Rhythm of Life
Rhythm of Life
They stared at each other intently from across the table, stormy gray eyes full of anger, hurt and confusion meeting the calm, flat brown of the school psychologist. Suddenly Riley could take it no more and she tore her eyes away from the psychologist’s.
“Riley, how do you expect to solve your problems if you won’t open up?” he asked her kindly. “I’m only here to help you.”
Lie. He was only here to pry her secrets from her, to tell her parents that she was in need of even more help than a simple school shrink. She didn’t have any problems, or at least she tried to convince herself. Her mind wandered without her permission to a hospital that sat only two miles from the school. She could see in her mind’s eye the room with the heart monitor beeping the rhythm of a life barely hanging on. Riley’s eyes flickered nervously to a bookcase with a glass door and she could see gray eyes reflected in the glass, gray eyes that were all too familiar.
She leapt up from her chair with a sudden cry of anguish and fled from the room, ignoring the shouts from the psychologist for her to go back. She sprinted down the hallways, catching fleeting views of classes that were in session and trying to ignore the open stares her peers and teachers were giving her.
No one tried to stop her; perhaps it was too late for them to stop her by the time they realized what was going on; Riley didn’t care. All she wanted to do was run, so run she did, her feet slamming down a comforting rhythm against the ground as her arms pumped furiously. Soon she had rounded the corner from the school and was well on her way into the heart of the town, with no real destination in mind.
Soon it became clear to her though that her subconscious had already mapped out her destination for her. When her feet finally became too tired to run anymore and she slowed to a walk, Riley was standing outside St. Peter’s Hospital. She was shaking as she looked up at the tall building. Four stories high, a rusty colored brick building with colorful curtains in each window, and flowers growing at every corner, the building certainly was anything but ominous, but a pit had developed in the center of Riley’s stomach and a sense of dread had filled her.
Go in, something inside of her urged.
She swallowed thickly before walking through the automatic doors so she couldn’t convince herself to do otherwise. The main lobby was virtually empty save for a woman in her mid-forties sitting patiently at the reception desk. She smiled warmly at Riley as she hesitantly made her way to the desk.
“May I help you?” the woman asked.
“I’m here to see Andrew North.” Riley said, her voice slightly hoarse.
The woman glanced down at her computer screen and clicked her mouse a few times. “Okay, if you just put this on, his room is on the second floor number 211, you can take the elevators right there.” the woman replied, handing Riley a bright yellow visitor’s pass.
Riley stuck it to her dark grey sweatshirt and walked over to the elevator. The door opened almost instantly and she stepped in, catching a curious look from the woman at the reception desk before the smooth metal doors closed and shut out her view. The elevator rattled and clanked as it slowly made its way up to the second floor, but the ride couldn’t have been shorter to Riley. She was dreading nothing more than what waited down that hallway for her.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding, giving Riley the opportunity to see a long hallway with some nurses bustling back and forth, and trolleys being pushed down the hallways stacked with trays with good steaming food. Riley stepped out of the elevator and hesitated. Directly in front of her was a green sign with clear, bold white writing directing her towards room 211. She stared at it for a long while, trying to convince her feet to move in the direction the arrow on the sign was pointing.
Finally she found the courage to move and to begin the long walk down the hallway. She passed room after room, glancing in at each one and seeing elderly people lying tiredly on the beds, a younger man with his entire leg wrapped in a cast and a woman hooked up to several IV’s. Riley looked away after that, the sight of all the needles unsettling her stomach. Soon she had passed room 209, and she knew room 211 was coming up. She stopped in the hallway, bracing herself for what she would see.
She took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold and into the room. Only one of the two hospital beds was being used. The young man that lay there had dark hair and gray eyes that were now closed. One eye had been swollen shut, and his left arm and left leg were both in heavy looking casts. A monitor to the right of his head beeped a calming rhythm as Riley shuffled a little closer to the bed.
One more minute, she convinced herself, and then she would leave. It would be as if she had never been there. All she needed was one more moment to make sure that he was still alive, to make sure that it wasn’t her fault if the heart monitor suddenly stopped beating. She was about to turn and leave again when the man’s eyes fluttered open.
