hap•pi•ness

Chapter 6

One Week Later
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It was the day of Raelyn's surgery. The whole day I was practically shaking because i was so worried for her. I could barely talk to Blake or Blythe or anyone for that matter. It was halfway through the day that I got called to the front office. The intercom blared through my classroom, and I flinched when they said,

"Aster Smith, come to the front office. Please bring your backpack,"

That meant I was leaving.
I almost threw up as I gathered my stuff and rushed out to my locker. Immediately, I felt sick, and ran to the bathroom. I threw up in the bathroom from immense anxiety and then grabbed my stuff and practically ran down the hallway. I jumped in my moms car. We sat in silence for a couple minutes. I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked.
She just stared ahead.

"Mom!" I asked again.

"S-something went wrong with Raelyn's surgery," she stuttered, trying not to cry.

"Oh," I replied. I looked down at my feet. What was going to happen?
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The rest of the car ride was silent. I watched as rain started to pour down the windows. I felt sick again.

Once we got to the hospital, I ran inside. I had already memorized Raelyn's room number. I don't know if she was still in surgery or not though, so I asked as the lady checked me in.

"Do you know of a Raelyn Dobson is in surgery right now?" I asked, pleading that she was ok.

"No honey, she's still there. There's some problems going on with the operation," she replied.

"Ok. Is there a waiting room I can stay. in?" I inquired, trying not to break down.

"Yes, it's right over there, Room A45. I'm sure she'll be alright, baby," she tried comforting me, but it wasn't going to happen. I walked over to the waiting room as my mom walked in. She sat down quietly in a chair across from me and picked up a People magazine.

I pulled my back pack onto my lap and grabbed my sketchbook out. Inside were sketches of so many things. I opened up to a blank page, which there was not many left of, and started to think of what I would draw.

That's when I thought to draw Lulu. I could give it to Raelyn after her surgery so she had a picture of her. I pulled up a cute one of the little girl, and began to draw.

It took about an hour before I was finished, but it looked pretty good and I had colored it as well. I slowly tore it out, and set it down on the mini table next to me.

That's when a nurse walked into the room.

"She's done with the surgery. She's very tired, so don't wake her if she's sleeping," the nurse said, the briskly left.

I looked at my mom at the same time that she looked at me. We walked to her room, me holding my backpack and the drawing, and my mom, with a pained look on her face.

When we reached the room, I slowly opened the door and walked in. Raelyn was asleep on her crisp hospital bed, wearing a sterile hospital dress. An IV was poked into her arm. I sat down at the edge of her bed, and very gently, laid the picture on her bedside table.

Then, the heart monitors steady beeping started to grow irregular. A nurse ran into the room.

"We have to move her to the ICU!" the nurse brought Raelyn out of the room, and I grabbed the picture.

"We should leave," my mom grabbed my hand.

"No," I replied, wrenched my hand from her grasp, and ran to the nurse.

"Will you give this to her? Please?" I asked. The nurse stared at me.

"Of course," she replied.
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I went home and ran to my room. What was wrong? How could they mess up? Tears fell down my face as I went to take a shower. After it was on, I didn't know if it was tears or water dripping down my face.

After I dried off, I went to go on Youtube. Taylor Swift released a new song. Wait. Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift. We had tickets to go to her concert next week! I wondered if she would be healthy enough to come. I hoped she would be.

Then, I started to think about it. What if I gave her the wig I wanted to but her after the concert, and make the night even better? I'm pretty sure we had front seats, which were expensive, but Raelyn has been saving up for quite some time, and I helped pitch in. So did my parents.

I was excited to go with her. I knew she would be so happy to go and maybe even say hi to her idol. Raelyn sings amazingly. Her voice sounds like an angel from heaven. I know she belongs there.

I fall asleep, thinking of how I could help Raelyn.

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I awoke in the middle of the night to crying from Raelyn's room. I walked in to see Lulu, crying in her crib.

"What's wrong Lulu?" I asked. She reached her arms up to me, so I picked her up.

"Mama," she replied. I wrapped her in a blanket.

"Cmon, you can sleep in my room tonight," I told her. I carried her into my room. She laid down next to me and soon was asleep. She was so unhappy that Raelyn wasn't here.

Raelyn means so much to our family. F we lost her... I don't know what we'd do. Would her parents even care? Or would they say good riddance? Maybe they'd cry. I can't be for sure. I just hope that if she dies, my grandparents will realize how rude they were. Maybe they can apologize after they'd found out she had cancer. I want Raelyn to be at peace.