Mrs. Mandy POV:
"Good morning, Students! I hope your weekends were great and filled with fun. Today, we are going to continue on our drafts for the "Get to Know You" essay. I will be calling up students to check on them soon. Until then, you may begin to continue your essays. Marisa, You will be first up after I take attendance." I say looking at Marisa.
"Okay, Mrs. Mandy. Sounds good!" She replies.
"Katie, you will be after her." I say alerting Katie.
*5 minutes later*
"Marisa, you can come show me your progress now. I am ready to see it. You are also able to proofread what you got if you like my feedback." I say smiling to Marisa.
She then reads slowly for me to hear and I listen to her read. After she finishes, I give her my honest feedback.
"Well, Marisa. I think it sounds lovely. There are a few grammatical issues but I am sure you can find them and fix them. If you need anything, I'm here to help!" I say in response to her writing so far.
She goes to take her seat and I call Katie up next. She comes up to my desk and reads me what she has so far. I then give her the same feedback that I had for Marisa.
After I run through all the students, I hear the bell ring.
"Alright everyone, I will see you tomorrow. Marisa, May I speak with you for a moment?" I ask her.
"Uh, Sure, Mrs. Mandy. Will you wait for me Katie?" I hear her say.
"Sure!" Katie replies to her.
"Marisa, I couldn't help but notice that you and Katie have gotten closer the past few days. I am glad to see you making friends. You seem to really be fond of Katie. May I ask you a personal question?"
"S-Sure, I guess." She says with a shaky voice.
"Now you can answer this if you would like. I won't be upset if you don't. But, are you and Katie dating?" I ask her quietly.
"No, we are just really good friends. And between you and me, I am honestly not sure how I feel about Katie. I mean she's my new best friend and I- I get butterflies when I talk to her or if someone mentions her name. I, I'm not 100% sure yet. I still need to figure it out. Do you have any advice perhaps?" She says.
"I might. But we can talk about this later. Right now, you two ladies need to go to class. Here, let me write you both a pass." I say.
"Okay! Thank you. I appreciate it. Is it okay if I come in early tomorrow to speak to you privately?" She replies.
"Of course my dear! I will be here at about 7:45am. I'll see you then. Have a good day girls" I say dismissing them to class.
Marisa POV:
"Hey, Katie. Thanks for waiting with me. I appreciate it. Here is your pass to class. Mrs. Mandy gave it to us so we aren't marked tardy for our next period." I say reaching out to hand it to her.
Just then, I feel my hand begin to shake as she reaches for it. She grabs it out of my hand and I feel the butterflies even more as her hand barely grazes mine to get her tardy pass. After she grabs it, I feel very dizzy and faint. To my surprise, I remember her catching me before I hit the floor.
Next thing I know, I'm in the nurse's office and Katie is talking to the nurse.
"K-Katie, What happened?" I ask.
"Hey girl. You fainted in the hallway. Don't you remember what happened?" She says to me in a soft voice.
"N-No, not really. Ouch!" I say in pain. My head hurts really bad."
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Katie POV:
I call Marisa's mother to inform her that they are rushing her to the hospital. I quickly ask if I can go with so I can keep her mother updated since I am familiar with her. The nurse lets me go and checks me out of school for the reminder of the day. I followed the ambulance to the hospital.
We arrive and they rush her back to an available room. I ask to be next to her but they tell me that she has momentarily stopped breathing. I start to freak out and cry because I may lose my best friend. A few moments later, her mom arrives. She runs up to me and assumes the worst.
"Is- is my daughter gone?" She says starting to tear up.
"N-No. The doctors just said that she has stopped breathing. They wouldn't let me back there. I think they are doing CPR to try and restart her heart. You can try to go back but they may not let you." I say sobbing.
"No, Hun. I'm staying here with you. I don't want you to be alone right now. You need me here." She says hugging me tightly.
"But, she needs you back there. She needs her mother next to her." I say trying to recollect myself.
"She will be okay. I know she will. My baby is very strong. I know she is" She says in a soft but strong voice.
After a long 10 hours of waiting, the doctors come out and tell us that she is stable but is asleep at the moment. They also said that they had to do an emergency surgery on her brain.
"What was wrong with her, doc?" I ask him.
"Well, when she lost consciousness, she hit her head really badly and it caused her to have a very large concussion. Some of her skull broke and one of them went into her brain, causing a major blood loss in her brain. We had to perform surgery due to the loose bone fragments so they didn't cause any more prolonged issues. She should be fine though from this point forward. We got all of them out and watched her all up. You can go see her if you would like'' he said to both her mom and I.
We walk in and see her laying peacefully on the bed. I walk over and grab her hand so she knows I'm here for her right now. Her mom walks up and kisses her daughter's cheek and says "I'm here baby. Mommy's here for you. I love you."
To both our surprises, she wakes up and looks around the hospital room. Then she glances over to me.
"Katie," She says quietly. "Y-You're here?"
"Yep, I didn't go anywhere girly. How do you feel?"
"Like I am doped up on meds. Thank you for being here. I appreciate it." She says before looking at her mom.
"Hi mom." She says smiling to her mom.
"Hi sweetheart. Katie has been by your side since you passed out at the school again. She called me and let me know what was going on. If it weren't for her, we may have lost you." She says with a smile.
She turns back to me and looks down at her hand in mine. She then gently takes it out of mine to reach for her glass of water.
"Here girl, let me get it for you. Don't waste the energy you have to heal." I say handing her the glass of water. "Got it?"
"Yeah, thanks Katie. You're an awesome friend. I am so lucky to have you here by my side." She says smiling.
"Of course! You are my best friend after all." I say grabbing the glass from her.
I set it down before I reach for her hand again. She then realizes that I am reaching for her hand and places it in mine and smiles.
I smile back and say "You're hands are cold girly"
We all giggle.
Her mom looks at me and says that I should go home and rest. I then nod in agreement.
*A few minutes later*
I get home and all I can think about is Marisa being in the hospital. My mom comes in and sits on my bed.
"Hey, Hunny. Where have you been?" She asks me.
"At the hospital with Marisa. She fainted twice at the school and was rushed to the ER. I just got back home. Her mom is with her now. Josie brought me home." I say with a sigh.
"What's wrong, hun?" She says with a concerned voice.
"I'm just worried about Marisa. I- I don't know why but, I feel, I feel like these butterflies whenever we talk." I say.
"I felt the same way about your dad when we became friends. Turns out, I liked him more than just friends. What are you thinking" She says with a smile on her face.
"I- I don't know mom. I- I just don't know. I need to think. I'm going to sleep on it." I say confused and quickly.
"Okay hun! If you need me, I'll be in my room." She says.
"Okay mom. I love you." I say.
"I love you too, hun. Good night." She says.
After she closes the door, I sit and think about what she said. I then think "No, I don't have a crush on my best friend." I then cuddle a picture that I had printed out of her and I from yesterday. Next thing I know, I am fast asleep.