Elena.

I opened my eyes. I was at my high school's nurses office. I couldn't get up because the numbness had decided to return, but I knew where I was, from the faint smell of rubbing alcohol and the plastic that covered the beds, like the one I was on now.

I heard the door opening, so I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I felt a pair of cold hands lightly touch my forehead as the door opened once more and I heard another pair of footsteps advance towards my bed.

"She doesn't seem to have a fever, her temperature is normal...but the dear is still very pale," The voice must have belonged to the nurse. I heard my mothers voice then, which thanked the nurse for taking care of me and asked if she could get help carrying me to the car. I pondered if I should of pretended to wake just then to save them the trouble of carrying me, but I realized it wouldn't have made a difference, I was too weak to walk if i wanted to.

The nurse had called for her aid, whose name i knew belonged to a senior who played on the basketball team, so it must have been very easy for him when he picked me up bridal style and in a matter of minutes I was in the backseat. I felt someone use a sweater that smelled like lavender as a pillow for me. I could comfortably sleep if i wanted to. The backseat door closed just then, and I heard muffled voices saying what I guessed were their 'thank yous' and 'goodbyes'. The car door on the drivers side opened, and i felt someone get in the car.

"Thanks again."Mom called. The engine roared to life but we weren't leaving yet because my mom rolled down her window and I heard the helpful nurses voice once more. "Are you sure you don't want to call an ambulance?" The engine of the car stopped.

"Yes I'm sure, we'll call a house doctor. She'll be fine." My mom responded, abnormally calm. The nurse must have given her a funny look because Mom was quick to add "I will make sure to notify you with what's wrong, which i'm sure isn't serious. She will be fine," She repeated. Nothing even close to this has ever happened to me. "Goodbye." Mom said, as the car window went up once more and she drove off. I was too weak to stay awake any longer,

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked. I looked up blankly, not really recepting the question. I yawned as I came to my senses and realized that I had woken up in what appeared to be my room. I could barely tell because the windows were covered by black sheets of fabric and the only thing that lit my spacious room were two or three night lights. I finally registered the information and answered in a voice so weak even I couldn't recognize it.

"I'm okay I guess, no worse than before...thats for sure." I tried to sit up but she pushed me back down. "Save the little energy you have left to-"

"What do I have?" I interrupted. "Oh, you'll live." she said tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. As soon as I'd opened my mouth to ask again, the phone rang.
Instead of picking up the phone on the other side of my room, she walked to the kitchen to pick it up. It rang a couple more times before it stopped abruptly. Hoping it was one of my friends calling, I carefully and with great effort got up from bed. To my dismay, it made a creaking sound that without a doubt my mom heard.

"This call is for me, get back in bed."Mom said loudly. I would have just then, but the tone in her voice made my curiosity grow. You would of had to have known her your whole life in order to have detected that little trace of panic and fear in her voice. I heard footsteps advance towards my room. I quickly pushed the center of the mattress with my hands to make the same creaking sound I'd made when I had gotten up, so it sounded like I had gotten back in bed. The footsteps stopped immediately and started up again but further and further away from my room.

It was harder and harder to keep my balance as I tried to make my way to the phone on the other side of my room. It was probably from some medicine she had given me while I was half conscious, for I didn't remember taking any. I'd finally gotten to my red, old fashioned phone, which meant it wasn't cordless. I put the phone up to my ear and sat on the floor.

"...started to change, which means she's going to change before They can get here." My mother said in a business-like voice. An elderly man replied: "Have you made the plan on how to explain this to her?" He asked.

"I've had her for almost all her life, I know her better than anyone else. I know what I'm doing." She responded. There was a long sigh of what must have been exhaustion from the man's end of the line, which followed a quick pause before he spoke again. "You know what to do when-when it happens. I will be sending my sister...as planned...on Friday."

"Yes. I know. I know. goodbye."

"Goodb-" I held down the receiver then carefully hung up the phone, cutting off the man. As much as I wanted to stay for the whole conversation, I knew that if I would have, my mom would have found me halfway to my bed by the time she'd gotten there...she obviously would have known. I quickly made my way to the bed. I took a book I had next to the nightstand and placed it between the bed frame and the mattress to cease the creaking I would make when I got on the bed again, which would have given me away. It worked beautifully but I barely had time to pull the covers up to my chin and place the book I'd used in my scheme back on the nightstand. I pushed some of the new pressing questions I had away, like why my mom had said she'd had me most of my life, most? I needed to set this aside, or I would blurt out the questions at any given moment, ruining everything.

"How long have I've been sleeping?" I asked her as she came in. "All you have is questions, don't you?" This would have made me roll my eyes at her in another situation, but instead, I playfully frowned. If I wanted to get information from her, I would have to stay on her good side."Well," she continued, "Its been a couple hours. It's almost 10pm."

"Oh. Then I better go take a shower...I have school tomorrow." At the last bit of my sentence, I said it more as a question than a statement, for my moms response was written all over her face already. "You're not going to school tomorrow, Or-"

"I have to go. 'Or what' Mom?" If that is who you really are...I thought."I know you have to go," her smile started to fade, but it was still present. "but you're barely recovering-let me finish. Even if you go against my will, they'll surely send you back...We'll see how much you improve tomorrow. If you're any better you can go."

I agreed after silently protesting. I was getting very tired again, so I gave a small nod of defeat. She gave me the old This Is For Your Own Good speech as I got up to take a shower. I got my robe and went inside the bathroom. "Where's the mirror?" I called.
"I'm getting it fixed. It'll be back in a couple days." My mom replied in a voice loud enough for me to hear in the other room. "Okay." I called back.

When I was done taking my shower, I found a new, clean pair of pajamas folded neatly on my bed. I changed into them and a couple minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." I said, as I was drying my hair. My mom walked in with something behind her hand. She sat down next to me and put the object she was hiding which was a hand mirror face down on her lap.

"Sweetie, the illness you have...isn't contagious, with only temporary side effects, and luckily the guests we are having on Friday happen to have a cure for it. It's absolutely harmless." She stopped to read my expression and continued. "Remember...it will go away soon enough..."

"But?" I asked, my eyes darting to the hand mirror. "But it caused a change in your appearance. Which is only temporary. Calm down sweetie, let me finish. This will hopefully go away by tomorrow, so bear with me."

She slowly held up the mirror but I closed my eyes and turned my head the other way. "How bad is it?" I bit my lip with my eyes still closed shut. "Open your eyes and look. Come on, look. I just wanted to warn you because it may surprise you at first, I'm right here with you." With my eyes still closed, I took the hand mirror, turned my head towards it, counted to three, and opened my eyes.