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CHAPTER 8 : My life wasn't all rainbows and sunshine.

 'Don't judge a book by its cover'.
People tend to think that if a person stayed smiling and never showed his weakness, it was because they didn't even had any. They assume that the person's life is fulfilled with joy and hearty atmosphere.

But everything's not what it seems to be.

My life wasn't all rainbows and sunshine because sometimes, there was raining and filled with darkness.

I had to struggle everyday through my condition. Just because I didn't let it show on my face, didn't meant I hasn't going through anything. 
A few passed weeks went without any trouble but the world keeps changing; and my health was no exception.

I woke up that day with tightness in my chest. It pained badly. I wanted to get up from my bed but I just couldn't. The pain took over my will power.

I heard someone's footsteps coming toward my room but I couldn't get up. That was why I never locked my bedroom door when I got to sleep. Only God knew when my asthma would trigger and I would be left out with a shortage of air.

The door opened slowly, revealing my dad in his formal wear. He tensed up when he saw me puffing heavily.
"Are you alright, Jade?" he asked. He was now sitting next to me while I was lying on the bed, with my hand on my chest, trying to control the heavy breathing.
"Yeah, Dad, I will be." I answered while trying to get up from the bed, Dad gestured me to lay down and rest.
"Let me get your pills." He got up and went to the drawer where I kept all my medicines. He came back with a few tablets and gave me a glass of water. I took them one by one and drank the rest of the water.
"Don't go to school today. Stay home and rest. And you can call your friends when school's over. Want me to tell Sage to stay as well?" He asked.
"No, Dad. I'll be fine. It's not a new thing, right? I know how to control it." I confirmed. It was been a long time. I was able to deal with it by myself.
"Okay, if you say so. But Marie is always here. Call her when you need something. Try your best not to get up from your bed, okay?" He grabbed his coat, waiting for my reply.

"Yes, Dad. Now, go. Your people are waiting for you to come and guide them in making and stitching clothes." I joked.
"I don't make clothes, princess, I sell them" He chuckled. I motioned my hand like I was erasing the air in front of me and stated,"Same thing, dad, same thing."

He kissed my forehead and went outside. He couldn't always stay here to take care of me. He had other duties to perform as well.

As he went, I crawled into my bed comfortably. I was a little better after taking the medicines when a small smile crept over my lips. How many parents order their children not to go to school? Well, mine just did.

But anyhow, I didn't maintain a very regular attendance at school anyways. Asthma had changed my life a lot. It may seem like a simple disease where a person's unable to breath sometimes, but it was so much more than that.

I have had it since I was six. I still remembered how it had been diagnosed.

One day, I was playing in the garden happily when I suddenly passed out. I woke up in the hospital. I saw my dad worried, talking to the doctor. My mother was there as well, she looked so disturbed, I still remember her tensed up face. And the same was with Sage, she kept sitting right next to be and rubbed my arm like she was trying to take the pain away with her touch and sweet smiles. It actually worked at that time though.

The doctor told them that I was suffering from asthma. I had from a while and the allergic reaction I had a few weeks ago was the evidence that made the doctor even sure for his words. 

At that time, I wasn't at a mental stage to understand what was happening, to learn what Doctor Brown explained to me, but the one thing that affected me the most was that they confined my play time to a moderate level in the initial stage because the doctors were afraid I would get even weaker than before. But I was just six, I wanted to play and live my life, but I couldn't. But now that I looked back it, they made the right decision to restrict my physical activities a bit. And it wasn't like they banned me from going outside; it was just limited to the areas near my house so my family could keep an eye on me.

But the worst thing was that I couldn't meet Shaggy, a guy I met in the park. He was my first friend in that locality. When I went to that park, I saw him playing with his friends. He appeared to be somewhere around my age. And as he was the first one to approach me, we became friends within a blink of an eye. I still couldn't recall his name; all I remembered was that I gave him the nickname, Shaggy, because of his hairstyle and the way he used to sing Shaggy's songs that he picked up when his sister used to sing them. Observing my mischief, he gave me a name as well, Lavender.

It was an early stage and as I was very young, the doctor used to make regular appearances. And that was how I met Jess. She was Dr Brown's niece and he used to take her with him sometimes wherever her parents weren't around. 

We used to play throughout the day without even realizing the time. We became best friends pretty fast. Then, we met Blair in seventh grade and our triangle was completed. We were like the triangle of combustion; we all needed each other to complete the triangle.

There were few people who knew that I had asthma. It was good though, because I didn't want people feeling pity for me and thinking that everything I got was because of sympathy. Whatever I had achieved, though small things, I've got it all by my hard work and the support of my family and friends.

I heard the knock on my door, interrupting my trail of thoughts, and Marie came in. She was our rounder woman. To be honest, she was like my care taker. When I was young, I didn't know how to deal with the medicines and how to balance back my breathing. I used to cry all the time because I felt a little helpless, but that was when Dr Brown introduced her to our family and since then, we all have been living under the care of the beautiful, joyous lady.

"Here's your breakfast, sweetie." She said with a heart-warming smile.
"Thank you." I said. I was feeling a way better after taking a little nap.
Marie exited the room to complete her chores, that was when my phone buzzed, indicating a message. I reached for it and opened the text which was from Blair. It read:

Hey! Why aren't you here yet? Are you alright?

She knew that whenever I missed a day of school, it was probably because of asthma.
I replied back by saying that I was alright. It didn't even take a minute for the reply to come.

Great, coming to your house in the evening. Movie night!

Oh dear friend, messaging during her class again.

 ~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey Jess, get the popcorn from the kitchen and I'll run the movie." Blair commanded. Jess ran to the kitchen and came back with three bowls of popcorn and large cups of soft drinks. Mine was with less fizz.
"So, what are we watching?" Jess asked while sitting next to me. She passed me a smile and I did the same.
"How about watching the whole series of Twilight?" Blair suggested.

I wasn't such a big fan of that movie. The book was nice enough but the movie, something which was beyond my taste. Not my cup of tea, I guess. 

Both my friends were quarreling about which movie to watch when my mind went to Ryan's behavior. He was so difficult. One time, he said he wouldn't do it. Then, he said he would, and again, he refused and then again, agreed. What was with the guy? So much mood swing!

Looking at the screen where Blair was playing Twilight, I came back to the movie. Jess banged Blair's head with the remote and shouted,"I told you not this again."
They fought for another moment while I laughed at them while stuffing my mouth with delicious popcorns and soft drink. The feel of the soggy popcorns felt terrible in my mouth. Mental note, don't eat both the snacks at the exact same time.

After a long fight, we all agreed on The Due Date to get a good laugh.

Before the movie ended, I passed out on my bed and entered my dreamland, hoping that everything bad would pass away soon.

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End of chapter 8. Sorry about the delay.
Special Mentions to :  @BTRMusic24, @Aaradhya1295, @Mkitty97 and @alwaysfeelhappy for their wonderful comments! :)

 Hope you liked it!