“STRRRIKKKKEEE!” 

Jason cheered as his bowling ball crashed into the cluster of pins. The Friday night crowd was starting to clear out, but Savannah had a feeling she would be bowling for a couple more hours at least. Upon Elise’s turn, her friend shoved a handful of fries into her mouth and scurried to edge of the strip. She powerfully launched the ball down the alley, only to have it speed into the gutter. Elise turned around and laughed as Savannah sighed with a smile. She began to head back to the seating area. As she came closer, Savannah noticed something strange about the way she was walking. She was stumbling in an uneven pattern, and her feet would occasionally cross over one another. Savannah frowned. Something had to be wrong. As Elise plopped down beside her, Savannah put a hand on her knee. 

“Elise, are you ok? You were walking super funny there.” 

Elise stared at her with a blank expression, like the soul within her had been sucked out by a strange force. Her usually flush skin was pale and her blue eyes were hazy. Savannah could feel the panic bubble up inside her, as she shook Elise’s shoulders in an attempt to free her friend from her trance. This wasn’t like Elise at all. She was always the first one to laugh at a joke. She was that person who was always willing to give someone a hug. After a few terrifying moments, Elise’s clouded eyes landed on Savannah, and with one last exhale, her eyes rolled back and she went limp in her chair. 

Savannah screamed at the sight of her lifeless friend next to her. She stumbled to the food shack were Jason was going to get snacks. Her brain could barely register anything around her. In some part of her frenzy, she realized that should probably call an ambulance, but all she could think of in that moment was finding Jason. She wasn’t strong enough to handle the stress alone, and Jason would know what to do in a situation like this. She spotted him walking back with three sodas and a paper bag. His cheery expression quickly deflated when he spotted the anguish and tears on Savannah’s face. 

“Oh my god, Savannah, what’s wrong?” he asked worriedly, dropping his food on a nearby table.

Savannah couldn't think. She scrambled to find her thoughts and regain her sensibility. She ran over to Elise, closely followed by Jason. He stared blankly at the lifeless form of their friend before fumbling for his phone and dialing 911. Savannah was sobbing next to him as Jason spoke into the phone,

“Hello? Hello? My friend, um, fainted?” 

He glanced at Savannah for confirmation, and she nodded weakly. She had gone over to Elise and was holding her head in her lap, willing for her friend to open her eyes. 

“She’s not waking up,” Jason spoke, his voice growing more frantic by the second. “Please hurry, oh God please hurry.”  

The ambulance felt cold and heartless. Savannah shivered as she looked around the sterile white walls of the vehicle. It was hard to look at her friend as the doctors poked and prodded, hooking her up to menacing machines. Jason was seated next to her, biting his nails. The catastrophe that the day had brought left  Savannah feeling cold and empty inside. 

Savannah watched as Elise’s eyes fluttered open. She gripped her hand and softly smiled as her friend took in the hospital room around her. She was in the children’s ward, so the room was filled with warm pink and yellow colors. Children’s toys were clustered in the corner for the younger patients and the shades on the windows had dragons running across them. Jason had gone to get hot chocolate from the lobby, leaving Savannah along with Elise. 

“What happened?” Elise asked slowly, still looking around. “Was there an accident?” 

“You fainted at the bowling alley,” Savannah said, shuddering at the memory. “Gave me quite a scare there.” Elise laughed, seeming more like herself again.

“I knew I shouldn’t have gone out that night,” she said. “I wasn’t feeling so good the night before.”

Savannah frowned at this. Just then there was a sharp knock on the door and a doctor came striding in. She glanced at Savannah before resting her eyes on Elise. Before the doctor could say anything, Elise beamed and said, “Finally, Doc! When can ya get me out of here?” She looked at the adult expectantly. The expression on her doctor’s face made Savannah’s stomach flip.   

“Honey,” she gazed at Elise sympathetically. “Due to the high hazard of EEE in your town, we ran a couple of tests to see if you had picked up the disease. Your results came back positive.” 

Savannah watched helplessly as her friend’ s face gradually morphed into that of horror and confusion. 

“We are so truly sorry and we will do the best we possibly can to get your back to normal.” The doctor glanced at Savannah before saying, “It will be hard.”

Elise teared up, and Savannah reached over to hug her friend. Elise cried into her shoulder, as the doctor slipped out the door, promising to be back soon. A few seconds later Jason came in with two hot chocolates. His face of surprise quickly turned into confusion and worry when he noticed Elise’s weeping. Elise never cried, so seeing her like this would seem strange to anyone.

 The doctors explained to Savannah and her friends how they caught the disease moderately early, but their odds could have looked better. They told them that there had only been three cases of EEE this year, so they didn’t know how to treat it very effectively. Elise was only going to get worse from this point. The whole time Elise stared at the wall in front of her, a blank expression on her face. Savannah stifled a sob. She hated how this virus would ruin Elise’s life. She hated how it would ruin her own life. Savannah’s friends acted as the family she never had, and the loss of Elise would hit her harder than anyone else at Holliston High. She glanced over at Jason, who looked as hopelessly lost as she probably did. Elise’s parents had been there the night before while she was still unconscious, where they had received the news about their daughter’s health condition. 

Mere days after the shocking news, Elise’s condition had grown worse. She experienced high fevers, raging headaches, and extreme nausea. Jason and Savannah visited every day after school and stayed for as long as they could. It was hard to keep the mood light in such a grave situation. On Wednesday afternoon Savannah entered Elise’s hospital room and sat by her chair. Elise shot her a sideways glance, (she was experiencing neck stiffness due to the illness) and smiled. 

“Vanny?”

“Yes, Elise?” 

