Wrong Number, Kid

Acceptance

<<Delilah>>
When I am finally able to see again, I am in a weird bed in a dim room. I look around and see an empty chair, a door, and a window. From the looks of everything, I'm in a hospital. I have no idea what happened, since the last thing I remember is sitting at the desk in my room. I hear a rhythmic beep, and turn towards it. It looks like a monitor with my heartbeat and blood pressure on it.

As I am looking around, I hear the door open. I try to look towards it, but light floods in my eyes, and my head starts hurting. When the door closes, I try and look again, and it is Ms. Nancy. She comes over and sits the chair. I look at my legs under a scratchy blanket instead of making eye contact because a I didn't want to get in trouble. Mr. Atkins always got angry when we had to go to the doctor, and I don't know how Ms. Nancy is going to react.

The door opens again and a man comes in. He has a clipboard and a pen, but that is a all I see. He stands at the end of the bed.

"Hey, Delilah. How is your head feeling?" He asks.

I shrug. "I don't know, it hurts," I say.

He nods and writes something down. "What is the last thing that you remember?" He asks.

"Um, sitting down at the desk. Everything else is just a blank when I try to think about it," I respond.

Ms. Nancy chimes in, "You sat down, and I came upstairs. I was trying to talk to you, but it seemed like your head was hurting, and then you started to pass out. I had one of the boys call 911 since I didn't know what was going on. You started to push the paramedics away, so I don't think you knew what was going on."

All of what she is saying doesn't make any sense. Why would I pass out? Why would I push away paramedics? Was I aware of anything? I have so many questions,  that my head still hurts. The doctor must see this, because he hands me a cup of water.

"Your CT scan shows a concussion, but there doesn't seem to be any huge damage. You do need to make sure that you are drinking enough water since headaches are going to be amplified for a couple weeks if you get one. Do you have any idea how you would have gotten a concussion?" The doctor asks.

I nod, but I don't want to say anything. I see Ms. Nancy and the doctor look at me, so I tell them, "I may have been slammed against a brick wall after school the past two days." The doctor looks at Ms. Nancy. "She didn't do anything.  There is a kid from school who won't leave alone," I tell them.

Ms. Nancy looks concerned. "Have you told anybody at school about them? Can an adult do something about it?"

I shake my head. "Its after school hours and not on school property. There is nothing anyone can do," I tell her.

The doctor seems more concerned. "Have you never talked to your mother about this before?"

I look at Ms. Nancy and laugh. I think this confuses the doctor. "Ms. Nancy is just in charge of the group home. I just arrived at her house yesterday. We barely know each other."

The doctor nods. "That makes a little more sense. I don't want you going to school for the rest of the week, and no physical activity for the next two weeks. Limit your use of electronic devices and anything very loud or bright for the rest of the week as well."

I look at him like he is crazy. "I can't just miss school. I have class and homework. I can't even text Ella to ask if she can bring me my work. If I can't text her, can you Ms. Nancy? I need to at least have the work."

Ms. Nancy nods. "If you give me your phone, I will text Ella. I will give her my address so she can come over and drop everything off. I'm going to go with the doctor and fill out some paperwork before I take you home, okay?"