In the spotlight

41

Sofia Christensen

I exited the huge elevator on the bottom floor and headed straight towards the reception desk. I threw the strap of my huge side bag further on my shoulder, feeling it much heavier on my body than before I got here.

These few days were enough to strap me of my strength; I became very dehydrated before receiving IV fluids and malnourished again since no food was able to stay inside me for long. After the drug was cleared from my body, my condition improved drastically. A few weeks of some extra training in the gym, and I will be back in no time.

The doctors recommended two weeks of bedrest at home before returning to my job. I dreaded the idea itself; I couldn't wait to finally start traveling around the world. Jamie was the only one who convinced me of it, after swearing on everything dear to him that he will find other stuff for me to do within Dior other than modeling.

I stood in front of the receptionist, who became my only friend during my stay in the hospital. I dropped the heavy bag to the floor next to me, which attracted the older lady's attention.

"Hi dear!" She turned her head towards me, her medium-long silver hair falling before her shoulders.

"Hello Martha." I greeted her with a wide smile in French.

"Going home today?" She leaned down under the desk before pulling out a stack of papers, looking through them and signing them on the bottom.

"Finally the day has come." I sighed dramatically, making her erupt in laughter.

"I can believe. Don't forget, however, that you need to rest." She looked up at me from behind her stack of paper, demanding authority. "I like you, but I do not want to see you here again anytime soon, young lady." Her soft scolding drew a small smile on my face.

"I promise you, I am not going anywhere anytime soon." I placed my hand on top of my chest, where my heart was beating, and watched as her facial expressions softened.

"Here you go, love." She handed me over the stack of papers, where I could find everything from my final report to the discharge papers, even my last blood work report. I took them after I thanked her and shoved the papers into my bag on top of the clothes.

"Oh, and don't forget this!" She exclaimed, turning her back towards me while sitting in her chair. After a few seconds of rumbling under the farther end of the desk, she returned with my phone in her hand.

"Two policemen returned it yesterday evening. I charged it for you." She handed it over the counter for me, waiting for me to pick it up.

"Thank you so much." I looked at her gratefully. After another few seconds of saying our goodbyes, I was already standing in front of the huge hospital building, waiting for my taxi.

My curiosity quickly got the best of me, and I unlocked my phone for the first time in 4 days. When I tell you I was flabbergasted, I really mean it. Jamie took over most of my business-related emails and social media accounts during my absence, but it was not nearly enough to spare from overwhelm.

Hundreds of get-well-soon messages swarmed in during this time period, with endless calls and emails arriving without break. Somebody must have leaked out the information that I was hospitalized, and my name was probably all over on the news sites, but I couldn't care less at the moment.

Because I could not find the only thing I was looking for. I spent minutes scrolling through the endless text messages, even on social media and quite literally everywhere. The only name I really wanted to see would not show up, and I felt disappointment creeping up on my back.