Wake me up when September ends

“Mikey! Ha, you’ll never catch me!” Jamie yelled.

“Oh yes I will!” I ran after my six year old sister she squealed as I picked her up.

“I told you I’d get you!” I said to her. She smiled at me. I laughed and begun to tickle her, she screamed

“Mummy! Tell Mikey to stop!” She screamed. I laughed. My mum walked past and laughed. I put Jamie down.

“Mikey, we’ll always be friends wont we?” She asked me.

“Course, why did you say that?” I asked her

“Well, Carina and her brother aren’t good friends. I don’t know why. You’re friends with him aren’t you? He’s ten just like you,” she said. I nodded.

“I know, Kyle isn’t that nice to his sister is he?” I said she shook her head

“What I mean Mikey is that when we get older like when you’re twenty or something and I’m sixteen and you’re in a job and maybe married we’re still going to be friends, I don’t not want to see you for a long time!” She said hugging me. I laughed

“We’ll always be friends Jamie!”

W-where am I? Ah! My stomach kills! I looked around to see people rushing in and out of what looked like a sick bay or something.

Medics were walking to people asking if they were okay. The obvious answer was no. People were whining and yelling for help. I looked to the left side of me and there was a guy. He had light brown hair and was clearly dead. I checked his dog tag and it said

- Malcolm R. Keller. –

I sighed I didn’t know him but he was dead. I looked to my right side and there was another guy who was alive, barely. He was yelling in pain as his leg was severed. He cried and yelled for his Mama. He was obviously American.

I tried to cry out for help because I was bleeding. But I couldn’t, my throat was dry and no sound came out of my mouth. I put one hand on my wound and waved my other around. A medic came over to me. I screwed my face up and pointed to my wound. Clearly I had gotten more when the first wound happened. He was getting me bandaged up when all the noise seemed to fade, and my vision went blurry.

I rubbed my eyes but it all went black and I drifted into unconsciousness.

“Hey Mikes!” Said Steven. “There’s a party at Kelly’s tonight. Are you coming?”

“Yeah sure sounds like fun.” I smiled at him and walked to my class. I sat in my place and looked to the side and Maddie sat there.

“Hey Maddie” I said

“Heya Mikey,” she said. Then the bell rang. Mrs Baker walked in.

“Hello class, today you will be in pares working on a creative writing project on A3 paper. This will go up on the wall and you will be graded that will go on your end of year report” Everyone murmured,

“Okay, I’m going to be nice and let you pick your partners,” I looked at Maddie and she smiled and knew exactly what I was thinking. She moved her chair and sat opposite me.

“Okay, so what are we going to do?” She asked me.

I loved English so she always wanted me to come up with the ideas

“I think we should do an anti-war poem, and then a short story and you could illustrate it because I can’t draw to save my life.” I said. She grinned.

“That’s a great idea!” She said I nodded and we got the paper. I started to write the poem.

I hate war; I don’t think I would ever have to fight in one. I hope I didn’t.

“He’s coming back!” Yelled the medic.

I took a deep breath and coughed and blood came out of my mouth. I cringed. The medic was cleaning me up.

I felt terrible, like my whole life was drifting in and out. Like I couldn’t control my actions like someone or something else was over powering me! Part of me wanted me to die and the other wanted to carry on and survive, but was it all worth it for this pain?

My heart felt heavy and my eyes stung still. I closed them and tried to think about something else.

When I did, the over powering force killed my consciousness.

I stood up and ran across the beach shooting at the Germans. I stopped and looked at Sean and then I looked at my captain and he was yelling something, he was far away, I couldn’t hear him.

I looked at Sean he was running at me but before he got to me something hit me in my stomach! Pain beyond anything I could ever imagine. It was worse that shell shock. I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t think.

“MIKEY! It’s going to be okay!” Sean yelled at me.

He put his hand on my wound and it felt like I was going to throw up blood. I’m dieing… I’m dieing…

“Sean… t-tell my m-mum I loved her…” I said trying to live. I’m dieing… I’m dieing…

“You’re going to live man!” Sean said. I’m dieing… I’m dieing…

“A-and t-tell Maddie I-I l-love her…” I cried. So long and goodnight.

“NO!” I screamed. My throat ached like my head. I grasped my stomach and heaved myself up.

I limped across the sick bay people who weren’t in too much pain or who were healing looked at me.

“HITLER! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS YOU BASTARD!” I yelled. A medic came over and grabbed me.

“Come one Ward, you need to rest,” he said. I shook my head.

“No! I need to fight! I’m going to do something useful for once in my life,” I said.

I pushed him off me and attempted to run towards the soldiers passing to get into their group and fight but unfortunately my leg gave way and I crashed to the ground.

“No! Please! I have to fight! Jamie! Maddie! Mad-“

“Maddie?” I asked her

“Aha?” She said.

“Am I a good person?” I asked her. She looked at me shocked.

“Of course you are! Why ask?” She asked me. I shook my head. “Tell me Mikey. You know you can trust me,” she placed her hand on my leg.

“Well lately I feel, kind of, useless. Like I haven’t done anything worthwhile” I looked down at the floor.

“Aww! Mikey!” She hugged me. I hugged her back. “I love you Mikey you know that don’t you?”

Maddie gazed at me. Did I hear her right? She loves me?

“Y-you what?” I stuttered

“You’re my best friend in the whole world! I love you!” She said.

I felt a bit hurt. She only loved me as a friend, but I don’t love her in that way. Do I? I don’t think so. She hugged me again. Maddie checked her watch.

“Oh I have to go Mikey,” she said. She stood up and waved and walked off.

The sun was setting and the sky was a pinky orange. I sat on the grass and looked.

Maddie? If only you really loved me. If only you could like me as more than a friend. I would tell you the same, but you don’t. If only you saw me like I see you.