After Everything

Chapter Eight: Traumatic First Day

When Juliana started to gain consciousness, she heard the faint chattering of voices. She was instantly confused, not understanding where she was or what had happened.

She wiggled her fingertips, feeling as they brushed along a bedsheet-like material. That led her to even more confusion as she moved her entire hand up the material once more.

Panic set in. Am I on a... bed?

She quickly jumped up, gasping for air as she acknowledged her surroundings. A dark lit room. Two beds. An ice pack strapped around her head and the back of her neck. Was she in the nurse's office?

"Juliana!" She heard the high-pitched voice belonging to Cassie. Her eyes moved to the doorway, watching as her friend sprinted into the room. "I was worried you wouldn't wake up!"

Juliana furrowed her eyebrows as she ripped the ice pack off of her forehead and neck. "What happened?"

The school nurse was quick to trot into the room. "You fainted, sweet pea," she answered in her southern twang.

Juliana nodded her head slowly as she started to regain her memory. She remembered her conversation with Lola and those hideous words that came from her mouth that were still haunting her. She then recalled feeling extremely hot and dizzy before passing out. That made sense to her. She spent her entire day overthinking and not drinking enough water like she usually did.

"I almost fainted, too," said Cassie with panic in her voice. She stood warily in front of Juliana as she slowly pointed to her hand. "You were bleeding."

Juliana's eyes widened. It made sense that she passed out due to dehydration, the heat, and her conversation with Lola... but bleeding? Since when? Fear was quick to set in her eyes.

"Your hands," the nurse pointed out. Juliana was quick to look down at the palms of her hands that were bandaged. "You had nail indents," she said with a frown on her face. "I recommend getting a stress ball. That will help you from hurting your hands."

Cassie let out a squeal of excitement. "No worries, Ms. Peters," she said as she turned to Juliana. "I have a ton of stress balls that I can give you!"

Juliana was nowhere near on the same energy level as Cassie, who was acting way too hyper and excited for her liking. Her optimism was not mixing well with the anger she was feeling.

She bounced up from the bed, startling the school nurse who rushed to her safety incase she fainted again. Juliana swatted her hands away, feeling fine to stand on her own. "I have to get back to practice," she said as she was quick to walk out of the room.

"Practice is almost over," Cassie informed as she followed behind her. Juliana froze in place. How long was she unconscious for? "Plus, Coach Ryan said you need to rest for the rest of the day."

Juliana knew her coach was right. She needed to rest after her nightmare of a first day. She couldn't believe how south things were going already. She guessed it really showed how shitty this school year would be after all. Her high hopes were quick to flush down the drain.

Cassie and Juliana made it back to the soccer field unscathed - no fainting on both their parts. Juliana was sure thankful about that. She couldn't bear the thought of fainting two times that day. The humiliation would be at a higher level than Cassie's after her iced coffee incident.

"I'm sorry that you're so upset," Cassie frowned as she put her phone back into her bag. "I know a lot about being upset," she said as she turned to look into her hazel eyes. "And I know a lot about how things work out themselves," she said before pulling her into a quick hug. "You're gonna be okay. I promise."