“It’s ‘bout time you showed up.” he said hoarsely with a grin at her.
“Riley, how do you expect to solve your problems if you won’t open up?” he asked her kindly. “I’m only here to help you.”
Lie. He was only here to pry her secrets from her, to tell her parents that she was in need of even more help than a simple school shrink. She didn’t have any problems, or at least she tried to convince herself. Her mind wandered without her permission to a hospital that sat only two miles from the school. She could see in her mind’s eye the room with the heart monitor beeping the rhythm of a life barely hanging on. Riley’s eyes flickered nervously to a bookcase with a glass door and she could see gray eyes reflected in the glass, gray eyes that were all too familiar.
She leapt up from her chair with a sudden cry of anguish and fled from the room, ignoring the shouts from the psychologist for her to go back. She sprinted down the hallways, catching fleeting views of classes that were in session and trying to ignore the open stares her peers and teachers were giving her.
No one tried to stop her; perhaps it was too late for them to stop her by the time they realized what was going on; Riley didn’t care. All she wanted to do was run, so run she did, her feet slamming down a comforting rhythm against the ground as her arms pumped furiously. Soon she had rounded the corner from the school and was well on her way into the heart of the town, with no real destination in mind.
Soon it became clear to her though that her subconscious had already mapped out her destination for her. When her feet finally became too tired to run anymore and she slowed to a walk, Riley was standing outside St. Peter’s Hospital. She was shaking as she looked up at the tall building. Four stories high, a rusty colored brick building with colorful curtains in each window, and flowers growing at every corner, the building certainly was anything but ominous, but a pit had developed in the center of Riley’s stomach and a sense of dread had filled her.
Go in, something inside of her urged.
She swallowed thickly before walking through the automatic doors so she couldn’t convince herself to do otherwise. The main lobby was virtually empty save for a woman in her mid-forties sitting patiently at the reception desk. She smiled warmly at Riley as she hesitantly made her way to the desk.
“May I help you?” the woman asked.
“I’m here to see Andrew North.” Riley said, her voice slightly hoarse.
The woman glanced down at her computer screen and clicked her mouse a few times. “Okay, if you just put this on, his room is on the second floor number 211, you can take the elevators right there.” the woman replied, handing Riley a bright yellow visitor’s pass.
Riley stuck it to her dark grey sweatshirt and walked over to the elevator. The door opened almost instantly and she stepped in, catching a curious look from the woman at the reception desk before the smooth metal doors closed and shut out her view. The elevator rattled and clanked as it slowly made its way up to the second floor, but the ride couldn’t have been shorter to Riley. She was dreading nothing more than what waited down that hallway for her.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft ding, giving Riley the opportunity to see a long hallway with some nurses bustling back and forth, and trolleys being pushed down the hallways stacked with trays with good steaming food. Riley stepped out of the elevator and hesitated. Directly in front of her was a green sign with clear, bold white writing directing her towards room 211. She stared at it for a long while, trying to convince her feet to move in the direction the arrow on the sign was pointing.
Finally she found the courage to move and to begin the long walk down the hallway. She passed room after room, glancing in at each one and seeing elderly people lying tiredly on the beds, a younger man with his entire leg wrapped in a cast and a woman hooked up to several IV’s. Riley looked away after that, the sight of all the needles unsettling her stomach. Soon she had passed room 209, and she knew room 211 was coming up. She stopped in the hallway, bracing herself for what she would see.
She took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold and into the room. Only one of the two hospital beds was being used. The young man that lay there had dark hair and gray eyes that were now closed. One eye had been swollen shut, and his left arm and left leg were both in heavy looking casts. A monitor to the right of his head beeped a calming rhythm as Riley shuffled a little closer to the bed.
One more minute, she convinced herself, and then she would leave. It would be as if she had never been there. All she needed was one more moment to make sure that he was still alive, to make sure that it wasn’t her fault if the heart monitor suddenly stopped beating. She was about to turn and leave again when the man’s eyes fluttered open.
“It’s ‘bout time you showed up.” he said hoarsely with a grin at her.
♠ ♠ ♠
So yeah, this is my first one-shot ever. I had to write a three page double-spaced narrative for English and this is what i came up with. Tell me what you think?~Kathleen