Carmen's Diary

Too Late

    The young boy ran to the cafeteria, wanting to get food quickly. He was starving. He didn’t get to finish his breakfast and he felt like the class he attended was too long. 

    As he arrived, he waited in the long line. There were two girls and three boys. One girl was Angel, he had a slight crush on her. Nobody noticed except Brad, the classes’ bully. 

    Even if they were young, there was a bully in their class. He was nice to others but mean to Cody. It was because he was poor and prettier than him. He made fun of him so others would never say that Cody is better than him in anything. 

    Cody was a smart, cute and a kind boy but nevertheless, no one noticed that. He has always been alone with his best friend. Jake was absent today. He was probably sick or he and his family were visiting his grandma in the village. 

    Cody was alone without Jake and had no one to play with. He wanted to play with Angel but he was too shy to approach her. He has never said a word to her since he came here. 

    Finally, it was the turn of the boy beside him. He waited anxiously and prepared himself to order what he wanted. Suddenly, he felt a hand inside his pocket, snatching the money away. 

    He gasped, turning around. Immediately, he saw Brad and his friend Sky running away with the money in his hand. He quickly started following him around, trying desperately to get his money back. 

    Sky ran up to him and caught his wrists behind his back tightly, not letting him go. They both watched as Brad walked calmly to the line and waited there. Then, it was his turn. Cody stared with tears in his eyes as the other boy was taking an empty trey and waiting for the woman to place food on it. 

    After he finished, Sky left Cody on the floor and walked away, laughing. Both of the boys sat on a table far from Cody and ate their lunch with Angel and her three best friends. 

    The little boy stood up and ran out of the cafeteria, sobbing. He ran where his legs lead him.

    He turned corners and walked into new corridors. He wasn’t paying attention that he was in a new place. Suddenly, he found himself in front of a big door. 

    He had the curiosity to see what was behind it so he opened it and took a peek. 

    It was a backdoor that lead to the streets. Cody opened his mouth, thinking about skipping school and then coming back for Carmen to take him home. 

     The young boy sniffed, closing the door behind him and looked around. Cody ran away, having no idea where he was going. He just ran with tears streaming down his eyes.

    He felt so sad. He was so hungry and wanted to eat. But Brad took his money away and now he couldn’t buy lunch. He even sat with Angel just to tease Cody!

    As he was running, he was paying no attention to his surroundings. When out of the unexpected, a car drove instantly fast his way. 

    He froze in his place, staring at it with wide eyes. He had no idea what to do. He was staring at the person inside the car. He knew well who that person was. 

****

    Carmen was humming her favorite song as she was cleaning the kitchen’s counter. 

    “Je vois la vie en ros-“

    She was cut off by the loud ringing of her phone. She huffed and washed her hands. 

    “What’s up with so many phone calls these days?”she sighed and picked it up. 

    It was a familiar number but she couldn’t point who the caller was. 

    “Hello?”she questioned. 

    “Hello Miss Carmen. This is principal Frank from Suffex school. We have some important news for you.”she heard. 

    “Oh hi Mr. Collins. Is Cody hurt?”she asked, worriedly. 

    “Umm no, but uh..”

    “But what?”she asked, feeling scared. 

    “Umm when the student’s lunch was over, we couldn’t find Cody.”

    “WHAT! What do you mean you couldn’t find Cody? Where is he now?”she yelled in alarm. 

    “I’m afraid he’s not in the school building. We have looked everywhere. We’re really sorry.”the principal apologized, feeling extremely guilty. 

   “Are you kidding me!? Cody is nowhere to be found and you’re thinking I will forgive you now! Search the whole building again! I’m coming right away” she yelled, hanging up. 

    Immediately, she dialed the cops and told them to head to the school. She took a cab and hoped he would be safe. 

    “Please be safe my Cody. Please god, be with him”she cried out. 

    Carmen was in shock. He was with her an hour ago. If she had known her young brother would be lost, she wouldn’t have let him go. She would’ve kept him home with her and took good care of him. 

    But it was too late. She wouldn’t sit down and cry about it. She had to find him.