SAM

Four Months Later

David being diagnosed as a diabetic took a while to get used to. The fact that he had to wear an insulin pump that was attached to him constantly, check his sugar by pricking his finger, and count carbohydrates was not an exciting thought. I mean, I'd learned to detect when his sugar was too high or too low by his mood, began to accept his bouts of fatigue. And while I still knew that I shouldn't feel sorry for him, I just couldn't help it. Within seconds David could suddenly turn defenseless, something we both learned early on.

This wasn't some cold that goes away within a week. This was a life changing, chronic disease that David would have forever. At first I wasn't exactly sure as to how David was going to handle the news, but I knew that he wasn't going to be happy. Who would? But what really bothered me was this: would David be the same person after all of this? I knew the answer was that he wasn't going to be. He had had a lot to learn, and quick. I had had a lot to learn. And here the First Family's life had just been flipped upside down and here I was worrying about how I was going to handle it. This had become very frustrating, very quickly.

I had known that something was wrong and I'd chosen to ignore it. He'd been sick for at least two weeks and I made myself believe he had the flu. I remembered a week back, when I had been waiting to hear from David for almost five hours after school, and how the worry that had been building up inside of me quickly fell away once I saw David's screenname appear on my buddylist. A double click from the mouse and his AIM box was on my screen. I had typed a quick "hey" and pressed enter on my keyboard.

loveangelmusicbaby: hey
inthroughtheoutdoor: hey sam
loveangelmusicbaby: i called you before but you didn't pick up your phone
inthroughtheoutdoor: yeah, i kind of fell asleep..lol
loveangelmusicbaby: you feel asleep?
inthroughtheoutdoor: yeah, idk why but i've been really exhausted lately. i think i'm getting the flu :-\
loveangelmusicbaby: aww
inthroughtheoutdoor: anyways, i came on to tell you that i'm not going to make it to susan boone's tonight
loveangelmusicbaby: but david! you have to go! i can't go through advanced life drawing by myself!
inthroughtheoutdoor: i'll make it up to you, i promise. i feel really sick tonight
inthroughtheoutdoor: how about this: i'll have you over for dinner and have one of the infamous burgers from the white house kitchen made just for you
loveangelmusicbaby: ohh sounds like a deal :)
inthroughtheoutdoor: i knew you'd agree to that lol
loveangelmusicbaby: hey!
inthroughtheoutdoor: all right, i'm going to go. i'll call you tomorrow morning. i love you sam, goodnight
loveangelmusicbaby: feel better david. i love you too 3
inthroughtheoutdoor: oh, wait! about the dinner on saturday night, i'll pick you up at 5
loveangelmusicbaby: lol goodnight david

After our conversation we both signed off of AIM. I had grabbed my art supplies (and my Orestes Plays book that I had to read for english class) and went downstairs to remind my mom that I had to get to Susan Boone's on time. I was hoping to read what I could while I was in the car, but I really didn't feel like picking it up. I figured that I'd read it on the way to school the next morning.

In the middle of Susan Boone's art class my cell phone started to vibrate. I took advantage of the fact that I was behind an easel and opened my phone. A little envelope icon appeared on my screen and I accessed the text message. It was from David. He'd sent me a text that said he loved me and that he wished he was with me at class. I had smiled and put my phone away, thankful for the fact that I had someone like David in my life who, even when he was sick with the flu, was thinking of me.

The first time that I had met Julie was when I was visiting David in the hospital for the second time. It took me ten minutes to find David's room, and I knew that I only had about ten minutes left after that to be with him.

I hate to admit it, but the second that I had walked into the room and saw her, I was jealous. She was tall and slender, as well as blonde haired. She was definitely pretty. The pang of jealously that I thought I'd never feel when it came to other girls hanging out with David went through me as I slowed my walk towards David.

To say that I was confused was an understatement. What exactly was going on here? Where did this Julie come? And why was I suddenly so jealous?

"Sam!" David got up out of his bed and came to hug me. "I missed you." he said in a lower, more sincere tone. I smiled at the thought the he was all right and he led me towards a chair near his bed and Julie, who was also in a chair of her own. "Sam, this is Julie Leighton. Julie, this is Sam Madison." The girl got up and smiled at me, her teeth a perfect array of pearly, straight, whiteness. I forced a smiled back when she held her hand out and I grasped it and shook it.

"So you're the Sam Madison that saved the President's life?" Her voice showed that she wasn't as ditsy as I had originally thought her to be.

"That would be me." I said with as much enthusiasm as I could to match Julie's as we all took our seats. "So, um. How are things going?" I was nervous to talk to David about his diabetes. We'd had sex, and here I was blushing at the thought of asking him such simple questions.

"Things are going great. My doctor sent Julie, who also had diabetes, in to talk to me. And I can go home in tomorrow if my sugar levels stay level. I really can't wait to get home."

"You have diabetes too?"

"I've had it since I was two." I suddenly felt uncomfortable in the room with them. Relief came over me when my phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I knew I wasn't supposed to have my phone, but I picked it up and answered it. My mom told me that it was time to go, and I said goodbye to Julie, and hugged David, reminding him that I'd call later. I flew out of the place as though there it was on fire.