"MA, I just slept over at Tory's." Isabella repeated again, as she walked into West Valley High School late.

"And you didn't think to call or message?" Carmen asked, "I thought something had happened, Belle. You really scared us."

"Sorry, I won't do it again." Isabella said, before noticing Miguel and Robby walking up to her as she entered the cafeteria, "I have to go, Ma, I'm at school." She hung up quickly, before attempting to walk away from her brothers, like she didn't hear them calling her name.

"Belle, where were you?" Miguel asked seriously, "You were driving mom insane last night. She thought something had happened. We called you, like, a hundred times."

"I know," Isabella deadpanned, before attempting to turn around and walk away.

"Wait, wait. Is that it?" Miguel frowned in disbelief, "You turn off your location and disappear for a night, and you appear at school the next day like nothing happened. I know something happened."

"Nothing happened." Isabella shot back, as she walked through the school corridors; her brothers following after her.

"Are you okay?" Robby asked, "Did something happen with Tory because she's not answering my texts either? Did you guys—"

Isabella stopped walking, turning around to face them; she raised her voice, "Nothing happened!"

A few students at their lockers looked around at her, before a teacher approached the three; it was her English teacher, of course. The man cleared his throat, "Miss Diaz, you weren't in class this morning. I'm still waiting for your essay to be completed, or you'll be having to attend Friday's detention."

"Yeah," Isabella rolled her eyes, watching as her teacher walked away.

Miguel questioned curiously, "I thought you said you completed that essay?"

"I lied." Isabella said, before continuing to walk down the corridor.

Isabella walked down the corridor, planning out in her head what the quickest route to the restrooms were; she couldn't spend an entire day here, not after failing to save a life. Her mind haunted her with the memories of last night, as she blinked tightly to shake them away.

As she shut her eyes, Isabella's shoulders bumped into a teenage boy with his crowd of popular friends following him. The popular boy remarked, "Watch your step, crackhead."

Isabella turned to follow him, attempting to storm towards him but her eyes met with Robby and Miguel, who were still behind her. Robby placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her around and guiding her in the other direction, "Nope."

"Get off," Isabella exclaimed, pulling away from Robby's touch, "I don't need you two following me around like fucking babysitters."

"We just wanna know what happened." Miguel repeated softly, "I know you're not okay, Belle."

"Just talk to us," Robby added with a slight smile.

Isabella hesitated, "Nothing. I'm fine. Please, just leave me alone."

She walked away quickly, however Isabella found herself walking towards her science classroom, rather than the restrooms. She knocked on the door, before slowly opening it; her science teacher sat at his desk, luckily she liked this teacher, apart from the masses of homework he set weekly.

"Good afternoon," The man welcomed, as he ate his lunch at his desk, "I hope you're bringing the homework that you owe me today, Belle."

Isabella shook her head, perching on the table opposite him, "No, sorry, I forgot."

The teacher sighed, though he added quickly, "I'll give you an extension. But, I need it handed to me in four days, is that clear?"

"Yeah, very clear." Isabella nodded, before hesitating, "Mr Lane?"

"Belle." The man said, copying her tone of voice; he looked up from his computer screen, munching on his lunch, "What's up?"

Isabella hesitated, "Do you have any books about, like, things I would need to study if I wanted to be a paramedic?"

"Yeah," Mr Lane stood up quickly, almost rejoicing at Isabella's sudden interest in science. He walked towards the shelves of books, "All of these biology books would be useful. I could lend you a few, but I need them back by the end of term."

"Thanks," The girl tried to smile, but her heart was still numb, "Do you think I could get into a medical college?"

"Anything's possible, Belle." Mr Lane reassured, as he piled up the best books that she could take, "To pursue a career in this kind of stuff, you must have completed high school and have a strong academic record, including biology, chemistry, and physics."

Isabella frowned, "But, I'm only just passing science."

"That's because you don't attend my lessons," Mr Lane joked, "If you didn't give up, you'd find it a lot easier." Isabella shrugged. The man asked, "Why the sudden interest in biology?"

Isabella paused, her mind flashing to last night, "Uh, I want to help people."

Mr Lane smiled, "You could always apply to work experiences in a hospital. Maybe, you could get a part-time job along side studying."

***

Instead of training for the fight to win female captain, Isabella found herself at the kitchen table: multiple sheets of paper surrounded her, biology textbooks about the human body, and Miguel's laptop was playing a YouTube video about the cardiovascular system.

Even though she had stopped taking her ADHD medication, Isabella found it incredibly easy to focus when she was fixated on a topic. Her whole body was taken over by one thought, all the time. Every second of every day. Isabella's mind couldn't distract itself from the idea of becoming a paramedic or a doctor; she needed to help people to redeem herself from letting Tory's mom pass away.

"Dinner's ready," Carmen said, "Belle, can you clear up your books so I can set up the table?"

Isabella replied dryly, her eyes still fixated on the laptop screen as she jotted down notes, "Uh, I'm not hungry."

"Well, the rest of us are and we need a place to sit," Carmen explained softly, as she peered over her daughter's shoulder, "Is this for your science homework?"

"Extracurricular." Isabella said, as she scribbled down notes on the page, "Just give me five minutes."

Carmen took a breath, sitting down next to her at the kitchen table, "Are you okay, honey?"

"Yeah," Isabella nodded, still keeping her eyes on the screen, "I just need to focus on this."

Carmen hesitated, trying to smile though she knew something was wrong, "Okay."

Isabella finished writing her sentence before the YouTube video came to an end; she closed the laptop lid and began piling up the books and paper into a neat pile. She asked curiously, "Can I get a job?"

Carmen paused, unsure of where this idea had come from, "Uh, sure. What are you interested in doing?"

Isabella stood up, moving the piles of books to the couch, "Can you get me a job at the hospital?"

"I'm not sure it works like that. You'd have to apply and go to an interview process. At your age, you might be able to get a cleaning job." Carmen explained cautiously, "But, you're going to Barcelona soon. Maybe wait until you're back to decide."

Isabella reasoned, "But, like, can't you speak to your boss and get him to give me a job?"

"Working in a hospital requires lots of experience and work. You'd probably have to apply to a medical college to get a fair chance." Carmen said, as she prepared the kitchen table, "Why? Are you interested in becoming a Doctor?"

"Yeah, I guess." Isabella shrugged. The truth was, Isabella wasn't interested in becoming a Doctor, she just felt like she was obligated to save lives since she failed to save Tory's mom. She opened her front door, meeting eyes with Robby and Miguel who were talking in the front yard, "Dinners ready."

Isabella left the door open, before grabbing her phone from the kitchen table. Tory hadn't replied to her...

ISSY<3
hey, i hope you made it home okay. text me if you need anything. mom's making hamburgers tonight if you wanted to join us x

TORY<3
just made it home now,
thank you but i just wanna be alone atm. thank you for staying at the hospital with me i love you

ISSY<3
no problem
im here if you need anything
are you coming to class tomorrow?
i love you