Chapter Text
Selena had a small group of students formed by her locker in the school’s hallway. All of them were engulfed by her presence and took in every word she said. Reyna stood a foot away as she recorded Selena with her vlogging camera.
“I just feel so bad, y’know?” Selena told them, a hand over her heart, sounding a little overdramatic. Her fellow students nodded in agreement. “I had no idea my best friend was going through this.” Selena put her head down, a tear flowing down her face in the most perfect way. She was able to make crying perfect. A nearby student put an arm on her shoulder.
“Let us help! I can pitch in five dollars to help with Cassie’s situation!” One of them said, then another agreed, and another until the whole crowd began to take out any spare change they had leftover from the lunch break.
That’s how it was for the past couple of days. Selena asked the entire student body for donations to the Cassie Fund , the two girls called it. Even though they were receiving money online from the GoFundMe created Selena wanted the help from her fellow classmates. Reyna protested at first, not wanting to bring more attention that it already garnered online, however, Selena convinced her that Cassie would do the same for her if she was in her situation so Reyna gave in. It was Selena’s favorite thing about Reyna. She was easy to control.
“How much does GoFundMe have now?” Selena asked. They were both seated at their usual table in the cafeteria, but no Cassie around. Reyna checked her phone and gasped.
“It has a thousand dollars!” Reyna was shocked with amazement. Selena swiped the phone from her hands.
“Oh my God!” Selena grinned widely as she looked at the messages from donors, all wishing well to Cassie and hoping their money would help her out.
“You really can change peoples lives, Sel!” Reyna told her, her voice full of hope. Hope that her friend can live a better life.
“Who is changing lives?” Selena and Reyna both looked up to where the voice came from. It was Manuel. Selena rolled her eyes at him as he sat in Cassie’s spot.
“Me after I finally get you banned from campus.” Selena snaps at him.
“I should be the one mad at you!” Manuel snaps back. Selena is surprised by his response. “Your video about me went viral, now freshmen are making fun of me.”
“You deserve it.” Reyna said quietly to herself. Manuel looked at her, hearing every word.
“For wanting to ask a girl out to prom?” He asked.
“We both know you asked her because I denied you first.” Selena told him.
“That’s not true!” Manuel raised his voice. It garnered attention from the neighboring tables. Selena stared at him, as if trying to get him to calm down, and it worked. “Look, I have math class with her and we paired up for an open book quiz.”
“So you used her to cheat?” Reyna asked.
“That’s besides the point!” Manuel admitted. “She looked sad, out of it. I wanted to treat her to something nice and no one asked her yet.”
“Usually when boys want to be nice they’ll get a girl flowers, not a whole trip to prom.” Reyna pointed out. Selena shrugged in agreement.
“Is what you guys posted online true?” Manuel leaned in and whispered.
“Maybe.”
“I want to help.” He said. “I can pay for the whole prom trip.”
“No!” Reyna quickly replied, taking both of them by surprise. “I mean… You’ve already done enough damage.”
“You did embarrass her.” Selena agreed.
“I don’t even have to take her, just let me pay.” Manuel pleaded. Selena and Reyna had no idea if he actually had any sort of feelings for Cassie as he was always hopping from girl to girl around school and maybe she was his next conquest. He was too much of a wildcard for Reyna’s liking. Plus, Selena wanted all the credit.
“Sorry Manny.” Selena sighed. “You’re just not her type.”
“Who is?” Manuel stood up from the bench.
“Anyone but you.” Reyna snapped and he scoffed and walked away.
Cassie’s room was the complete opposite of Selena’s. Instead of extravagant things on every corner of the room there was only a simple twin bed, white sheets and round lantern lights that hung on one side of the wall. During her YouTube days she only focused the camera on her bed and lights because on the other side there was nothing else other than a small desk for her school work.
Now, there were bags and boxes and a printer. Remainders of shipping labels in the small trash bin beside the desk lay. It was obvious she was selling personal items to make a bit of extra cash. From reselling clothes and shoes to small collectibles she had as a child came in handy to get some dollars.
Cassie sat on the small bed, scrolling through her phone, looking at her camera roll, looking at photos of her with Reyna and Selena. She smiled at all the memories they shared together. There was a notification on the screen.
‘One Year Ago Today,’ it read. Cassie pressed on it. It was a video of Cassie, Reyna and Selena hanging out together in a park. They had a picnic going and were laughing at Reyna, who dropped a piece of cake all over her skirt. Before she could finish the video, a cough was heard in the other room. Cassie turned her phone off and ran to the next room.
The room was cold, she noticed the window was wide open in her mothers room. She immediately went over and shut the window.
“Mom, you know the cold air is bad for you.” Cassie said as she closed the latch to lock it.
“It’s stuffy in here,” her mother replied, her voice was noticeably dry. Cassie checked her bed stand for the glass of water she left her earlier and handed it to her mother.
“Have you taken your pills yet?” Cassie asked as she watched her mother take a sip of water.
“Yes, mija.” She said, attempting to sit up from laying in her bed. Cassie went over to help her up, but she stopped her. “I can’t get better if you try to do everything yourself.” She coughed.
“Did the doctor call back about the pills? I think you need stronger ones.” Cassie grabbed the orange pill bottle beside the half empty cup of water.
“The pills work just fine.” Cassie’s mother’s voice sounded raspy. “Everyone coughs, not just sick people.”
“I know, but-” Cassie tried voicing her concerns, but her mother stopped her.
“You don’t need to worry about me.” She reached for Cassie’s hand and held it. “You should work on that YouTube stuff, it doesn’t make any sense to me, but it makes you happy.” Her mother smiled at her. “I want to see you happy.”
Cassie tried hard to be strong for her mother and not shed a tear, but she was failing. So instead of breaking down she immediately got up.
“Cass?” her mother called for her once she grabbed hold of the loose doorknob that wiggled with every grasp.
“Yeah?” Cassie asked, not turning around.
“That necklace looks beautiful on you.”
“Thanks mom.” Cassie said as the tears swelled in her eyes and she left the room as quickly as she could.
Once she was out, Cassie couldn’t hold it in anymore. All her feelings for her mother, her friends, her old life. It was gone. This was her new life, solely caring for her mother and being strong for her. She didn’t know how long it would last, but it felt like an eternity and she wondered when the light at the end of the tunnel would be seen, but now it was just an endless void and roaming alone in the dark was something Cassie was not good at.