The Tabi Cat

2. "Take a shower, bud. You stink."

The last week of school, and everything is fucking chaos.

     The teachers give us a crap load of homework to try to teach us something. What kind of senior (other than Sandra) would do homework when they've either been accepted or rejected by the school of their choice anyways?

     And the juniors are acting like little kids because (lucky them) they get to be the top dogs of the school after three short months. Whoop whoop!

     The upside is all of the parties near the last week or so of school. I know for a fact I'm going to a last day of school after party on Friday. Harry, Jaz, Amy, and a couple of my other friends are going too. So I'm really excited.

     Currently I'm stuck in last period library finishing up some college papers. I have to submit an essay for my literature minor and it's taking forever, so Sandra and I have gotten together so she can help me. Right now she's proofreading my work.

     "No, no, no," she reprimands me. "You've used the word 'so' too much. Replace it with 'although' or 'causing' or something of the sort. It's getting on my last nerve." I sigh and rewrite the whole paragraph for the dozenth time. As my pencil touches the paper, the bell rings. I run screaming out of the door, ignoring the look the librarian gives me. I hear a little sigh behind me and Sandra dashes after me.

~=+=~

My stomach. Is. Literally. Murdering. Me.

I double over in pain on the couch at home. To rate it from 1-10, 10 being the feeling of being hit by a truck, I would rate the pain a 9. Tears drip from my face and I scrunch up even more.

I would ask my mom for a pain reliever, but both she and my dad aren't home, and I can't get up. Bowser barks a few times before whining and licking my foot. I smile through the tears and he rests his head on my leg.

You may be wondering what this pain is. It relates to the medicine I have to take to help prevent this pain. I have something called Crohn's disease. I won't get into the technical stuff, but basically it causes the intestines to do something weird and causes anything from dull to extreme pain. I've been put in the hospital a few times from a 10.

It usually occurs in patients from 18 to 35 years old. I got it when I was 10. Since it was such a strange case, the doctors didn't want to say it was Crohn's. Turns out, after a year of testing, it was. My life sucked for a couple of years. The only dietary limitation is barbecue. Ribs, pulled pork, BBQ chicken, you name it, it will give me a 10 pain.

I lay there on the couch for a solid half hour before I feel strong enough to get over the counter medication. I haven't had a pain like this in almost a year. The pill is huge, but I manage it and in a while I'm okay. I text my mom what happened and she said she's sorry and I say it's okay, I'm better now. I wish I had a normal life sometimes.

     My day continues as normal. I watch YouTube, check my Instagram, play Candy Crush. I've changed into lazy clothes, my favorite pair of leggings and the loosest shirt I own, also known as: against the dress code at my school. Dammit. I like this outfit.

     After an hour of lounging around, my brother and dad come home from Cam's karate lesson. He's drenched in sweat but makes a beeline for his handheld gaming device thingy (I lost track of what Nintendo console he has now).

"Nope," my dad says. Cam frowns. "Take a shower, bud. You stink." Cam huffs and throws down his game. I flick his ear as he passed me on the stairs. He tried to ruffle my hair but I dodge him like a boss. When my brother disappears upstairs my dad turns to me.