Chapter 1
By: Thumper
It’s been five years since the disappearance of Cleo. Berkeley was learning how to write cursive letters which he has been stuck on for what felt like a week. There he sat in his assigned seat right by the aisle, he had a perfect view of the chalkboard. His pencil tried to keep up with what was on the board. The sound of all the pencils scraping against the paper aggravated him. He quickly began to focus on the noise, his grip on his pencil tightened. The sound grew louder in his ears, he looked around the classroom but everyone continued to write. He pushed harder on the paper, the sound grew unbearable. He was about to cover his ears when his pencil tip broke. The sound quickly vanished, relief washed over him. He glanced over to the pencil sharpener, he stood up and slowly walked along the aisle towards it. His feet began to grow heavy with every step he took, he wondered how no one could hear the banging of his foot hitting the ground. He realized that Madison wasn’t sitting at her regular seat, surely she couldn’t have gotten in trouble. Madison was always the type to stay out of trouble and obey whatever an adult told her. He stared at the desk, there he saw the name “Cleo” carefully scratched into the glazed oak wood. The faint voice of Miss. Kennedy asked a question quickly quieted the classroom. He stopped walking and looked up, Miss. Kennedy looked right at him.
“Cleo, how about you write the letters on the board.” The sound of his heartbeat echoed in his head. He hasn’t heard that name in years, he looked back just to see Cleo stand up and start walking down the aisle. The heartbeat quickened in his head it pierced through his brain. She was getting close, Berkeley stood stationary waiting for her to smile but instead passed right through him. The sound overtook him, he felt like he was about to collapse. He tried to grab onto something but right when his hand reached the side of the desk the door swung open. Startled, he blinks and appears in a hospital bed.
“How are you doing today, Berkeley?” Nurse Mary asked with a smile on her face. She sat near the footboard of the bed and gently placed a tray on his legs. It was the usual: soggy green beans, a scoop of instant mashed potatoes, some dry chicken drowning in gravy, and a styrofoam cup.
“The same as every other day. What time is it?” Berkeley murmured hoping he wasn’t hallucinating for too long. He watched as Nurse Mary filled the styrofoam cup with water and put his night pills on his tray: one white capsule, two light blue tablets, two dark red gel capsules, a gummy vitamin, and one he has never seen before.
“It’s about 7:30.” She could see the confusion on his face about the mystery pill. “It will help with the visions, I promise.” Berkeley has been experiencing hallucinations ever since the third grade, when he claimed that he saw Cleo in a black truck after collapsing on the ground. No one believed him and he grew to not believe what he saw, but in the back of his mind he knew Cleo needed help, wherever she was now. Sometimes he wonders what she looks like now, and if she knows he has been in and out of the hospital ever since he saw her in the truck. Berkeley and Cleo were best friends ever since they were born and were basically inseparable, but he never knew one note could break his heart. The note now hung in his hospital room after the police department gave up on the case, her perfect handwriting spelled out, “Don’t try and find me. I’m okay I promise.” There it was again, “I promise.” Those two words had no meaning to Berkeley anymore, but for other people, their lives depended on it.
“You said that about the other treatments. How am I supposed to believe you now?” Berkeley snapped.
“Berkeley, we’re trying everything we can.” Nurse Mary grabbed Berkeley’s trembling hand in hers. “We just have to hope.” She stayed with Berkeley until he finished his so-called meal.
“Goodnight Berkeley, get a good night’s rest.” She grabbed the medicine cart and slowly pulled it out of the room, making sure to not hit the door. Berkeley waited for about 10 minutes until he saw that all the lights in the hallway turned off. He quietly walked across the room and picked up the hourglass-shaped remote. The bed absorbed him once he sat down, the remote beeped as he pressed the power button. The TV flashed a red light across the room, words were going across the bottom of the screen. He read, “News Flash: Multiple schools closed due to a snowstorm.” A lady with brown curly hair appeared on the screen with a microphone, a big city was behind her.
“Right now the city of Portland, Maine is covered with snow, and just like the song, it doesn’t show signs of stopping.” She smiled and a screen popped up showing all of the schools. Berkeley’s eyes scanned the screen looking for Portland Middle School, he eventually found it. He ran to the small window, a fresh layer of snow covered the city. One day he would go to school with his friends. One day he would be filled with excitement when they announce school would be off. He would play with the neighborhood kids in the snow while his mom prepares hot chocolate for him. He slowly started to drift asleep as his thoughts consumed him. He has been stuck in this hospital for most of his life. None of the medicines were working, all they did was make him weak and tired. He had to leave, he didn’t know how, but he knew he had to do it. His eyes slowly closed as he fell fast asleep.
The Middle Seat 