded, pistol. 
     “Hello again, loser.” David spat in my direction, his eyes looking directly at mine. I remained quiet. “Aw, that’s rude. You won’t even say hi to your old schoolmate since 3rd grade?” he sounded insane. He slowly lifted the pistol in my direction. All the color drained from my face. Kevin dropped his books down in front of him on the floor, and walked in front of me. He lifted his fists threateningly in the air, and said, “This isn’t fair. Grace hasn’t even got anything to defend herself. If you’re looking for a fight, don’t touch her. I’ll fight you.” 
      David seemed amused. He adjusted his head around Kevin’s body in order to, once again, look into my eyes. “I get it, Grace. You’ve gotten yourself a boyfriend!” he paused and looked back at Kevin. “Alright. I’ll bite.” David put his gun in his jacket pocket, and walked towards Kevin, and raised his fists to match Kevin’s. Kevin looked much more afraid than David. 
      It wasn’t until now that I realized everyone had left and gone to class. The classroom doors were shut now to keep hallway noise out. Teachers had no idea we were out here. Now I was worried. 
      David continued, “on the count of 3.” He laughed, “…1…2” at this point he quickly pulled out his gun and shot at Kevin’s leg. A loud cry of pain rang throughout the school. But it wasn’t Kevin’s. He only hit the ground and grabbed his leg in horrible pain. It was I who screamed. At this point at least seven teachers looked out into the hallway to see what happened. They saw David with the gun, but he was running towards the staircase down the exit.  
     The teachers yelled in surprise. “OH MY GOD” screamed Ms. Green. “WHAT HAPPENED?” asked Mr. Knight. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” accused Ms. Finnigan, glaring at me. 
     But I couldn’t here any of it. The ringing in my ears from the gunshot deafened me, and I was almost blinded by my own tears. I didn’t know what to say. I only instinctively crouched down and grasped Kevin’s right hand with both of mine.  
    I managed to wipe away my tears, and finally saw how dazed and taken aback Kevin looked. He looked determined into my eyes. I managed to get out, “Are you okay? Where are you hurt?” He looked down to his leg and let go of the injury to see the damage. When he removed his hand he yelped in terrible throbbing pain.  
    His blood soaked his left pant leg. I almost threw up when I saw it. “Oh, Kevin…” 
  I looked at him one last time, and dropped my head. “Stop it, please. I can barely take the pain now. Don’t make me have to see you miserable. I couldn’t bare it.” He begged through gritted teeth.  
     I raised my head back up, and noticed the teachers surrounding us, and the students peering out the door, their jaws dropped in pure awe and disbelief. Mr. Knight called the office and soon he yelled at me to go to class. “Grace.” Whispered Kevin. “Yeah?” I responded. He continued, “I’m dizzy.” Then he passed out, and I caressed the back of his head in my hand to block it from direct contact with the school tile floor. The school nurses ran around the bend holding a stretcher. They had to rip Kevin’s hand away from me. I begged them to let me come, but they refused coldly.  
     The school seemed to be closing in on me. I scooted away into a small corner and buried my head in my hands. When the teachers came to help, I told them that I wouldn’t move until my mom was waiting outside. I had to get out of here. I had splotches of blood on my shirt when I glanced down. I shoved through the group of teachers an into the girl’s bathroom. I immediately puked in utter disgust.  
    What had just happened? Everything just all happened at once. I was still processing what happened. All I realized was that Kevin stood up for my life.  
   
   
   
