Katherine opened her locker and lingered for a moment.

  “Are you ready for Noodle Friday?” came the voice of an excited Maylin. Mayling always seemed upbeat about everything and anything, that is except for her family, which she rarely brought up since it was the one sore spot she had. When she wasn’t prying and probing for information or being a pest, she was quite enjoyable to be around, and Katherine needed a bit of Maylin uplift today.

  Katherine shut her locker and spun around. The hall was empty as it was the end of the day and students tended to scattered quickly on Friday.

  “Honestly? No, not really.” She pulled her backpack on with a worn look as she had really been struggling with not being able to walk Abigail home anymore, worrying about her constantly as the little brat had eluded her.

  Maylin eyed Katherine. “Why not?” She placed hands on hips. “Are you in a sourpuss mood?”

  Katherine shrugged. “I guess so. Maybe I’ll bail on today’s Noodle Friday.”

  “What? No, don’t do that.” Maylin tilted her head back, her arms hanging low as she slumped. “You’ve never missed a Noodle Friday, and today we’re getting pho.” She said it in a way as if she knew Katherine loved pho, which she did.

  “Yeah, sorry about that,” Katherine said as she just wasn’t feeling it today. She hadn’t slept well, was faltering in school, and had been thinking about her dad, and her mom… a lot. Perhaps it was because she had to give up on Abigail, which hurt, like a feeling of giving up on her mother when she had been killed… by that thing. It made her shiver, even after all this time. She knew it was real, she knew she had seen it, she knew it had killed her mother, and yet she felt totally alone in that knowing.

  Maylin suddenly rubbed her arm tenderly, tilting her head with a soft smile. “Hey, is something wrong?” Maylin had these moments where her kindness streamed through like sunlight through curtains in the morning.

  “No, I’m fine.” Katherine lied. “Everything’s great.”

  “That is one sad smile.” Maylin leaned toward her with that interrogative look of hers. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah,” Katherine said, her voice low, and then she began to walk away. “I’ll see you later.”

  “H-hey,” Maylin said, her voice different as if she knew something was bugging Katherine, and so she stood her ground, concern in her voice. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it? You know I’m all jokes and giggles and gossip,” she said, keeping pace with Katherine. “But if something is tugging at you, let me know.” There was sincerity in her eyes, which is why Katherine considered Maylin a great friend, even if she was annoying at times.

  “It’s just that,” Katherine began, stopping in her tracks and tugging at the straps of her backpack as she was having a hard time keeping it together. “I miss my mom so much, you know? Even after all this time, it hurts.” It had been a long time since she let herself go in public, and… why was this happening? Was it because of Abigail? Well, this was just great. She blinked wetness out of her eyes.

  Maylin, in her gentle and true nature, brushed Katherine’s hair aside, wiping a tear free. “Oh, it’s really that bad, huh?” She let out a sigh. “Don’t worry about Noodle Friday. I’ll tell the boys, and we can do whatever. You can talk, and I’ll listen, okay?” She really was an awesome person, comforting and sweet.

  “Yeah, I’d like that,” Katherine said with a sad smile, holding it together as best she could.

  “Hey, guys,” came the voice of Kyle. “Ready for another spectacular Noodle Friday!?”

  Katherine tried to wipe the tears away in quick motions. She didn’t want Kyle to see her this way. Certainly not him, and in a sudden movement she burst into a nearby bathroom, feeling like a complete coward.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Maylin, like a protective mother or elder sister, spun and placed hands on hips. “There’s been a change of plan, boys,” she said, holding her hand up to Kyle and his little brother, William, who was tagging along. “It’s become a girl’s night only.”

  Kyle stopped in his tracks, sensing something was wrong. “Whoa, are you two having a moment? And what’s with Katherine?”

  “What if we are,” Maylin said with a sweet smile. “Does it make you jealous?”

  “Hmm,” he said, glancing at the bathroom as if he wanted to go in while at the same time thinking deeply.

  “Don’t you dare,” Maylin said, stepping in his way and pushing her chest out which made a movement that William glanced away from as if inappropriate to watch.

