Watch Your Temper

Chapter Nine: Severe Sunburns and Cruddy Cottages

        I bit into the fresh strawberry. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and stared off into the distance. Glancing at the notebook in my lap, I picked up the pencil and began to scribble random shit. 

I grabbed another strawberry from the bowl in front of me and tossed my notebook to the side. I folded my arms beneath my head and laid down on the soft grass.

The next thing I knew, I was asleep.

+++

        "Temper! Temper! Oh my God!"

Slowly, I opened my eyes. My head was throbbing and my vision was blurred. "Wha... what's going on?" I murmured, shielding my sensitive eyes from the sun.

"Temper! Oh, thank God you're okay! I thought you were dead!"

"Okay, George, calm down! I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be...?" I asked, sitting up. George looked at me like I was crazy, then the frantic look in his face returned.

"All that sun must have roasted your brain cells! Mom, help me! Temper's brain-dead!" he screamed, waving his arms about like a maniac.

I laughed, and looked up at the guy I was supposed to be hating. "George, didn't you pay attention in biology? You can't be brain-dead and still be alive and talking!" I explained, using hand gestures for emphasis.

"Mom! Help me, HELP ME!" George kept screaming, ignoring my comments. Out of nowhere, Mrs. Arbing appeared, a wild look in her eyes and concern crossing her elegant features.

"Georgie, oh Georgie, what is it?! Are you okay?!" she cried, wrapping him in a hug.

"No! Er, yes, I'm fine! But Temper! Look at Temper!" he demanded.

Quickly, she pried herself out of the hug and stared at me. Her jaw dropped as I sat there sheepishly, a lazy smile on my face.

"Call an ambulance!" she yelled, and cried out for my mother and... father  to come.

Both of them appeared in a split second, and I stood up and walked away from the group, not wanting to be anywhere near my so-called dad.

"No, no, no! Honey, Temper, you need to stay here! You are seriously sun-burned! I think you might have sun stroke!" Lauren exclaimed, signalling for me to sit back down.

Come to think of it, I was feeling a bit light-headed and sleepy. I swiftly obeyed and thought how stupid I was to just fall asleep out in the middle of a sunny meadow with no sun screen on. Typical Temper.

Pretty soon, a pair of EMT's were there, hovering around me with hushed voices and looks of sympathy.

"Well," one said after a few minutes, "I've seen worse."

Was that supposed to be comforting, or...?

"It's unfortunate, because summer just started. With a sun burn as serious as this, you'll need to stay indoors for a while. The burn should start to fade within a few days, maybe up to two weeks. Just stay cool, and keep hydrated."

I nodded.

"You'll have to come with us to the nearest hospital for a while, just to be further examined. Then we'll send you back home with some special lotion and medicine," the other guy pitched in.

I groaned and stayed super still as they loaded me onto a stretcher and into a truck.

Great.

+++

        For the next hour or so, I was being poked around with medical devices and random doctors. Finally, I could head back up to the cottage with a painful sunburn and a warning.