   Chapter 2 
   
    I was too numb from the pain and surprise to come back to school the next day. My mom was afraid I’d miss too much work being gone anymore days, so she told me to just keep to myself, and focus on finishing my work, and before I knew it, I was on the bus. 
     I walked into homeroom, quiet and content. I was worried I’d be swarmed with questions too painful to recall. But, this was worse. Nothing was said. 32 kids, 64 eyes looked frightened and confused in my direction for an hour. Come 2nd period, slightly less. Some stared, most strained to look forward the entire time. These looks slowly lessened gradually as the day slithered slowly throughout the day. 
    The next day was Friday, the day where I was finally confronted. Amy Terrell, a rather clumsy, nerdy, but friendly girl simply put her arms around me and said, “He’s going to be okay, Grace.” That’s all she said. She pulled back, her hands still on my shoulders. She continued “Are you good?” At this point my eyes watered. I quickly wiped it away to prevent further attention. Then nodded vigorously. “Yeah, thanks. You know, I kind of feel like an outsider lately.” She let go, turned her head 90 degrees sideways. “Oh? How so? ‘Seems that you’d notice how popular you’ve become. If popular is the proper word.” She stopped to think. “They’ve been the topic for a while now. Not that I don’t agree this is pretty serious, but I personally believe a new subject is in order.” She smiled reassuringly. 
    Monday was better. I was hanging out with Amy at lunch, which was really helpful. She talked to me about Kevin at first. Then, she acted as though this had never happened! I thought I would feel hurt, but really, it felt good to think about something else. Something cheerful. My ears finally stopped ringing from that ear-splitting bang. Maybe it’s time to move on. 
     “Hey, Grace?” asked Amy. “Yeah?” I responded. “Can I ask you-” she paused, “-a rather personal question?” I felt slightly more uncomfortable. “ ’Depends…” I answered, reluctantly. “Well, It’s about Kevin. What happened? Really?” she asked, as though she were a talk show host. My throat became tight. “Um. Well, Kevin was shot. You know that right?” I recognized that familiar color drainage from her face. “Uh, no. I heard he was beaten up. Shot?” I was surprised. “Wait, how could not have known? Everyone saw. Everyone told. Didn’t they?” She nodded, unsurely. “Well, that’s not the story going around.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What exactly did you here?” 
      “Well, It was right after 4th period.” 
      “Yeah.” 
      “Nathan Polly randomly came up and harshly shoved you over.” 
      “No. Nathan? He’s so nice!” 
      “Kevin stood up for you.” 
      “Well, that’s kind of what happened.” 
      “There was a big fist fight and Kevin got really hurt. When teachers came, Nathan took off.” 
      “WHAT? NO!” I felt so bad for Nathan. Then I thought about him. How misunderstood this story has become. 
      “Is Nathan okay?” I asked, scared of the answer. 
      “Nathan’s been given so much crap. He has a black eye, and a bandage on his arm. Which doesn’t help his cause. I wouldn’t talk to him.” 
      “Bandage? Black eye? What are you talking about? He wasn’t even involved! Does he stand up for himself?” 
      “No. He just accepts it. He ‘apologizes’ all the time. But it doesn’t seem that he really is sorry.” 
      “Well, duh! He wasn’t part of it! Oh my god. Poor Nathan. I need to talk to him. Do you know where I could find him?” 
     “No. He remains off my radar. As I said, I’ve been kind of scared of him lately.” 
     I was disappointed. But what I hadn’t thought of was how this story had been all over the school for 4 days. Then the bell rang. It was 3rd period. “See you later, Amy.” I had Home Economics next. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 3 
   
