I'm walking down the hall of the hospital, heading towards Nia's room as I sip my coffee. Nurses are rushing around, looking frantic as they take care of patients. I stop at the desk, looking at a nurse who is about my age.
"Excuse me? I was wondering how long it'll be before a doctor comes and checks on my daughter?"
"As soon as they can, Ma'am."
I nod as I turn, heading down the hall again. I pass a room with nurse asking an older nurse what to do. They both are freaking out as the person on the bed withers in pain.
Where are the doctors?
When I walk in Nia's room, I see her staring unblinkingly at the tv. It's playing a movie that I haven't watched in a bit, The wild Tornberrys. I smile as I sit the down, watching the movie as well.
By the time that the movie's over, Nia's asleep and I'm hungry. I get up, quietly heading to the door as I keep my eyes on her. I slip out the door, keeping my eyes on her as I shut the door behind me.
I go to turn towards the elevator, jumping as I see my brother standing there with a stupid smile. I glare as he laughs at my reaction.
"Scott. What're you doing here?"
"I brought you and Mom both some dinner..."
I glance down seeing two bags of takeout in his hands. I nod as I rub my eyes, yawning a little. Scott holds out one bag of the food as I gently take it, smiling in thanks. He looks at the door behind me, asking with his eyes how she's doing.
"She'll be out of here soon....she's just recuperating from the surgery...."
"I'd she okay?"
"Yes. They even said that she will most likely be released tomorrow...that's if a doctor will ever come check on her..."
"Dr. Griffin hasn't?"
"He's off. A Dr. Chesney was supposed to check on her over an hour ago..."
A look of worry sets in his face as he forces a smile, holding up the other bag as he gestures behind himself.
"I've got to get this to mom...I didn't see her when I was downstairs so I brought yours up first..."
"Thanks, Scott...I'll tell Nia you stopped by!"
He smiles at me before rushing off, heading to the elevator.
——
"Hi! This is Ms. McCall..."
I'm currently talking to the new secretary at the school, telling her that I might be late to work, when I see my mom walking down the hall. She looks up as I smile, waving her over.
"Uh...hold on, Ms. Neuton..." I drop the phone from my mouth as I look at my mom. "Mom! No one has discharged Nia yet and I need to get to work! Can you keep an eye on her while you're working this floor? Ms. Pearl is supposed to be on her way..."
"Uh...yeah! I can even sneak her a few extra pudding cups!"
"Mom..."
"Oh, come on! Isn't the grandma supposed to spoil the kids?!"
"I wouldn't know..." I mumble to myself as she looks at me. "I didn't have one, remember?"
"Well...my mother passed away a long time ago and his is a selfish person..."
"I know mom..."
I give her a quick hug and a kiss on her cheek before I remember that I have someone on the phone. I hold it up to my ear, eyes wide as I listen for anything.
"Sheila? Yeah I'll be there as soon as I can...okay...thanks!" I hang up and smile at my mom. "Love you! Nia's still asleep so tell her that I had to go to work when she wakes up, please?"
"Yep!"
I rush off, heading to my car so I can go get ready for work.
——
"Ms. McCall!"
I stop and turn right before I reach my door, seeing Ms. Blake smiling at me. I barely made it before the first bell, maybe because I was speeding down the backroads to get here.
"Yes?"
"Do you have the schedule for today?"
"Uh....yeah! Hold on..."
I turn towards my door, unlocking it as I open it up. I walk over to my desk, picking up the schedule folder and flipping to the right page. I turn and jump as I see her right behind me, a smile still on her face.
"Uh...here it is..."
I hold it out for her to look at. She gently takes it from me, brushing her fingers against mine as she takes it. I back away a little, making a bigger gap between us. She looks over a few pages before she looks up, smiling at me.
"This is perfect!" She looks back down at the papers again, smiling as she glances at me a few times. "You look nice today..."
Uh...no I don't. This is 'rushing to get to work so I threw together an outfit'....not 'you look nice'
"Uh...thanks?"
"Gotta go! I'll see you at lunch!"
"Wha-why?"
"To plan for next weeks..."
I nod slowly as I try to think of an excuse.
"Uh...I actually won't be here during lunch...I have to run back up to the hospital...my daughter broke her leg over the weekend."
"Oh...well then tomorrow! Bye!"
She smiles as she waves, walking out the door. I sit at my desk, shuffling through my plan for today. I look up at the clock, seeing that it's about time for first period. I grab the graded study guides from last week and the worksheets for today and walk to my podium, watching as students fill the classroom.
"Good morning, Ms. McCall!"
"Good morning, Lucas..."
He takes his seat and immediately starts to talk to his friends. I see Greenberg walk in, keeping his eyes down as I eye him. Ever since the rave, he's kept his eyes off of me. Especially when I glare at him when he doesn't. He still pays attention in class and makes B's. It's a vast improvement from his grade last year, which is why he needed to repeat my class.
The final bell rings and I smile out at my class. I set the stack of worksheets on my podium before stepping around it, going to pass out the graded papers.
"This is your study guide for tomorrow's test...I expect you to study tonight, but I will give you time to study tomorrow before the test. Today you will do a short assignment that won't even take ten minutes for some of you and the rest of the time you can use to your advantage! So....let's begin!"
I grab the papers off my podium right after I hand out the last study guide, turning to my class to explain everything before passing them out.
——
A/B
How's everyone doing?
Are you drinking enough water?
Getting enough sunshine?
Have you eaten anything yet?
Don't forget to smile!
Love
-the Author