"Kara. Kara?"
"Sweetheart, are you okay?"
"What?" Kara looked up.
"Where were you?"
Kara realized she hadn't been paying attention to the conversation. She had been staring at the wristband on her arm, looking like a total freak.
"No where. What did you say?"
"I asked you how the Osso Buco is."
"Yummy."
"You've hardly touched it."
"Something on your mind?"
Kara looked at her mothers. They had been strangely attentive since they picked her up from the hospital. Almost like they were trying to make up for their disastrous visit when they tried to turn her into the next Oprah/Ellen power moment. All day it had been about what she wanted, was she having a good time, what did she like. Kara was never one to shy away from being the center of attention but she found herself thinking about the hospital. When she got to the condo the night before she almost took off her wrist band but was afraid she'd forget it. That she even cared was disconcerting. She had put on a long sleeve shirt to cover it up but it kept creeping out and catching her eye.
"I was just thinking about something."
"What, honey?"
"It's nothing." Kara look a bite of her food. It really was good. Way better than the stuff at the hospital. Although in truth anything was better than the stuff at the hospital.
"You sure?"
"Yeah." They went back to eating. Soon the meal was over and they were in the car heading home.
"Okay, it is something." Kara blurted out as they walked into the living room.
"I keep thinking about school and the hospital." Kara plopped into her favorite chair, her mothers quietly sitting down on the sofa next to her. "I was like a total Regina George at school and everyone just acted like it was totally cool. But then homecoming was this major disaster cause everyone was all "you poor pitiful thing" when I know that half of them were happy I was in the hospital cause I was such a total bitch. And the other half were just shocked to find out I have a heart at all."
"Oh honey I'm sure that's not true."
"Trust me, it is. The only person that was totally honest was Leo. Lame Ass Leo One Leg from the hospital who wasn't even supposed to be there but he crashed the party, which is not a tale worth repeating. At least I thought he was a lame ass but he's really not. Not completely. He's a freak and not cause of the leg thing. I mean throwing a party for some kid getting his leg cut off, and his stupid red wristbands. And that gross thing he said about me being like skin. Freak much.
"And he's not the only one. They're all freaks. Even Emma, who you think is so cool. She's totes adorable with her quirky outfits and her perfect, albeit flat chested, body. Leo, Jordi, even probably Dash, all drool over themselves over her. And she's so sweet it's gross. But all she can think about is not eating and that's totally weird. She just studies all the time and doesn't eat cause she doesn't think she's pretty.
"And Dash is at the top of the transplant list and doesn't even know if he wants to do it. That's totally psycho.
"And Jordi, wow talk about super freak. He's pathetic to the max. His mom is this loser who ignored him half the time like he was a pet instead of a kid. Then she ships him off to his grandmother. And his grandmother is total cuckoo for cocoa puffs, she wouldn't let him go to the hospital cause she doesn't believe cancer is real. So he had to run away from home. And then his mom turns up for like a day before she freaks out cause he puked and runs off for good. Like don't bother me ever for good. Not he's all sad sap guy who's a total downer when he's not puking all the time from all the crap they keep giving him.
"Bunch of messed up freak losers and I've been thinking all day that I'd rather be at the hospital with them. I mean you love you guys but its like for the first time I have real friends that don't act nice to me cause they don't want me to be a bitch to them. Most of the time they're just as bitchy to me and I kind of like it."
"So you want to go back to the hospital?"
"Yes. No. I don't know. I want to do something. I don't know what. But I keep thinking about how the rest of us left with our families and Jordi's there all by himself. And he's probably not the only one."
"Do you need some ideas?"
"No I want to figure this out myself."
"Okay. Well if you change your mind you know you can ask."
"Thanks."
"Now how about some hot chocolate, little mini marshmallows?"
