Chapter 3

Alisha was sitting alone at lunch waiting for Chelsea and Hadley to arrive as agreed.  She wanted to run away when she saw Hadley and Chelsea holding hands as they entered the cafeteria, unbeknownst to her that they had already made a first date for later tonight.

Alisha ducked down under the table, hoping Hadley and Chelsea wouldn’t see her, but it was too late.  Chelsea came up behind her and sat down, Hadley sitting next to her.

“You two already a couple?” Alisha suggested, hoping they didn’t sense her jealousy.

“Yeah, we have our first date tonight.” Chelsea told her friend.  “Hadley called me last night and we are going to The Tasty Freeze tonight for a burger and fries.”

“Oh, I see.” Alisha said with jealousy.  “You two are dating?”

“You’re happy for us, aren’t you?” Chelsea asked her friend.

“Yeah.  You two make a great couple.”

“Thanks Ali--, I knew you’d approved.”

“Oh, geez, look at the time.  I totally forgot I had detention today.” Alisha lied, to make a quick exit because she couldn’t stand to watch Chelsea and Hadley smooching in front of her.

“Oh.  You never told me you had detention.” Chelsea said, obviously upset because Alisha always told her everything.

“I’m sorry, Chels�"it must’ve slipped my mind.” Alisha said, as she headed off toward the cafeteria doors, leaving Chelsea and Hadley alone.

A call comes in on Hadley’s cell from his mother.  Knowing how his mother would react if he ignored her call, Hadley tore himself away from Chelsea’s lips to answer the call.

“Hello, mother.” Hadley said.

“Hadley, there’s been an emergency.  Bryan has been in an explosion in Afghanistan!” Hadley’s mother said frantic with worry.

“I’m on my way home!” Hadley said as he hung up and gave Chelsea an apologetic kiss before rushing off in a hurry.

As Hadley got inside his car, started the engine and backed out of the school parking lot, Hadley saw a text come in from Chelsea.  Ignoring the warnings from his mother about texting and driving, Hadley picked up his cell and replied back “I will miss you.”  As he hit the “send” button, Hadley didn’t see the oncoming car in the other lane as he had swerved into the oncoming lane.  Upon impact, Hadley hit the car sending him flying out of his car when the two cars hit.

A passerby who witnessed the accident immediately dialed 9-1-1.  Emergency crews arrived within minutes of receiving the passersby’s call, locating Hadley’s body within minutes of arriving at the accident scene and placing him inside the ambulance.

The driver of the other car wasn’t so lucky as emergency crews pronounced the driver dead after several minutes of performing life-saving CPR.

 

Hadley was just being brought into the ER when his mother arrived at the hospital after receiving a call from the paramedics after they found Hadley’s wallet with his cell in his wallet.

“How is my son?” a Hadley’s mother said frantic with worry as ER staff pushed her out of the way.

“Ma’am, the doctor will let you know as soon as he examines your son.” The nurse tells Hadley’s mother.

 

The next day, Alisha is sitting in her homeroom class when the bell rings, signaling the start of class.  She noticed that Hadley hadn’t arrived for school that morning, when the principal came on the PA system:

“Good morning students!  I’m sorry to announce that one of our students, Hadley Jamison, was in an accident yesterday.  Let’s all have a few minutes of silence for Hadley’s recovery.”

While the room remained in silence, Alisha couldn’t help but wonder how Chelsea was taking this news, when she heard someone whisper her name from outside her homeroom door.

“Pssst, Alisah!” Chelsea whispered as quietly as she could, but still getting Alisha’s attention without alerting anyone else.

Alisha raised her hand to alert the teacher, “May I use the restroom?”

The teacher motioned for Alisha to go so as not to disturb the moment of silence as Alisha grabbed her books and backpack and walked quietly out of the classroom.

As soon as Alisha got outside of her homeroom, Chelsea burst into tears.

“Chelsea, it’ll be okay.” Alisha tried to reassure her.

“It’s not that.” Chelsea confessed.  “I want to go see Hadley at the hospital.”

“Well, why don’t you?”

“I’ve used up all my free passes.” Chelsea cried.  “Will you go for me?”

“Me?”

“Please.  I need someone to know how Hadley is doing.” Chelsea pleaded with her friend.  “You still have your passes.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Alisha reluctantly agreed.

“Thanks, Ali.” Chelsea said, feeling relieved.

Alisha obtained her pass to leave the school grounds and exited the school, heading for her car to go see how Hadley was doing.  She was in for a shock when she was finally able to see Hadley in his hospital room.

Reviews

[C.R. Fritz]

interesting story, but what are the other students feeling about the accident? don't they care too

[A Soap Mess Stories]

Thank you for the suggestion.