Life's A Pain

Chapter 2

Walking in through the front doors of the school was like walking through the gates of hell. Well okay that may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but Kaitlyn thought it was a good comparison, especially as she had to deal with the nasty old lady who worked at the front desk in the office.

"She would be the perfect demon as she sucks the life and joy out of everyone" thought Kaitlyn out loud after she had to argue that her tardy was excused.

"I even had a doctor's excuse, yet she still gave me trouble," she mumbled to herself. Kaitlyn doesn't know how she still has her job, as she is always rude to everyone.

RING RING RING

The bell signaling the end of fifth period rang and people began flooding the hallways. As Kaitlyn was putting her backpack away and grabbing the books she needed for the two remaining classes, she felt a presence behind her.

That presence turned out to be Kaitlyn's best friends Lacey, Blaire, and Ellie. Lacey and Kaitlyn met in preschool and immediately hit it off. First grade was when the duo became a trio as Blaire joined the group. It wasn't until middle school that Ellie became a part of the group, as that was when she moved into the school district.

Kaitlyn was excited to see her friends, despite the fact that she saw them yesterday. Apparently there was news as Lacy was bouncing up and down like a six year old on a sugar high.

"Kait, Kait, Kait, you will never guess what happened!! Brandon asked me to homecoming in front of the entire cafeteria at lunch! Can you believe it?"

If you couldn't guess, Lacy has had a crush on Brandon since the eighth grade. Kaitlyn was THRILLED for her!

"You really should have been there! You always have doctors appointments and miss all of the fun things," said Lacey, making Kaitlyn feel guilty.

"Anyways, how was that all so important doctor's appointment? I mean, was it worth it not being able to see your best friend in the entire world get asked to homecoming by her crush?" Again there was another jab at her doctor's appointment and her health.

Kaitlyn loved her friends. She really did. But sometimes they really just don't understand everything that she has to go through. Comments like those really upset Kaitlyn but she didn't let her friends see her hurt.

Instead Kaitlyn just responded "my appointment went really well! We discussed the new treatment some more and it looks like we are going to go through with it. Dr. Cameron also suggested that I join a support group for teens and young adults who have chronic pain and health issues. My mom should be signing me up about now."

Lacey had a smile on her face when she heard the first part. If the treatment helped then maybe Kaitlyn would turn back into who she was before she got hurt. Her face fell when she heard about the support group. Wasn't she enough?

Lacey has been there for her from the very beginning. Yes she didn't understand what she was going through, but that didn't matter, they were friends.

And yes she got annoyed and frustrated when Kaitlyn couldn't make it because of her health.

Yes she got annoyed and jealous because she got to miss so much school and get extensions and extra time.

Yes she disliked the fact that when it was just her, Blaire and Ellie hanging out the conversation always seemed to drift back to Kaitlyn.

Yes she hated the fact that people would ask Kaitlyn how she was doing while she was being completely ignored.

Yes she thinks that Kaitlyn overreacts a lot and plays the "poor me I'm in pain" and doubts her pain is as severe as she says it is, as she is able to do a lot of things.

Yes she has had conversations and has implied that Kaitlyn has been faking her pain to gain sympathy.

But she was still a good friend.

Right?

"Why would you actually want to go to some stupid group therapy thing? I mean you have me. You have us. It has always been us against the world," Lacey eventually said.

"You know I love you guys very much and appreciate everything that you have done for me, but I think it would be beneficial to meet and talk to other people who are my age and are also suffering from chronic pain. Dr Cameron has never led me wrong so I trust his suggestion."

That was not the answer Lacey was hoping to hear, and it apparently wasn't what Blaire wanted to hear either.

"WHAT ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR YOU FOR YEARS AND YOU WANNA GO OFF AND TALK TO OTHERS AND LEAVE US BEHIND. HAS OUR SUPPORT MEANT NOTHING TO YOU?" Blaire screached.

Blaire was so loud that it was likely that the people in the next county over heard it.

This was not how Kaitlyn envisioned this conversation would go. The guilt began to eat her alive. She loved her friends and did not want to make them feel that she did not appreciate them.

It did hurt though that they were not supportive of her wanting to get help and support from others who were going through the same thing.

"I appreciate everything you guys have done for me so much. I can't ever thank you enough for being my best friends, and nobody could ever replace you guys." Kaitlyn told the group earnestly.

The bell for the start of sixth period was about to ring and Ellie refused to let everyone go to class when tensions were this high.

"You know what? We need to have a girls day this week, and Lacey, Blaire, we need to pick out our dresses for homecoming! And Kaitlyn, I'm sure someone will ask you soon. Is everyone free tomorrow night?" Ellie asked, trying to break the tension.

This seemed to work and both Lacey and Blaire instantly agreed started smiling huge grins. The thought of shopping for homecoming dresses eliminated any thoughts of the argument from their minds.

Kaitlyn was more apprehensive, but did agree to go shopping with them in the end.

"We need to get to class before we are tardy but we can text after school. Okay? Okay. Byeeeeee" said Lacey as she dashed off to class with her last word still ringing out.

This is going to be interesting thought Kaitlyn.

Unbeknownst to the group of girls, there was another set of eyes and ears watching this conversation pan out.

"Well this is going to be interesting" they thought.