Down-Hearted Syndrome

Chapter Four

 I went to school for a little bit today, but I couldn't stay long. I went to two classes, "Special Ed English" and Study Hall.

 Drew escorted me to Dance again, and his hair was very soft. Sadly, I couldn't talk much to Ollie. But, I did get to see him and his 'Squad' preform a routine.

Pretty Hot.

Midway through, a loud voice called over the speaker, saying I was leaving.... Mr. Dean had one of the girls take me down. She was a short girl with a black buzz cut, except it was longer on the top and hung loosely over her left ear. A round pair of glasses sat perfectly on the bridge of her nose, giving her a nerdy-but-adorable-and-cuddly look.

My mom was waiting at the door, a Walmart bag in her hands. "Honey, how are you feeling?" I tried to mumble, but she kept talking, "Dr. Young needs to see you, she needs to check your blood and all that silly stuff.

My mom was a smart woman. She knows I don't want every kid to know when I'm going to get a serious operation done, so she uses the keyword "Silly Stuff" as code for "Probably Chemo."

The hospital Dr. Young works at is specifically for kids like me, those with mental diseases caused by cancer. She's a great doctor, and I like how colorful her office is. As the nurses take me from my mother, they ask me casual questions like, "How is school?" or "Met any cute kids yet?" I never answer them.

Chemo isn't scary anymore. It was at first, but over time, it just felt like a sad hobby.

I fell asleep on the hospital bed, and awoke to the sounds of a beeping heart monitor. I soon realized that a few people were in the room with me, and smiled when Drew's familiar face jumped from the seat next to me. "He's awake!" Two others walked up from the other side, and I practically collapsed when I saw who they were. Beside me, Mr. Dean and Ollie were smiling and had tears running down their faces.

I felt a warm hand squeeze mine, and saw Ollie smiling from above me. He was saying something, but I couldn't quite catch it.

"Sal... You made it."

Of course I did, what does he mean?

"You know, you could probably get super badass robot legs and walk like Terminator-"

I sat up quickly, glancing at my lower body. Both of my legs were gone. Both of them. I felt a tear run down my face, and the room quickly got quiet.

Ollie ran his thumb across my cheek, wiping away tears from my bright red face.

He was right, I could get prosthetic legs. I could walk again.

I could finally take myself to my classes, or sit in a real chair, or walk through flowery fields, or even dance with the sexiest teenager ever, who just so happened to be standing right next to me.

I smiled, tears falling harder down my face. My mom walked in to her legless son crying with all of his closest and dearest people right next to him. I couldn't help but smile even wider when I saw her pushing a wheelchair. But it was different. It belonged to the hospital, meaning I was being taken to a different room.

The room I was taken to was an office. Dr. Young was sitting behind a wooden desk, many prosthetic limbs propped up before her.

This was it.

I might finally walk.