The Bucket List

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End

Tubes and wires connected to me at all angles. An intense wave of nausea and dizziness passed straight through me shaking me to my core. It felt as if someone had rammed their hand straight into my skull and scrambled my brain into nothingness. I could feel the sweat running down my body making me a mixture of hot and cold and adding to my nausea. My mother in the chair next to me frantically looking from my father to the doctor while grasping to my hand like it was the only tether she had to the world. I was able to faintly hear the words "sickness" "tumors" and "emergency surgery" tossed around the room swirling through the air like bombs ready to detonate on my entire life.

And detonate they did. All it took was one day and one sickness for my entire life to be put on pause.

2 months later

Why is it that people only seem to make the time to live when they know their dying? Hi, my name is Grace Webber and yes you heard me right dying. I'm seventeen and unlike my fellow classmates I do not get to head to college this fall instead I get to freakin die. Because that's completely fair. As you can probably guess the news of my imminent death not only confused me, but put me in a funk. Not just any funk though I got stuck in the kind of funk that sucks you down like quicksand. The more I gave in the more I spiralled. I mean how would you feel if you woke up every morning to a colorful array of pills and anti-depressants that despite what anyone says are too big for any reasonable human being to swallow? You see what I mean, in one short day I went from a young seventeen year old girl with her whole life in front of her to the girl who is dying.

It's been two months since I was in the hospital and I am unbearingly bored. I have been on house arrest since I was released from the hospital with the strict instructions not to contact any of my friends or people from school. While originally my parents idea, I quickly agreed to keep my "sickness" a secret. Unlike me, my friends were out having the time of their lives in the last two months of their senior year. Why would I want to ruin it for them? It's not that I don't care about them don't get me wrong, I do, I just don't want them to look at me the same way my parents look at me. Before I got sick my family was the example on the block. We were happy...but now my parents look at me like they can see me fading away. Anyway as far as anyone else is concerned I have been on the vacation of the lifetime the past two months and while my reality is not nearly as cool as the story everyone believes I'm happy to just let everyone continue believing the lie that is my life.

As I continue to overanalyze my life and the short time ahead of me my mom walks in. "Grace" she says hesitantly. "Yes mom?" "I know we advised against telling your friends what is going on, but you could pick up the phone and at least talk to one of them, it might help." "Mom, why would I want to talk to them we both know the first question they are going to ask is How was your vacation? And then I'm going to have to do what i've done for the past two months lie, lie, lie." "Honey you can't look at it like that." "Mom how else am I supposed to look at it?" "I don't know honey, but I think you should call them I can tell you miss them and I'm sure they miss you too." "Whatever Mom."

Deciding I really did miss my friends I picked up the phone. After several minutes of contemplation I decided I would do it. I was going to call them. I mean what do I really have to lie about only my life, death, and the sickness in between. Obviously I have nothing to hide. Finally gathering all the courage I had in that moment I picked up the phone and dialed my friend Rachel.

"Hello? Grace is that you?," Rachel said eagerly. "Yeah its me" "Oh my gosh girl I thought you had been kidnapped by some hottie while on vacation" "lol I wish it's just plain old single Grace here," I say halfheartedly. "Okay well plain old single Grace, may I ask why you are calling me today" "um I don't know I just miss you I guess" "awh you're so sweet I miss you too!!"

Rachel and I talked into the night just catching up and telling each other stories about my "great vacation" and her last two months of senior year. That is until a certain subject containing cute boys and adventure rolled around.

"You know now that you are back from your big vacation we could always get the nerds together and go on a big road trip? We could take my mom's mini van and go wherever the wind takes us," Rachel says laughing. "Let's do it." "Wait really?" "Yeah why not I'm back from vacation and what could be better than going on adventure with some of my best friends." "Heck yes let's do it we can call the nerds tomorrow and set everything up!"

I'm going to just pause for a second and set the record straight. Now you might be a little bit confused. I used the words cute boys and nerds to describe the same people. This might just be me, but I find that cute boys that also have something other than air in between their ears are more attractive than any other class of boys. I've also found that they make pretty decent friends. Anyway the nerds or more specifically the "nerd herd" is comprised of 4 main boy members and 4 girl members. The boys side is made up of Bryce, Brandon, Aaron, and Jake. Bryce can only be described as the dad of the group that makes sure everyone is taken care of and all plans are realistic and thought through. Other than being one of the smartest ones in the group, Brandon is the one who lives for sarcasm and the comedy it stems from. Aaron while not being as smart as the rest of the nerds, makes up for it with his genuine kindness and athletic tendencies. Lastly we have Jake who lives for a debate and can run circles (not literally) around anyone who wants to talk politics or history. The girl side of the nerd herd is comprised of Rachel, Ericka, Conner, and me Grace of course. Rachel's the fun one who somehow is able to party all week and still pass her courses. Ericka is the reliable one who has and will always be there for you when you need her. Conner is the athletic one who unfortunately likes protien bars more than any human being should and would much rather run sprints than eat cake with the rest of us. Anyway that us the herd of nerds together till the end. Now you might be asking yourself how the heck all these different and contrasting personalities get along so well. You could compare us to the square pegs of a children's game that is only fitted with round holes. None of us fit anywhere so we came together and made our own group all to ourselves.

After I got off the phone with Rachel I sat awake getting excited about the adventure that laid out in front of me. For the first time since I got sick I finally have something to look forward to.