The shrill sound of the last bell still rang in my ears as I took my first step into the hallway that was teaming with people. As I knelt down at my bottom locker, Brielle skipped past, “Aren’t you going to wish me a happy birthday, Lauren?” I could not believe I had forgotten her birthday; what a bad friend! “Happy birthday Brielle!” I yelled as she ran on and out the open school doors. It was night by the time I had finally sat down in my room to work on my homework. My door was cracked open enough to be able to see my mom leaning back on the steps deep in conversation with the person on the other end of the phone in her hand. Looking closer, I realized that she was crying silent, sorrowful tears. I walked into the hallway to see what was going on. “Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked with growing concern. I wasn’t prepared for the words that would come out of her mouth next. “Mr. Kirk died.”
Grief and sorrow took over me all at once. A dismal look spread across my face and I couldn’t hold back the salty, hot tears anymore. As I let them pour down my face, I kept questioning how it happened and when. With a weary voice she managed to get out “Mr. Kirk had gone home early from work because he wasn’t feeling good. He ate lunch with Heather and went downstairs to watch TV. Later on she called down and he didn’t answer so she went to check on him. He had had a heart attack and there was nothing the paramedics could do, he was already gone.” I felt the ache of what Brielle must have been feeling and wanted to know how she found out. “When Brielle got home, she saw that Chris’s car was in the driveway so when she got in the front door she yelled out that daddy had come home early for her birthday. Heather came in and told her that daddy wasn’t going to come home,” my mom finished with a sob.
I turned and gradually made my way back to my room and shut my door. I submerged into my plush, pink chair and sank down. My emotions spun out of control and I couldn’t move anymore. I kept imagining what it would be like if it was me who had just heard that horrible news about my dad. I didn’t sleep much that night and in that time I came to the conclusion that I would never take my parents for granted and would be grateful for every day that I have with them.