Wink: Chapters 1–5

I try to look away casually, but my head won't budge.

"The gurney you're on is going to lift you up and move you into place. The treatment takes twenty-five minutes or so. Keep your limbs and naughty bits inside the ride at all times. Do not throw things at the radiation techs. Do not FEED the radiation techs. Do not waggle your legs around like a synchronized swimmer. Do not pass Go. Do not hum the Goo Goo Dolls, as I DESPISE the Goo Goo Dolls."

"The gurney you're on is going to lift you up and move you into place. The treatment takes twenty-five minutes or so. Keep your limbs and naughty bits inside the ride at all times. Do not throw things at the radiation techs. Do not FEED the radiation techs. Do not waggle your legs around like a synchronized swimmer. Do not pass Go. Do not hum the Goo Goo Dolls, as I DESPISE the Goo Goo Dolls."

"The gurney you're on is going to lift you up and move you into place. The treatment takes twenty-five minutes or so. Keep your limbs and naughty bits inside the ride at all times. Do not throw things at the radiation techs. Do not FEED the radiation techs. Do not waggle your legs around like a synchronized swimmer. Do not pass Go. Do not hum the Goo Goo Dolls, as I DESPISE the Goo Goo Dolls."

First, he turns the zapper on itself and blasts it big-time.
Then he captures the evil doctor and gives him a supernoogie!
Justice has prevailed.

My vocabulary of scientific terms has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few months. Biopsy. Malignant. Mucoepidermoid. Carcinoma.

My vocabulary of scientific terms has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few months. Biopsy. Malignant. Mucoepidermoid. Carcinoma.

Dr. Sheffler told me I needed a "cat scan." Turns out that's lingo for a procedure called a CT scan, but for a little while I was picturing a doctor waving a cat over me.

Sorry.
I digress.

I was busy considering the wide array of delicious sandwich options I'd soon have.

I heard bits and pieces.
"...tumor? No way to know yet..."
"...needle biopsy as soon as we can..."
"...could be benign, but let's..."

Then all of a sudden, we were at the somber shaking-of-hands and thank-you part.

I remember sitting in the basement playing Annihilation: Moon until my thumbs ached.

He looks over at Callie. "He looks shifty, doesn't he? It's the beady eyes. We need to watch our backs."

He looks over at Callie. "He looks shifty, doesn't he? It's the beady eyes. We need to watch our backs."

As waiting rooms go, this one is pretty swanky.

Then he kicks my foot lightly with one of his Velcro orthopedic shoes.

Linda's phone starts chirping as soon as we're in her Grand Cherokee, and we ride home to the sounds of Linda talking up a beautiful little three bedroom/two bath not too far from the lake. It apparently has amazing light and the most adorable breakfast nook.

We drop her viola off in the band room, and as we make our way down the hallway—past a kid dumping crazy amounts of spit out of his trumpet—she lets me hear about it.

She's the only person who jokes with me about my "situation"—she's done it through most of this whole ordeal—and I literally could not appreciate it more.

Add to that an eccentric sense of fashion—some would just call it insane—and Abby is someone you can't miss.

Actually, I used to be invisible. I could walk through a crowded library and escape completely unnoticed. Unscathed.

Hardly anybody talked to me, and I lived peacefully under the radar like a stealth bomber in a hoodie.

Ms. Bayer smiles and leans in like she has a secret, wafting thick perfume.

I know there's nothing terribly enlightened about going all gooey over a girl I barely know, but...well...blame puberty.

This is like threading a needle. Don't poke the bear, but maintain dignity in front of Sarah.

NOT FOR PUBLIC CONSUMPTION

"Well...Ross. At least after today we have definitive proof that Lady Sarah knows you exist. That has to feel good."

"You should do something. For the show. It'd be an easy in with Princess Sarah."
"Okay. Like what? Drawing isn't much of a spectacle."

"Perfection!" she says, throwing her shoulders back and strutting through her fellow band kids like she's a model on a runway.