Even the Atoms Sparked

Chapter 2

The next day started the same as most others. I went through my morning routine checking for any new pains or signs of infection, stretching, performing light exercises, jamming to a few songs before my dad told me to keep it down, the usual. Except this morning I felt lighter, happier. My therapy appointment was for noon, so I figured I'd do something nice for Evelyn while I had time. I went through an emo-punk phase back in my early days of high school and still had my old Spotify playlists. I took a guess at what songs suited her and threw together into an eleven-hour compilation titled "Evelyn's Punk."

I was in the middle of deciding whether or not to include Weezer on the list when my dad knocked on my door. Normally I'd be irritated at myself for not watching the time, but my mind was too excited to care. I hurriedly saved my progress and closed my laptop, reaching for my crutches as soon as I was up.

"Slow down son, I've never seen you rush to go to therapy."

"I'm just ready to go is all." I hopped my way across the living room, opening the door. Sunlight bathed the living room, and I glowed in its warmth. "I've got a feeling I'm getting some good news is all." I shrugged my shoulders trying to play off my excitement, but I was obviously failing miserably.

"That girl's going to be there, isn't she?" My dad fumbled with his keys as he locked the door. "What's her name? I don't remember."

"Evelyn," I said with a bit more force than I intended.

He ignored the slight outburst and helped me into the car, "Yeah, her. Just remember to be smart. I know how easily you lose yourself when you get caught up with girls; I'd rather avoid a repeat of the last one if we can."

"Oh god, not this again. Being smart only gets you so far," I smartly remarked. "It's wisdom that takes you the rest of the way. Experience is key, and Anna was most certainly an experience; she taught me a lot. But see, I do have some!"

The car's engine burst to life, and we backed out the driveway. "True as that may be, one poor experience doesn't constitute wisdom. A wise man would understand that poor decisions are not limited to one type of consequence."

With that I stayed quiet because I knew he was right, but I wasn't going to let our debate sour my mood. My headphones blasted in my ears, drowning out my thoughts until we reached the clinic.

*

"Oh-ho look who it is. Good to see you again my peg-legged friend! How're you feeling today?" As soon as I walked in the door, Evelyn greeted me, all smiles.

"Hey Evelyn! Geez, let me sit down before I have to answer such a difficult question. It's tough crutching all the way from the parking lot, don't y'know?" I laughed and sat down on one of the many folding chairs.

"Actually, I don't know. I'm the one with the missing arm, not the crippled leg. Also, I'm curious, is crutching a word or did you just make that up?"

"I'm not sure, I was just wondering that too."

"Well, don't think too hard about it. The way I see it, two people have used it in a sentence. According to Webster or whatever his name was, I'm pretty sure that automatically classifies it as a word! It's been used commonly enough now to fit into the English language! We should spread the word... Literally."

I rolled my eyes at her pun. "You're such a dork, Evelyn. I love it."

"L–o–v–e or L-u-v," she spelled out.

"Shut up," I giggled.

Sarah walked over from her desk, interrupting our banter. "Hey Lewis, good to see you! I hope Evelyn isn't keeping you from your exercises."