     I had never noticed Nathan before in cooking. We never even spoke, only maybe once or twice. But those little chats gave off a very nice radiance. He had a pleasant attitude; he was friendly, and so on. 
     He sat two tables away from me. He had his right arm in a sling and a heavy bandage on his upper right arm too. His left hand on the table held up his head. He seemed very depressed. Amy was right. A large purple bruise was on his left eye and around it. It was so awful. But I couldn’t help but wonder how he could’ve gotten these injuries if he wasn’t even there. 
     When Mr. Knight asked us to pair up for our next assignment, everyone quickly picked someone other than Nathan for a partner, which made it easier for me to pick him, considering I had a lot of questions for him. 
     “Hey Nathan! Partners?” I asked with false cheeriness. “Uh, sure.” He looked at me weird at first, but then he accepted it. We went over and began to prepare our next assignment, bacon.  
     “Can I have the bacon?” I asked, trying to figure out how fit in the subject of last Friday. He struggled to open the classroom freezer, reached for the bacon, and handed it over. We were pretty silent. Then randomly, he said, “I think know why you were so eager to be partners.” I was kind of surprised of how he just blurted that out. “Oh, do you now?” I looked straight down at the bacon as it sizzled, refraining from looking at him in the eyes. “You were there that day. I wasn’t.” He continued. 
      “Uh huh.” 
      “Well, now you’re wondering why I’m all beat up.” 
      “Nathan, why are you faking? You could just deny it you know! Why do you lie to everyone!You’re not fooling me. This isn’t a joke to me, Nathan!” I looked away from the stove, and angrily glared at him, but he seemed irritated. 
      “Grace, I’m not lying!” 
      “Wow, how retarded do you think I am?” 
      “You want me to prove it? I know who it was that had the gun.” 
      “That won’t prove anything. Probably 80 kids saw through the open classroom door.” 
      “I don’t want to make a big deal. I don’t want people to know that both Kevin and I got hurt, but he’s in the hospital! It’d seem like David was easy on me! Like he pitied me, and knew I was weaker. Its not like it doesn’t hurt, Grace! 
       I was confused. Then, I looked at his heavily bandaged arm.“Did you know-” Nathan whispered, then paused “That David is now in Juvy?”  
       “…What? I didn’t… how? Nobody saw who it was. How did…?” 
       “When David was running away, I followed him outside-please don’t make a big deal about it- and tackled him, as sort of a diversion, you know, until the cops arrived.” 
      “Nathan. Can you remove that bandage?” 
      “I don’t want to.” 
      “Do it.” 
      “No!” 
      “NOW.” 
     He looked around to see no one was watching, and then reluctantly unraveled the many layers of gauze. He winced when he unraveled the last row. I saw a terrible bloody dent. It was horrifying, disgusting, and familiar. “Nathan. You were-” I swallowed my spit.  
      “-Shot.” He looked disapprovingly, and then quickly reapplied his bandages.  
      “Is that proof enough?” I felt immediately awful for yelling at him, accusing him of lying. “Nathan, I’m so sorry.”  
      “Please don’t. Don’t tell anyone.” 
      “So, your just going to live with all the crap these oblivious kids give you?”  
     He was about to say something in response, and then Mr. Knight came over and looked at our bacon. I had completely forgot about it. “Tut, tut. This is awful. Look at this…this… trash! This is bacon gone badly. Throw it away. Try again tomorrow. Good god! How could you do something like that? It takes dedication to fail that badly!” He laughed, and then put his hand on our shoulders. “You two ‘love birds’ should stop gazing at each other. I get it. I have a wife. Just take time to look ahead of you.” Then he winked. We said simultaneously, “Mr. Knight… no we’re…” he walked away, and Nathan made a gesture of disregard in Mr. Knight’s “Oh, forget it.” We laughed. Then the bell rang, and Home Economics was over. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 4 
   
     I went home that day, wishing I’d asked Nathan why he hadn’t gone to the hospital, just for a check up. A gunshot is a gunshot. It doesn’t matter where it is; it does at least minimal damage to your body. I’m beginning to worry about both Kevin and Nathan. Kevin, because he hasn’t returned to school in 6 days now, and Nathan, because what if he doesn’t go to the hospital soon, and his arm gets worse? 
    Thank god it was almost the end of the week. It was Thursday, and I saw Nathan again in Spanish. I didn’t want to ask Nathan why he hadn’t gone to the doctor, because his mom or dad must’ve noticed by now, and so there must be a legitimate reason. So, finally I decided not to yell, as though not to persecute him. 
   I slid him a note that read:  
  “Nathan, I don’t want to have to bring the topic up again.” 
  He wrote back: 
  “What’s the occasion?” 
  And we continued this: 
  “Why haven’t you gone to the doctor?” 
  “You haven’t told anyone about the truth, have you? Or about me?” 
  “No” 
  “Good” 
  “Answer my question, please” 
     And all he wrote back was: “$” then I responded with “What do you mean?” but never got a response. Nathan just crumpled up the note we’d written all over, and shoved it in his pocket. I looked at him worriedly and confused, then he put his index finger to his lips as to tell me to shut up. 
    What does he mean by money? Does his family have enough to go to the hospital? Wait, that’s it. He can’t pay the bill! Well, now that I think about it, treating wounds, and long term stay at the hospital would most likely rack up to a big bill. Poor Nathan, he’s going to loose his arm if this keeps up! 
    I came to the conclusion that on Friday afternoon, I would visit the local hospital to ask if there were any sort of discounts for under privileged persons.  
    I walked home from school and asked my mom if I could go. It took some coaxing to let her allow m, without telling her why. I used the excuse of ‘to visit the patients and help out. Its something the school suggested, if I had any free time, and it just so happens I do, mom!’ She reluctantly agreed a short while after. I got onto my bike, and rode to the hospital. 
    I arrived in the very much sterile hospital lobby. The wall were white, there was a manila colored carpet on the floor, and a set or chairs lined up against the wall on the right. The room smelled of overuse of Windex and hand sanitizer. And after I’d finished analyzing, I noticed a woman in a white dress, sitting behind a desk, looking at me questioningly. Then I also realized I was the only person in the waiting room. 
     I walked up the desk and said, “Slow day?” She laughed. “Nice observation. My name is Olivia, how can I help you?” I responded with a smile on my face, “Um, Well, actually I was wondering if your hospital provided some sort of discount for-” I paused, thinking of the appropriate word “- under privileged families?” She put on what seemed like a face that expressed intent thought. “Well, it depends how serious the case it, Ma’am.” I looked gravely at Olivia. “A friend of mine recently was shot, and I’m the only person that knows. I’ve come to see that he hasn’t come here yet, because he’s-” I stopped again, “-Financially challenged.” Olivia looked at me as if she’d just seen a ghost. “Oh my god, shot? He needs to get here right away.” “But, Miss Olivia, he can’t. He doesn’t have any money! And I don’t want to confront him, because he’s very sensitive on the subject, but I’m worried he might loose him arm!” My voice cracked at the end. “He might as well loose his arm if he doesn’t come in. I’m sure we can figure something out with the money situation. If you can, tell him that we can surely accommodate him.”  
     She got out from behind her desk, and stood in front of me. “Coming to us was probably harder than I can imagine, Miss.” She looked at me with a hard stare. “But you’ve been vary noble, in my opinion. This boy is lucky to have you as a friend.” I smiled. “Thank you, so much.” And ran out the door, got back onto my bike, and rode home, home to a weekend of agonizingly rehearsing what I would say. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 5 
   
