Give me Time

4.

Chapter 4:

Well, now you know.

kinda.

I have to go to the children's hospital quite often. And yes I do go to the children's hospital instead of the normal one because everyone's a lot nicer and it's just an overall better atmosphere I guess... and I'm 16 so technically I'm still a child. Don't judge.

Anyways.

I walk into the hospital and check in at the desk.

"Hey, Carla. I need one suite with a kitchen and-"

"Lyla this is not a hotel." Carla cut me off. Carla is the front desk lady or so you could call her. She's basically always there. She is around her 60s and volunteers here all of the time. She has these big round glasses and pure black hair and to be honest, she looks like that one person from the Incredibles, Edna? Oh well, I don't know her name but she looks like a darker-skinned version of her.

"Oh my bad" I state jokingly and she stares me down a bit.

"So what have you got going on today hun?" Carla asked, giving me her full attention.

"Tests, needles, more tests, more needles, oh and I've got to meet up with Talia to fill out the volunteer forms for this summer."

"Well good luck honey, you'll be a great help this summer." Carla stated as she looked back down at her work.

"Thanks, Carla, I'll see you later." I said as I walked off towards the elevators.

Level 4. ICU & ROOMS. That's where my room is. #433 My second home. After being in a different room every 2 days that I would be here, they decided to dedicate one just for me. But trust me, it's not as crazy as it seems. People actually stay at the hospital in what's called their "Long term facilities". It's mostly for people who can't leave the hospital so I am always grateful I don't have to be stuck here like them.

I walk past the ICU area and greet multiple nurses on my way to the rooms.

I really don't want to do any tests today but it's not my choice and they're kind of necessary.

When I get to my room, I drop my bag off, change into some leggings and a t-shirt, and head out to go to volunteer services.

So now I have to go up to the 8th floor, around to the offices, and go on a scavenger hunt to try and find Talia, the volunteer services manager.

Now you may be asking, "Why does this girl want to spend even more of her time at the hospital when she's already there for more than half of it?"

But that's simply the answer. I'm there A LOT. And now with school ending, I'm going to have to be there a lot more. This also means that I can't do a bunch of stuff with my friends so I need a good excuse. Plus I might as well do something useful in my free time, right?

Right.

So yes, I'm volunteering.

I exit the elevator and make my way into the volunteer resources office.

"Hey, Talia. I'm here to pick up the papers I need to fill out." I say as I walk toward her desk. She's on the phone so she just points to a little stack of papers on the right side of her desk. They have my name on them so I pick them up and mouth a quick thank you before exiting and heading back to my room for a long night ahead of me.

•••

When I go back into my room, my phone buzzes with a text from my sister.

Lexi: Hey little one, you want some company tonight?