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Sixteen years old/10th Grade/April
Iglanced at Morgan when the phone rang. Patrick was home sick from school on Monday, then again yesterday, and I thought maybe he was calling to tell me I didn’t need to come by again today. My mom answered, but I was prepared to go to the phone.
While Chase put jelly on the Hulk Hogan action figure’s face, Morgan grabbed it and wiped the face off with his napkin.
“Ah! No, Morg! Give it back! It’s blood,” Chase argued.
“Mom’s on the phone. Be quiet and eat your breakfast, dork,” Morgan murmured.
I partially paid attention to them while I strained to hear Mom.
“Are you not feeling well again, sweetie?” Mom asked as she held the phone to her ear. She motioned to me, and I hurried over. “Do you need anything, Patrick? Have your parents taken you to see a doctor?” Mom paused to listen to Patrick. “Okay, sweetie. If you need anything, please call. One second, here’s Hollis.”
“Patrick?” I answered.
“Hey, I’m not going to make it to school today. I wanted to let you know so you didn’t drive over.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think I have the stomach flu.”
I spun on my heels to find Morgan already looking at me. I needed to see Patrick somehow, to know he was okay.
“Um, would it be okay if Morgan and I brought by your schoolwork?”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to. This will be your third day out, and in case you’re out tomorrow, at least you’ll have the first three days’ worth of assignments.” He hadn’t said anything and was quiet, so I took that as an opening and pressed for more. “I know all your classes and teachers. I’ll just bring it by after school.”
“What about your workout schedule?” he asked.
“It’s okay. It’s just one day. I can work out at home tonight.”
“You shouldn’t deviate from your workout plan.”
I knew I needed to stay dedicated to my workout schedule, but this was important. I just needed to see him.
“I’ll work out tonight. It’ll be fine. I’ll be by after school with your homework.”
“Okay, thank you. If I don’t answer the door, it means I’m asleep. You can leave it by the door.”
My stomach dropped. He wasn’t going to answer the door. I looked at Morgan when he called my name. He pointed to his wrist as he grabbed his backpack off the counter.
“Okay. Hopefully, I’ll see you later. Morgan and I are heading to school. Later, man.”
“Later, Hollis.”
I told Morgan about the conversation on our way to school. Morgan was going to pick up Patrick’s English and world history homework, and I was going to get his science, math, and health science homework after school. Morgan was waiting for me in the courtyard with a folder for Patrick.
“Did you have any trouble getting anything?” I asked.
“Nope. His teachers were cool. His history teacher said he should have his textbook at home.”
“He does. I just checked his locker and his math book was the only thing there.” I handed Morgan the math book.
Morgan organized the homework on our drive over to Patrick’s. For whatever reason, I was nervous. Maybe because I was afraid he wasn’t going to answer the door. With the homework in hand, Morgan and I walked to the door. I rang the doorbell and took a step back.
