A long way there

Chapter one

There's a bell that you ring when you get cleared to leave. I have seen dozens of people ring this auburn rusted bell. Each time I watch these people walk towards the bell with the joy of being able to leave this morbid place, it makes me want to ring it even more Each time.

 One month before

"are you serious , andrew" bethany asks. "what type"daniel said. "Are you going to die" I heard another say." What about the band" " are you still going to come to school everyday" . Yes.lung cancer.i don't know. I'll quit.no. These are just some of the stupid questions I've heard since the day I told my friends. I guess things really spread when your a teenager with cancer. On the inside and the out.

" Mom,iam home" I shout as I walk through the door of my house. "oh Andrew your home" my crazed mother mother walks into the hallway to greet me. She's holding a cloth and wiping her hands. " how was school" she seems worried. "Okay I guess, i mean everyone knows now" I reply. " well they were going to find out some how, I guess it would be better coming from you yourself." She says starting towards the kitchen again. " iam making dinner, are you hungry" " no I think iam just going to go to bed iam pretty tired" . I am not going to bed. "okay honey, remember you have an appointment tomorrow morning at 11:30". I can see she is doughtfull of me actually going to sleep. I guess she she just wants me to be happy now , she'll do anything For me now.

I climb up the stairs to my bedroom. I enter my room and get a whiff of my favourite colone and a bit of sweat. Pleasent. I sit on my bed and it creaks as my weight plunges on to the old springs of the mattress. I kick shoes and socks of and nudge them aside. I walk straight towards my window and quietly creak the window open so my body can fit through. My favourite place to be, the old train station. It has been out of business since before I was born and ive been going since I was 11. It is my happy place, where I can think. I study, do my homework, and just sit there glaring into the night sky. This is where iam going. I trek down the side walk , I pass many house until I notice iam still bare foot. It's too late to go back just for shoes. Once I meet my final destination I go right to my spot. On the old rusted tracks exiting the station. I love being here. I've only ever brought one person here before, it was a huge mistake. Long story. I start to doze off thinking about my new life in the hospital, my doctors told me last week that its getting worse and that iam going to have to stay in the hospital for a while.

i awake to my mom shaking me yelling my name. " Andrew , don't you ever do that again I thought you were dead.you could have given me a heart attack, when I tell you to wake up you wake up, is that clear.?" " yes mom, iam sorry I guess I was just really tired." I say not noticing the time , it's 12:00. " did we miss the appointment?" " no I rescheduled it for 1:00. So get ready" you can tell my mom is annoyed. " do I need to pack" I say hopeful for a no. " yes" my mom says leaving my room.

on the drive to the hospital we pass the train station and I start to think if last night was the last night where I will sneak through my window to enter my sacred ground. I never even got to say goodbye.

we arrive in the hospital parking lot and pass the emergency entrance . I've been in there before it was the time when my lungs first filled up. My mom was more devastated than me when we found out . She even turned to me and asked if I smoked. That's when the doctor explained that lung cancer can be caused by other things than smoking. When I see my doctor , her name is Sarah, as I enter the morbid place I guess will be my new home for a while, my heart starts to race and I can practically hear it. Ba-boom ba-boom Ba-boom. My mom looks over at me and can tell that something's wrong and asks if iam alright. I start to see brightly coloured spots and feel dizzy I know that iam going down . I see my mom yell for a nurse and my doctor reaches out to catch me as I tumble towards the cold hard ground.

" Andrew! Nurse, he's awake" my mom yells. My doctor walks in insread of my nurse. " how are you feeling? Don't worry It's normal for this to happen ecspecially for your case. Practically moving into a hospital can be strange and nerve wracking. I already explained to your mother that everything is okay." She says looking me right in the eyes. " is he okay to get up and Un pack a bit of his stuff." My mom asks. " yes definately ". doctor Sarah replys.

after i I finished unpacking I climb back into my hard hospital bed. I start falling asleep and I look into my doorway and I see my doctor looking in.