Nonstop Halloween

Chapter 2: October 29th pt. 2

I peel my eyes open to reveal a bright, harsh light.
I try to sit up but the pain in my head is killing me.
What exactly happened?
"Sweetie I wouldn't move if I were you." The kind voice of a school nurse says.
" Wait, why am I  here?" I groan.
"Well the janitor found you passed out with a nose bleed in the closet. It's one o'clock now. Can you remember how long you were in there?" The nurse asks.
"Since the end of lunch." I mumble, I'm trying not to focus on the sterile office decor beside me because it reminds me that I'm sort of in a doctor's office which I absolutely hate.
"An hour and a half! Why were you there?" The nurse gasps.
My vision is still adjusting but I think she's new here, I'm used to seeing Ms. Rodriguez. Because I don't know her, I consider my answer, "Um, Cameron Stanford was just screwing with me and pushed me in."
"I'll call him down here." She sighs.

I look at her with serious eyes, "Don't tell him I said anything, just, um, say you saw it on the security camera or something ."
"Got it, also I called your mother but I couldn't reach her, maybe you should try and text or call her. Because you were injured, I mean." She suggests.

"No, I'll be fine. I get beaten up, she's used to hearing it." I blush, "Uh, do you have water?"
The nurse nods and gives me a cup, "Your nose is severely bruised, you're lucky it isn't broken. Oh, by the way, I'm new here. My name is Penelope."
As previously mentioned, I'm freaked out around doctors and nurse, but she's nice and like, twenty-five? What's she doing here? Either way she's actually showing me some kindness and I'd be dumb not to mention how she looks. She's very pristine with perfectly straight hair, in stark contrast to my messy black hair. She leaves again, excusing herself, and calling Cameron down to the A.P. office. The pain is subsiding now and I'm starting to feel better but the anxiety won't go away.

Cameron walks in with a security guard, completely annoyed shoots a violent look my way, causing me to flinch. He hisses, "Did you tell them?" I
I shake my head no.
"Answer me before that bitch comes back." He stares me down.
"It hurts to," I cough for effect, "talk. You pushed me really hard." He knows I'm just trying to mess with him and, yeah, it's not smart, but he's an ass
Cameron gets forced back to principal O'Malley's office right as Penelope returns from and looks at me, "You might not want to go back to class."
"I can't go home my mom can't get off work. I mean I could walk, but if we can't reach her it's pointless." I sigh.
"Just stay here and rest." Penelope smiles.

I close my eyes and remember the incident, replaying every detail, until I remember the one jarring fact that caused this.
"What's wrong?" Penelope is by my side, clearly aware of my stress.
"In the closet, I passed out because I saw a skeleton." I breathe heavily.
"Sweetheart, that was a Halloween decoration." She explains, laughing slightly.
I can feel my face turning as red as humanly possible, "Oh. I uh, you see I...."
"It's okay, Mr. Marks told me about your...predicament." She whispers the last part.
"Did he mention all of them or just some?" I ask.
"Uh, only claustrophobia, the dark, and squeamishness towards blood. Are there others?" She sits in a chair across from the cot where I lay.
"I'm not really getting into it, it's all on file, but the ones involving you would be the three previously mentioned, needles, going to the doctor's, hospitals, death, and injections." I explain. This isn't new to me.

"Most of those are extremely common!" Penelope tries comforting me but it doesn't work.
"Yeah but what about the other thirty-two." I whisper.
"Oh are you panophobic?" She asks.
"What? Uh?" I squint trying to remember what that one means. Is it bears?
"Fear of everything." She answers.
I shrug, "I guess you could say that. Only I was, like, born this way. As I got older they grew or some were added it's just bad."
Penelope nods and in her eyes I can see the pity.
I'm so sick of seeing that look all the time.
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