Friends Till The End

Chapter 1 - Bridgette

I hated hospitals. I hated the way the doors slammed and it echoed down the hallway with a deathly silence. I hated the way the walls were unnaturally clean and white which made the place look like a dead man's hotel. And I absolutely hated the smell of disinfectant that was obviously used to cover up the smell of dying people.

But today I was sitting in the waiting room, freezing to death, and more nervous than anyone could imagine. I couldn't stop moving; whether it was moving my feet up and down, shaking my knees and feet or chewing my fingernails, I couldn't sit still.

My breathing became short and sharp. My palms started to sweat. A tall man in a white coat appeared from behind the corner. He wore shiny black shoes and long black pants. Why couldn't doctors wear a T-Shirt and sneakers. Maybe people wouldn't be so afraid of them when they didn't look like they were going to stick a huge needle into your throat with a beaming smile on their face and say, "This isn't gonna hurt at all."

Geez. I am starting to sound like a sooky little child. I'm not. I am a fully grown, 30-year-old woman. When I looked up, all the patients in the room, a total of 2, were looking at me. One had a backward bent arm and he'd been waiting here so long he wasn't even crying, and the other had a huge cut running down her eyebrow, and looked it looked like if she did cry, she'd make it worse. I finally realised that the doctor was calling my name.

"Is Bridgette Jackson here? Final call for Bridgette Jackson." As I got up, I almost fell. I was so nervous, I felt faint. I followed Dr White Coat down the hall and sat on a chair in his office. I peered at the name plate as he shook my hand. His name was Dr Blakk. How reassuring!

"You may want to take a seat, Miss Jackson. Do you have a parent or partner I could call to come in with you?" This made me even more nervous.

"No, I don't have a partner and mum and dad are at work."

"Do you have their number? You may want them to be here."

"Can you please get it over with? I don't have all day." I said this as strongly as I could. I didn't feel brave though. I was petrified.

"Ok. There is a good part of being a doctor. The feeling when you get to help people. But there is also a bad aspect. When we must deliver devastating news to people that you can't, no matter what you do, you just can't save them."

"What are you saying, Dr Blakk?" I began to cry. I could see through my blurred vision that he was too.

"Miss Jackson, that lump on your breast, its cancerous."

"Can't you just cut it off? Can't you..." my voice trailed off as I was bawling my eyes out.

"I'm sorry, Miss Jackson. But it is Stage Three Breast Cancer. You have six months to live."