The news was so unexpected when she heard it from her mother, not even her father's death had been this much to take in.
Yet she had nothing to do than to take it as it came. She didn't even want to start thinking about the different possibilities, the fact that the news had come like a thief in the night.
What was worse was the fact that Georgia didn't want to give up yet. "It doesn't matter honey, I could take on at least three jobs, then we'll be able to afford the tuition".
"At least three jobs!, mom!!!, are you kidding me?, you are not taking on three jobs, don't worry mom, if I don't finish this year, we could figure out a way" Audrey said.
"Why don't we rest for the night, look your cough has gotten worse, you need to stop stressing yourself, mom!" Audrey said seeing her mother reach out for the wall, going to the toilet, to spit out phlegm.
This time instead of phlegm, Georgia saw blood mixed with her spit, but she didn't want to voice it out because she knew her daughter would raise an alarm and she didn't want that.
For some weeks now, she had been experiencing fatigue, loss of appetite, and shortness of breath, but she didn't want to tell her daughter because she knew Audrey would insist they go to the hospital, in turn wasting money.
Mother and daughter went to bed that night thinking of what the future held for them. Georgia wondered what would happen to her daughter's education, she wondered if she would finish college.
At the same time, she wondered if she had any problem because she had been coughing a lot these days. Unfortunately, all the cough syrups and medicines didn't seem to work for her.
She was tired of wasting money but she didn't want to tell Audrey, because she knew her daughter was most likely to spend the little savings they had on her wellbeing.
Georgia couldn't deny, that it was tough while Audrey was in school, not even the part that she had to take on multiple jobs without Audrey's notice, it was the fact that she had no one to talk to.
Audrey on the other hand had no idea what was going through her mother's head. She cried a bit that night thinking of all the hard work that was going to go to waste.
'Maybe, if I get a job or more, I can start saving up, and then I can find a way to go back to college' Audrey reasoned. The only thing which was hard for her to do was tell the girls about it.
Maybe she would call and notify them later, she didn't want to impose on them.
The next morning, Audrey and her mother woke up and said their prayers before cleaning the house, as they now saw it as a necessity rather than a chore.
Their moods were off, the cause of that was no mystery, regardless the mother and daughter settled lazily on the table ready for breakfast.
"Mom…", Audrey called out to her mother, Georgia faced her daughter, signifying that Audrey had her attention, " I think I want to go in search of a job today," Audrey said.
It was no shock to Georgia as she knew that sooner or later, her daughter was going to do just that.
"Okay dear, but don't tire yourself out, also don't think about any of this, we'll deal with it as it comes dear, no pressure," Georgia said embracing her daughter.
However, the peaceful atmosphere was soon disrupted by Georgia's incessant coughs. "You really should rest mom", " it's okay dear, I'm just coughing," Georgia said swallowing the phlegm.
The mother and daughter set out, Georgia headed to her working place, and Audrey headed to a very busy part of the city where she could find a job.
Audrey's first stop was at a supermarket looking for a cashier, she applied there and she was given the job. The pay was okay and the ambiance was nice, it was just that she needed a little bit more so she went further in her search.
Her next stop was at a restaurant, there, the pay was slightly higher than that of the supermarket. Another thing she was worried about was the time, but it seemed like she brought some good luck with her as the time was flexible.
It meant that she could work at the supermarket and the restaurant, she sat quietly thinking of the amount of work and time she was going to put up with.
while she was relishing her victory, she got a call from her mother, but the person who spoke didn't sound like her mother.
"Hello, are you Georgia's daughter?" The stranger asked breathing heavily, this was enough for Audrey to start panicking.
"What happened to my mother, why are you picking up her calls, where is she?" Audrey managed to ask already impatient," your mother suddenly collapsed at work, hurry, we've sent her to a hospital.."
Audrey quickly asked for the name of the hospital and rushed there. Rushing to the counter, she saw some of her mother's friends from work pacing at the reception.
She quickly rushed towards them, "Mrs. James, Mr. Nelson, what happened to my mother" Audrey asked thinking of the different possibilities, 'she's not going to leave me like dad right?'.
"Honey calm down, your mother's okay, she suddenly fainted at work, so we brought her here, she's currently in her ward resting and we are here waiting for the results of the test." Mrs. James said using her hands to comb through Audrey's hair.
"Now that you are here, I think you should go and have a conversation with the doctor," Mr. Nelson said.
With that, Audrey waited in the reception a little bit longer to wait for the doctor.
The moments she spent in the reception must have been the hardest for her, thinking about the different possibilities of the test.
Even if any bad thing happened, she wasn't ready for any of what was coming next, she wasn't ready to face the truth regardless of what it was.
Audrey sat cluelessly, lost in her thoughts as some of her mother's colleagues tried to comfort her. She didn't push them away despite the uncertainty she harbored, she understood they felt pity for her, even though she felt pity for herself.
She stood up suddenly facing a sudden direction like she was caught doing something improper, the rest turned to see the doctor with the results in his hand and a grave expression on his face.