A Goodbye To Yesterday (Part 1)
570 Words
The ride home was unusually quiet.
For once, Ivy wasn't talking.
She wasn't humming songs, complaining about homework, or making fun of the old buses that sounded like they would fall apart at any moment.
She just stared out the window.
Evelyn rested her forehead against the glass, watching the city lights blur together.
"So..." Ivy finally spoke
"So?"
"We're really doing this?"
Evelyn looked at her.
"I think so."
Ivy let out a dramatic sigh.
"I hate it."
Evelyn smiled.
"I know."
"No, seriously." Ivy pointed a finger at her. "I have a bad feeling about all of this."
"You always have a bad feeling."
"That's because you're always getting yourself into trouble."
"I do not."
Ivy laughed.
"Oh really?"
"Who climbed the school fence because she forgot her homework?"
"...That happened once."
"Twice."
"It was twice."
"See?"
The girls burst into laughter.
The old woman sitting in front of them turned around.
"You two laugh too much."
Ivy smiled sweetly.
"Sorry, Grandma."
The woman shook her head with a smile.
"You remind me of my daughters."
For a brief moment...
Everything felt normal again.
That night...
Evelyn sat beside her father's hospital bed.
He was asleep.
The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor filled the room.
She gently held his hand.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered.
"I'm about to make choices you may never understand."
A weak voice interrupted her.
"Then explain them to me."
Evelyn looked up.
Her father was awake.
She forced a smile.
"You scared me."
He chuckled softly.
"I've been doing that since you were little."
She laughed through watery eyes.
"You still remember that?"
"I remember everything about my little girl."
Silence settled between them.
Finally, he spoke again.
"Something happened today."
Evelyn froze.
"What makes you say that?"
"You only call me 'Dad' twice when you're hiding something."
She blinked.
"...You counted?"
"Of course."
She lowered her head.
"You're impossible."
"And you're a terrible liar."
They both laughed.
It was the kind of laugh that carried years of love.
Years of pain.
Years of surviving together.
Her father reached for her hand.
"No matter what happens..."
"...don't let hatred become your home."
Evelyn's smile faded.
"I'll try."
The next morning...
"EVELYN!"
Noah's voice echoed across the hallway.
She had barely stepped into the classroom before he dramatically dropped to his knees.
"Please..."
"Save me."
Mason walked in behind him carrying a notebook.
"He still hasn't done the math assignment."
Noah pointed accusingly.
"Bro, calm down."
"It's just homework."
"It's twenty percent of our grade."
"So dramatic."
Lena looked up from her book.
"I honestly don't know how you've survived this long."
"Charm."
"You mean luck."
"I'll take that too."
The classroom erupted in laughter.
Ivy leaned toward Evelyn.
"See?"
"I told you he'd forget."
Evelyn giggled.
"You actually did."
Mrs. Collins entered just as Noah tried hiding behind Mason.
"Mr. Bennett."
Noah stood up immediately.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Office."
"What?"
"Now."
The class exploded with laughter.
Noah looked back at everyone with an exaggerated sigh.
"None of you deserve me."
"We know," Mason replied.
"Life's been peaceful without you."
"Traitor."
As Noah disappeared into the hallway, even Mrs. Collins couldn't hide a smile.
Evelyn looked around the classroom.
The cracked walls.
The noisy desks.
The people who had become her family.
She didn't know it yet...
But this would be one of her last ordinary mornings here.
By tomorrow, everything would begin to change.
- Writer
