Chapter 6 - The Desperate Countdown
Later that afternoon, Max found Chloe waiting by his locker.
"I have two hours before my hospital visit, and I want you to tell me exactly what you need," Chloe demanded, crossing her arms.
Max sighed, realizing that she was far too stubborn to be pushed away again.
He leaned against the metal lockers, the exhaustion of his reality threatening to pull him under.
"Mia needs an experimental bone marrow transplant, and she needs it fast," Max confessed, his voice barely above a whisper.
"The hospital requires fifty thousand dollars upfront because our insurance is worthless."
"If we don't get the money in thirty days, her organs will start shutting down from the aggressive cancer."
Chloe gasped, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.
She came from a wealthy family, where fifty thousand dollars was the price of a luxury car, not the price of a human life.
"Max, that is horrible, we have to do something right now," she said urgently.
"I work a midnight shift at a warehouse, Chloe, I make twelve dollars an hour," Max replied bitterly.
"There is absolutely no mathematical way I can earn that much money in a month, even if I stop sleeping completely."
"We aren't going to earn it by working minimum wage jobs," Chloe said, her mind racing with modern solutions.
"We are going to raise it."
"I am the president of the student council, and I know how to organize an online campaign."
"We are going to start a GoFundMe, we are going to make a video, and we are going to make the entire world see what you did for your sister."
Max shook his head rapidly, the idea of public charity making his pride sting.
"No, I don't want people pitying me on the internet, I don't want to be a charity case," he argued.
"Max, this isn't about your pride, this is about Mia's life!" Chloe practically yelled, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Do you want to keep your pride, or do you want to keep your sister?"
The brutal honesty of her question hit him like a physical blow to the chest.
He closed his eyes, a single tear escaping and tracking down his tired face.
May you like
"Okay," Max whispered, surrendering to her logic.
"Okay, let's make a video."
