4;
"I'm happy to see that all three of you were able to make it tonight. I know it's pretty crazy out there with the weather and all."
The parent-teacher conference was held in the school's gymnasium, the only building capable of holding all the participants in a single room. The floor was lined with a scuffed brown linoleum surface that converted every step upon it into a high pitched squeak. The basketball hoops were stowed into their upward positions and the mesh-protected lights that hung from the ceiling were all set to maximum brightness.
There were several dozen student desks scattered throughout the floor, each with three to four chairs stationed in front of it. The crowd of parents had already filled out chairs with more lining up behind those already sitting, most with their children, some without. Each of the desks had a teacher behind it ready to discuss the details of their student's performance with their respective parents.
The first teacher of Ellie's that the three of them visited was a middle aged man who simply went by 'Mr. H.' He smiled and pulled out a few sheets of paper from a manila envelope.
"So let's discuss grades first, shall we? Currently Ellie here has a B in my math class. Her past two tests were an 82 and an 84 and her homework averages about an 87." He alternated glancing back and forth between Thomas and Ellen. "Overall Ellie is doing quite fine. There's always room for improvement, but I don't think there's any reason to concern yourselves there."
He moved his gaze onto Ellie. "Though try and get those test scores up. I'm always available for extra help."
"Well that's good to hear. Our Ellie is a smart kid, so that's not too surprising." Thomas smirked and put a hand on her back. "What else?"
"There is one thing that I wanted to talk to you two about that I find the most concerning." He glanced again toward Ellie who had preemptively turned her head to avoid eye contact. "Ellie is not quite… social with the others."
Ellen raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"
"Well, I and the other teachers have been keeping an eye on her, as we do all the children here to see how they are getting along. Since being socially interactive is an important part of the educational system, we found her lack of such concerning, as I said."
Thomas tried to make eye contact with Ellie who was still facing away. "What is she doing?"
"For starters she seems to actively avoid raising her hand in class, which in itself isn't unusual, but when directly asked a question by a teacher she'll either ignore them or respond with false ignorance."
"False ignorance?"
"Such as responding with an answer that has nothing to do with the subject matter, or by simply saying she doesn't know."
"Well maybe she doesn't know."
"Of course, but she's very consistent. Her interaction is also no different with other students. She'll sit by herself at lunch and, on more than one occasion, has left the table when someone has sat next to her."
By now Ellie was somehow trying to disappear entirely from the conversation. She knew he wasn't wrong, but she hated hearing her own faults.
Ellen looked with a slight surprise over at Thomas. "We knew she was a bit… reserved, but that's just her. I didn't think she'd actually make an effort to avoid other children or even her own teachers." She switched her focus over to the side of Ellie's head. "Sweetheart, did you want to say anything?" She received a silent head shake. "We'll talk to her about it later."
They thanked her teacher for his time and got up from his desk. They cycled around through the rest of Ellie's remaining teachers, each one essentially with the same concerns and compliments as the others. It was getting late as they finished up with her last teacher, the room less crowded than when they first arrived. They left through the room's heavy doors and walked through the building's hallway until they reached the entrance where they first walked in.
They peered out the window and saw the rain coming down even stronger than before. He took off his coat and passed it to Ellen who was focusing on the obviously embarrassed girl.
"Anything you want to say?"
"About what?"
"Don't be snarky. You know what."
Ellie sighed and finally looked up at her. "I'll talk about it when we get back. I just want to get out of here first."
Ellen stayed quiet a second before nodding her head. "Alright, but you're not getting out of it."
She rolled her eyes as she pulled the hood over her head and again tugged on the strings. Thomas opened the door and the three hustled back through the downpour toward the car. He prepared the keys and was constantly pressing the unlock key as they approached it. The three flung their doors open when they finally reached it and slammed them closed behind them. The pattering of the stormy rain against the roof of the car filled the interior with a roar.
Ellen threw the soaked coat into the far back of the car while Thomas started it and cranked up the heater, hoping to silence the chattering teeth surrounding him.
He looked out through the windshield and watched the rain as it fell through the street lights' beams. "It's crazy out here."
"Just max out the wipers and let's go. The line out of here is long enough as it is."
"Fine, fine." He backed the car out of its spot and drove toward the already waiting line of cars to turn left back out onto the main street. He relaxed and rested his foot on the brake until the line budged again. "Good job by the way, Ellie. All A's and B's is really good."
"Absolutely. We're really proud of you."
Ellie was staring out the window at the large amount of cars waiting to get in line with them. "You guys sounded pretty disappointed inside."
Ellen turned around in her seat to face her. "Hey. Look at me. We are not disappointed in you. We couldn't be even if we tried. We just want to make sure you're happy and, from the sound of it, you're not quite there."
"I am happy. Really. I just… don't like other people." She returned to her gazing out the window as Thomas moved up a little farther.
Ellen sighed before turning around and facing forward again. "You'll get there. Just know that we love you no matter what."
Thomas squinted through the drenched windshield and pulled up again as the car in front of him moved. "Speak for yourself."
Ellen slapped him on the arm. "Not the time."
He smiled and turned around quickly to spot Ellie doing the same. "See? She thought it was funny too." He looked back and spotted a break in the cross traffic and pulled out to turn. The last thing Ellie remembered was a deafening car horn and Ellen scream.
.~~~.
"Did you perform her daily yet?"
"I was just about to. While you're here, can you write this down?"
"Sure, one second." Some shuffling noises and what sounded like a pen clicking was heard. "Alright, go ahead."
