Chapter 7

( Lucas ★ ) - ( song for this chapter: those eyes )

After 10 days of not answering my phone and isolating myself, I heard a knock on my door. I was surprised because Maria was the only one who knew where I lived. She was trying to apologise to me over the phone but I didn't answer. Unfortunately, it wasn't Maria, I heard Sally's voice through the door saying:" Lucas please if you are in there can you please open I'm worried about you... please open". I was surprised because no one of my classmates knew where I lived, so I decided to open the door to Sally. When I opened the door I saw that Sally was standing at the door with a little kitten in her hands. I opened the door knowing how tired I looked, I decided to not answer her questions only if I had to. I didn't like when people see me when I'm tired, I feel like a weak loser then. 

Right when I opened the door Sally was smiling at me, she looked really happy and relieved because I opened the door. She smiled at me and said: " Hi, I brought you a little friend ,oh wait are you allergic to cat's ? I had a little smile trying to act as okay as I could, I said: " No, no I love cats, I'm not allergic". The kitten was black and very tiny, as I invited Sally into my living room. I was still trying to smile and to stay as happy as I could, I was sure Sally knew I wasn't okay. We sat in the living room, I started petting the cat as Sally asked:" You look so pale and tired are you okay? .. and why haven't you been to school lately"…This was the straw that broke me...I started crying as I told her what Maria did, trying not to mention Autumn to protect him from any danger...I could trust Sally but just in case Sally wasn't a good person. Sally was a really good listener, she was shocked by Maria...

Sally said: "That definitely is not okay..you know you deserve much much better….you are a really smart person, that's why I chose you for our project but you know that I'm not just your classmate, I'm your friend too..you don't have to deal with everything alone"…she looked at me with a really warm smile as I was still crying... I said in a cracking voice: " I'm sorry for not showing up to school ….l-l I was too stressed out and I didn't want anyone in school to know about it… especially since I don't have friends..so I had no motivation to go because no one would care... by the way, How did you know my address? ".

she looked at me with the same warm smile but with pain in her eyes and said: "Heyy …..don't say you don't have anyone because you have me and your new black kitten …and I have a rule, if any of my classmates got lost for more than 2 days I have to check on them" I asked Caraeus:" why? " She said looking at the floor:" well… I didn't want you to ask this question but I'll answer you anyway because we are friends and you have to know something about me, right?… well, I had an older brother in college…his name was William ... He had big dreams and he was nice, he studied in Germany but all along with no friends…or family….one day he got a heart attack and….no one in school knew about him.. for days we tried to call him but he died… we didn't know about it until a teacher called us from his phone and told us that she was worried because William didn't show up at his classes and he was the best student "…Sally started crying but she still had the most heartwarming smile... I hugged her. She suddenly wiped her tears and said: "after this, I learned to check on everyone because you never know if they have someone to take care of them, and I brought you the cat so you will feel less lonely...I had a cat when my brother passed away.…it helped me out of my depression"…I smiled at her, her face was still full of tears but her smile was like a star in a night. It was the most heartwarming smile I saw. 

Sally looked at me and asked:" did you eat anything today?". I was unsure why she asked this so I responded: "umm..why are you asking?". She replied: "I know that you struggle with eating because I see you at lunch breaks, you barely eat an apple." I smiled at her. I thought it was weird that she knew these things about me but her brother's story was the reason for her to take care of everyone she knew so it was less weird if I thought of it this way. The black cat was really tiny and adorable, she was sitting on my lap waiting for pettings from me. I answered Sally:" well right...I have an eating disorder .. and nope I didn't eat for the last two days hehe "….Sally gave me a half smile and asked:" what is your favorite food?". I said: "Pizza! Specially mushroom pizza but I'm not hungry…and I really think I could eat right now..". She said: "It's okay if you can't eat it but we can try together, okay? And you have to eat something to get your strength back, get up and we are making the pizza now!". I said:" Aww can't we just order it from a pizza place instead?". Sally said in a bit happy voice: "come on! You need to get something to change your mood! Let's go to the store and buy some things for the pizza, I'm sure we will have fun making it". I nodded, I was still petting my new little black kitty. "Oh, by the way, where are we going to put the kitten when we are buying the groceries", I asked. Sally smiled at me and said:" well Felix is going with us because the grocery store is pet-friendly, so it's not a problem at all! ". I asked with a little smile on my face:" So his name is Felix? Does it have a meaning?". She said with a half smile:" It means lucky in the Latin language". 

Both of me and Sally walked to the grocery store, I had Felix in my hoodie hat and put my hands in my pockets. Felix was sleeping and purring in my hoodie hat and it was very adorable, me and Sally were walking slowly and chatting. Sally was rubbing her hands against each other, I asked: "are you cold?", She said quietly: "yes...". I took her hand and put it in my pocket so she could be warm as well. She blushed and I smiled, the silence was peaceful and I could feel a bit relaxed and I was happy… For the first time in weeks. 

When we arrived at the store, Sally started to get everything we needed for the pizza, I was sure that she was trying to do her best to cheer me up. We laughed a lot in the store. I decided to pick Sally up and put her in the shopping cart . When I picked her up she was looking at the olives, she laughed so hard that she made me laugh even harder. I put her in the grocery basket and drove her around the store. Both of us had much fun and I felt my heart full of joy. I felt lighter in my heart, I felt happy again.

After we bought the pizza ingredients we got home together, Felix was still sleeping in my hoodie hat still.

When we got home Felix jumped out from my hat and slept on the couch. Me and Sally got to the kitchen and started to cook. Sally made a heart with the pizza dough and said: "This heart is for our new friendship!". I smiled and said: "yes, I'm sure it will be delicious to eat". I giggled and she giggled as well.

After the pizza was done and we took it out of the oven we sat at the table. Suddenly Sally started crying but with a smile on her face, I went straight to her side of the table and asked: "Hey what's wrong?"...Sally wiped her tears and said: "I just remembered my brother..his favourite pizza was also mushroom and I remembered everything we did together…. I had fun with you today and you reminded me a lot of him".. I smiled sadly at her and asked:" Why are you smiling then..I mean you are sad right?"..she smiled at me as a warm tear rolled down her cheeks and said: "when there is pain you have to make your happiness and always smile through the pain because in the dark night ..there is always a moon who shines the sky and shows you the way….our smile is exactly like the moon…that's what my brother taught me and every time I'm sad I remember this quote and then I smile because the smile from the pain is always the prettiest"…

Naya♤