Nonfiction Snippet: Sick
I wrote this for my Creative Nonfiction course, based on events that occurred this past summer.
Sick
It’s 5 am and I’m coughing up blood.
Meg and Katie are asleep on either side of me. Allie and Andy are snuggling in the other bed. Suitcases litter the floor. Costumes are overflowing onto the carpet. It’s 5 am in a Baltimore hotel room and I’m coughing up blood.
It’s only a little bit, just specks on a tissue. Besides, I’ve been hacking up a lung for nearly a week. It sucks, but it hasn’t gotten any worse. I’m going to be fine. I should just go back to sleep. It’s not smart to walk around an Anime convention when you’re sleep deprived. I close my eyes and try to settle back in, but it’s 5 am and I’m coughing up blood.
I should tell someone. I need to go to a doctor. But it’s 5 am in Baltimore during Otakon. I’ve been saving all summer for this trip. I haven’t seen Allie since we came here last year. I can’t ruin Meg’s first big convention. But I’m scared. My chest is tight and tears are welling up in my eyes. I sit up in bed and look at Allie. Then I look at her boyfriend. They look so cute together. I can’t bear to wake either of them up. I swallow nervously (it hurts!) and turn to Meg. Gently, I shake her shoulder. I hope she’s awake and can hear when I whisper her name.
It’s 5:30 am and Meg is sitting with me in a shuttle on the way to Johns Hopkins. I’m going to be okay. It doesn’t matter that I’m coughing up blood. Meg is with me and I’m going to the hospital. I’m going to be okay.
Sick
It’s 5 am and I’m coughing up blood.
Meg and Katie are asleep on either side of me. Allie and Andy are snuggling in the other bed. Suitcases litter the floor. Costumes are overflowing onto the carpet. It’s 5 am in a Baltimore hotel room and I’m coughing up blood.
It’s only a little bit, just specks on a tissue. Besides, I’ve been hacking up a lung for nearly a week. It sucks, but it hasn’t gotten any worse. I’m going to be fine. I should just go back to sleep. It’s not smart to walk around an Anime convention when you’re sleep deprived. I close my eyes and try to settle back in, but it’s 5 am and I’m coughing up blood.
I should tell someone. I need to go to a doctor. But it’s 5 am in Baltimore during Otakon. I’ve been saving all summer for this trip. I haven’t seen Allie since we came here last year. I can’t ruin Meg’s first big convention. But I’m scared. My chest is tight and tears are welling up in my eyes. I sit up in bed and look at Allie. Then I look at her boyfriend. They look so cute together. I can’t bear to wake either of them up. I swallow nervously (it hurts!) and turn to Meg. Gently, I shake her shoulder. I hope she’s awake and can hear when I whisper her name.
It’s 5:30 am and Meg is sitting with me in a shuttle on the way to Johns Hopkins. I’m going to be okay. It doesn’t matter that I’m coughing up blood. Meg is with me and I’m going to the hospital. I’m going to be okay.