"Heart rate is 79. Respiratory rate is about… 19, a bit high, but normal. Blood pressure is 116 over 71. Temperature, 99.1."
A very faint screen of gray disrupted the otherwise completely encompassing black.
"Pupils are normal."
"Okay."
"Make sure you swap out her IV and meet me over in room 214."
Sounds of footsteps drew close while others faded away. A light noise of metal clinking against metal was followed by a pair of footsteps retreating. Soon, a door clicked closed and then, seemingly immediately, clicked back open.
"You ready?"
"Yep, go ahead."
"Heart rate, 82. Respiratory rate is 16, better than yesterday. Blood pressure, 119 over 69, good. Temperature, 98.9, fine too." A screen of light disrupted the darkness again, though this time it appeared much brighter than before.
The female voice sounded surprised. "…oh my god."
"What?"
"Did you see that?"
"No, what was it?"
"Her eyes squinted against the light."
"Do you think she's coming to?"
"Possibly. Ellie, can you hear me?"
"I'm going to get Dr. Camden."
A pair of footsteps left, but the sound of another person remaining in the room was obvious as they scuffled around her. The footsteps soon returned and brought with it a third set. The numbers that the previous voices had just read off were reread out loud.
The new third voice was male and a bit softer than the other two. "Pass me the light."
The darkness briefly receded again and a very blurry and hazy outline of a face took up a majority of her vision. She attempted to keep her eyes open, but it was impossible with her strength.
"She may need one more day's rest, but I think she's finally waking up. Let me know if there are any changes."
"Of course."
Another day had passed by, the time passing in between seeming instantaneous. Her vision slowly improved from a fuzzy outline of objects to something more detailed and with color. She began observing her new surroundings, mostly white walls with a window to her left and a small TV in one of the upper corners.
A multitude of machines lay behind her head with wiring and cables looping around to each of them in an elaborate labyrinth. In turn, several white lengths of tubing lead from a couple of the machines into spots along her arm with one around her nose. She was trying to make sense of anything when the door opened and distracted her.
A man walked up the side of her bed with a clipboard in hand. "Hello, Ellie, my name is Dr. Camden. I'm glad to see that you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
His words seemed slightly slurred and it took a few seconds for them to make sense. She squeezed her eyes closed and took a deep breath. "Not great."
"I wouldn't have expected any different. But at least you're feeling something, which is better than not at all."
"Where am I?"
"You're at St. Mary's Hospital. You've been here for a while now, and, to be honest, we weren't sure if you'd ever wake up. But that isn't really important right now. What is, is that-"
"Wait, what?" He stopped talking and arched his brow. "How long is 'a while'?"
He looked uncomfortable before giving in to her question. "Four months."
"Four months?"
"Right. Slept right through your birthday too." He smiled but the stunned look of her face in response caused him to rethink his banter. "You've been in a coma the entire time."
"How did I get here?"
"...what's the last thing that you can remember, Ellie?"
She re-closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. "I… I don't know. It's all just really hazy."
"That's understandable. But if you-"
"No, wait. It was dark and… loud. Really loud, like a, a crunching sound."
"I see, anything else?"
"Not really. Just a-" In an instant, Ellie's face shifted from neutral to completely distraught. Her breathing hastened and her pulse jumped as indicated by the increased frequency of the beeping from one of the machines. "Oh my god."
"Ellie, try to take a couple of deep breaths."
"Please tell me my parents are okay." Her body tensed up as she stared at the doctor and waited for an answer, his hesitation doing nothing to calm her. "Please."
"I'm sorry."
Her eyes quickly drained of life and her head fell back on the pillow as if her body had gone limp. Her breathing became interrupted by light sobbing while tears began to build up and overflow.
Dr. Camden stood by silently, letting the sudden reality of her world sink in. "I'll be back in a bit. Just… try to breathe." He sighed and walked out of the room with as little noise as possible and closed the door slowly behind him.
Several days had passed and it was clear Ellie was still reeling from her new situation. She became even more withdrawn and refused to cooperate or discuss anything with the medical staff. The doctor's visits were met with silence as were her daily checkups with the nurses. They tried to get her to open up, but nothing seemed to work.
On the fourth day, a woman in a brown corduroy jacket and similarly styled pants walked into her room and took a spot next to her bed. She took a quick look around the room and at Ellie specifically, noticing the same absent like expression that the staff had trying to help her with. Dr. Camden was standing in a corner to watch over the meeting.
"Nice to meet you, Ellie. I'm Susan."
She lightly shook her head and spoke almost silently. "So?"
"So, I work for the city government in a department that handles children in your… situation."
"You mean an orphan." She spoke flatly.
"Well, we try not to use that term, but yes." She opened the file she was holding and flipped the front page over. "I see here that Thomas and Ellen Messer were your foster parents. But now, because of-"
She interrupted with a defeated sounding scoff. "Were."
"Sorry?"
"Were. Past tense."
"Right… but now, because of... certain events, you will be reintroduced into the foster system."
The man in the corner broke his silence and took a step forward. "Couldn't you have been less blunt about it?"
"I'm sorry, but I feel pulling off the bandage quickly is the best approach. I'm sure you understand, Ellie."
"Just leave me alone."
"I will, but I first need you to-"
"Leave!"
The women's eyes widened and her mouth slightly dropped in surprise. She wanted to respond but chose to take a breath instead and listen to the girl. "I'll be back later."
Ellie knew that she'd have to face the eventuality of leaving the hospital and deal with the fact that she would not be able to go home to two loving parents who she had been, for once in her life, happily living with.
Within the next few weeks she was released in good physical health into, once again, the custody of the city.