(no subject)
Jenn Spelas
Non-Chronological
Due: 3-17-06
The car swayed side to side as it tailed the ambulance containing my brother. The sirens wails grew louder as it approached vehicles that hadn’t yet pulled to the right. Our car remained absolutely silent except for my father’s anxious breathing.
The only think I could do was sit and think while watching the blossoming trees pass by in the blur. My step-brother, Andrew, had been having problems at his new school. He was originally from Keene, New Hampshire, but when our parents decided to marry he had to move here. I never noticed it before, but I guess our school isn’t very accepting of new people. They’ve been beating up Andrew, breaking his possessions, and calling him names. Dad has gone to the principal about it, and the man hasn’t done a thing. The police don’t seem to care either. None of us knew what to do, but recently a new thing has started. Andrew had been doing something really weird. Something I’ve never seen before.
Three weeks ago, the school nurse called an ambulance for Andrew. I guess he had dropped in gym class and began convulsing or something. The hospital made him stay for a few days, and ran some tests on him. He was pretty funny looking with all of the wires stuck to his head, but the wires aren’t too funny anymore. The doctors say he is having something called a seizure. I asked my dad what a seizure is, but he couldn’t really answer. A few days after the doctors said Andrew could come back home, he had another ‘episode’. I was sleeping when it happened, and all I remember is a lot of loud voices and being told to get into the car. Again we spent the night in the hospital, and they stuck some more sill wires onto Andrew’s forehead. They said they couldn’t find a reason for these seizures, and sent him back home.
The trips to the hospital have become so routine, I can basically do them in my sleep, but today was different-today was scary. It started out like any other sunny Saturday. Dad, and my step-mom, Anne, got up early and made a big breakfast. The sound of the chirping birds and the smell of eggs, sausage, and home fries awoke my brother and me. Once we had consumed all of the food that we could possibly fit into our stomachs, we went out side to play. We were in the back yard tossing my new softball around. I’ve always wanted to be kind of athletic like my friends, so Andrew has been working with me. I think everyone was feeling confident that today would be a great day. The weather was gorgeous and we had managed to stay out of the hospital for a few days. But all it took to ruin the one decent day my family had had in weeks was one little comment. I opened my mouth for a split second, and the good day we all could have had, vanished before my eyes.
We were tossing the ball back and forth, and I suppose we were talking. I have absolutely no clue what we were talking about, but it probably wasn’t anything too important. What ever the topic was, I managed to make a comment that wasn’t too nice. But I can’t be blamed! It’s been just as hard on me having to be at the hospital all the time, not sleeping, and hardly getting my home work done. For heavens sake, I’ve never failed anything in my life, and in the past month I’ve failed two tests! I told him that he should just go have another seizure. I don’t honestly know why I said it, or where it came from. I don’t want him to have any more. I don’t want to rush to the hospital, and worry about him anymore. But I managed to cause all of those things to happen again.
After the words left my mouth, Andrew seemed to go into something I don’t really know how to describe. I guess I would call it a trance. He just stood there, not moving, or blinking. I didn’t know what to do. For all I knew he could have been playing around, trying to make me feel bad. But when I tossed the ball to him, and he made no motion to catch or move, I knew something was wrong. Purely out of instinct, I ran to the house and into the kitchen where our parents were preparing for the barbeque. I have no clue what I said, or how I said it. All I remember is Dad running outside. I’m assuming he picked Andrew up and brought him inside, because the next thing I clearly remember is Andrew sitting at the kitchen table. He was still in that strange state, but he started writing algebra problems on the table with his pointer finger. His mother was trying to talk to him, and sticking little white packets filled with something stinky under his nose. She told me she got them from the doctor’s office where she works. They are supposed to stop a seizure or wake up a passed out person or something.
Non-Chronological
Due: 3-17-06
The car swayed side to side as it tailed the ambulance containing my brother. The sirens wails grew louder as it approached vehicles that hadn’t yet pulled to the right. Our car remained absolutely silent except for my father’s anxious breathing.
The only think I could do was sit and think while watching the blossoming trees pass by in the blur. My step-brother, Andrew, had been having problems at his new school. He was originally from Keene, New Hampshire, but when our parents decided to marry he had to move here. I never noticed it before, but I guess our school isn’t very accepting of new people. They’ve been beating up Andrew, breaking his possessions, and calling him names. Dad has gone to the principal about it, and the man hasn’t done a thing. The police don’t seem to care either. None of us knew what to do, but recently a new thing has started. Andrew had been doing something really weird. Something I’ve never seen before.
Three weeks ago, the school nurse called an ambulance for Andrew. I guess he had dropped in gym class and began convulsing or something. The hospital made him stay for a few days, and ran some tests on him. He was pretty funny looking with all of the wires stuck to his head, but the wires aren’t too funny anymore. The doctors say he is having something called a seizure. I asked my dad what a seizure is, but he couldn’t really answer. A few days after the doctors said Andrew could come back home, he had another ‘episode’. I was sleeping when it happened, and all I remember is a lot of loud voices and being told to get into the car. Again we spent the night in the hospital, and they stuck some more sill wires onto Andrew’s forehead. They said they couldn’t find a reason for these seizures, and sent him back home.
The trips to the hospital have become so routine, I can basically do them in my sleep, but today was different-today was scary. It started out like any other sunny Saturday. Dad, and my step-mom, Anne, got up early and made a big breakfast. The sound of the chirping birds and the smell of eggs, sausage, and home fries awoke my brother and me. Once we had consumed all of the food that we could possibly fit into our stomachs, we went out side to play. We were in the back yard tossing my new softball around. I’ve always wanted to be kind of athletic like my friends, so Andrew has been working with me. I think everyone was feeling confident that today would be a great day. The weather was gorgeous and we had managed to stay out of the hospital for a few days. But all it took to ruin the one decent day my family had had in weeks was one little comment. I opened my mouth for a split second, and the good day we all could have had, vanished before my eyes.
We were tossing the ball back and forth, and I suppose we were talking. I have absolutely no clue what we were talking about, but it probably wasn’t anything too important. What ever the topic was, I managed to make a comment that wasn’t too nice. But I can’t be blamed! It’s been just as hard on me having to be at the hospital all the time, not sleeping, and hardly getting my home work done. For heavens sake, I’ve never failed anything in my life, and in the past month I’ve failed two tests! I told him that he should just go have another seizure. I don’t honestly know why I said it, or where it came from. I don’t want him to have any more. I don’t want to rush to the hospital, and worry about him anymore. But I managed to cause all of those things to happen again.
After the words left my mouth, Andrew seemed to go into something I don’t really know how to describe. I guess I would call it a trance. He just stood there, not moving, or blinking. I didn’t know what to do. For all I knew he could have been playing around, trying to make me feel bad. But when I tossed the ball to him, and he made no motion to catch or move, I knew something was wrong. Purely out of instinct, I ran to the house and into the kitchen where our parents were preparing for the barbeque. I have no clue what I said, or how I said it. All I remember is Dad running outside. I’m assuming he picked Andrew up and brought him inside, because the next thing I clearly remember is Andrew sitting at the kitchen table. He was still in that strange state, but he started writing algebra problems on the table with his pointer finger. His mother was trying to talk to him, and sticking little white packets filled with something stinky under his nose. She told me she got them from the doctor’s office where she works. They are supposed to stop a seizure or wake up a passed out person or something.