Spirited Away

“Ow,” I muttered to myself as I walked out of the sick bay. Nurse Nelson had just given me my flu shot. I looked at the cotton bud that I had been holding to my right arm to stop the blood flow. It wasn’t so bad, so I grabbed the bandage Nurse Nelson had given me and stuck it on my arm. I grimaced as my arm stung; it was delicate.

“Hey,” Elwood caught up to me ad I began ascending the stairs, “You were pretty braver in there. I know you don’t do so well with needles.”

I chuckled, “Yeah well, big girls don’t cry,” I told him. Now that I thought about it, I had been pretty brave. I hadn’t fainted, cried or thrown up. I smiled to myself in content. Not looking at the needle and clutching the armrest until your hand was numb really paid off in situations such as these.

“So, what about you?” I asked.

“Huh?” Elwood looked confused.

We sat down on a bench in the hallway and waited for the others to come out.

“I’m afraid of needles, what are you afraid of?”

“Oh, well lets see. I don’t really know. I suppose I must be afraid of something and I guess I’ll find out when I come face to face with it,” from the look on his face I could tell that he was thinking hard about something, “After our parents died,” he then continued, “We had no one left, so I really had to be the big brother and help Blossom through it.”

“That doesn’t seem very fair, “I sympathized, “you’re the same age.”

“Oh, I didn’t mind. I took it upon myself to help us through the time. Blossom wasn’t coping so well, so I stepped up.”

“Oh, right,” I nodded.

“So,” he continued, “I guess you could say. I’m afraid of hurting her.”

“Huh?” I wondered allowed.

“Blossom, I’m afraid to lose her, and not just in the sense that we’re both alive. She’s all I have left, y’know? I just don’t know what I’d do without her.”

I didn’t know what to say, so instead I took his hand in mine. We all need comfort when we think of our parents. I know I do and I didn’t even know mine.

“Erin?” Someone called my name.

I looked up to see Nurse Carter looking down at us.

“Erin, I need to speak to you in my office if you don’t mind.”

“Oh of course,” I stood up and waved goodbye to Elwood, “See you later.

“Yeah, bye,” he waved back.

I followed behind Nurse Carter and we arrived in her office. The office had a homely feel to it, not like Nurse Nelson’s office. Bookshelves lined the four walls and there was a couch under the window. Three chairs were placed on wither side of the wooden desk, while the desk itself was littered with paper and looked to be very disorganized.

“Please Erin, take a seat,” Nurse Carter indicated to one of the chairs around her desk.

Obediently I sat, “what is it Nurse Carter?”

Nurse Carter took the chair opposite me, “Erin I have some news for you,” she smiled, “we’ve found you another family.

My heart skipped a beat and my eyes widened at these words, “You’ve found me… a…another family?” I whispered.

“That’s right, they’re coming here to pick you up tomorrow.”

“But… don’t they want to meet me?” I wondered.

“Oh, we’ve told them a lot about you. I think you’re going to be very happy with your new family.”

I almost laughed, the grin spread so wide across my face I was sure it must have been stretching my skin, “Oh my god, I don’t believe it. I’m leaving?”

Nurse Carter smiled, nodding.

“No way,” At that moment I could have screamed. I was leaving. Maybe not for good, but I was leaving! “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I sang, jumping out of my seat and going to give Nurse Carter a hug.

She looked rather shocked but hugged back all the same.

I skipped out of the office and ran upstairs to se my friends and tell them the news. I was so excited.

I ran straight to Janella’s room, because that was where the gang usually congregated.

“Hey,” Sheldon said, “we wondered where you got to.”

“What did Nurse Carter want?” Elwood asked.

I re-framed from dancing around the room and walked over towards the bed, where Janella, Blossom, Lydia and Saffron where sitting.

“Guess what!” I asked them.

“What?” They said in unison.

I looked around the room, “I’m being adopted!”

Everyone exchanged looks, but it was Janella who spoke, “That’s great Erin,” she smiled halfheartedly.

“You’re not happy?” I wondered.

“No, no, of course we’re happy for you,” Blossom reassured me.

“Then why do you all look so sad?”

“Well, Erin. Yu are leaving,” Dax said.

“Yeah,” continued Sheldon, “we may never see you again.”

That’s when I realized what they meant. Being adopted meant leaving the orphanage and leaving all my friends, some of them I had just meet.

All of a sudden my awesome day had come to a halt and a wave of sadness took me over.