Adolescent

The sun shone through the curtains above Jimmy’s bed, blinding him slightly when his eyes were forced open. Like a teenager knowing they had to get ready for school, he groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow with him. He didn’t wake up upset, however, but awfully pleased.

He was happy to know his life was coming together, happy to know that the guys enjoyed Hillari’s company as she did theirs. Happy to think back on his dream with Leanna. A smile came to his tired lips as he sat up in bed. He lazily reached over to his small stand and tried to grab his cigarettes.

With a few fails here and there his inked fingers finally grabbed the corner of the cardboard box. He let his feet touch his floor as he dug into his almost empty pack of cigarettes. He shrugged, knowing he could easily go down town and get another carton if need be. He held a flame to his nicotine stick before walking his way downstairs.

He scratched his bare chest as he reached his fridge, wondering what was edible and not molding in the back of the cool box. He hummed to himself as he grabbed the gallon of milk and box of Fruity Pebbles that were sitting on the top of his counter. After fixing himself a bowl, he sat on top of his counter.

He continuously stole drags of his cigarette and bites of his food until he was fully satisfied. As he dumped his bowl in the sink he jumped down, but stopped suddenly. His chest seemed to tighten, forcing him to take in a quick breath. He clutched his chest lightly and felt the tightness ease just so.

“Fucking weird.”He grumbled lowly.

Despite this past pain in his chest he took one last pull of his Marlboro before putting it out in his overflowing ash tray on the kitchen table. He jogged upstairs to his bedroom and searched through his piles of clothes on the floor for anything that even smelt the slightest bit clean.

Grabbing his cut off flannel shirt and black jeans he walked into his bathroom, brushing his teeth and fixing his shower. As the steam filled the room his chest once more became heavy, sending Jimmy to fall to the side. He grabbed onto the shower curtain for support, but even a man of his size couldn’t rely on such thin fabric.

He hit the ground with a loud thud and yelped in pain. He removed himself from the bathroom and rushed downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing a cup of milk in the process. He drank the cup quickly, feeling the creaminess of the drink almost coat the walls of his throat and stomach.

He’s had bad heart burn in the past as a teenager, so it was nothing new to him. Once realizing he was only in his boxers and the shower was still running, he groaned and made his way back upstairs. After his shower he would call the doctor and get more of his earlier heart burn prescription; Prevacid.

Within a quick ten minutes he had scrubbed himself clean and dressed, stepping out of his steamy bathroom with a goofy grin. He jogged back downstairs and searched for his phone book, wondering who would be able to give him the presciption without a full physical.

Jimmy always hated doctors and always will. They normally did nothing but go through pointless tests until they scrounged enough money from you. He pulled the phone book from one of his kitchen drawers and scanned down a list of doctors in the back. When finding one that he thought would fit, he called them up.

Dr. Morsky’s office. How may I help you?

“My names is James Sullivan. I was wondering if I could make an appointment for a presciption I used to get for heart burn? It’s been well over a couple of years, but it’s coming back.”He fixed himself a quick cup of coffee before sitting at his kitchen table.

James, Sullivan. We have an opening today at one o’ clock if that fits your schedule.

“Thankyou. I’ll come in then.”He hung up and sipped at his boiling cup before leaning back in his chair.

Countless doctors as a teen told him to stop his drug and alcohol use. They told him it would result in future health problems, but from what Jimmy could tell, he was as healthy as a horse. He would imagine if anything were wrong with him it would have come already within the last ten years of his life.

As he slowly finished his cup his mind wondered off into last night’s events. It was a fun party and he could imagine Hillari had fun as well. He brushed back his wet hair and tried to think of anything else they could do to have a full get together. Barbeques are fun and all, but they get over played after so long.

Jimmy dragged himself up his stairs to his bedroom and searched his blankets and sheets for his cell phone. His ringer started to go off, which results in it’s finding. He snatched it with a smirk and looked down at the caller I.D. Matt was calling; most likely nothing new.

“Hello?”He poked around for his car keys.

“Hey, man, what’s up?”Matt asked.

“Trying to find my car keys. Going for a doctors appointment.”He scratched his head; where were they?

“Why? What did you do now?”Matt laughed.

“Heart burn like I used to get. Hurts like a bitch sometimes.”He said.”Got’m!”

“Congratulations. You can help me find my socks now.”Matt cackled.

“You’re hilarious, did you know that?”Jimmy scoffed.”But let me go. I’m gonna grab some Dunkin on the way and make it there.”

“Good luck.”They hung up and Jimmy started his way toward his car.

He made it with ten minutes to spare when he finally got to the doctor’s office. He had his license and social security card in hand by the time he walked in. He filled out the paper work asking their millions of pointless questions and was soon waiting for his name to be called.

The door opened and closed repeatedly, leaving Jimmy and his thoughts alone in the room. He sighed angrily to himself when the door opened once more. A petite, young nurse looked down at her clip board before calling out, “Sullivan, James?”

He jumped from his seat and followed her through. After his weight and height he sat in the room, answering her questions like they were playing a game.

“Any past or present drug or alcohol use?”She asked.

Jimmy scoffed slightly; was she asking this because of his looks? He highly doubted they asked their other patients.

“When I was a teen I did both. Did what exactly? Don’t even ask hon because I have no idea. I just got over drinking not too long ago.”He picked at his nails and waited for her to finish.

“The doctor will be with you in a few minutes.”She left in a hurry, most likely because she was intimidated by him.

Most people were, anyway. He kicked his feet back and forth, contemplating just walking out, until the thought of his heart burn came running back at him. There was a soft knocking on the door and the doctor came walking in with a warm smile.

“How are you, James?”He asked.

“Pretty good.”He smiled.

“What’s going on?”He sat in his spinning chair, like they all do and began the questioning.

It was like an interrogation room but about your health. Jimmy continued to tell the doctor of his past using and heart burn problems and the doctor stood with a smile.

“Well, I’ll prescribe you you’re Prevacid. If it gets any worse, though, call me right away. I’ll send you in for some tests. For the amount of things you’ve done in your short life you’re lucky you aren’t suffering from any problems now.”He warned.

“Thankyou, Doc.”He said.

Jimmy retrieved his prescription in a matter of minutes and was on his way out. He looked down at the ‘script and arched his eyebrows slightly. - You’re lucky you aren’t suffering from any problems now. He could only chuckle at the doctor’s worries, but he knew he would be okay.

Nothing could go wrong in his life now. It was finally coming together. As he got into his car he pressed his hand against his chest, specifically over his heart. With a soft sigh he started the car and drove off. Even though he felt fine, he still had that worry that his body was going to make a sudden turn on him.