Bully No More

                                                                           Prologue 

"Mr. Romaro?  May I speak to you outside for a moment?"

Crap.  Never good when a doctor asks your parents to step outside.  I've seen enough sob movies to know that much.  I mean, I'm grateful for the end of this three our wait, but still; never a good sign.

"Of course."  My dad stood up.  "Stay here with your sister, Cassie."

My younger sister, Hannah, swung her legs back and forth, her only concern was that the chair was a bit too big.  She had strawberry blond locks with large blue eyes, and rosy cheeks to match.  She looked like a mini version of mom.   She had just turned nine two months ago.

"Alright, mom," I answer.  Really, I had no intention of staying there.  I was going to follow Dr. Hansin and my dad the moment they left the room.  

And, as I promised myself, I started to walk out of the room.  That is, until my sister tugged on my arm and smirked as I looked at her.  

"Cassie, Dad told us to stay here."

Damn.  My sister may look innocent, but she sure wasn't stupid.  She was threatening me!

"Fine.  You can come.  Just stay quiet. Got it?"  I hiss.

"Of course," Hannah said, widening her eyes a bit for effect.

 So, we slipped out of the waiting room and began to walk down the corridor.  It reminded me a bit of what happened today.  A girl in my English class, Whitney, came running around the corner and tripped into a puddle.  She had mud all over, even in the next class.  I sneered at the memory.   I was gonna make that well known.  

When we reached the room, I peaked in and saw my dad and Dr. Harris settling in into two plush chairs.  My sister and I settled down into a comfortable sitting position, peaked around the corner, and listened with utter silence.

My dad looked scared and uncomfortable.  "So?  What did the bloodwork say?"

Dr. Harris looked sad.  She was a pretty woman; dark skin, black hair tied into a neat bun, and warm brown eyes.  Young; probably just got out of medical school.  But her sad expression mad her look older than she really was.  "I heard your daughter complaining you were being paranoid.  Cassie thought that the tiredness, the bruising, loss of appetite was no big deal.  She plays volleyball correct?"

"Doctor, no offense intended, but we aren't here to talk about my daughter's personal life," my dad said stiffly.  "But yes.  She does play volleyball."

 "And she didn't get the bruises until recently know, correct?"

"Yes.  And she began to tire out more too.  Something she never used to do."

"Luckily you caught these signs.  But were these symptoms that brought you to the hospital?"

"No," my dad said.  "She complained of joint pain.  It scared me a bit.  A got both my daughters in the car and came here."

She stared down at the folder  in her hand.  "Your probably wondering what was on the blood test."

My dad leaned in.  "Yes.  I am."

Dr. Harris' eyes began to water.  Her bottom lip trembled.  "Your daughter has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Mr. Romaro.  Cancer of the blood."

Wow.  That came down like a pile of brick.  Not exactly something you want to here when your the star volleyball player and you have a major game tomorrow.  

My dad began to cry.  "Leukemia?  Can you be sure?"

"Yes.  We're fairly certain."

I parted my lips in shock.  I look at Hannah, only to see she was crying to.  

She threw herself into my arms, suddenly sobbing hysterically.  "You can't die Cassie.  Your my sister."

She tried to say more, but they were drowned out by more tears.  She just hugged my close.

When I looked back over at my dad, I saw him dialing a number.  It was probably Mom.  He had called her earlier in the waiting room to tell her where we were.  I think she had a right to know I had cancer.  She'd probably be a bubbling heap of tears to.

For the rest few days, I was shuffled back and forth from the hospital to home, taking tests and getting stuff from home, to the hospital.  I was probably going to be there a while.

Strangely enough, I didn't cry.  I mean, you think I would, because there could be a chance I won't make it through this.  I could die.  Everyone else around me was crying.  Shouldn't I cry too?

But nothing ever came.  Guess I just thought, This is what I get for being a bully.