Focused

It Might Be More Than That

I walked down a long hall to the girls locker room. I rubbed my palms across my jeans and took a breath. My very first day of high school in Florida. My first class on my first day. Yay. I walked in and smelled deoderant and floral body mist. Girls everywhere changed and looked my way. They all stared and I heard a few whisper to their friends. I stopped at a locker on the end where no one was. I emptied my gym bag and took my gym uniform out and quickly changed into it. I pulled my hair into a sloppy ponytail and made sure to put the lock on my locker. I slowly padded out of the locker room and dreaded walking into the gym. Then Kary stormed out of the gym and grabbed my wrist.

"What are you doing?" She pulled me into the gym earning multiple stares. Yay. More stares. 

"Marley, this is Jessi and Wesley. A too skinny girl stood in front of me. She had a long blonde braid hanging down her back and she smiled at me. A scrawny boy beside her nodded and crossed his arms. He reminded me of a before-puberty Zac Efron. His hair was dark brown and a little greasy at the top. 

"Jessi and Wesley were in my AP Chemistry class last year. They're pretty cool." The girl smiled at that. 

A gym teacher walked in wearing a black and white jumpsuit and Nike tennis shoes. She looked gruff and mean. She blew her whistle and took attendance which seemed like it took most of the class. I was so glad when gym class was finally over. Kary and I walked to our next class together. 

"Hey, I have to go down the hall more. I have History next. " I hugged my books close to my chest feeling like a Chihuahua in the middle of dozens of Great Danes. That was a weird comparison. 

Kary said bye and walked on to her next class. I turned and walked into my AP English class. A lot of the class was people that I had met at the party. Thank God. I sat down behind Carter and he smiled at me. I liked English way more than gym class. 

The day went by and I lost track of how many stares I received. Lunch was just like any other high school's lunch because it seemed as though different cliques had different tables. Kary sat at a table with preppy girls. I stood in the middle of the cafeteria looking around to see where I was supposed to sit. I was sure my enchilada had gotten very cold. Kary turned her head and saw little frozen me standing in the middle. She looked at me and motioned for me to sit right next to her. I sauntered up to her table and sat by her. The girls all looked at me and I introduced myself. They told me their names and I memorized them. I'm really good with names. I met Sara, Holly, Paige, Tiffany, and Riley. 

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The final bell rang later in the day. I wasn't in class. I was in the nurse's office curled up in a ball laying on a weird bed thing. I was freezing. Everything had gone so smoothly earlier and then during my 5th period I felt awful. I got my phone on and turned it on camera. I tried to examine myself under my desk so the teacher wouldn't see. I looked like a ghost. My stomach gurgled and hurt so bad. How? How did everything suck for me? I got a bathroom pass and ended up...getting sick in the handicap stall. I ran to the nurse, so no one would see me and here I am now. 

I stood up and searing pain shot through my head. It felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife in my right temple. The nurse sat at her desk and asked me if I felt alright. I lied and said I was okay. I limped out of the nurses office and made my way to my locker in a crowd of students. I got my bag and found Kary waiting for me by the door. 

"Hey! How was your day?" I straightened up and tried to smile.

"Great!" My voice cracked and of course, that made Kary not believe me. 

"Are you sure?" I quickly nodded and acted enthused about an abstinence poster.

 We got back home and I went upstairs to crash on my bed. I grabbed a bucket just in case I threw up my insides. 

I flopped down and the springs squeaked. Next thing I knew, It was 5:43 in the evening. I had been sleeping for over two hours. I turned over and reached for the bucket. When Kary knocked on my door and walked in. 

"Um I don't think your okay." Just like Kady Heron from Mean Girls thought, 'It was coming up again, word vomit... No, wait a minute. Actual vomit.'

I stopped puking and looked up at Kary. She looked horrified.

"Oh my God. Marley, How sick are you?" She came over and sat by me. If I was contagious, she was totally screwed. 

"I don't know." I sat the bucket down with a clank. 

"You look awful. I'm taking you to the hospital she stood up and made her way to my door. 

"No. I'm fine." I managed to get out before she left. 

"Marley, I'm taking you to the hospital. Last time I saw someone this sick was when my friend's mom had cancer. So, shut up and get up." I tried to smile, but couldn't. What she said had really hurt me. I stood up and felt like I was going to explode. Kary helper me to her car and we quickly drove to the hospital. I didn't throw up once. I was pretty proud of myself. 

We walked into the hospital and I smelled cleaning products and latex gloves. a nurse greeted Kary. The nurse looked at me and shook her head. She directed me to a wheel chair and led me to some weird exam room. 

"How long have you been sick?" The nurse grabbed a clipboard with a smiley face sticker on the back. 

"I just felt awful today. I have been having terrible headaches the past few days, my stomach has been weird, I have been really tired, I have been looking really pale and my muscles have been aching." She wrote what I said down. Kary looked at me with her eyes wide. She got up and put on a mask and a pair of latex gloves. She picked up a small plastic cup with a green lid and handed it to me.

"We need a urine sample and I will have to draw blood." What? Oh no. 

"Why? I probably just have the flu." The nurse looked at Kary then back at me. 

"Go do your business and come back. We'll talk then." I hobbled to a small bathroom in the hall and did as the nurse said.

I handed her the cup and sat down in the chair by Kary. 

"I'll go deposit this." She made her way to the door, but turned around. 

"It's not just the flu, honey. Your urine is green and your skin is yellow. It's not just the flu. It might be more than that." With that, she stormed off and I shivered and looked at myself in a little mirror across from me. She was right. I was yellow and had awful circles under my eyes. I had lost a few pounds too, but I hadn't thought about that. 

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Not sure what to think of this chapter. Please let me know your thoughts! I have a plan for what happens, but not sure I'll go with it.

Read, Comment, and Vote!

-Katie :)