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21
MEGAN
“How’s it going, sis?” Mom’s voice comes over my shoulder as I sit at the kitchen table. Papers are strewn everywhere.
“Um…fine?” It comes out as a question since I’m not entirely sure it’s true. My mom was able to get all of the documents necessary for me to homeschool when I first got sick. Unfortunately, I got behind on the work I needed to complete when my chemo treatments wiped me out.
I’m trying to catch up now since I’m on the mend. There’s so much to do; it’s been incredibly overwhelming.
“Well, let’s break things down into smaller bites. What can you finish quickly?” Mom asks.
We start going through all of the coursework I have left to complete. She helps me list out everything I need to finish, then we make a game plan for how to tackle what’s remaining. With everything organized, I don’t feel like I’m drowning in work anymore.
After starting the experimental treatment, it took about four months for me to get better. The results of the new medication blasted my tumors relatively quickly, but my body struggled to recover from the intensity of the treatment. Despite being tumor free, I had to stay in the hospital in order for my system to recover from the almost shutdown.
I’m still not 100 percent over the effects of the therapy. My body is still working its way back up to full strength. I am a survivor, though. That’s what matters.
Now, all I have to do is finish high school. Then the entire nightmare will be behind me. I did miss the deadline to apply to college, and while I’m a little bummed I didn’t get to go through the whole application process with my friends, I don’t really mind. The extra time to heal is necessary. Plus, I have no idea what I want to do with my life anymore. Medicine will not be in my future. If I never have to see the inside of a hospital again, it’ll be too soon. I’m still getting used to not having a plan for my future. But, after everything I’ve been through, I feel like I’m entitled to just be for a little while.
With a handle on the schoolwork I need to complete, I finish all my tasks for the day. Apparently, just in time, too, when a loud commotion catches my attention. I peek my head around the corner to find my friends piling into the house, making as much noise as possible.
A smile stretches across my face as I watch them sort themselves out. Natalie is being her bossy self, Cooper and Levi have straight confusion on their faces, and Sara and Lucy are standing there laughing.
“Whatcha doin’?” I ask from my chair at the table.
Natalie whips around with a giant smile as if she’s hiding a huge secret. “Well, this went differently in my head, but whatever, I’m rolling with it.” Natalie grabs something out of Cooper’s hands and yells, “Surprise!”
“Um...thanks? What is it?” I ask because I can't see from here.
“Oh, crap.” She walks closer to me with a white box in her hands. It has a clear plastic windowpane allowing me to see a cake inside reading, Congratulations, Graduate!
I look up at my friends, my eyebrows furrowed, hoping someone will explain what I’m looking at. “I don’t understand. I haven’t graduated yet…”
“Well, we talked with the school’s administration, and they are going to allow you to walk at graduation if you’re up for it.”
“But I’m not going to finish my courses until June.”
“They’re making an exception since you’d likely have been valedictorian anyway,” Sara adds. It’s then I finally understand what's happening. They’re going to let me walk with my graduating class even though I’m not technically graduating from Sonoma.
“I’m able to walk at graduation?” I need to double-check before I let my emotions fully take over.
“Yep!” Natalie says. Her smile couldn’t get any bigger. Tears form in my eyes, and if I’m not mistaken, they’re in all of my friends' eyes as well. I can’t quite believe this is happening. For so long, it felt like my life was on hold, like it would never be the same again. This is proof things are finally going back to normal.
I gingerly stand from my chair and wrap my arms around Natalie, pulling the rest of the group into my hug. I wish one more person was here, but it seems like he needs a little more time to come to terms with everything.
After we got the news I was approved for the new drug, Todd started distancing himself from me. He slowly pulled away a little bit at a time until the moment the doctor said I was in full remission. He stopped coming to see me after that. Even though it hurt when he left—and still hurts now—I’m surprised he stayed with me as long as he did.
Not many people have stuck around in Todd’s life. When I almost died, I became another person to almost leave him. I know he’s distanced himself to protect his heart from even more hurt than he’s already been through.
But despite knowing the reason, it still has created a small hole in my own heart where he used to be. As much as I want him to come back, I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive him.
To celebrate the good news, we head to the basement to cut the cake while Levi and Cooper pick out a movie. They are surprisingly good at picking out movies we’ll all enjoy watching, which is no easy feat for our very opinionated group.
Once the cake is cut and the movie is playing, we pile onto the couch, giggling and talking throughout the whole thing. It’s one of the many reasons we always pick a movie everyone has seen already.
“You know he wants to be here, right?” Cooper whispers to me while the rest of the group jokes about a scene in the movie.
“Then he should be here,” I respond. Just because I understand the reason doesn’t mean I’m going to be nice about it.
“I’ve tried to talk to him, but he’s not ready.”
“He won’t ever be ready. If you want to help him, he needs a kick in the ass.”
Cooper chuckles at my comment. I know he’s only laughing because he knows I’m right. Todd isn’t one to talk about his feelings. The only way Cooper will get through to him is to bulldoze his way in there and force him to talk about it.
“You know, I think you’re right.”
“Of course, I’m right.” I roll my eyes at his idiocy. Cooper laughs again, but he also nods. I know he’ll be paying Todd a visit for that kick in the ass. The idea brings a small smirk to my lips. I hope he gives Todd hell.
