~Chapter 11~

I sighed in my Anatomy class the next day. Last night had been terrible for me. Insomnia came with narcolepsy. It didn't help that I started to nod off and Danny thought I'd passed out again. Thankfully I had simply shooed him away and told him I was just a little tired. He bought it—which was great since it was the truth—and dropped the topic of fainting. He had helped me study and watched in wonder as I drew Muffin the horse. Part of me hoped she would appear again just so I could imagine her striking the same pose as in my drawing. The rest of me was overly ready to go to sleep.

It was just then that I remembered—I'd forgotten to take my antidepressants...

No! Crap! There was no way I could control—to any extent whatsoever—my narcolepsy without those stupid pills! Sometimes there was no trigger and I would go into an episode of either narcolepsy or cataplexy for no apparent reason. I just...somehow...maybe I could try to control it... Mind over matter. Except that didn't work when your mind was the matter.

Just send me back to middle school and let it all happen again! Why not! Note to self: tape a notecard reminder of medicine to forehead before going to sleep. I had to find a way to get more sleep as well as study enough to get by. No, wait, I could still keep going about my normal study ways—with the exception of Danny's suggestions for studying Anatomy. Short n' sweet, and it was probably the best advice anyone had ever given me.

Muffin didn't appear in today's class. I was a little disappointed, but it wasn't that hard to get over it. Apparently Muffin was supposed to come in so we could check over our work and see for ourselves how accurate our drawings were, but a stud service had been accepted unexpectedly and she had to go mate with some stallion in Kentucky. Apparently this stallion was of champion bloodline so the administration counted it a valid excuse to leave. I had zero experience in horse anything, let alone breeding, but even I knew payment for studs like that was ridiculously expensive. Muffin could also have come from a golden bloodline so breeding her with another champ could result in a foal with the traits Stable Boy or his sister—whoever was in charge of the breeding—was looking for.

On top of the breeding, another event had come up that required Stable Boy to transport another horse to Texas. Supposedly it was a rodeo and he would have to board Muffin in an equestrian center until it was all over. He would be gone for the next several days so even if Muffin didn't have a weekend lover, he still couldn't bring her in.

I was suddenly brought back to reality—daydreaming was a bad sign for me—when I realized everyone was leaving. Class was already over and I didn't hear one word Ms. Slender said! Seriously, of all days to skip my medicine...

I took a breath and gathered my things. I was just waiting for myself to pass out...for my secret to be shown to the world...for everyone to mirror middle school... Those years were the worst years of my entire life... It wasn't possible to hate any other year worse!

And my stupid little fainting spell could come at any second, minute, hour... I didn't know when but every time I skipped my medicine I went out like a light at least four times. And that was plenty more than enough to attract attentions. With those attentions came questions. I couldn't answer those questions... They would figure me out... Because of them I— Never mind... Thinking about it would do me no good. It didn't depress me, I was just ashamed of it. Never told a soul, in fact—and never planned to.

By now you should know all about my luck. You know, the luck that doesn't exist?

As soon as I took five steps, I opened my eyes to find myself at the bottom of the stairs. My whole body also hurt like mad. Nice, huh? Well on top of that, I knew immediately that I'd had a sleep attack and had fallen down a lot of stairs during that time.

"Are you okay?!" someone cried.

I sat up as though nothing even happened and looked to see Ms. Slender hovering over me. I didn't notice it before but she had her hand on my back, like she had just been trying to wake me up.

"What's your name?" she asked.

I sighed, already trying to think of an excuse to get me out of this one, and answered, "Sam."

She let out a breath I didn't even know she was holding in. "Okay. Sam, you just fell down about twenty stairs and wouldn't wake up afterwards."

"Don't worry, I already know. I'm fine though. Probably just need a little snack," I said, using the exact same excuse I had used on Danny—it was for the best considering he could be watching me right now.

If he had seen me pass out just now... Ugh...by skipping my medicine I was only giving him more reason to worry. Needless to say, that was the very last thing I wanted. And if he saw it a third time, he would take me to the hospital thinking I was anorexic or bulimic. I actually had a big appetite for a girl my size, but I burned off the calories quickly, so I was always thin. The thing was, I didn't look like I had an eating disorder. I was thin, yes, but in no way did I look boney.

I could only hope Ms. Slender didn't suggest any medical help. I was supposed to fill it out but I marked everything concerning medical conditions, aside from being up to date on my vaccines, as "no". As far as this college knew, I was perfectly healthy and had no medical condition. I knew I was supposed to be truthful, especially since I really did have a condition, but I couldn't go through middle school again. I just couldn't; it was too agonizing to begin with. Going through the halls passing out left and right like there was no tomorrow, tending to injuries sustained from falling over like that, and being laughed at and not being able to do a thing about it... I couldn't put myself through it all again.

"Do you suffer from an eating disorder?" she asked.

I sighed. This was exactly the same thing Danny had guessed but it was the wrong conclusion. OPEN YOUR EYES, PEOPLE, DO I LOOK ANOREXIC TO YOU?!

"No, I'm fine," I answered. "I just need to eat something, that's all."

Yeah...until I passed out again and showed her I was lying though my teeth.

"Okay. Are you sure you don't need to leave?" she continued.

