Not Quite Yet

3/4

Voices. I remember hearing voices. But who did they belong to? Was it my dad? Where was I? Maybe my dad had finally come to visit, for my birthday. Oh. I could taste the chocolate cake. That was always my favorite. Did you bring me chocolate cake,

"Dad?"

My voice felt hollow and hoarse, a foreign sound in my own throat, "Dad?"

I realized I had been calling out audibly, and I called out again, as if testing out my own voice. I blinked hard as my eyes adjusted to the room around me. It was white. And clean. And so, so bare. I remember thinking that. I remember thinking this looked nothing like my room. I wonder why.

Where was I?

"Dad?" My voice broke as I pulled the soft covers from my body- exposing my limbs to the achingly cold air of this weird room- and stumbled out of bed, but was suddenly held back from a painful tug in my arm.

A single glance at the tubes that had been stuck into the veins of my arm were enough to make the bile rise in my throat. I quickly, and painfully, tore them from my arm as I continued to stumble through my room. My feet bare against the cold tiles.

I'm in a hospital.

"Dad?" My voice came out more agitated than I wanted it to. This was embarrassing, calling out to my father like this. But my head hurt and I was dizzy and I was in a place I didn't recognize and I just wanted my dad.

As I crashed into my room's doorway- the whole weight of my body pressed against the cold frame- I was suddenly aware of how tired my body felt.

Nurse.

I need a nurse.

"Hello?" My voice faltered but I had gotten something out, "Nurse?"

My throat was so dry, I really needed a glass of water. I strained as I struggled to lift my head to take in my surroundings; I was standing in the doorway of a cold hospital room as I stared out into the hallway, my eyes searching for a doctor, a nurse, anyone.

And my eyes finally snagged on a nurse with messy hair tied up in a thick bun who sat typing away at a desk in the center of this floor.

"Nurse?" I choked out as I pushed myself off the door frame and hobbled slowly to her, "Nurse?"

I finally made it to the nurse, throwing my weight against the solid baby blue painted wall surrounding the desk; struggling to remain upright,

"N-Nurse- can you tell me where I am? What's happening?"

She didn't move. Not one muscle. My brows furrowed as I waved my hand towards her, trying to catch her attention, "Hello? P-Please help me.."

Nothing. Frowning, I pulled away from her, slowly turning myself around to view the rest of the hallways. Wow- my body suddenly felt so weak, as if gravity were trying to pull me flat to the ground; I tried to shake the feeling off. I lifted my head once more, it was a struggle to keep my chin from my chest, a struggle to keep my body from the floor.

Then, a nurse with a clipboard walked passed me and my tired eyes lit up and I smiled, "Finally, hey, can you help me, I-"

She walked right past me, greeting the other nurse behind the desk with a sweet smile as they began going over weekend plans with each other.

I stared at the two as my smile fell, "Hello?" Not one response.

My frown deepened as I turned my attention to my surroundings, "Ooh~ I get it! Mess with me by paying everyone to ignore me! I bet even that accident was staged too, funny! Ha-ha! Great prank, where are the cameras?" I glanced around at the corners of the ceilings, my eyes searching for cameras, to find none in the white panels of the hospital ceiling.

It honestly was hard to believe. Nothing interesting has ever happened nor will happen in my life. An accident? What kind of movie would I have to be in for something dramatic like that to happen?

But, a prank?

Now that just sounds stupid.

"You guys can come out now!"

I shouted, an edge of irritation and impatience creeping into my voice. But only silence answered me. Silence and regular noises of a hospital. Noises I wasn't supposed to be hearing. I was supposed to live a boring unfulfilling life, wasting away in a college apartment, taking courses that weren't ever supposed to amount to anything. Not whatever this was.

I hate hospitals.