Drops of rain hit the car window in front of Ella as they soared down the freeway, which was oddly empty. Her mother had decided to sit in the backseat and cling to her daughter, but Ella only stared ahead of them, trying to take in the views before they were gone only twenty-two hours later. Even simple things, like the lines on the road, would be gone too soon.

"The check-out process for that doctor's office sure took a while, didn't it?" said her stepdad, appearing to try to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, sure," Ella responded. A couple of birds flew by her window.

"It's not contagious, so we have to take you back to school."

She didn't respond. She saw her reflection in the window. Her hair was marred by even more gray streaks than before. Soon enough, they reached her school and she got out of the car, where two of her friends were waiting in the schoolyard under table-umbrellas.

The small puddles on the ground bathed her shoes in the cool rainwater as she walked over to them.

"Ella!" said one of them. "What happened? You were rushed out in an ambulance after that fit of coughing and nobody told us anything. Jordan was practically begging me to help her chase after you."

Jordan glared at him. "What Kel meant to say was that he kept telling me to text you as much as possible." Ella pulled out her phone and saw the slew of messages that she'd missed from the group chat.

"Nothing's wrong," she said quickly before returning her phone to her pocket. "What's new?"

"That gray, girl," Jordan pointed to her hair. "That's not normal, is it?"

Ella sighed. "There's no use in hiding it. The doctors can't find out what's wrong with me, only that I'm going to die tomorrow afternoon."

Kel and Jordan looked at her and laughed. It felt almost insulting, but soon the laughter stopped when they noticed her lack of expression.

"You're being serious," Kel said grimly. She nodded and put her head down on the table. She felt Jordan rub her shoulder in a dry attempt to comfort her.

"I'm not sure what to say," muttered Jordan. "It can't be real. And you have to sing at church tomorrow for the midweek service."

Ella picked her head up from the table. "That's right." She sat up straight.

"Life can take awake my life, but I can use my voice one last time."

"We'll be there," said Kel with a smile.