A Pessimist's Fiction

Hospital Hell

The city that never sleeps. It never seems so true until you're sitting in a hospital bed, watching the city living everyday. I had been sitting in that bed, looking over the very alive city, for three weeks. I had no visitors aside from family and no roommate. One Tuesday, when I returned to my room from a check up, there was a girl in the bed beside mine and a nurse filling out paperwork.

"Hey, Miss Leigh, you're gonna have a roommate for a little while today. They ran out of rooms in the emergency ward." The nurse said with a smile.

"What happened?" I asked, I recognized the girl from school. She's the 'perfect girl' that everyone loves. Melody. Even her name is perfect.

"I sprained my arm!" she said, she had obviously been crying. I muttered a quick apology and then wheeled my IV cart to stand by the window. Someone ran into the room and I turned to see Travis. Travis was a grade ahead of me in school and I had a major crush on him. He rushed to Melody's side and began panicking about her arm. He looked up at me with slight recognition on his face.

"Leigh, right? Why are you here?" He said, genuine surprise in his voice. "Shouldn't you be in the mental ward?"

I looked at him in shock. A mental ward? "Why should I be in a mental ward?" I asked, somewhat rudely.

Melody looked down, bashfully. "Everyone thinks you're in a mental hospital. For an eating disorder. If not that, then why are you here?" She looked sorry to have to ask.

"Leukemia." I replied easily, I had gotten used to saying it. "I have a little over a month until I die." I walked back to my bed, pulling my IV cart beside me. I gently sat on my bed.

Travis looked away, "I'm sorry, I didn't know." He turned his attention back to Melody, leaving me alone in my thoughts.

I have one month to live and he's more concerned about Melody's arm which will be healed before I'm gone. What did I see in him?