Cheating Death

Cheating Death Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I have done a few smaller things on my list since I was first diagnosed. But trying the escargot, donating to charity, and reuniting a lost friend or loved one, those I consider to be major items. Smaller ones are getting to know a stranger at the clinic, I've started talking to a boy my age.  We're both seniors in high school.  He says I'm sheltered, which I probably am.  I've been sick my entire life.  It wasn't until I started high school that things got really bad.  My second year, I got diagnosed.  My school, Lakewood High is very understanding. I attend when I'm well enough and usually do my work at home. Tim says this means I do nothing but homework.

The boy, as my Mom calls him, actually goes to another school. His parents are always with him as well. He only has one mom and one dad, not four parents like me. His parents even encouraged him to make a list. He said number one on his list was to go to prom. I think he plans to ask me. I want to go to my prom, but since I'm rarely in school, I really don't know anyone to go with. This one girl, named Meghan, she spells it weird if you ask me, says I can go with her and her friends. She says we don't need boys to have a good time, nothing wrong with going stag. I plan on asking my parents if I can. She even said we can all go out to eat, there will be four counting me, and we're going to split renting a limo. Her friend, Bethany, says she wants a pink or purple limo. I don't know if they make those.

His name, the boy, is Daniel. He doesn't have the same thing I do. His doctors say he is doing well. So he probably has more time than I do. We even started emailing each other, since we see each other rarely at the clinic. I go once a week, he goes once every two months. His last email was about prom. He says I should start looking for a dress. I think I will try to go to both proms. They're not at the same time, and I can probably use the same dress for both.

---

Daniel actually called and spoke to David, asking if I could go. Said it was "tradition" to ask a girl's Father. I couldn't stop giggling when David rushed me off to go dress shopping! David apparently knows dresses. I even saw him wearing one, once. Then again, so was Dad. The cashier at a grocery store nearby asked David, "Which of yous is da man and which is da chick?" That's exactly how she said it. Well, David didn't reply. But the next time we went, he wanted to wear a dress for laughs. Dad decided to wear one too. I even offered to wear one, as I was too sick to go to school that day.

So, the next time we went shopping, we all wore dresses. Mom came along, but only to record it. She wore jeans. The girl was there, luckily. We even made sure to go through her line. She was red faced the entire time, and wouldn't say a word to us. She looked like she wanted to run when Dad and David, in unison, told her to have a "Fabulous Day!" I should mention, David is Dad's friend who makes him do silly things. Before David, dad was a workaholic, or addicted to work. He said it was how he made himself think he was happy.

David and I picked out a pretty powder blue dress. He says it matches my eyes, which are  blue. My hair is blonde, when I have it. Right now I wear a wig, which is also blonde. David said he'll get mom to style it for me, since she knows how and he doesn't.

Since Daniel had the guts to ask about his prom, I finally asked about the one for my school. I wasn't surprised when they said yes. Mom, who was also over, insisted we get another dress for that prom. She said, "Most people don't even get to go to one prom. You get two! So two dresses it is." Both she and David took me shopping the second time. Mom said my dress for Daniel's prom needed to match his suit. So David called to ask Daniel what color his suit was, so we could match it. The blue matched enough, so for the second dress we got red. After getting my dress, I called Meghan and we arranged everything then and there. She said Bethany asked about a pink limo and they didn't have one, so we got mother of pearl.