I shook my head. "Everything is okay. I'll eat and after that, no more fainting."

"Leave if you think you need to," she finished. "It doesn't matter if it's right in the middle of a class, but your health comes first."

Not to me. School came first. I wanted to be able to go places and do things, not sit and flip burgers—which would completely disgust me. I wanted to lead an interesting life and my health wasn't going to hold me back.

I stood up and felt the pain of the bruises from where I'd hit the corners of the stairs. It would be really nice if a building had a ramp for once.

Ms. Slender picked up my things and handed them to me so I could hurry to my next class—Anatomy, unfortunately. She had such a tough-as-nails attitude that it was a little shocking to find out she had a sweet side after all. Not that it wasn't welcome, because it very much was, but it was still shocking.

I just hoped my brain wouldn't betray me again... This time only Ms. Slender saw it but next time I was doomed to have someone else see. I couldn't let that happen.

When I got back to my dorm after a long day of disappointment, stress, four more narcoleptic episodes, and two cataplexy episodes, I was beyond exhausted. I was always tired but this was just... This was absurd, it really was, and I was starting to question whether I was truly ready for college if I couldn't keep up with any of my classes! All the work was becoming too much for me. As much as I loathed admitting it, college was getting to me. I did my work and kept excellent attendance, but it was ridiculously hard—and this was only my third day! Still, I couldn't just drop out. Thanks to my stubborn nature, I would rather get a grip if possible. This was my life now. I just had to focus on my future. This would pay off.

I dragged out my Anatomy textbook and opened it to the assigned page. Thankfully my work was to study, and nothing else.

Next I opened my drawer to get out a highlighter and a notebook. This way I could "simplify" and look back at the simple notes instead of agonizing over all this complicated stuff I hardly understood.

Naturally I was expecting Danny to come by like he seemed dead-set on doing. Wait. Did I really just use the term "dead-set"? Hm. Well. No pun intended.

As I reached for my notebook and highlighter, I noticed that the first thing I felt wasn't either one, let alone both. No, instead it was a notepad with a piece of paper that had been folded in half taped to it.

I drew it out and took off the paper, placing my bet on my father having sent this thing to brag about his newest achievement. I could care less for whatever the man had to say to me. I was lying about that, but I'll just say I wasn't and be fine with it.

To my semi-dismay, it was actually from Danny.

Dear Sam,

I'm so sorry about this but some things have come up and I had to leave town. I gave you some notes and tips on how to study in this notepad. Hopefully this will help you while I'm gone. I should be back in a week or so. Until then, stay strong with Anatomy.

Good luck,
Danny (aka, Inviso-Bill)

I smiled at his terrible nickname, but just as soon frowned when I realized that he wouldn't be back for some while. At least he was still trying, in his own way, to help me study and even gave me the notes that I planned on taking myself. Unfortunately, notes were not actual tutors. Danny may have written them and he may have given me more tips, but this notepad was no replacement. Although I really shouldn't be complaining right now. If something came up and he had to leave, then how was that his fault? It wasn't like he could help it and I knew all too well that life gave no one a break—it didn't merely "back off". Well it didn't back off on me so I wouldn't expect it to back off on Danny either.

Still...I could really use his help in such a tough subject. It was easy for him, but I felt like I was trying to learn a dead language here. Danny had acted as my translator, even though it was for a very short time. It helped me a lot... Maybe these tips, since they were directly from him, would help me get this down—or at least some of it; pieces of paper didn't exactly respond to a question if you had one. Hopefully Danny had anticipated all or most of my questions. Hopefully he had been thorough enough to help me understand it, but simple enough to keep me from getting confused.

Hey wait! If he had to leave, then he hadn't been watching me in school! I was safe! He hadn't seen me pass out! Yes! Oh thank goodness... He would've had questions of his own, and not about Anatomy or how I was faring with studying it.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but my relief was short-lived. I remembered Anatomy and its horrid little antics. It was like the anti-Sam subject. It was a monster. It was a Sam repellent. It needed to die!

This time I sighed in dread. I thumbed through the notepad Danny left me and was speechless. Not only did this little notepad contain incredibly well-thought-out notes, but drawings as well. The drawings were crude and sloppy, but they weren't meant to be perfect. They were more of diagrams, actually, but it was art nevertheless. He had drawn arrows from the name or function of a skin part to the location in the picture itself. Now if I had any questions, they would be answered visually and I wouldn't have to use my imagination. He was good.

I wondered if this was the method he used for himself, or if this was the method he chose to help me. Either way it was genius.

He hadn't highlighted anything, so I took out my highlighter and began reading the pre-simplified notes, highlighting the things I found absolutely critical.

I would have to thank him for this when he came back.

A/N

Woo-hoo! I managed to write this out better than I planned. ...Okay so it wasn't very amazing. ...Okay...it wasn't amazing at all. -_- Still, I didn't have much time left to finish it so it probably seemed rushed nearer to the end.

Why was the clock ticking for me? I wanted to update it today because...*drumroll please* IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! :D To celebrate I have updated three stories all at once (not easy when all the chapters have to be finished/written out in just a few days' time, especially when you have to work): Whatshisface, The Boy With the Rings, and Flowers Will Grow.