“Yeah?”

“Come with me please.”

With her hand on my shoulder, she begins to guide me towards the office. When we get there, she gently pushes me to sit down in a chair in front of the receptionists’ desk. She pats my shoulder before going to speak with one of the receptionists. They talk quietly and the receptionist leans over to sneak a look at me.

“Mason Grey?” The heavyset receptionist called staring at me with tired brown eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Your mother is coming to pick you up.”

“What? Why?”

“She said that they are worried about you. That you were supposed to stay home, but you just wandered off.” She shrugged

“It’s Tuesday.”

My brain was feeling a bit foggy from what just happened, and I couldn’t process what I wanted to say. They nodded at whatever I did say, although they looked like they couldn’t care less. I was so tired when my mom came, but I didn’t want to sleep. In the car, I can feel her staring at me every other minute, off and on.

When we get to the house, we just sit in the driveway for a minute. I unbuckle my seatbelt as the doors unlock, but I hear them lock again. I let go of the seatbelt and turn to look at my mom. She is watching me, with soft eyes.

“Mason-“

“I’m fine.” I rush out, because I already knew what she was going to ask

“Ok,” She nods, but she never looks away from me, “I thought we agreed that we were going to stay out of school for a while.”

She keeps watching me, and I shrug because we had agreed on that. I hadn’t planned on going to school when I first woke up. “It’s been a week.”

“It has. But it’s- you’re not looking so good.”

“I just haven’t been sleeping well. I’m fine.”

She nods again and gives a really understanding look. She grips the steering wheel and bites her lip. “We still want you to stay home for a little while longer. Just to be sure.”

“Ok.”

I reach for the handle again, waiting for her to unlock the doors, but she makes no move for it. I sit back in my seat, and she gives a long sigh and a wary smile.

“Are you still okay to go to the funeral Friday?” 

-

That Friday was a mess of emotions. The funeral took place in a church that I’ve never been in. My family weren’t very religious and being inside the church made me feel weird. People were crying, and the ones who weren’t were trying to console those who were. Some people who were at the wake the other night, hadn’t shown up to the funeral. My family were sat next to the immediate family, and we had a full view of the open casket. They were the first to come in, and they let us come in after them.

When it came time for them to view the body, Mrs. Sheryl broke down. I didn’t want to see the body, that wasn’t Tasha in there anymore. Mrs. Sheryl was so distraught that Mr. James had to give the eulogy that she wrote. They asked if anyone had anymore words or stories about Tasha’s life to share, and I could feel eyes on me again. I probably had more stories than anyone else here.

“Did you want to share Mason?” Mom whispered

I shook my head and continued to stare down at the carpeted floor. I was focusing hard on keeping down the emotions I felt. If I went up there and talked about how Tasha was, then I wouldn’t be able to control it anymore.

At the end, the family lined up outside next to the door, giving thanks to those who showed up. Mr. James grips my hand tight and covers it with his other hand.

“Thank you so much for being here and being there for her.” He says and Mrs. Sheryl leans over with a small smile.

“Please, if you’re willing, come to the repass.”