"Hey, I wanted to ask you guys," I said. "Do either of you read any girls' magazines? You know, like Cosmo Girl or Elle Girl or—"

"Or Barf Girl," Carla interrupted. "Pull-eeze! Are you serious?"

Rules Are Rules
40. The Most Quiet Place

 

---

Part 40
 
On Monday at lunch, Eden said, "What's with you? You've been dragging around all day."

I told her about my stomach.

"Maybe it's your appendix," Carla said. "That's what it felt like when I had mine taken out."

"No," I said, "it's my stomach."

Carla shrugged and pushed some more food into her mouth.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you guys," I said. "Do either of you read any girls' magazines? You know, like Cosmo Girl or Elle Girl or—"

"Or Barf Girl," Carla interrupted. "Pull-eeze! Are you serious?"

Eden smiled. "I don't get any of them. Right now I'm reading Healing A Princess. It's a good story." She sipped her drink. "Why are you interested in those magazines?"

"Oh, I don't know." I said. "I feel like I ought to be reading one, but I don't know which one to choose."

"Why don't you ask Cassie?" Eden said.

"She'd just laugh at me," I said. "But I guess I could try. She'll tease me anyway."

"She's like your big sister," Carla said. "Big sisters are a big pain. But seriously, don't read those magazines. They soften your brain."

I shrugged.

"Oh, look," Eden said, gesturing behind me. "Jerry's arguing with the cafeteria monitor."

I turned, and saw him. He had a newspaper in his hand that he was trying to show her. Finally he got her to look at it. She laughed and waved him through. He walked up to my table.

"Gah!" he spat. "I have to get special permission to talk to you!" Then he smiled, and I could see he wanted to kiss me.

"The monitor's watching," Carla cautioned.

"Look," Jerry said. "I had to show you this." He spread the paper on the table. It was the sports section from the Globe, and on the front page was a big color picture of the two of us at the mall — me in my Dodgers shirt and Jerry in his Giants shirt.

"Oh, how sweet!" Carla said. "Look at the caption: Love Conquers All. Ha!" She laughed, and Eden went on to read the rest. The caption gave our names, our school, and said that our "affection for each other doesn't interfere with allegiance to our teams."

"What a hoot!" Carla crowed. "How lovey-dovey!"

"Anyway, it's a nice picture," Jerry said to me. "They are good colors on you, even if it's the wrong team."

"Aww," Eden cooed.

"That's enough," the monitor called, and Jerry went back to his table.

"Who are you calling?" Carla asked me, as I dialed my cell phone.

"My aunt," I said. "I want to see if she can pick up some copies of the paper."

---

My aunt and I took off after dinner. I was still pretty uncomfortable, but trying not to show it. Jane still put it down to nerves.

"Why do we have to leave now?" I asked.

"I've told you twice already," my aunt replied, a little impatiently. "It's a two-hour drive, and the plane gets in at six. So we either leave tomorrow at four AM or leave tonight and get a hotel near the airport.

"Your mother's landing in a little regional airport so she could get a low fare. That's also why she's on a red-eye. The overnight flights cost less. Your parents can't afford to be flying back and forth every time you get into something."

"Ha, ha," I said mirthlessly.

"Come on," she said, smiling, and we got in the car.

After a long, uneventful drive, we checked into a hotel.

I couldn't sleep much, and after several hours of tossing and turning, we dressed, checked out of the hotel and were on our way to the airport. I looked like hell, and my stomach hurt more than ever.

"Now I'm starting to worry," my aunt said. "Once we pick up your mother, we're going to take you to see someone."

"Yeah," I agreed. "The sooner the better."

We had to wait near baggage claim. I sat down with my hands on my stomach while my aunt scanned the crowd. By the time my mother appeared, tears of pain were streaming down my face.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" my mother asked.

"You have to take me to the doctor," I said. "Now."

Aunt Jane ran for the car. My mother anxiously watched for her bags, and I stayed put, crying and clutching my stomach.

A woman from airport security sat down next to me and started asking me questions. Wordlessly I looked at my mother, who ran over to explain. The woman stood up, turned her back to us, and talked into a walkie-talkie. "Copy that," she said at the end, and turned back to face us.

"An ambulance is on the way. There's a hospital close by."

Aunt Jane pulled up outside at that point. She got out of her car, and immediately another security officer confronted her, telling her to move the car. I gestured with my head, and Mom told the woman, "That's my sister-in-law."

To make a long story short, Mom and I took off in the ambulance. Aunt Jane waited to pick up my mother's luggage, and one of the guys from the ambulance stayed to show Jane the way.

"It was nice of that man to stay with my sister-in-law," my mother commented. She had to talk loudly to be heard over the siren.

"Yeah," the medic replied. "I think he has a thing for her."

"Oh," my mother said, in an almost inaudible voice.

---

It turned out that Carla was right: I had appendicitis, and they operated right away.

I don't remember much of what happened once we got to the hospital. Maybe it was the anesthesia, maybe I just passed out. I remember someone saying, "Look, she's exhausted," and pushing my hair off my forehead. I remember my mother signing forms... I remember Aunt Jane and some guy... I remember looking up at faces in surgical masks... Someone asked me to count backward from 100. I got as far as 99.

The next thing I knew, I was in a gauzy, dimly-lit, but very white room. It was the most quiet place I had ever been in my life. A nurse came by and offered me some water. After I sipped a little through a straw, I asked, "Am I asleep? Is this a dream?"

"No, hon," the nurse said in a quiet, kind voice. "You're still feeling the anesthesia a little. Everything went fine. Soon we'll take you to your room and you can see your family."

---

The rest of the hospital stay was a blur. It seemed like we rushed out of the place. As soon as I got to my room, I saw that my mother had been crying, and Aunt Jane was angry.

A nurse and some other people in white protested, but Jane put me a wheelchair and pushed me to her car. There were lots of voices. It seemed as if everyone wanted to argue but were trying to be quiet at the same time.

I didn't understand... everything was still dream-like.

Mom and Aunt Jane filled the back seat of the car with blankets and pillows, like a bed. Someone with strong arms lifted me in, and I fell instantly asleep. I remember the car making some bumps and turns, and next thing I knew, I was waking up in my own bed at Jane's house, feeling very thirsty.