Millicent, a 21 year old cancer patient at the Morgan Sir Hospital. Being stuck in a building with restrictions of her sickness, nothing has stopped her from her dream of one day living out the normal life of an everyday woman, even with the loss of...
I sit in the guest chair in the corner of my hospital room, the chair my mum and dad would both take in turns each day when I was first diagnosed. Although most of the time they cried into it, spending nights on end, it was nice having them here. Now I barely even see my mother. Dad comes in every Sunday when he has time away from work. I guess because when I was first diagnosed they thought I was breathing my very last seconds every day, now seeming it's been 9 years, I guess they decided to move on with their lives.
It's a new day, I look outside and the loud sounds of rain fill my ears, dark clouds almost convincing me it's 7pm when it's only 7am. I get out of bed and open my drawers to find a swimming costume. I pull out my triangle polka dot bikini and bottoms, undressing as I tie them onto my body. As I step back I look into the full body length mirror. My blonde hair falls onto my face as my body toned and healthy allows me to grin, I have never been so confident in my life. Although the stretch marks cover most of my body, my hips, thighs, inside of my arms and back of my knees... It was something to be proud of. Before this I was almost skin and bone.
I slip on my white converse and throw a towel around my neck. I walk down the hallway as I scan into Penns room, it's empty. Maybe he finally left. I sigh in relief as the stress releases from my body. I make my way down to the "rec centre" where all the trainers, swimmers and gym gunkies go if they are stuck in the hospital. The room smells of chlorine as the air is now humid from the saunas and pool heating. The sounds of splashing, grunting and talking is now locked into this building. As I make my way to the locker room I walk past a room where boxing is trained. I hear grunting and talking. The speaking is familiar but I can't put my finger on it. "10 more go" "Push" "Make sure to take strides through your nose and mouth at the same time" I stop as I view the back of a long haired guy with one boxing glove, the other has two gloves holding up to him. "Hey" I yell out trying to catch their attention. For a second they ignore me as the guy holding the gloves pauses. He scans the room until he is locked onto eye contact with me. The other long haired guy turns around, Penn. "What stalking me now are you?" Penn says as stands with pride. My sarcastic grin makes him soon feel rejected. "Actually, him." I nod my head up as the familiar face stares at me, Penn following my eyes.
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"Noah?" I say with a frown, confused. He chuckles as he pulls of his gloves one by one and jogs towards me. "Millicent!" He says in shock. He pulls me to his embrace, lifting me from the floor as he swings me around. "What the hell" he hesitates scanning my face. "What are you doing here?" He asks. "I could ask you the same thing!" I respond as I nudge his arm. He grins at the ground "Ah yes" "I guess Europe just wasn't for me." He smiles unconfidently. I look at him with raised eyebrows, he knows that I know that wasn't all to the story. Back when I was 14, the year after I was diagnosed, he helped me out with teaching me to gain my strength back. He was assigned to me for two years until his girlfriend of six years had recieved a job offer in England. He came to me for a lot of advice whether he should go with her or not, in the end I convinced him there was nothing to lose, that he should go for it. We built such a strong friendship, he was the best thing that had happened to me since my cancer. Since Jo. "Millie, why are you back here?" He whispers worry running across his face. I pause for a moment, he heard the news when I was cancer free, but not when I had been re-diagnosed. His face drops. He slowly shakes his head as he turns, pacing around the room. My face rests against my chest, staring at the wooden floor as I try hold back the tears. A loud grunt fills my ears as my eyes shoot up to Noah, the boxing bag hanging from the ceiling is now swinging back and forth with great force. He squats to the ground, his back facing me as his elbows rest on his knees with his face in the palms of his hands. He flicks his hat off his head as he stands again. "Noah, I'm sorry" My body is weak as I slump. He turns to me as his eyes at stung with a red colour. "I know" I hesitate. "I should have told you, I know." Noah slowly walks back towards me as he pulls me back into an embrace. "I shouldn't have left" His breath hard on my forehead. "No. You needed to, you have the freedom to explore the world. Don't let me hold you back" I say as I pull him away looking at his scruff on his face. He closes his eyes, shaking his head. He takes a deep breath in as he steps back. The sound of a throat clearing in the background breaks the silence. "So, should I leave for you two to have your little titanic moment here or?..." Penn stands with a smirk.
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Noah rolls his eyes. "You know him?" Noah leans in trying to stop Penn from hearing. "Barely, he's in the room across from mine" I cross my arms. "Tough work this one, could say he almost is giving me as much attitude as you did back in the day" he teases me as he nudges my arm, winking. I chuckle. "Take off your glove, rope climb in 5" Noah says to Penn as he turns around walking back to him. "Rope climb, are you serious? I think you're missing something" he says as he lifts his amputated arm to him. "Nope buddie, that's you." He teases. "I'm only here to help, you'll want to get used to doing challenging things with one arm. It will make things like taking off that glove a lot easier" he chuckles as he views Penn full of frustration, trying to take the boxing glove off. I grin as I walk over to Penn. "Here" I say as I reach for his arm, he rolls his eyes. "Take his advice, believe it or not I was exactly the same when Noah first started training me. Thinking your fine on your own to save your pride sound familiar? Yeah. I had the same thoughts, but you'll learn to appreciate him over time." I look over at Noah as he looks back at me packing his hat back into his gym bag, I wink at him swiftly. I tug on the boxing glove from Penns muscular arm as he grunts to pull it out releasing his hand. "Quick Penn, we have 10 minutes of this session left. Make the most of it, trust me you'll want to" Noah says as he claps his hands. "Alright boys I'm gonna head to the pool, have fun with your rope climbing stuff" I say as I wave quickly to Noah, making my way out the door. "Millie, wait up" Noah says as he throws his towel to the floor and jogs towards me. He leans against the door frame. "What are you doing tomorrow? We should catch up for a drink" he says as he folds his arms and flashes me a quick smile. "Sure I'd love to, I'll let the front desk know so I can sign out." I say folding the strand of hair behind my ear. "Great, I'll come around 7pm?" He says. "Okay, see you then" I smile as I begin to walk again. "And Millie?" He shouts as it echoed throughout the centre. I turn to face him once again. "I'm glad we ran into each other again, I missed you." He smiles as he taps the door frame. I flash him a big grin and turn back around. I feel butterflies build in my stomach, I haven't felt this way in so long. Of course him being seven years older than me, going out for a "drink" was never an option for a 14 year old.
