"Good morning, Tina." Mrs. Abrams said in a sweet, comforting tone.
I squinted my eyes; it must have been time to wake up for school. I found it awfully weird that Artie's mother was waking me. Usually he'd wake up first and play with the blue streaks in my hair from up above until I woke up. It wasn't until I opened my eyes that I realized that I wasn't on the floor of Artie's bedroom anymore. Instead, I was lazily slouched in a hospital waiting room chair. As I slowly began to sit up, I looked around at my dry environment and tried to remember how I came about it. Mrs. Abrams had herself on one knee so that she was face to face with me. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and her face was wall natural with no make up. It wasn't until I looked into her tired blue eye that I remembered why I was there.
"Artie…" I spat out.
Last night, I chose the wrong time to fall asleep. When a doctor came out to the waiting room and said announced that within the hour, they'd knew if Artie was going to make it though the night, I was already struggling to stay awake. Her facial expression was neither blissful nor bitter, so I really didn't know what was coming.
"He made it, Tina." She said with a small smile on her face.
"Everything's going to be okay."
By the looks of it, she was up all night waiting for news on Artie. There were dark circles under her eyes and I was positive that she'd show her excitement and relief more if she had more sleep.
"Is he awake? Can we see him?" I asked.
"I gave him a little visit before I came and woke you. He's still under general anesthesia from the surgery…" She began.
"S-surgery?" I asked.
"They needed a small section of skin to grow in a laboratory for his arm." Mrs. Abrams said. I swore my heart skipped a beat when I remembered the ambulance ride over. "Oh." I said. It was all I could say.
"If you want, we could go up and see him before your mom comes to pick you up for school." Mrs. Abrams said as she begun to stand up.
"I'm not going to school, I can't. What if he wakes up, and I'm not there?" I asked.
"I know, Tina, I think it's unfair too…but it's not my call." She said shaking her head slightly. I sighed and looked up at her with disappointment.
"But listen here, sweetie. If he does wake up when you're at school, I will call the school and make sure you're the first to know." She said getting back down to my level.
"Thanks." I smiled.
"I'll even pick you up from school, because knowing Artie, he'd definitely want to see you as soon as possible." She smirked.
"Could I still get a ride if he doesn't wake up?" I asked.
"Of course, dear." She laughed.
Though I told her that I wasn't hungry, Mrs. Abrams insisted that I eat something before my mom came to pick me up. She sat me down at a small table in the center of the hospital cafeteria before heading up to the order counter. I looked around at the people around me and realized that we all had something in common, a loved one in distress. Within five minutes, Mrs. Abrams returned to the table with a tray full of food.
"Thank you, Mrs. Abrams." I said as she placed the orange tray in front of me.
"Oh please, dear, call me Catherine." She smiled, sitting down.
"You sure?" I asked.
"Of course, Tina, we're gonna be the best of friends after all this trauma is over." She said. I smiled because I knew it was true.
Once I forced myself to take a bite of food, I realized that my body was fooling me and I was actually quite hungry. That was the first time I had ever eaten hospital food, and it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be.
"I have some extra clothes in the car, if you'd like to change before heading off." Mrs. Abrams said taking her car keys out of her pocket.
"Stuff that would fit me?" I asked wiping my mouth off with a napkin.
"Maybe not perfectly, but I'm sure it'd be better then wandering school with pajamas that smell like smoke and hospital." She said.
"Good point." I laughed, looking at myself.
Though Artie's mom had always been good-natured, I was kind of surprised at the hospitality she gave me. It was like I was the daughter she never head. After I threw away my leftovers, Mrs. Abrams led me out of the hospital and into the parking lot. The Abram's family mini van was stretched across three parking spots. I knew Catherine wasn't a careless parker; she was just probably in a hurry.
"You're kidding me." She said.
"What's wrong?" I asked meeting her at the front of the van.
"They gave me a parking ticket. For god sake, I thought my son was dying." She said crumpling the yellow paper square and throwing it in the front seat. I quietly laughed to myself at her rebellion.
"There's a plastic bag in the back, Tina. I'm sure you'll find something." She said.
I migrated to the back of the car and looked around until I found a plastic bag that was labeled Emergency Supplies. Inside there was a set of clothes for each family member and basic necessities like soap and other hygiene items. I pulled out a pair of gray womens sweatpants and a white T-shirt with a black guitar going down the front that was obviously Artie's. It felt weird wearing Artie's shirt, almost like I was a foreigner in his skin.
"Do you think he'll mind?" I asked looking down the shirt I was wearing.
"Of course not." She smiled.
"You're his world."
I thought I'd end this one on a cute (almost fluffy) note, so that's why it's a little shorter then normal. Plus I wanted to get SOMETHING in before midterm week. Anyways, thanks for Reading/Rating/Etc, and there will be more soon. :)