This story is about an ordinary girl who has arthritis and it restricts her from doing certain things. One day she bumps into the most popular boy in school and finds something out about him that no one else knows about.
Everyone thinks just because...
I turned my alarm off and laid in my bed staring up at the ceiling. I couldn't be bothered to get out of bed today. Especially since it was a Saturday.
"Iris! Get out of bed and get ready!" I heard my mum shout. When did she wake up? I wondered.
"I don't want to!" I complained acting like a stubborn child.
"Well you have to so stop complaining and get ready. Then come downstairs and quickly eat breakfast. I don't want to be late for the appointment." She said poking her head through the door.
"Fine." I grumbled. Sighing, I trudged out of my bed and went to the bathroom to get ready. Today was going to be a long day. When I was ready I quickly ate my breakfast and then we drove to the hospital. It was quite sunny today but it was freezing. I looked around the car to see if I left any of my medication in the car. Luckily I found some. Whenever its cold my arthritis becomes worse than it already is so I take medication to help ease the pain so I can walk properly.
At the hospital
We arrived at the hospital and like always we had to wait for a while before I was able to go for my actual X-ray. There was a lot of people at the hospital which was probably the reason why we had to wait so long. People were talking quietly amongst themselves either on the phone or to the person sitting next to them. As time passed me and my mum were still waiting to go for my X- ray and more and more people kept filing into the waiting room until there was hardly any chairs left for people to sit and they ended up standing.After what seemed like 10 years, it was finally my turn to see the doctor and have my X-ray.
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"As you can see here the joints in your knees have swollen up which is common for people who have arthritis. Due to the swelling it has lost the joint space between the bones and because there is no joint space, your bones rub together which is the reason why your legs begin to feel stiff and hurt when you walk a lot." The doctor explained.
"So you are 100% sure it's arthritis and not normal swelling?" my mum asked.
"Yes. It can't be anything other than that and if it was normal swelling, it would have gone down by now. How long did you say you've had the pain for?"
"About three months now." I replied.
"Then it's most likely to be arthritis. If anything changes you can always request for another X-ray and see if anything has changed but if not arthritis is the only diagnosis."
"Okay, thank you very much for your help doctor." My mum said goodbye to the doctor and we got into the car and drove home.
While we were on our way home, my mum got a call from the care home saying she had to go to work as they were short on staff so she dropped me off at home and since my brother went to our cousin's house and my dad was at work, it meant I was home alone. I decided to go to my room and lie on my bed. I thought about what the doctor said. At least now we know I have arthritis for sure and I can get stronger medication to help reduce the pain and get therapy. It was still light outside and I didn't feel like staying at home anymore so I put my coat and shoes on and went to my favourite place in town. The cafe.
At the cafe
As usual I walked into the cafe and ordered my coffee. I sat down at a table in the far corner, put my head down on the table and closed my eyes. After a few minutes I lifted my head and let out a big sigh. I put my hands on my lap and let my shoulders relax. I sat there staring out the window watching children play in the playground and cars driving past.
"One iced coffee!" I heard someone say from the counter. I walked to the counter and took my iced coffee and then went back to my seat. Once I sat down I took a sip of my coffee and went on my phone.
Daniel's Pov:
I was sitting at my desk doing my homework when I heard the front door close. Making sure to stay quiet I opened the door to my room and slowly walked to the top of the stairs. I listened very carefully to make sure no one was in the house. Silence. Quickly going back to my room, I got changed and used my chance to escape this prison while my dad was out. I messaged my friend asking if I could sleep over at his house which he allowed so I made sure to grab extra clothes. As soon as I was ready I ran down the stairs and out the front door making sure to lock it so my dad didn't realise I was gone. Before I went to my friend's house I made a quick stop at the cafe to get a little snack and a drink.
At the cafe
I bought a brownie and a berry smoothie. While I was waiting for my order I saw Iris sitting by herself at the back of the cafe. She didn't look very happy like usual and she was slumped in her seat. I had a question I wanted to ask her and after I got my brownie and smoothie, I made my way to her table.
Iris's Pov:
I got bored of going on my phone so I put it down and carried on drinking my coffee. Once again I heaved another deep sigh and put my head down on the table. I was literally too tired to even move my finger. My body felt like all its energy had been drained and I felt like I could just drop to the floor and sleep. I didn't know why I was feeling like this. I felt fine before.
"Iris?" someone asked. I looked up to see it was Daniel. I immediately lifted my head up straight and fixed my posture.
"Oh hi Daniel," I smiled,"How are you?"
"Urm I'm fine but you don't look too well," he said. A look of confusion and concern on his face.
"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning slightly.
"I mean today you look really tired and usually your smiling and if your not there's still this happy aura around you. But today you don't look happy and there's a dull aura coming from you."
I stared at him wondering how he figured that out.
"I'm fine its just that I had to wake up early this morning and now I'm really tired but I don't want to go home because I'm all by myself and it's lonely and depressing." I told him, "How are things going for you at home?" I asked trying to turn his attention away from me.
"It's okay but only because I've made sure to stay out of my dad's way and he's gone out now and a friend is letting me stay over at theirs so I won't have to see him until to tomorrow evening."
"That's good at least you get a break from your dad."
"I guess." He shrugged.
Out of nowhere a yawn escaped my mouth and I started to feel very drowsy even after my coffee.
"I think I should get home now." I said before I yawned again.
"Yeah me too. I'll see you on Monday." He said before leaving. After he left I gathered my things making sure not to leave anything behind and made my way home. The sun was starting to set now and it was even more colder than before. As I was walking I looked at the sky. It was coloured with different shades of pink and a light peachy colour slowly turning into blue.
At home
I opened the door to my house to find it empty once again. My dad was probably delivering things and my mum still hadn't come back from work. I grabbed an apple from the kitchen and went to my room and did my homework and by the time I did all of it it was 9 o'clock at night so I put my things away and got ready for bed. When I finished getting into my pjs I got under the covers and made sure I was nice and warm. I let my whole body relax and stayed still for a moment listening to nothing but silence. As I did that I felt pain in both my legs and when I tried to move them the pain became worse. Trying to ignore the pain as best as I could, I closed my eyes and hoped for a painless night.
