Ignorance

It was hard to describe. The total action and the aftermath were difficult to explain. The emotions that were felt by various people, both friends and strangers, were challenging to clarify.

The action itself explained why Noel had been seeing the letters in the ceiling. The letters did not spell out “arc” but “car.” Noel did not bother looking both ways, as she had been taught by her parents. She had confused the slowing of the bus as a stop at the hotel instead of the stop at a light at a major intersection. A few angry steps into the middle of the street led Noel to be right in the path of a distracted driver.

Mark had no choice but to sit in his driver’s seat, frozen in horror as he stared at Noel walk angrily into the street with her head down. He couldn’t comprehend the screams of the ten people on the bus. His face was permanently contorted in shock and fear as he watched the dark blue car rush at her form. It seemed like everything was in slow motion. The car was moving so slowly but he couldn’t move. And neither could she. She didn’t move. She had turned at the last moment to face the bus but other than that, Noel made no movements. She caught the eyes of the person who was standing outside of the door. Mark could see the fear in her eyes and she took a small terrified breath of air. Her arms were shaking as she stared into the eyes of the person at the door.

Ben stared with wide eyes at Noel’s frozen form as he stood at the doorway. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from hers. She was staring straight at him with tears in her eyes before she did something he had only seen her do once before.

She shut down. Her eyes closed slowly and her body slipped back. Ben blinked in surprise and ran out to grab her before a hand shot out and pulled him back by his shirt. Ricky pulled at Ben’s arm and wrapped his arms around him as they both stared in horror at Noel.

The distracted driver of the blue car looked up at the last second and made a feeble attempt to swerve out of the way. There was only silence after the sickening thud of her body against the car was heard. The shocked and shallow breathing of all drivers was barely heard before a scream ran out.

“Ani! No!” Ben screamed before ripping out of Ricky’s arms.

He ran to her bloody body and made a move to pick her up before Ricky once more pulled him back.

“Ricky, fucking quit it!” he yelled.

“Ben, you don’t know how many bones she’s broken. You could hurt her more if she’s still alive.”

“She is alive! Fucking call an ambulance,” Ben shouted as tears fell down his face.

Ricky stared down at Noel’s battered body with a distraught expression as he pulled out a phone to call for help. Divine ran out, her purple skirt glittering in the sun, before sitting on her knees next to Noel. Her hands were shaking above Noel’s body as tears grew in her eyes. She let out a scream before turning to bury her face in Toby’s shoulder, while he stared stonily down at Noel, fear and agony flashing in his eyes.

The driver of the blue car was pacing up and down the area, his hands pulling tightly at his hair. He looked down at the keys in his hands and slowly turned around before he was pulled back by his shirt. He stared helplessly into Joseph’s eyes and he glared down at him.

“You stay here like a man and accept whatever is handed down to you,” Joseph whispered harshly as the man visibly gulped.

Ethan, Arik, and Kai were standing at the edge of the bus doing the best they could to calm down Hero, who was couldn’t seem to stop pulling his hair and punching the front of the bus. Various people were getting out of their cars and stopping on the sidewalk to view the horrific scene as the sounds of ambulance sirens filled the air.

Two medics ran out of the ambulance before pulling out a stretcher and walking it over to the side of Noel’s body. Ricky once more had to pull Ben away, who was gripping Noel’s hand tightly, so the paramedics could take her away.

“We can only allow two people to come with us,” one said to the group.

“Ben and Toby will go,” Divine spoke over the loud clatter of voices.

“Dee!” Kai yelled.

“Kai Coulter, don’t argue with me! Not now. Ben has known her longer and Toby is like her father. You can see her when we get to the hospital,” Divine yelled.

Ben and Toby glanced at each other before turning to enter the ambulance with the medics, who were holding the door open for them. Ben could do nothing but stare at her helplessly as the medics fussed around her body as the ambulance drove away.



“Who are the people here for Noelani Lennon?”

Immediately, eleven voices broke out loudly in the waiting room. The doctor calmly put his hands up; a silent plea for them to quiet down so he could explain.

“Who is her brother, October?” he asked as he stared down to a chart.

The eyes of Girl on Fire all immediately glanced at Toby while Tithe looked around uncomfortably. “That’s me,” he spoke up.

“Your sister is doing rather well, considering the impact she received. She has a few broken bones and more than a few scratches. However, the impact from her head colliding with the concrete when she fell caused some severe damage.”

“What do you mean?” Divine asked nervously.

“Noelani is currently in a heavy coma. It’s hard to say when she will wake up, if she ever does,” he said.

“Oh, God,” Ben whimpered before pulling at his hair.

“I have to say something. If she ever does wake up, there is a very good chance that she might have some severe memory loss. Whether it be short- or long-term, I cannot say,” the doctor explained very carefully.

“Can we see her?” Ricky asked.

“Is anyone else family?” he asked Toby.

“The rest of our family is dead. These guys are all we really have,” Toby said as he shook his head.

“I suppose you can visit her. All of you can wait outside the room. Only two at a time in the room. Her room is straight down the hall and to the right. She’s in room 1208. I’ll keep you informed on how she progresses,” he nodded before walking away.

They all walked in silence as they made their way to her room. They all stared in anguish through the window that looked into her room. They all could see her pale body hooked up to numerous machines. They all looked at each other, wondering would be the first to see her. Then at the same time, nine of them all turned to look at Ben and Kai. They both looked at each other, comparing each other to see who loved the dark haired girl the most.

After a thirty second stare down, he knew the answer. He lowered his head as he realized that all the strings that tied him down to her had to be cut because the bright haired boy across from him most definitely loved her more than he ever could. He reached his hand out and put it on his shoulder.

“You see her, man,” he nodded.

He blinked in surprise before nodding and turning to walk into the room. He bit his lip as he felt his nose tingle as tears flooded his eyes again. She looked lifeless, dead. Only the sounds of her heart monitor gave him a clue that she was still breathing, that there was some part of her that was still alive. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. He grabbed her cold hand into his before leaning down to place his forehead on her bed sheet.

“Please wake up, Ani,” he whispered.