     Finally Monday came round again. I still hadn’t figured out the proper thing to say to Nathan. I had configured so many approaches. I decided to just wing it. 
    “Hey, Nathan!” I waved over to get his attention. He gave a weak, dismissing hand flash, than walked the other direction, faster than normal pace. I caught up with him and walked alongside him to our lockers. “What’s up?” He responded with little interest. “Nothing.” 
     “I have a question, more a suggestion if you ask me.” 
     “Don’t care.” 
     “Can I help you carry your books, at least? You only have one arm.” 
     “Stop making fun of me. I got to go.” 
      I grabbed his shoulder and swung him around. “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Can you take a hint? I need to talk to you.” He looked similarly depressed to Thursday.  
     “Listen, Grace. I know you want to help. And thank you. But I don’t need it!” I never knew how tense and unsettled he was.  
     “No, you listen. If you don’t get to the hospital, your going to loose that arm of yours! I know you don’t want me to get involved. I knew that from the beginning. But I can’t stand by and watch your injury get worse and worse as the days go by! Nathan, my mom is a doctor-” I lied. I didn’t want him to know I went out of my way to go to the hospital. “And she tells me all the time how, because of the economy today, if you can’t pay, most patients get significant discounts, sometime even FREE.” He looked furious.  
      “Grace! I trusted you not to tell anyone!” “Nathan, I knew this before I even knew you’re name!” I continued lying. His fury faded away.  
      “Fine. I’ll talk to my mom, okay? Will that make you happy?” I was relieved to here his give in. “Very.” 
   
   
   
