Stay Gold - [WATTY'S 2017]

Chapter Two

The doctors were rushing down the hallway in a blur, trying to locate the child who pressed their 'life-alert'-like stress button.  Frantic, they split up, marching down each and every hallway and into every room with their white coats trailing behind them.

"What's going on?" I asked, turning around, not really caring about my IV at the moment, the cord twisted a bit but I could still feel the drips from the IV. I thought of who might have pressed that button running through my head, each name pounding into my brain. I knew most kids, but they probably just fell. No one usually dies here, and if they do, no one talks about it. Heck, no one even knows about it until they see their face on the walls.

"It's alright, the alarm stopped going off, honey. It's okay. Everything's fine." She cooks voice was a bit twisted, but she seemed content enough with her words to say them. With a sigh, the cook placed my meal on a table and walked back, seeing that there was another child waiting to get their meal for the morning.

I let out a huffed sigh and sat down slowly onto the dully-colored chair, picking up my shake and starting to drink it. My short legs were kicking slightly under the table as I looked around at all the pictures of former patients who are now cancer free on the wall. Being diagnosed with brain cancer isn't always the easiest to overcome, but I guess it isn't worth being negative about. Next to that was the remembrance board. There were a lot more children smiling on that board compared to the survivors.

The siren had died down, like the cook said, and doctors were returning, everything was back to normal. Normal for a hospital, I guess. Another thing about the hospital is that there are barely any windows in the rooms, there are windows in the hallways that show the gardens outside, but you're lucky if you get in your room. I, being one of the lucky ones, have a window. I think they did it on purpose to show me the outdoors, but that's just a guess. Maybe my parents paid more for it.

Finishing my shake after a solid 20 minutes, I stood up and started to wheel away my medicine stand when Xander walked up to me. Xander, my childhood friend who's brother died from cancer a few years ago. He died about a month and a half before i was diagnosed, Xander couldn't even look at me for a good year or so... 

"Hey, Lils," Xander smiled at me with his bright smile. His hands were in his jeans pockets, a purple button up on his slender torso. "Whats up?" he asked, looking like he wanted to hug me, but he didn't.

"Nothing," I replied with a slight shrug. "The usual." I said in a sing-song voice back at my friend.

He let out a little laugh and put his Green Bay Packers hat on backwards, he called it his hip-hat. "You seem sad today." he frowned. "Maybe the greatest team of all times will cheer you up." he suggested, showing me the hat and pointing to it with a sly smile.

I smiled, feeling my face heat up slightly. "You wish." I laughed back, taking a good look at the had before looking down. Xander always came to visit me, kind of reassuring that we were still best friends after what he went through with his brother now me. But it was quite surprising that he did visit. He has been gone for a while now, but whenever he comes back it's relieving to see his smiling face.

Xander and I had been really close since we were around three, going to the same pre-school really made a difference than the 2nd grade. We were always the trouble makers, making the teacher mad and always getting in trouble. We always seemed to be the best pair of friends from the start. Being the one who was always sick, I didn't really ever get to see him during the winter season, but when I did we either sat by eachother at lunch, played tag at recess, or he brought me something like a jolly rancher since I couldn't bring myself to eat whole, big meals at the time.

He sort of was like the treatment I was getting myself, he kept me standing and living. It was like your favorite teddy bear as a kid or maybe that kitten that you for got your 5th birthday. Our friendship was special.

"So, are we off to your hospital room or the lounge?" he asked, slicking his hands in his faded old sweatshirt pockets. "Because today, there's a Harry Potter marathon going on!." He smiled a Xander smile. He reached for the bag on his back then retracted it. "I forgot to bring a deck of cards again..." third time in a row, not surprising.

I was about to open my mouth to call him a dim head, then I realized his bag was green. His bag was green. He knew I loved green; yet he was taunting me. He looked back at me with that same smile, making me forget the whole bag situation.

My heart fluttered a bit, despite the sudden envy of what he was carrying on his back. He always seemed to know exactly what I wanted every single time he visited, Harry Potter was my first breaking moment when I realized literature was amazing. I don't think Xander and I are friends because of his brother going through the same thing, it's his good heart in general. He gets how I am and doesn't really mind my stupid whining. No one else who I know gets what it feels like to be cooped up in this place 24/7 with nothing to do, but that's what also divides Xander away from the others. He tries  to understand, or he understood completely. Succeed or fail. He's always trying to make me smile no matter the cost or pain it causes him. Pain used loosely, he doesn't really feel pain anymore.

"Um, let's go to the lounge." I replied with a light shrug. "It has more comfy chairs." I added, which I guess was half true. I liked being alone with him, but it got a little too awkward too fast. He didn't act like it was awkward. Maybe it's just me, but let me tell you I could have filled up a swimming pool with the amount of nervousness, that If I could sweat, I would sweat, when he smiled at me with that smile.