Aeteanilise

January 8th, 2046
Altadena ECHS
The Locker Hallway
Altadena California
11:07 a.m.

Natasha walked down the Locker Hallway. She had just finished one of her college essays and needed a break. She looked down the Hallway and saw Lilly. Lilly was leaned against her locker and was not moving. She noticed Lilly’s tired demeanor and slouched posture which is something Lilly never had. Natasha raised one of her dark eyebrows and walked over to Lilly.

When she got near, Lilly’s head shot up and turned to face Natasha. She snapped upright and stood with her normal poise.

“Hey, Natasha,” said Lilly. “I didn’t see you coming.”

Natasha crossed her arms across her arms. “No,” she said. “I imagine you didn’t.” She looked around. There was no one around. Made sense since it was the middle of a period. Natasha looked back to Lilly.

“Lilly, I’m worried about you. Ever since you came back, I have felt that-”

“Natasha, you really shouldn’t worry,” Lilly interrupted. “I’m fine.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Lilly, I can’t believe this! How can you-”

“Natasha!” Lilly interjected. She looked around. She leaned in closer to Natasha and said in a hushed tone, “Let’s go somewhere else, yeah?” It was more of a demand than a request. Natasha’s eyes narrowed. She looked around. But Natasha understood what Lilly was concerned of. Even walls have ears she reminded herself.

She let out an annoyed huff. “Fine,” she hissed. Then she and Lilly walked down the halls and out of the school building. The bright California morning sun greeted the two girls but it was not warm. The air was cold and there was a slight breeze that made it seem even colder than it really was. Natasha shivered. She hated even a slight chill.

She crossed her arms and closed her jacket more. She looked at Lilly. Lilly was not wearing a jacket or any sort of normal winter-wear. Natasha could tell that Lilly had not even noticed the cold.

The two girls walked out to the forest behind the school and walked to an old tree. It was rather large and able to conceal the two of them and the forest secluded the girls from any possible eavesdroppers. Natasha and Lilly had come out to the forest to talk for the past three years. Basically, they have had the small hideout throughout the course of their friendship.

Lilly leaned against the tree and tossed her long, curly bangs out of her face. She crossed her arms across her chest and bent one knee against the tree. She tilted her head backwards and raised a haughty eyebrow to Natasha.

“So,” Lilly began, “what is it that you were trying to say?”

Natasha scoffed. “I think you know.”

Lilly shrugged. “Nope. Not a clue. I’m a rather dense child you know.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. She put her hands on her full hips and her nostrils flared.

“Lilly!” she said sternly. Her hair shook out of its normal perfection and her voice strained. “You know very well what I’m talking about!” She began to pace as she normally did when stressed. Her Indian accent was also more prominent. Not to mention, Lilly’s indifferent attitude was only making her angrier.

“What, Lilly? What is this? Do you think this is some sort of game? Do you think it’s fun to worry about you every time I see you close your eyes? I’m worried and scared to death that one day they just won’t open!”

Lilly looked away. Natasha sucked in her cheeks. “LILLY!” She kicked the ground. “You haven’t looked well since you have been back at school! You look tired and pale and weak! I’m scared that any moment you’ll just break and then what? Then what? What am I supposed to do, huh? I will then have a vegetable for a friend, a school in chaos, and terrorists able to attack our school whenever!” Natasha’s hair was now way past being slightly imperfect. Her face was red and she was breathing hard. Lilly raised an eyebrow.

“Well, if they could attack whenever, I think that our school must be desperately pathetic if my awesomity is the only thing keepin’ ya’ll safe.”

Natasha gapped. She clutched her hands into small fists. “LILLY!”

“WHAT!?” Lilly cried mockingly.

“I’M SCARED!” Natasha screamed. Lilly bit down and her teeth clacked. She bit the inside of her lip and Natasha noticed. Natasha took a deep breath and lowered her voice that had risen. “I think something is wrong with you. You’re sick. It has to be that Aeteanilistic blood in your veins.” Natasha looked down. “I knew it was a bad idea. I just knew it.”

“Hey!” Lilly interjected finally with a serious face. “Leitun saved my life!”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Oh, really? Well our school wouldn’t have been in that situation if they hadn’t been here! AND I TOLD HIM! I told him that transfusing your bloods together wouldn’t work! And now look at you! You look like you need tape with ‘fragile’ written across it!”

Natasha shook her head disapprovingly. “That boy did this to you. I knew I should have stopped him.”

“This isn’t anyone’s fault, Natasha,” Lilly whispered. “He saved my life in the only way it seemed possible.” Lilly sighed. “I wouldn’t be here if her hadn’t.”

“Then ,maybe you wouldn’t look like you were about to die of cancer.”

Lilly gave Natasha a look that Natasha could not help but read into.

“Lilly?” Natasha said in a hushed tone. “What does that look me-”

“In a way it is,” Lilly said quickly. Natasha’s eyes widened.

“What?”

Lilly slid down the tree and sat down. Natasha looked down at her.

“A blood transfusion transfuses some of the DNA in it too,” Lilly explained. “I got transfused with his DNA. That means that slowly my blood is turning cell by cell into this… poisonous blood. Cancer is the overabundance of cells. In a way… especially deadly ones.”

Natasha swallowed. “So… he saved your life only so you could die… slowly?” Lilly didn’t respond.

Natasha gasped. She covered her mouth. She felt her chest get heavier and hotter. Tears began to form. Her mouth went dry.

“And you? Does it hurt?”

Lilly smiled. “Of course not.” She patted the dirt near her asking Natasha to join her on the floor. Natasha normally would refuse to sit in dirt but looking at Lilly, so un-Lilly, broke her down. Natasha collapsed near her friend and burst into tears. Lilly rubbed her hand up and down Natasha’s back.

“Shh. Shhh,” Lilly sung. “It’s ok. I’m fine with it. And I’m only tired. It’s not like it hurts or anything. The Aeteanilistic blood is very gentle I guess.” Lilly felt a stab in her throat as she lied to her friend. The truth was that actually, it hurt. It hurt a lot. No amount of aspirin could get rid of her headache. There was not enough NiteQuil that she could take to get rid of the pain when she slept. She was hot- all the time. She always felt like she was one fire. It was a torturous burn that made her insides squirm and her heart scream for water. The air she breathed to only encourage the burn more. But she could not die yet. She had too much to do. And until her heart actually stopped, Lilly was not ready to accept any news. And if she were to die, it certainly was not about to be in some hospital that released her when she was clearly still sick.

But she did not tell Natasha all this. And Lilly certainly was not about to begin. She was not going to tell anyone and “anyone” included Natasha. “Anyone” included Leitun. Lilly could not imagine how horrible Leitun would feel knowing his saving her was the worst “save” that could have existed.

Lilly believed effort was worth something. Leitun saved her and had to be rewarded. Lilly only hoped that not moping would convince God that maybe, Lilly’s life was worth the save.