I need to you promise me something, you hear?” Elise slowly moved her head to face Savannah and stared her straight in the eyes. 

“If… I,” she pauses, “If things don’t go the way we planned,” her eyes welled up, “I don’t want to let it ruin your life. I want you to make it a turning point in which you start over and live the way you’ve always wanted to live.” She smiled and gripped Savannah’s trembling hand. “You could make tons of friends, and be surrounded by so much love and happiness, not just from us, but from everyone around you. I want you to live, Savannah,” Elise stares at her with determined eyes, “Promise me.” 

“I won’t promise you anything,” Savannah sniffed. “Because you are not dying on me, Eli. I won’t allow it.” She sniffed and squeezed her friend’s hand with all the strength she could give. Elise smiled and relaxed into her bed. 

“Right, then,” she said.“Now it’s time to binge-watch TV and let all our troubles slip away!” She said the last words with a wide sweeping gesture around the room. Savannah smiled and grabbed the remote.

The school hours felt long and dreary without Elise. Savannah always had Jason, but it always felt like something was missing. She felt like she had nearly finished a puzzle but couldn’t find the last piece. The long days at school left Savannah feeling as if she was crossing the Sahara desert in incredible heat. When she returned home to her empty house, she was plunged into the glacial cold of loneliness. Elise was her best friend at all times, but she was also her closest family outside of the classroom. It wasn’t until she received an email from Elise’s parents that it felt like her whole world was crumbling around her. 

Savannah swung open the doors of the hospital and sprinted to Elise’s room. There was a nurse outside who was blocking the door. Savannah ran up to her and tried to shove by. 

“Woah there, missy,” she said, possessing a southern accent despite living in Massachusetts, “Now where do you think you’re going?” 

“I need to see her. I need to see her,” Savannah desperately pleaded.

“I’m sorry,” the nurse looked genuinely sympathetic for her. “It’s family only for the time being.” 

Savannah ran to the window of her friend’s room and sobbed as she saw her friend hooked up to multiple machines. This was it. Her best friend was in a coma, and all Savannah could do was sit and watch. She squeezed her eyes together and tried to put all her focus on breathing. She felt a hot tear trickle down her face. Savannah slid to the ground and leaned her back against the wall. 

The next day at school the news had gotten around to everyone. The scent of bug spray infected the halls and classrooms. On a bleary Wednesday afternoon, Savannah strolled into Elise’s hospital room to find three familiar girls sitting next to her friend. They were on their phones and laughing, showing each other photos from their Instagram pages. Savannah knew them very well. They were the bratty girls from her gym class. They would always stand in the back of the gym and talk during games. Savannah would always find them walking around the track when everyone else was supposed to be running. It was like none of the rules applied to them. The girls looked up and saw Savannah standing at the door. 

“Oh Vanny, it’s you!” said Amanda, a pretty girl with straight blonde hair “What on Earth are you doing here?” The girls broke into a fit of giggles.

“I came to visit my friend,” Savannah said through gritted teeth. She hated it when they called her Vanny. That name was reserved for her inner circle only. Amanda continued,

“Oh my god, we’ve been so worried about her. It’s just terrible what happened, right Sammy?”  The brunette with a servile look eagerly nodded. Amanda directed her attention back to Savannah. 

“It's alright Vans, we got this covered. We will do anything for our friend.” 

She glared at Savannah smugly. The other two quickly mimicked her, and Savannah found herself in a corner. Tears sprung up in her eyes and the room became blurry. But instead of letting them flow, Savannah became enraged. How dare these girls come strolling in and pretending like they cared for Elise’s well being? They probably didn’t even acknowledge her existence before her illness. How dare they shove her out like she was nothing, even though Elise meant the world to her? Savannah charged over to the blonde and slapped her across the face. She was so blind with rage she didn’t even care.

“Get out,” Savannah hissed. “If you don’t get out now this will not end well.”

 Savannah wasn’t a small person. When she straightened to her full 5 foot 11 she could appear intimidating. The girls sensed that she wasn’t messing around and scurried out of the room like fearful mice. Savannah watched them go and then sank into the chair next to Elise, exhausted.

It had been a while since Elise fell unconscious. Savannah was graduating in a week. She had been struggling through her classes, trying to accept the fact that she might have lost her best friend for good. The hospital had said that Elise would probably never wake up. Savannah had to cling to the hope of a medical miracle to help her get out of bed in the morning. Savannah didn’t know how she was going to overcome this tragedy. Then she remembered. Elise’s somber words she spoke to Savannah. 

I don’t want to let it ruin your life. I want you to make it a turning point in which you start over and live the way you’ve always wanted to live. 

Savannah realized that in honor of one of her best friends, she would have to move on with her life. But not until she had her turn. 

Savannah entered the hospital and took the elevator up to the 5th floor. Elise’s room had no visitors. 

“Elise! Elise,” Savannah said as she reached her room, realizing for the thousandth time as her friend laid unconscious that she wasn’t going to respond, “I need to tell you something.” Savannah lowered her voice to a whisper.

“You told me that if you didn’t make it, I should move on with my life. Trust me, I always keep my promises. I will move on, Eli, but I have to at least try. So I’m telling you that you need to wake up, and you have to wake up real fast, ‘cause I refuse to believe that I’m going to spend the summer without your smiling face. If you don’t wake up, I swear to god,” Savannah stopped.

“Please wake up Eli, I don’t want to move on. I need you right here with me. Jason misses you too. He misses you more than he can bear. We can’t keep doing this Elise, you have to wake up.” Elise didn’t respond. 

After a few moments of silence, Savannah leaned in and whispered in her ear “I want you to live.” She sat back in her chair and let out a disheartened sigh. 

Elise’s eyes shot open.