   Chapter 6 
   
     After school on the following Friday, his mom had agreed to allow Nathan to go to the hospital. He gave me his address and I was to meet him there so we could walk (his mother couldn’t stay home long enough to drive.). But, it wasn’t that far away to begin with. 
    I walked to, what I thought was, his house. Instead, I ended up at the sign that read, “Tony’s Trailer Park”. Nathan lived in a trailer. Each trailer in the lot was either a tan, or chrome color, each with its own large number on the side. Which I believed simulated a house number, because on Nathan’s not that he scribbled, it read at the bottom “1784”.  
    After a small walk down a line of trailers on either side of me, I found the one that matched Nathan’s note. 
  I knocked unsurely and awkwardly on the rounded door on the side of the trailer. A husky, scruffy woman opened the door. She smiled sweetly. “You must be Grace. Hello, I’m Ms. Polly.” She reached out a welcoming hand and we shook hands. “Please, come in. I apologize for the size-”  
     I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed, so I said, “Oh, no! This is an upgrade compared to my little apartment. Theirs barely enough room for my mom and I!” She smiled. “Well, if that’s all you need- NATHAN! YOUR FRIEND IS HERE!” Nathan walked out, struggling into his jacket. “Mom, how many times do I need to tell you, I’m only 20ft away. There’s a very thin door between us.” She gave him a look that said ‘don’t you embarrass me’ and we were out the door, and on our way. 
     We returned to that same hospital, where, instead of Olivia, a very irritated woman in the same outfit was glaring at us, obnoxiously chewing a stick of gum. Nathan looked slightly worried. I leaned in and whispered, “For the record, a week ago, there was a very positive lady in that chair.” He simply shook his head in aggravation, and walked over to the woman. “Olga” read her nametag.  
      “Um, hi. I’m sorry to bother you, but I recently spoke to a woman named Olivia, and she knows about a rather personal situation, do you think we can talk to her?” I asked politely. She looked very insulted.   
      “Ugh. Fine. Just wait a second.” Olga got up out of her chair, and left. 
    Nathan was furious. I didn’t understand. Nothing different has happened than I anticipated. “What do you mean ‘You’ve been here before’?” Oh, no. I lied to Nathan before. I shouldn’t have said what I had. “What, do they have my record already? Huh? Do they know I live in a box on wheels?” his voice rose to a shout. Luckily no one else was in the waiting room, again. 
      “Fine. You want the truth? My mom is a Computer Programmer. I came here before to ask about any available discounts. I couldn’t let you deteriorate in front of me, Nathan!” He was still fuming.  
       But he was silent. Then he lowered his voice back down. “I didn’t ask for your help. I didn’t need your pity.” “Nathan, you don’t understand! I don’t pity you. I admire you!” He looked as if I had just said something completely stupid and irrelevant.   
      “Admiration? Really? You think you’re so good at this, don’t you!” 
      “Nathan, what are you talking about? I admire you because you don’t have nearly as much money as some kids, but look at you!” 
     “There’s a whole in my arm…” 
     “You go to school, you protect people, and you care about others! You’re more than 10 times the person I am, and money has nothing to do with it!” 
     He was silent. His ferocity faded away completely. And still, we said nothing. Finally, Olivia scrambled into the room, looking frazzled. She hadn’t yet looked at us. But, when she did, her eyes were a mile wide.  
    “Hey! How are you? Is this your friend?” She extended a hand out to Nathan. He shook it with a fake smile. “Here. Come in. Lets go see your room.”  
     He seemed afraid. “Um, how long will I be here?” 
     “Oh, not too long. You have nothing to worry about, sweetie! I’ll be back in a minute.” 
    I followed them in to his room. Nathan and I sat down on a bed with a strip of paper run across it. We looked awkwardly at the white, tile floor. 
  “Well, you made it, Nathan. You’re in good hands here.” 
    He gave me a small smile at the corner of his mouth. Then Olivia came back. “Let’s have a look here. Where are you hurt?” Nathan pointed to his arm, then took off his jacket and removed his bandages. Olivia went pale at the sight of the injury. “Oh…Dear-”  
     Nathan quickly asked, “Is it okay?”  
     She said, “Oh, yes, you’ll be fine, honey, some Neosporin and a couple tests. Are you aware than a small, simple surgery may be involved? Nothing major!”  
     Nathan looked slightly less worried. “I’ll be asleep, right? You’ll knock me out, so I won’t feel it?”  
     Olivia quickly, accidentally shouted, “OH YES! Of course! Everything will be fine, Hon.” 
      “I’m just going to need you to change into this garb, for me. Every patient should, thank you!” Olivia left the room, and Nathan now had a thin material that looked like a dress, that tied at the back, in his hand. He get gave me a look of ‘get out’ and I got the message.  
      “Bye, Nathan! I’ll tell your mom where you are!” 
      “Uh, thanks. Bye.”  
   
   
   
