Evangelines Bucket List

Chapter 1: Colonge

My seventeenth year was going to be a long year. Especially when it came down to spending the next six months in the hospital doing tough treatments.

I have osteogenic sarcoma, or Osteosarcoma. A very rare bone cancer. Less than twenty thousand cases per year. Unfortunately, I was one of those twenty thousand.

I was diagnosed at the age of sixteen - not even a year ago. By the time my old doctors found it, it had already spread to my lungs. That meant I was in and out of the hospital for a couple of months. Endless tests. Endless needles. Endless imaging. Endless doctor appointments. Endless joint pain. Yay.

I spent about four months in the hospital the first time I was diagnosed. Gray sweat pants, a black shirt, my high top converse and a black beanie was my everyday outfit. I obviously packed other clothes but it was the one thing I wore for days. That and some small "manly" black bottled cologne my dad bought me for my birthday earlier this year. It smelled strong. Each spray caused attention and weird faces in the hospital. It was quite embarrassing. Especially when it came to impressing a random girl.

Before I was diagnosed, I had friends. They stopped talking to me once they found out I was basically "dying." They said they couldn't deal with the loss. The only friends I had were in Saint Bernards. Transferring wasn't easy. I didn't know anyone. I didn't think people would like me. It was different. The walls were white with painted green vines near the ceiling. Each room was filled with a kid younger than me. It was like I didn't see a single kid my age. But, it turned out, I was on the wrong level. My level was above where I was.

I took the elevator and stood in awkward silence with an old petite woman. She kept glancing over at me. It was quite uncomfortable, actually. The elevator ride felt like it was taking longer than it should have. I tried looking up but I could still see her from the corner of my eyes. The elevator dings. The metal doors silently glide open. I slowly walk out and quickly look back. Her eyes were following me. I walked quickly as her stare repeated in my mind. My suitcase case was heavy, especially since it was a rolling suitcase. Each room I walked by, I saw more and more kids my age.

My room was towards the end of the hallway. It was the last room actually. A girl leaning against the wall, wearing all black with pink or magenta hair and an olive green military jacket immediately caught my eye. Especially when I saw her wearing black high top converse. Her beanie was even black. She was holding a paper that looked like it had been freshly ripped out of a journal. She folded the paper and stuffed it in her jacket. The girl gets off the wall and walks into a room. It was right next to mine. I take a glimpse into her room and immediately notice her taking a Polaroid of five Peace Tea cans. But I didn't see much.

My room was empty. Other than the bed and other necessities in a hospital room. I placed my suitcase under my bed. I couldn't stop thinking about that girl. Her hair was a wig, but it looked so real. Like natural hair. She wore black like me. She wore beanies like me. Some similarities between us made me think what was written on that paper. I was curious. Who was she?