Red Bands

Chapter 2 - Jordi

Jordi;

"So what, the boy must be a total loser," I hear a boy say as I turn into the room Doctor McAndrew has directed me to.

Ouch, that hurts. He doesn't even know me.

As I look around the room, I see several people: the nurse in the blue scrubs names Brittany and obviously Doctor McAndrew, but there are two teenagers who look around my age, a bald boy and a very pretty girl.

The girl looks kind of short, which means I'm probably a lot taller than she is. Her brown hair has been swept up into a messy bun with several strands that frame her face. She wears a pair of what look like pajama shorts and a gray oversized sweater. Her wrist is decorated with several red bands. I catch her fingers dancing over her leg as though she plays the piano. The other thing I notice about her is that she is very skinny, the after affect of an eating disorder I conclude.

I catch the girl's eye and realize she's been staring at me. I allow a small small to form on my face, which makes her smile back.

Doctor McAndrew turns to look at me, as does the bald guy.

Brittany gestures to a bed by where I'm standing. "Jordi, this is your bed. Um, I gonna order you some lunch." She jauntily exits the room.

I take a step into the room, rather awkwardly.

"Jordi, this is your new roommate, Leo Roth. Leo, this is Jordi Palacios," McAndrew introduces. When the girl gives a quiet "ahem," the doctor chuckles a little. "Oh, and I can't forget this silly one. Jordi, meet Lilly."

"Hi," I say quietly.

"Hi," Lilly replies, looking down at her fingers that continue to move gracefully over her skin.

Leo raises a hand in greeting, looking rather unhappy as I enter the room and set down my duffle bag down on my new bed. Doctor walks toward the door, his hands in his pockets.

"Gentlemen, lady. If you'll excuse me," he says, patting my shoulder as he passes me.

I turn slightly towards the door before looking around at the room awkwardly.

"Not much of a talker?" Leo asks.

"Not to you," I respond.

Lilly lets out a breathy laugh and Leo sends her a look.

"I'm sorry you heard that," he says. "I'm not a tool, I just have a lot of unknowns in my life right now."

"Oh, please, Leo. Everything about you is unknown," Lilly says. Her voice is light and airy, enjoyable to listen to.

Leo sends Lilly another look. "You'll have to excuse Little Miss White Girl over here. She can be really sarcastic."

"Leo, so help me God, call me White Girl again and I'll take your crutches and wheelchair," she retorts, but her tone is amused, so I know she's joking.

I let out a chuckle. "It's fine."

"Why are you here?" Leo questions, keeping his gaze on me.

I look over at the pair. "I have cancer... In my leg. Doctor McAndrew is taking it off tomorrow."

Lilly stands up and approaches me. Unexpectedly, she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a hug. Before I can react though, she pulls back, smiling a little. "Good luck tomorrow."

I smile back and allow her to go back to her seat. The feeling of her arms around me linger, the pressure remaining where she touched me.

Leo looks around as though he's trying to find the words to say. I know this moment all too well.

"I know, I know. The silence is a real conversation killer. Nobody ever really knows what to say."

He bobs his head, opening and closing his mouth. "You're gonna get through it," he finally says.

I take a second before answering. "That's easy for you to say."

Lilly glances at me. Her face has dropped a little, no longer smiling.

Leo's mouth turns up in the corners. "Not really," he says. He yanks the blanket off his legs without even looking down, the many red bands on his wrist wiggling. His right leg has been amputated.

We glance back and forth between each other. Lilly lets out a cough and the silence consumes the room.

Lilly has moved over to my bed, leaning against the headboard as I go through my bag. Leo shifts himself to a wheelchair.

Without looking up, I ask, "Where are you going?"

As he manuvers around towards the door, he responds, "I'm gonna meet someone for lunch in the adult wing."

"Oh, am I invited?" Lilly asks, sitting up.

"Aren't you in the hospital because you don't eat? Why would you come with us?" Leo asks.

I look up at Lilly. "You have an eating disorder?"

She nods once, looking down at her lap as though she's ashamed of it. "Anorexia."

I look at her sympathetically before going back to bag. Then I reply to Leo. "Don't we eat in the room?"

Leo wheels behind me. "Usually, but, uh, today I have other plans." He rolls himself out of the room.

I watch as he disappears around the door frame. Behind him, I notice an abandoned wheelchair. I look over at Lilly, smirking a little.

"Oh no, Jordi," she groans, dragging out the "i."

"Oh yes, Lilly," I say, chuckling as I watch her stand up.

"Well... I don't think a little practice with a wheelchair could hurt," she replies reluctantly.

"Great."

I stiffly exit the room, Lilly behind me, and sit down in the wheelchair.

"Okay... Ready, set... Go!" she says.

I begin to roll forward in the direction that Leo went, Lilly keeping up behind me. We catch up to him quickly and roll behind Nurse Jackson, or as everyone calls her "Scary Bitch." Lilly giggled quietly as she stepped quietly behind me.

Lilly and I follow Leo until we reach a big service elevator. Leo rolls in just as nurses leave the elevator, and we follow him into the elevator. I have trouble manuvering myself around so that I'm next to him. Lilly stands next to us.

"You're everywhere like mold," Leo remarks as he stares at me. Then he looks towards the entrance of the elevator.

The door to the elevator shimmies down, revealing black bubbled lettering. "Dash."

"I need to ask you something," I say to him.

"Oh no. No, I can't be this person for you. That's what Nurse Jackson or Doctor McAndrew is for," Leo says, looking over at me.

"Leo, just one question," Lilly replies to him.

I look up at her, giving her a thankful smile before looking back over at Leo. "They can't answer this question. Only you can."

"Fine. What?" he says, seeming quite unhappy still.

I look down at the floor and glace up at him when I speak. "Does it hurt?"

He looks over at me again, shaking his head slightly. "Not like you think it will. It's the chemo that sucks, but maybe you'll get lucky and won't need it."

I feel a hand rest itself on my shoulder, instantly knowing that it belongs to Lilly.

"I'm sure he won't have to deal with it, but if he does... Well, Jordi, I'm sure you'd get through it just fine," she says, smiling a reassuring smile.

"Any other questions?" Leo asks snarkily.

I smile. "What's for lunch?"

The elevator door pulls up and reveals a boy with his back turned to us, but jumps up and spins around.

"Yo," he says.

Leo points over at me. "Jordi, this is Dash. Dash, this is Jordi, my new roommate."