Because of a Project [Girl Meets World]

Chapter 21

Lucas and I make it over to the ambulances where Sydney and Abby are currently being loaded into them. They don't look seriously injured from where we're standing.

I look over towards the fire, hopeful. I don't see Liam.

Lucas takes my hand in his and together we walk closer to the ambulances. From the corner of my eye, I see Maya and Farkle walking towards us.

When they reach us, I notice how puffy Maya's eyes are. I let go of Lucas and embrace Maya in a hug. Lucas does the same after me.

"Sydney's ambulance looks like it's about to leave," I say. "Are you both going with her?"

Farkle answers. "Yeah. I guess we'll...um...see you there."

Maya and Farkle walk off hand in hand to the ambulance. I turn to Lucas. "Do want to go with Abby or are you going to wait for Liam?"

"I'll wait for Liam. I'll meet you at the hospital." Lucas embraces me in a hug. "Everything will turn out okay. I promise."

I don't respond. I let go of Lucas and climb into the ambulance.

I notice the nurse sitting to Abby's left. She's blonde and very young. She looks as if she has just came out of college.

Abby lay on the stretcher with her eyes open. She's completely alert.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her as the nurse checks for burns.

"I'm okay, Mom. I know you're probably mad at me from running in that house, but I had to save Maya's Mom. I couldn't just stand there watching."

"Abby, that's not your job. Your job is to stay out of harms way." I tell her, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"What if I don't want to just stand around watching?" She asks.

"Then you become a firefighter when you grow up. Or a police officer or doctor. But now, you don't have to jump into fires to save people."

Abby doesn't say anything. There are a few moments of silence before the nurse speaks.

"It doesn't look like you have any major burns. Looks as if there is only a burn on her left hand."

I breathe out a sigh of relief.

"It's not me that I'm worried about," Abby says. "I'm worried about Maya's Mom. She fell asleep in there a few minutes before we were rescued."

I didn't say anything about Katy. I knew she didn't make it through the fire, but I didn't want to upset Abby. It was the nurse that spoke.

"She might have inhaled too much smoke." The nurse looks to me. "Is there any chance you know if the woman had any lung problems?"

"I don't know of any."

"I'll have them run tests when they bring her to the emergency room. If she did have anything wrong with her lungs, it might be why the kids didn't pass out but the woman did. It also could be because of her age."

All I could do is nod.

"I'm sorry," The nurse apologizes. "I'm putting too much on you at once."

"No, no. You're not." That's all I could say.

It takes what seems like hours to arrive at the emergency room. The doors burst open and five or six nurses come and push Abby away. The nurse from the ambulance, however, stays with me. "That daughter you have there is a very heroic one. She's going to make a difference in the world when she grows up."

"And yet all this time I thought she was going to be an author." We share a laugh.

"You're doing this for your high school project, right?"

"Yeah. It's obvious, isn't it."

"Kind of. I did the same project as you when I was a senior."

"You went to John Quincy Adams?"

"Yes I did. I miss that school district."

"Did you have Mr. Matthews as your history teacher by any chance?"

"Yes! Oh, he was my favorite teacher."

"He's my father."

"You must be Riley, then."

"How'd you know?"

"You were just starting middle school when I was his student. He mentioned that he hoped you would enjoy the world and make it your own."

"He's mentioned that to me quite a few times, too."

"Well, I should let you get going. If you need me by any chance, I'm Claire."

"It was very nice to meet you, Claire."

"It was nice to meet you too, Riley. By the looks of it, you're meeting your father's expectations."

Claire jogs off towards the emergency doors. I just down from the ambulance and see Lucas waiting for me by the doors. He must've seen me when he arrived with Liam. I walk over to him.

"Hey Lucas! Guess what I just found out!"

I tell him about Claire as we walk in the emergency room. I leave out the part about what my father said about me.

"That's so cool! Mr. Matthews must have been teaching for a while."

The two of us arrive in the waiting room and sit down next to Farkle  and Maya. Maya instantly rests her head on my shoulder.

I could tell this was going to continue to be a long night. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, hoping to get some rest.