   Chapter 7 
   
    I was walking through the hall of the white hospital, the sounds of my quiet footsteps echoing down until the sound ended at a sharp turn at the end. 
    On the right, I saw a few doors swung open outward into the corridor, whereas all the doors were closed on the left; this was probably a very irrelevant detail. I leisurely walked down and down, glancing curiously into the room every once in a while. 
  But, one room was extremely interesting. The walls in there weren’t white, like everywhere else. They were a deep blue, with pictures and letters scattered along the wall. Each addressed to a boy named Kevin.  
    I stopped dead in my tracks. I looked into the bed, and there was indeed a boy there. And what I feared most was confronting the boy who was asleep in that same hospital bed. It was Kevin. 
    He had a large bandage wrapped around his left thigh. I remembered exactly how he got here, in this hospital, in this room, and in that bed, almost as if it were yesterday. 
    Kevin looked so feeble and frail just lying there. Next to the bed, a bag of, what I supposed was medicine, was suspended in the air with a tube running down and into a small metal object attached to his right index finger. 
    I was speechless. I guess it didn’t matte anyway, considering Kevin was asleep, and incapable of conversations, or fights, for that matter… 
    I heard a doctor walking with a woman down the hall, their voices getting closer to Kevin’s room. I panicked, hoping against hope they were going to pass by, but anyway, I looked around and saw a medical closet, slipped inside, and ever so slightly cracked the cabinet door for a view of outside. 
    The doctor and woman walked into the room, and the doctor seemed to be doing some tests while Kevin was still unresponsive. The woman plopped down on a chair in the corner of the room, and cupped her face in her hands. As her head lifted, her true expression showed. She was in terrible emotional pain. She had short, wavy black hair and blue eyes that matched those of Kevin’s. Obviously she was Kevin’s mother.  
  “Miss Garcia-” said the doctor despairingly to the woman. 
  Her face was red and her eyes watery, but she managed a reply “How is he?” 
  “Well, your son-” he paused “he’s not very strong. It could go either way from this point, ma’am. I’m sorry, but I honestly have no certainty.” 
  Miss Garcia bit her lip. She looked longingly at her son, as if she expected Kevin to awaken and spring out of bed and run to her. But that moment never came. 
  “I’ll leave you alone for a while.” 
  She lightly shook his shoulder. “Kevin, honey? Can you here me?” 
   But, then, what I hadn’t expected made me gasp, but then I slapped my hand over my mouth, because for a moment, I had forgotten how I was still incognito, hidden away in this medical cupboard. 
              Kevin’s eyelashes fluttered, and he seemed surprised. “Huh, what? Where am I? What day is it?” 
              “Shush. Kevin, baby, you’re fine, its Wednesday.” 
              “Oh. So I’ve only been out for a day. ‘Not too bad, I guess.” His voice was still very groggy. 
              “Kevin, please calm down. It’s been 8 days. But, you’re going to be fine.” His mother eased him out of his original tense upright position, and back down, lying flat on the bed. 
             “Mom, why am I here?” 
              “Kevin, please!” She started crying again. “If you don’t calm down…” her voice trailed away. 
              “Fine. Just answer me. Why am I here?” 
              She pointed to his leg with sorrow, “There was an accident.” 
              “That wasn’t a dream?” 
              Kevin’s mother shook her head, cringing at how much she wished he were right.   
              “Mom, one more question. Where’s Grace? Is she okay?” I saw Kevin’s eyes sparkle a little with tears, but then he blinked it away. He looked expectantly at his mother, but to his surprise, her expression dropped to anger and irritation. “What?” he asked. 
              “Oh, nothing. I just hoped that instead of interrogating me about some girl I don’t even know, you could say ‘Hi, mom’ or maybe ‘I love you’. See anything wrong with that Kevin?” she started yelling. Confusion and fear mixed together upon his face, probably because he had never expected her response to be so assertive. 
              “I love you.” He extended his arms, more sarcastically than he’d intended, and she simply rolled her eyes and exited the room. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 8 
   
              Kevin sighed and stared over to the cabinet I had temporarily inhabited. “Okay, show’s over. Whoever you are, get out. You’re very bad at camouflage.” 
              My eyes went wide and I gasped. I had been spotted. I wondered how long he’d known he was under surveillance. I stumbled out. Our eyes met and I saw his eyes widen in surprise, then scan me from head to toe, as I he refused to believe his own eyes. I could feel my cheeks turn red. 
              “Grace.” Kevin finally said. 
              With a small gesture that was anticipated as a wave, I said, “Hiya.”  
              His gaze dropped to the floor. “You saw all that?” 
              “I didn’t mean for it to go down that way. I saw you in here, and walked in, and when I heard someone coming, I panicked. I’m really-” 
              “Forget it.” He swiftly interrupted. “I see you’re okay.” He desperately tried to salvage the conversation. 
              “I see you’re… better.” I remembered the original condition of his leg, and how thankful I am that I’ll never have to look at it again. 
              The discussion was officially ruined. I could see in Kevin’s eyes he knew exactly what I was thinking. How he obviously never wanted to think about the accident anymore, but it was too late. I couldn’t hold this back anymore. “Why? Why did you do this, huh? Why were you so stupid? I thought you were dead! You could’ve very well been, for that matter!” My expression distorted from embarrassment to exasperation and anger. 
              “Grace, I couldn’t just watch you get shot by that thug! Just turn the other cheek and abandon you! I couldn’t! I can’t!” He tried frantically to defend himself. I understand where he was coming from, but this was too much.  
  “I wouldn’t die for someone else. Okay, that sounded shallow. But-” 
  “Save it. If it’d please you, we could just say it was a…” he searched for the word. “A reflex.” 
  “Reflex? That wasn’t involuntary! I’m not the air you breathe!” I didn’t know why I had suddenly become so defensive, but I decided to simply roll with it. 
              He took a deep breath. “Your really trying to get me to say it, aren’t you? You just need to hear it, right?” I could sense a touch of impatience in his words. 
              “What are you talking about? Say what?” I truly didn’t understand what Kevin was talking about, but I guess he knew more about me; at least that’s what he thinks.  
  “That you are.” 
   
