The Last Months - Chapter 1

Marcus Baines woke up Monday morning feeling a little funny. The feeling passed just as quickly as it came and Marcus headed for the bathroom.

He took his shower and got ready for school. He was a high school senior and couldn’t wait to graduate. He grabbed his books and his keys and drove off to school.

He managed to get to the school and park in his spot just as that funny feeling came back. He sat in his truck with his eyes shut and his teeth clenched waiting for the feeling to pass.

Once it did, he grabbed his books and headed inside. He managed to get to his locker just as the bell rang. He lowered his head and sighed.

Mr. Wade, the Principal, was standing in the hall like he does every morning and set his sights on Marcus.

Marcus slowly looked at Mr. Wade as he addressed Marcus, “Baines. Late again, I see. Let’s go.” He motioned for Marcus to follow him to the Principal’s office.

-

In the Principal’s office, Marcus was sitting in a chair facing Mr. Wade.

Mr. Wade broke the silence, “You can’t keep doing this, Baines. You are burning a serious hole in your record, do you know that?”

Marcus looked at him and replied sarcastically, “Sure did. Does this mean we finally get to spend more time together? I always look forward to our wonderful chats.”

Mr. Wade scowled, “Don’t be a wiseass, Baines! You’re knee deep in it this time!”

Marcus just nodded and said, “I thought you weren’t allowed to curse in school, sir? I really feel offended.”

Mr. Wade sighed and looked at Marcus, “Well, you can think about all that in detention, Baines.”

Marcus smiled and grabbed his books and left the office. In the hall, Marcus was heading to class when Curtis James approached him, “Hey, Baines. Another visit to the Principal’s office, WOW! That has to be a new record.”

Marcus scowled and said, “I’m really glad I could entertain you with my misery.” Marcus walked away to class while Curtis laughed.

-

Marcus entered the classroom and took his seat behind Chloe Holmes, the hottest girl in high school. She was also the Captain of the cheerleading squad, and also kind of a snob.

Chloe turned around and looked at Marcus, “So, late again, Marcus? You really are a fucking loser.” She giggled and turned away as Marcus huffed and rested his head in his hand as his elbow rested on his desk.

Half the day had gone by and lunch arrived. Marcus sat at the table he usually eats, along with a few other people.

He slowly ate his lunch as he discreetly watched Chloe on the other end of the cafeteria.

Chloe averted her eyes and could have sworn she just saw Marcus glance at her. She just as quickly dismissed the thought and returned to her lunch and conversations with her friends.

Mel sat beside Marcus as he continued to slowly eat his lunch. Mel then addressed his friend, “You’re thinking about Chloe again aren’t you?”

Marcus just glanced at him and shook his head, “Dude, get real. That’s like asking me if I’m sticking my hands in acid just to see if it fucking burns them off! As for Chloe…” he looked back at her as she was smiling and laughing with her friends, “…I don’t even know what she is to me yet.”

Mel shook his statement off and they moved on to talk about other random shit until the bell rang.

-

It was last class of the day, homeroom, and most of the class were talking amongst themselves.

Marcus and Mel were sitting in the back of the class like they always do when Chloe walked up to them, “Hey, Marcus. Why the fuck were you looking at me at lunch today? I know I’m hot and everything, but I don’t need to be ogled by an idiot like you, got it?”

Marcus smirked and said, “Chloe, the last time I checked, I had a much higher G.P.A. then you. So, if you want to see an idiot, I suggest you take a nice long look in the mirror and you will see what one looks like. Got it?”

Mel chuckled and Chloe scowled and said, “You know what? Why don’t you just fucking drop dead?” With that Chloe walked off leaving both guys chuckling before bursting into laughter.

When their laughter died down, Marcus had that funny feeling again. This time, it wasn’t going away. Mel saw Marcus’ face and put a hand on his shoulder, “Dude, are you okay, man?”

Marcus ignored Mel and raised his hand while his other arm clenched his gut. Mrs. Carson, who was the homeroom teacher, noticed Marcus and asked, “Yes, Mr. Baines?”

Marcus started to sweat and asked with a voice that sounded like he was in pain, “Is…is it alright I-if I go to t-t-he nurse’s off-office?”

Mrs. Carson was a mother and knew when something was wrong. So she gave him permission and Marcus slowly walked out of the room, using the wall for support.

-

Out in the hall, Marcus was slowly making his way to the nurse’s office, still clenching his gut and still using the wall for support.

It took him a while to get there, but he made it. Once in the doorway, the nurse immediately noticed his flushed face and told him to sit down.

After a brief series of tests, the nurse couldn’t find anything wrong with him and told him he could go. Marcus was not convinced nothing was wrong with him but got up anyway.

As he neared the door, he started to feel weak and he collapsed, falling into the file cabinet and knocking everything to the floor.

That was when the nurse panicked and immediately picked up the phone and called for an ambulance.

Mr. Wade had heard the crash and ran to the nurse’s office. He saw Marcus on the floor and asked, “Maria, what happened?!” he sounded more panicked than anything else.

Maria knelt beside Marcus and put a hand on his back as she replied, “I don’t know! He was complaining about pain in his gut and I looked him over and didn’t find anything. Then, once he started walking to the door, he just fell into the cabinet. That was the crash you heard. I don’t know what’s wrong, so I called for an ambulance!”

The ambulance arrived about twenty minutes before school let out. The paramedics put Marcus on a stretcher and a breathing mask over his nose and mouth as they wheeled him out of the building.

Some of the other students heard the commotion and looked out in the hall and saw someone getting wheeled out on a stretcher.

They couldn’t tell who since he had a breathing cup over his face.
-
In the ambulance, Marcus slowly opened his eyes as one of the paramedics looked him over and kept asking if he was alright and if he could hear him.

His voice was mostly distorted.

When the paramedic asked for Marcus’ name, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted back into unconsciousness.