Adopted by Heathers: The Sequel

Hospitals Don't Seem So Scary Anymore

Tomorrow, I would be discharged from the hospital and on my way home. And I could not be more excited. With no physical therapy appointments or any major treatments scheduled today, I had virtually nothing planned to do today. Which is why Elle asked my doctor if I could go to the hospital playroom to meet some other kids.

Now, I was pretty sure there would be no kids my age there. Maybe some kids a little younger, or maybe some siblings around my age. But I took Elle up on her offer anyway, maybe because I was bored out of my mind being here.

As I entered the playroom in my wheelchair, I gasped. This place looked nothing like a hospital. I noticed kids talking to each other, younger teenagers singing karaoke in the corner, and very young kids making some kind of sculpture out of clay on a table in the middle of the room.

If I'm being totally honest, I felt a bit out of place being here. I was probably the oldest person, if we're being real. But maybe not.

A blonde girl with a name tag gasped and ran over to me. She giggled slightly and said, "Hi! I'm Juliana! What's your name?" Juliana was tall, and looked to be about my age, maybe slightly older.

"Hey. I'm Catlynn, but I go by Cat. Are you a patient here?" I asked. I was dying for her to say yes. Juliana giggled a bit and said, "I used to be! I had a bunch of problems with my legs when I was younger, I was in a car accident. But now I've recovered and I'm volunteering here! I'm in my first year of college! How old are you?"

"Just turned 16 a few months ago. And it's funny you mention car accidents, that's the same reason why I'm here." I said. Juliana gasped a little and scribbled something on a piece of paper.

"This is my phone number. I usually don't give it out to people here, but you're the closest person to my age that's come in a while. And we've been through the same stuff. We must be friends." Juliana said. I tucked the paper in my pocket and grinned.

"Alright!" Juliana said, handing me a blue name tag which I wrote my name on. "Let me introduce you to some of the other volunteers."

She pointed to a girl in French braids building blocks with a group of toddlers. "That over there is Ami, she wasn't a patient, she just needs this for college credits. She's going into the education field."

Then, she pointed to a loud girl in glasses with short brown hair. that was singing karaoke with older kids. "That's Veronica, but most of us call her Veru. She just wanted to do this for fun, I guess. She likes kids that aren't her younger siblings." Next to her was a girl blowing bubbles but getting the solution in her hair. "That's Cee. She works at Wendy's usually but wanted something to do in her spare time."

Juliana pointed to a brunette who seemed to be organizing a show-and-tell. "That's Lex. She enjoys musicals but didn't get cast in the community theater show."

Finally, Juliana pointed to a blonde kid with glasses reading a book to a group of toddlers. "That's Emi. They like children. That's it."

I nodded and Juliana said, "Gotta go, Cat. You seem cool, talk to you later!" The girl named Veru waved at me in the middle of changing the karaoke song, and I waved back.

Instead of interacting with the kids my age, my eyes were drawn to a girl in light brown pigtails who couldn't look older than five, clinging to her mother and crying. I moved my wheelchair closer to the girl, and I could overhear what she was saying.

My ears perked up at the words "blood transfusion" and I gasped. This girl was just like me. Despite me not being a volunteer, I made my way over to her and said, "Hey. Between you and me, I know exactly how we feel. And kids like us- we're special."

The girl nodded, saying nothing. I looked down at her hospital bracelet and saw her name.

Vincent, Phoebe M.

Phoebe Vincent. The girl's name is Phoebe.

I smiled at Phoebe and started to wheel away, then I heard her say, "Wait!" and run over to me.

I smiled at the girl as she hugged me the best she could. She pulled away and I said, "I'm Catlynn."

"Cat Lynn?" Phoebe asked, pronouncing my name as two words. I was about to correct her, but this girl was young so I let it slide.

I smiled and said, "Yes. What's your name?" I already knew her name, but I just wanted to ask her.

"Phoebe." she said quietly. I nodded, and then my phone vibrated. It was Elle.

Come on back to your room, Sunshine. Your doctor wants to talk to you.

I shot Elle a quick text back then wheeled out of the room. I smiled at Phoebe, then Juliana waved at me, mouthing a "I'll text you later." as I headed out.

_____________

Elle was talking to the doctor outside as I approached my room, writing something down on a pad of paper. I assumed those were discharge instructions. I smiled at her, bored, but decided I would try something.

I slowly managed to make my way out of the wheelchair and stand up. I felt a little weak on my feet, but I managed to steady myself. Then soon enough, I took a step.

I was walking for the first time since August.

"Mom?" I asked Elle, leaning against a wall. Elle turned towards me and screamed with excitement, crying.

"SUNSHINE!" Elle screamed, about to run to hug me but stopping herself. Happy tears were streaming down her face.

"Are you proud of me?" I asked. Elle wiped some of her tears away and said, "That...what just happened...made me happier than when I adopted you."

AN: Whoo, longer chapter than anticipated, but we have some credit to give! First, those volunteers in the hospital were based off of my Discord friends! Cee is kirissoda- Emi is bi-bi-ry , Veru is verunica-soysauce , Lex is @lexfromcatering, and Ami is @itsamusical9 . Also, TheatreGeek1011 and I are drafting Phoebe together, she will be featured in a new book of Lila's! Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!