She didn't get enough sleep last night, because she was up with cramps— even though she took Tylenol before going to bed. It never worked for her during the day, and not really at night either, but at least she was able to fall asleep faster with the painkillers in her.
Linda really didn't want to go to school that day. She wanted to stay home and cry. She had a feeling her mother wouldn't let her, and her father would just say she was being a baby and couldn't function in the world like this. Didn't he get it? She functioned fine every time she got cramps; it was only in the privacy of her own home did she let herself breakdown.
She drove herself to school, listening to the peppiest radio station she could find. It didn't help her mood at all, Especially since the seatbelt was pressing against her stomach uncomfortably.
She greeted her friends with a fake smile. Luckily, they were teenagers and everyone was always tired in the morning. For the first two classes, no one asked her how she was doing. She stuck it out for a long time, relieved she wasn't called on to read or go to the board to diagram a sentence. She was sure as soon as she opened her mouth, she'd start crying.
Ten minutes into her history class, Linda raised her hand. "Mr. Bates? Can I go to the office? I have a headache."
"Go ahead."
She swallowed and walked out, treading the two flights of stairs to the office. She dug her short nails into her palm while having a death grip on the banister. This wasn't normal, Linda knew that. She shouldn't be wanting to fall over. She shouldn't have a hard time walking or standing or even breathing!
She swallowed the tears again before walking into the office. If it was her old school, they'd ask her if she had a headache. (She had been a frequent patient coming in with headaches. She was just glad she didn't throw up from them anymore).
"Can I have some Tylenol?"
The nurse nodded and stood to get some from the cabinet.
"Uh, I took some Midol before I left for school." She didn't even know why she took it. Midol use as useful as a broken umbrella. "Can I take some Tylenol now?"
The nurse shook her head, and Linda swore she was about to puke right then and there. Maybe if she had, she'd have gone home, like she wanted.
"Okay," she forced a smile, mad that she was so good at it. "Thank you."
She took a detour to her locker and quickly ate the cosmic brownie she kept in there. (She restocked her secret stash every day, and always took what she didn't eat back home. She wasn't a gross boy).
She wiped her mouth and told herself to focus on history.
**********
By lunch, she was just about ready to die. She hadn't seen Danny all morning, like she usually did. He'd always come and say hi to her while she gathered her books. Maybe he had been busy that morning, or maybe he was sick. It'd be just her luck if he was sick today. The one day she needed him most, and he didn't seem to be here.
She folded her arms on the table and rested her head on them. She grabbed her skin with her nails, hoping that mild pain would distract her.
"What's wrong?"
She actually cried when she heard that voice. "Danny!" She lifted her head and saw him looking concerned.
"Are you crying?"
"No," she said angrily, rubbing at her eyes. "I can't cry."
"You look like drank some bad milk."
"I'm okay."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded. She was glad Danny was here, but she didn't feel like talking. Even that felt like it took too much energy.
"You don't look too sure."
"Just gimme the brownie," she sort of snapped, holding out her hand.
"Okay..." he reached into his lunch bag and dropped the brownie in her hand. "Jamie wanted to add M'n'Ms to it."
"Perfect. More chocolate."
"Ohhh, you're..." he didn't say it, only took out his brownie. "Here, take mine too."
"Thank you."
"That's why you look like you're about to fall over."
She nodded pathetically as she slowly chewed her brownie.
"If you're in that much pain, you should go home."
She stared daggers at him. "This school doesn't let you go home unless you've got a fever, you're puking, a limb is hanging off, or you're profusely bleeding."
"But you are profusely bleeding. Don't you lose like a gallon of blood every month?"
She snorted and started to laugh, even though that hurt too. "I knew you could make me feel better."
He smiled in that adorable way of his before looking into his lunch bag. "What did you bring? I brought turkey on rye."
She gagged, "I hate rye. I think I brought a ham and cheese. You can have it if you want," she plopped the bag in front of him.
"What'll you eat?" He asked, peering into the bag.
"Brownies."
"Alright, cheddar cheese and sour cream chips!" He opened them, "these are awesome."
She smiled despite her gloomy mood. How come no one told her Danny Reagan was this adorable?
********
She was lying on her bed, engaging in her "temporary miracle cure" that consisted of chocolate milk and a heat pad cranked all the way up. She had finished her homework and hadn't eaten much dinner. She was in pain, but she made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting; she had already eaten two. Maybe she'd bring two for Danny tomorrow.
Her phone rang, and despite not wanting to talk, she picked it up. It was ten thirty, and she wasn't allowed on the phone past ten. Stupid rules. "Hello?"
"You sound worse than you did at lunch!" It was Danny's voice, which made her smile a little bit.
"It's worse at night."
"I can't imagine how bad that sucks. I mean, first you have to feel all that blood coming out, and there are apparently blood clots sometimes? I don't know, but that sounds absolutely horrifying—"
"I'm not allowed to be on the phone this late. What did you want to tell me?"
"I wanted to see if you felt better. But clearly you don't, so feel better. I hope you sleep good. Eat lotsa chocolate, and I'll see you tomorrow at school."
"I love you," Linda said sort of cutting him.
"I love you too. I'll let you sleep now. G'night."
"Good night." She put the phone down once he hung up. If she didn't marry him in the future, she was going to yell at God.
