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CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE? ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄
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Friday 9:00 am
I WOKE UP TO the sounds of a heart monitor and my head pounding. As my vision cleared, I saw that I was lying in a hospital bed with my head on ten; it felt like my heartbeat was in my head. The room was dim and only had one light on, which was near the entrance beside the TV.
Why was I here? The last thing I remember was being at the game; everything became fuzzy after that. I looked around my room to see if Yaslin or Scarlet was there, but it didn't look like it. Slowly I turned my head to the left and saw a tall figure on the side of my bed, sitting and fixing flowers on the side table, as I continued looking I realized I knew who it was, but it was the last person I ever excepted to visit me. Angel Reese.
Angel noticed that I was awake and looking at her, and she had a guilty look on her face as if she was regretting something, "I'm so so sorry. It's my fault. I tried smacking the ball out of a girl's hands, and I didn't have good control like I should've," Angel apologized as she looked at me with regret. I just stared at her as she spoke. My body wouldn't let me. The pain and my anxiety had me in a chokehold, and I wasn't letting go. We stared at each other as she was waiting for me to say something but I wasn't going to.
More voices came into the room. One of them was holding a bag that you use for takeout orders, and I realized it was Yaslin. She set the food down on the same table as Angel's flowers. It smelt good and made my stomach growl, causing me to wonder how long it had been since I ate.
Yaslin smiled brightly, seeing that I was awake, then looked at Angel near me. "Luna's selectively mute. She can only talk to certain people," Yaslin explained to Angel as she came over to me, "it's an anxiety disorder."
Angel nodded, looking like she was trying to understand. "How do you feel?" Yaslin asked while fixing my hair out of my face. I shook my head and couldn't answer her verbally due to the pounding in my head.
"Pain?" my friend asked with a slightly sad look on her face. I nodded at her question.
"I'll go get the nurse; I'll be back," Yaslin announced loud enough for Angel to hear as well.
After Yaslin left, Angel came back over to me but pulled up a chair this time. "Luna, is your name?" she asked, and I nodded my head. My eyes stayed down, refusing to look at her.
"Pretty," Angel smiled. I smiled weakly at her compliment. I wanted to talk to her, but my body wouldn't let me. "I understand you're selectively mute and more than likely in intolerable pain—which, again, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking about if the ball could've hit somebody.."
Yaslin came back with the nurse causing Angel to stop talking as the nurse gave me pain medication probably from whatever Yaslin had said, I just hoped it was strong enough to let me rest. I looked around the room and seen a few gifts on a table near the window, Teddy bears, cards, and flowers sat untouched. The flowers were pretty but smaller than the ones Angel put beside my bed. My eyes wondered over to the flowers on my bedside table, I slightly turned my head to get a better look at them in a large vase filled with oriental lilies, white lilies, and pink roses. They were the prettiest flowers I had ever received. I didn't want to seem biased, but they were better than any of the flowers on the table combined. I raised my hand slowly as my fingers grazed the soft petals of the flowers.
"Do you like them?" Angel asked as the nurse checked my vitals. I nodded my head, continuing to admire the flower arrangement. Did she buy these or actually make the bouquet? I was so focused on the flowers that I didn't see my cheer coach enter the room.
"Oh, thank god you're awake," My coach sighed in relief. Did she think I was dead?
"She's going to be okay, but Luna does have a serious concussion. We're going to keep her another night just to make sure her symptoms don't progress and get worse," The nurse explained. The room was quiet but expected; I looked at everyone surrounding my hospital bed and wanted to laugh. How the hell did I end up in this predicament, and when were the pain meds going to kick in?
"What about school, and cheer?" Yaslin asked nervously, I knew she didn't want me to fall behind on my studies and understood how much cheer meant to me, even missing it for just a day would take a toll on me.
The nurse sighed lightly, "Rest is very important right now, physical and cognitive. Luna should stay home for at least four days and complete rest. After the four days, if she feels like it, she can attend classes but still needs to limit physical exercise for a week."
My eyes widened at the last part. I can't cheer for at least a week. Yaslin held my hand. "It's okay. We don't do anything new until you can come back," she said, trying to reassure me, but I was still in shock.
"Luna, do you remember what happened?" my coach asked me. I shook my head. The topic was on my mind, and from what Angel said, I felt like I had a slight idea. Yaslin and my cheer coach glanced at each other and then at Angel, who looked stressed.
"We can talk about it later," Coach nodded before smiling at me softly. So it was something Angel did. I couldn't remember what Angel fully said when she apologized, but I understood from her facial expressions and body language that it was an accident.
The nurse brought Yaslin and our coach out of the room, probably to talk about serious stuff, leaving me in the room with Angel. She looked like she hadn't slept as she zoned out, still sitting beside my bed. I wanted to do something to show Angel I wasn't mad at her, but as the painkillers started to work through my body, I began to feel tired. I didn't try to fight the sleepiness and gave in to it as I drifted off to sleep.
