Emma: Seventh Grade

Chapter 45: Difficulties

"Oh, so you got a feeding tube?" Joee said to Emma in a slightly condescending tone of voice as Emma followed Joseph into the day room, pulling the IV pole containing the bag of her feedings with one hand and holding her pants up with the other hand.

Emma said nothing and looked at the ground in shame. She despised the long, slender tube that was taped to the tip of her nose. Melissa had started the feedings, so now she had to drag an IV pole with her wherever she went. Melissa had told her that she would start off slow with the feedings, but Emma was already feeling bloated and nauseous from them. And now Joee was judging her for having the tube, which made Emma feel even worse.

"Joee, be nice," Joseph chided. "You were in here last year with one, remember?"

"Yeah, whatever," Joee mumbled, flipping her tangled, brown hair up on the top of her head and, using a hair tie on her wrist, put it into a messy bun.

"Alright, let's get the game out," Joseph said, taking a seat at the table.

Emma reluctantly followed as she watched Joee reach into the cupboard and pull out a game of Jenga. Joseph had somehow talked her into coming down to the day room to play Jenga with him and Joee. Emma did not want to play, but Joseph promised her that it would only be fifteen minutes, and if she still wasn't enjoying herself, she could go back to her room. That was the only reason Emma agreed.

"Sit down, Emma," Joseph encouraged, pulling up a chair for her. 

Emma obeyed, carefully parking her IV pole beside her. She felt her pants slide down a little bit as she sat, but she was certain that the back of the chair covered her butt.

Joee finished setting up the tower of wooden blocks and carefully pulled one out of the middle, setting it on top of the tower. "Your turn, Joseph," she said.

Joseph followed suit, pulling a block out from the middle and carefully placing it on top by Joee's block.

Seeing that it was her turn, Emma chose a block in the middle and pushed it out of the tower with one finger. She grabbed it from the other side of the tower and placed it carefully on top, finishing a brand new layer.

The block stacking went on for several minutes, while Emma kept a close eye on the clock on the wall. All the while, Emma's abdomen kept cramping up and gurgling. She had a bad feeling of what was going to happen soon---the horrible diarrhea that she always suffered when she ate something her stomach didn't agree with. She just hoped she could make it through the fifteen minutes before it happened.

Only three minutes remained on the clock. Emma's lower abdomen hurt so bad she could barely stand it. She just wanted to go back to her room and lie down for a while.

"Are you okay, Emma?" Joseph asked, noticing Emma holding her lower abdomen with a pained expression on her face.

"Yeah," Emma replied, not wanting to make a big deal out of her situation. "My stomach just hurts."

"Would you like me to tell Melissa?" Joseph offered.

"No, thanks," Emma answered, trying to hide how much pain she was really in. "I think I'll be okay."

Just then, her abdomen let out a large, loud gargle, along with the sudden, irresistible urge to defecate. Emma tried in vain to hold it in, but the urge was too strong. She felt the liquid diarrhea explode from her butt and go everywhere imaginable. It ran down her leg, leaked out of her pants and onto the chair, and she felt herself sitting in a puddle of it. And it had a horrible smell. All the while, Joseph and Joee stared at Emma in shock and disbelief.

Emma had never felt more humiliated and embarrassed in her life. She felt her stomach drop with horror as everyone was staring at her. Covering her face with her hands, she burst into tears.