  Kyle narrowed on Maylin’s… eyes. Her strong suit was that she was used to standing her ground when she needed to assert herself. And even though Kyle was scary sometimes, Maylin was a force to reckon with, especially when it came to her friends. “Just leave it be and everything will be fine.”

  He looked like he wanted to challenge, wanted to push against her, yet stepped back and nodded with a sigh and sly smile. “All right, I get it. We’re cool. We’ll just do Noodle Friday without y’all. You cool with that, little bro?”

  William nodded. “Sure.”

  Kyle changed his mood quick, something he was good at as he’d dealt with many situations in life where he had to fluctuate mood and act positive and smile in the face of pain and suffering. He just hoped everything was okay with Katherine, curious at what was going on but having an idea of what it was. He’d ask her later about it.

  “Take care of Katherine,” Kyle said. “Oh, and you might want to contain those things… better, or they might take someone out.”

  Did he actually just say that? Maylin’s jaw dropped, but she didn’t shoot back. Just stood her ground and shooed him off.

  Kyle wrapped his arm around his brother’s neck and ruffled his hair. “You were totally looking at her chest, weren’t you, bro?”

  They turned and walked away as William tried to break free from Kyle’s grip as he said, “No I wasn’t, I swear.”

  “If Samantha Ashe finds out you were checking out an older girl’s chest,” he said with an increase in tone as they shuffled around the corner. “She’d be angry,”

  Maylin let out a sigh, folding her arms and nodding. “Well, that’s one thing down.” She spun and readied herself for the bathroom before pushing through. “Katherine?” She said it in a way as if she was looking for her deep in a forest.

  She heard a sniff from a stall and moved to that one, pushing it open to find Katherine curled up and kneeling on top of a toilet seat that she had placed a bunch of tissues on.

  “How you doing?” She leaned against the stall wall. “You want to talk about it?”

  Katherine shook her head which was buried against her knees. “I’m such a fool to think my sister needed my protection.” Katherine looked like a little girl again in that moment. “I should have stood my ground, but she just wants to run away and avoid me. Now what do I do. What if she gets in trouble, or hurts herself, or is out after dark, or… worse?” She lifted wet eyes to Maylin.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Maylin said with a disarming smile as she brushed Katherine’s hair to the side gingerly. “It’ll be fine. She’ll be fine. She’s growing up, she can take care of herself.”

  “I thought my mom could take care of herself, and then that”—she hesitated, because while she had brought this up when they were younger, she knew that Maylin didn’t even believe her, so should she repeat it? Well, she didn’t care, it was the truth, even if everyone thought she was crazy—“thing attacked us, and my mother told me to run, so I did. I took Abigial and I ran with her. We never saw mom after that. She left us, she died, and I vowed to protect Abigail. Yet how will I protect her if she denies me that? If she leaves me too, I’ll have no one. No one. So how will I protect her?” She buried her face in her lap, hugging her legs as she trembled.

  “Hey,” Maylin said, extended a tender hand. “It’s okay. Everything’s fine.” When her hand touched Katherine’s knee, Katherine jerked up and leapt toward Maylin, hugging her in a tight and shaky embrace. “Let it all out.”

  “I wouldn’t know what to do, not at all, totally alone,” she continued, sobbing against Maylin’s body.

  They sat for a long moment, Katherine sobbing hard, holding on tight. Eventually, she collected herself and leaned back. After dabbing her tears, she grabbed some crappy bathroom tissue and wiped her wet nose, laughing pathetically. “Sorry.”

  “For what? Crying. That ain’t nothing. Maylin waved it off. “Cry more if you want. I’m here for you.” She smiled sweetly, and while it was warm, it was nothing like her mother’s. Still, Katherine was glad to have such a great friend.

  She sniffed. “Thanks for staying with me.”

  “Of course,” Maylin said, wiping a tear free of Katherine’s cheek. “I’m always here for you.”

  When they eventually left the bathroom, Katherine felt a lot better, especially after a good cry. But what did it solve?

  “You know what,” Katherine said, typing away on her phone to send a message to Abigail. “Let’s do noodle Friday. I’m gonna invite Abigail too. You invite Rekka.”

  Maylin nodded. “Okay, sure. I’ll also text the boys, letting them know we’re coming.”

  And all was well for the time being.