Hope

4

"Hey Stella," Jack said as he sat down next to me on the front steps.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine, just something that happened last night," He replied with a forced smile.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The medic-copter crash and my mom was one of the people who died," Jack explained.  

"I'm so sorry," I muttered as I hugged him.  He put his head on top of mine as the bell rang.

Jack forced a smile as we stood up and walked through the front doors.

"Hey Stella," Maya said in an annoying voice.

"Leave us alone, Maya," I replied in a patience voice.   She rolled her eyes and walked to her locker.

"My dad told me to ask you, but, could you play piano at my mom's funeral?" Jack asked as we walked to algebra.

"Yeah, I can," I replied quietly, " What do you want me to play?" I asked.

"One of my mom's favorite songs was the theme from Up, during the beginning of the movie," Jack explained.

"I can play that," I replied.

"Thanks, Stella," Jack said with a small smile.  I smiled back and sat down as the bell rang.

As the teacher lectured on,  I felt Jack's hand grasp mine from underneath the table.  I squeezed back as he set his glasses down on the table.

"Could you meet me at my grandpa's house tomorrow night with all the assignments I've missed and so that we can get funeral arrangments in order?" Jack asked as the bell rang.

"Yeah, I'm guessing you want my mom to be there as well," I added as we walked to our lockers.  Jack nodded his head as he walked off to his next class.

I sat down in my next class next to Chloe Maxwell, my best friend since first grade.

"Hey Stella, did you hear about the medic-copter crash?" She asked.

"Yeah, my mom had to rush to work to cover for someone last night," I replied.

"I heard someone's mom died in the crash if it's not sensitive, do you know who it was?" Chloe asked quietly.

I nodded, " Jack Reagen, his mom was one of the people that died," I replied.

Chloe's face fell, " I could make him a cake if he wants," she suggested quietly.

"You can come with me tomorrow to his house, my mom and the rest of Jack's family have to discuss a few things," I replied.  She smiled as the bell rang and we began working.

"See you later!" Chloe shouted as she walked to her locker.

I waved and quickly walked down to the English classroom, I set my stuff down on my desk and sat down.

"Hey, do you have the notes from last Friday?" Someone asked next to me, " I wasn't here," He explained.

"Yeah, here you go," I replied as I handed him the sheet.

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver!" He exclaimed.

"No problem," I replied with a smile.  He handed me back the sheet a few minutes later as the teacher was handing out a study guide for the end of year exam.

"I'm just saying, Stella! You should really try out for the solo for the choir performance!"  Chloe exclaimed as we walked to lunch.

"She's right, you should," Jack added as he walked up from behind me.  Chloe laughed as we sat down at our usual table.