Expired

Chapter 1

Ever since I was a little girl I've been afraid of the day I was supposed to die. Everyone's date is different, whether it's on the same day, month, or year almost everyone has a unique day to die....literally! This is how I became "Expired".

I woke up in bed to hear my mother calling my name. "Skylar....Skylar dear it's time to go hurry and get dressed". Mother said. Uuuuuuuuuugggggghhhhhhhhhhh I moaned while I sat up and stretched. "Hurry we need to go right away". Mother said. "Fine" I replied. I got up and went to my closet. I put on a plain long sleeved grey shirt with a baby blue dress over it. I looked and the mirror and realized how much I look like my mother. Brown wavy hair, bright green eyes, porcelain white skin. It also came to my mind that I looked like a nurse.

I slipped on my black boots put my hair in a braid and ran out the door. I hopped in moms car and we pulled out of the drive way. "Do you like working at the hospital?" She asked me. "Yes I do......" I trailed off. "Yep sure sounds like it." Mom replied. "I'm just very curious about some of the patients there that's all." I said. "Which ones are you so curious about
?" She asked. "The truth is I'm not that curious I just get very weirded out by some of the patients." I replied. "Well, honey you're only fifteen some people are going to look a little....damaged or act unusual but honey it's just life." She said.

It is possible to die before your date and that's why we're so important at the hospital we know we're going to lose our people but we want to keep them at least before they have to die. "Mom?" I asked. "Yes?" "What about Danielle?" "What about Danielle?" "How long has she been in that coma?" "Since she was about your age." Mom finished the conversation. Danielle is a patent at the hospital who's been in body coma since she was fifteen and now she's in her forty's. Yes, I know I am really young to be a nurse but like I said our people really matter. Plus I'm just an assistant giving everybody food and on occasion the meds that they need. I don't actually do anything major.

We arrive at the hospital and we walk in. We pass Alecia the front desk lady saying "good morning" as usual. We take the stairs up to the fourth floor where we work. Just as we open the door our boss Laurie come up to me and calls me. "Skylar!" She yells in my face. "What?" I reply. "You never fed Danielle yesterday!" She yells again this time her hair gets all in her face. Laurie had black curly hair and dark skin along with brown dark eyes. "I fed her yesterday." I recalled. "No she's starving go feed her now!" She yelled again. After that I just walked away to grab her food.

It must've been the graveyard nurse who forgot her dinner. I open room 21 where Danielle stays and hear the tv on her wall. "Good morning Danielle." I say even though I know she can't reply. She hasn't ever talked since she got into that coma nor has she ever moved. I just smile at her and walk toward her to set her tray of breakfast on her lap sort of thing. She grey eyes just look into mine like she's a helpless puppy. "Did the graveyard nurse not give you your dinner?" I ask even though I again I shall receive no reply. She just looks at me again with the same look.

Since she's my patient I have to stay in her room until she's done eating to actually feed her and make sure she's okay. I grab the spoon and move it toward the bowl filled with oat meal and get a spoon full and drive it toward her mouth. "Can you open just a little bit please?" I ask her. She doesn't say anything but she opens her mouth just enough that I can put it in her mouth. She swallows and I can tell it's a little painful.

Eventually, the bowl is about empty and I take it to the kitchen and wash it out along with the spoon. I walk back into her room to make sure she's ok for a bit so I can move onto the next patient. "Are you good for a little bit?" I ask as I take a seat on her bed. She just stares at me for a moment with the same look I saw earlier. The helpless little puppy look. She starts to grit her teeth a little bit. "Are you okay?" I ask. She doesn't say anything but then something that hasn't happened for years happened. Danielle viciously grabs my arm. It hurts she grabs it and hangs on with her sharp dagger nails digging into my skin. I don't do anything but scream.

"Don't scream!" She yells quietly. I don't listen I just keep screaming. "Don't scream or you'll regret it!" She says again. "How are you.....what but you can.... I trail off. "I know I can talk, I can move." She says. "But how?" I ask and she releases my hand. I look at my arm and it starts to bleed. Aggggghhhhh I yelp in pain. "Shhhhhh..... I told you to be quiet" she says rudely. A second after that she sits back in her bed and puts her blanket back on like nothing ever happened and she whispers to me "don't say anything or you're dead!" I just glare at her until I heard footsteps outside. My mother bursts in the door. "Is everything okay in here?" She asks.

I think about if I want to tell her about Danielle but I keep quiet since when she squeezed my arm it hurt bad enough. "No everything is fine." I say. "What was that screaming?" She asks again. "It was just this TV show were watching I accidentally turned the volume up too loud sorry." I say innocently. "Oh ok......but Skylar you know better not do it again okay?"she asks. "Yes I know I'm sorry it won't happen again I promise." I spill out. "Okay." She replied and leave the room. The second the door closes Danielle sits right back up with so much energy it felt like a gust of wind hit me.

"Good.......now I have something very urgent and important to tell you." She says in a normal voice. "What.....what do you have to say?" I ask in a toned voice that way she can tell I'm annoyed. "Look I'm sorry.....ok I can't afford to have people know that I'm ok." She says. "Ever since you started working here I knew I had to tell you." She said sounding guilty. "But I've only worked here for three years and you've been here since you were about my age." I said. "Yes I know I was actually hurt then and I couldn't move but now I can and this is about your future." She said. "What about my future?" I ask

"You know your expiration date?" She asks and pulls her arm out of her coma and rolls her sleeve up revealing her arm with her expiration date on it. "Yes but what does that have to... I trail off because I read her expiration date and it was due five years ago.