   
   
   Chapter 9 
   
              I never really taken much thought to consider how I really felt about Kevin. Up until now, he seemed nothing more than a middle school companion, which continued onto 9th grade. Now I know how much this accident really affected us as people, not just physical condition. 
              “I should go.” I told Kevin. 
              “What’s the rush? Got a date?” he joked in reply. 
              “You know how Nathan Polly doesn’t really have a lot of money right? I mean, he’s really nice, don’t get me wrong.”  
              Kevin shrugged. “I guess. Why? What’s up with Nathan?” 
              “After-” I paused. “That thing. David bolted when teachers started coming out.” 
              “And, Nathan?” he continued. 
              “He chased David outside and there was a huge fight. That’s why David’s in Juvy now. ‘Cause Nathan’s goal wasn’t to beat David, he knew there wasn’t a big chance, you know, with the gun and everything, but to sidetrack David until police arrived.” 
              “And this has to do with his financial issues, how?” 
              “He didn’t think he’d have enough money to come here for help. He got shot in the arm. That’s why I’m here. I took finally convinced him to let me take him here.” 
              “Wait. So are you telling me he’s just NOW getting here?” Kevin was distraught. I was too when I found out Nathan hadn’t gotten immediate medical attention. 
              He continued. “I’ve been here for days, and they still say I’m not doing so hot! Nathan could have some disgusting infection or something by now!” 
              I nodded in agreement. “That’s what I told him. It took me a long time to make him give in. He’s just so stubborn!” 
              Kevin’s voice dropped to a low whisper. “Did you see it? His arm?” 
              I remembered how I could barely hold back my lunch at the sight of Nathan’s arm. “It’s terrible.” My whisper matched his. 
              Our talk was cut short by a loud pang sound coming from down the hall. Suddenly a crowd of nurses followed by one pushing a gurney rushed in the direction of the noise. Then it hit me. Nathan. “Oh, god.” I ran after the nurses. 
   
   
   
   Chapter 10 
   
              I couldn’t see well through all the nurses crowding Nathan’s hospital bed. A lot had happened since I left him. He had sat down on the bed, and his finger had been attached to a complex-looking machine. This mechanism is what had made the noise, because one woman was constantly fiddling with it to stop the pang, pushing buttons, twisting knobs, hitting the side yelling “We know he’s passed out! We know his heartbeat is too fast! Shut up will you!” her high-pitched, cheery, but now compromised voice was memorable.  
         “Olivia! What’s wrong with Nathan?” I yelled over the struggling men and women hovering over Nathan’s unconscious body. 
         “Grace, honey, please go home. We have it covered!” Olivia was now a bit irritable and stressed. 
         “Not until you answer me! What’s going on?” I resisted.  
  Olivia grabbed my shoulder and directed me outside; she followed, as to escape from the scuffle.   
         “Something’s going wrong with Nathan’s heart. Before I decided on some sort of treatment, I took a peek at his medical record, you know, for allergies to medicine or something. Nathan has Tachycardia.” 
  I had no idea what this meant. I gave Olivia a sour face to explain my confusion. 
         “Oh, that’s right. You’re not a doctor. He has an irregular heart rate. It’s faster than normal. It’s also very dangerous if it gets too fast.” 
        “Will he be okay?” I insisted. 
        “Do you want kindness or honesty?” 
        “…Honesty.” I whispered. 
        “To be honest, I don’t know.” 
   
   
   Publication Date: January 23rd 2012 https://www.bookrix.com/-salbright1999