I woke up this morning only to find myself hacking up a lung due to some fate of sickness I think I've obtained from one of my pre-K children at camp. Surprisingly, after coughing up a few times I found that I felt remarkably better. I also could feel myself regaining some of my appetite which had been lost to honey lemon cough drops and cherry flavor Theraflu. Why not take advantage of the complimentary breakfast in the hotel? It's currently 9:30AM and the continental breakfast ends at 10AM. I hurriedly brush my teeth, and throw on my clothes. I take a hard look at my face in the mirror. Great, the pink is slowly returning back to my pale cheeks. I don't look as sickly and exhausted as I have these past few days. I walk out the door and rush into an empty lobby filled with aromas of freshly brewed coffee and scrambled eggs.
"Thank goodness... I can enjoy my breakfast in peace."
After making my waffle, I scoop a generous amount of eggs onto my plate and proceed to make my coffee. Once I'm satisfied with my breakfast selection I contemplate where to enjoy my food amongst the rows of table.
Finally, I decide to sit at a cozy looking two seater table over by the window. As I'm settling myself I hear the intro music to The View.
"Nothing like a battle between Hasselbeck and Whoopi to liven up a late morning breakfast."
****************
As I'm finishing up my morning coffee, I receive a phone call from my best friend.
"Girl, you up?"
"Yeah, I'm just finishing up my breakfast. What's up?"
"We are on a quick lunch break. I have to be back at the center a little after twelve, and the teacher expects us to be here, on time, so I'm coming to pick you up. Be outside, I'm three minutes away."
"No problem."
I look at my cell and notice that the time is 11:15AM. I throw away my coffee cup and walk back to the room to get my handbag and among other things my sanitizer as to not infect my friend. After stepping out the room, I make my way past the front desk and out the main entrance. The heat is excessive. As I start to make my silent prayer that my friend was as close as she stated, she quickly pulls her blue Chevy Cobalt around the corner.
As I get into the car, I notice the redness in her eyes, though her demeanor doesn't seem overly disheveled. Before I can say anything, she quickly pulls away from the hotel and says, "Freda called me earlier today and asked me if I knew what was going on with Darrian."
"Who is Darrian?"
"Wesley's brother. I didn't know what she was talking about, so I called Wesley and asked him what was going on. Wesley told me that Darrian was dead. I just asked him what he meant by that. Wesley then told me that Darrian was shot in the head in the driveway. I couldn't even ask him many questions because I could feel myself starting to cry and Wesley was so calm."
"What!? Do they know who it was?"
"They believe it was someone close."
"It has to be. Was he involved in anything?"
"Girl, I don't know, I couldn't ask anything because I was trying to keep it together."
Silence. Pause.
I looked at Fred and her eyes were filled to the brim, yet she still looked strong.
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