"Garroth?"

My eyes shoot open and glance beside me. Hannah is standing there, her eyes sparkling with hope. The tube is in my mouth, so I can't talk to her.

"Are you feeling okay?" I can't respond well, so I give a slight thumbs-up. She smiles.

"That's good. Hey, we're going to take that tube out." She smiles and winks at me. I try to smile, but I can't.

"How soon?" I hear my mother's voice say. I didn't know she was holding my hand until now.

"In a few minutes, actually." She checks her watch, "The doctors should be here any minute."

My mind races with excitement. I'll be able to talk, drink, and eat without a tube down my nose. First thing I'm gonna do is get something to drink, my throat is dry. Like a desert.

••••

I hear footsteps walk towards my room. It's been about fifteen minutes, I think. I can't really tell because I can't sit up to see, but my mom told me that. I believe her.

My dad is at home taking care of my brothers and the visitors. He said that they can't come see me yet because the room needs to stay clean. But I don't think Grandma and Grandpa carry a cold or anything. The doctors don't know this, dad says they can be stupid sometimes.

"Okay, Garroth," a tall Doctor puts on a mask and gloves. A few other doctors do the same, "are you ready?"

I give a slight thumbs-up again, and they give me a smile. I can tell because the wrinkles appear by their eyes when I did that.

"That's good. I'm gonna need you to hold still." I'm pretty sure I'm an expert at that now, holding still.

The doctor comes over and turns off the machine attached to the tube. It stops giving me air. I gasp for a second, and then start breathing again. It as scary at first.

At first, the doctor flinches, but then he relaxes. He continues to do whatever he's doing, then he grabs the tube. He speaks softly, his voice very muffled by his mask.

"Ready to take this out?" Stupid question. Why wouldn't I be?

I nod, and so does he. He takes the tube out slowly and gently, but it's still painful. It feels like a worm sliding out of your mouth, a sharp worm.

After a few long seconds, the tube is free. I take a deep breath, knowing I don't have to depend on a machine for a long time.

"First things first," Hannah says, "is there something you would like to drink?"

I assume I can't eat anything, but I can drink things. I don't see much of a difference in either, but I'm eight. What do I know, apparently?

"Water?" My voice scratches and hurts. I need something to drink, otherwise my throat is going to turn into a desert.

Hannah nods and winks at me. She leaves the room, and I have no idea where she's going. I move my jaw several times. It was open for a long time, it feels unusual to have it closed.

"Good job, baby." My mom gently holds her hand on the back of my head. I smile at her, for the first time in a while.

"Is dad gonna come?"

"I texted him and told him that you got your tube out. He'll be here in a while." She kissed my forehead, mask covering it.

If she has to wear that mask, why don't I? I'm the one who's sick here, not them. I cough, my throat is extremely dry.

Hannah comes in with a water bottle and hands it to me. I smile and look at the water, shimmering in the sunlight.

"Bottoms up." She says. I laugh at her comment, twist the cap to open it, and bring it to my lips.

I take greedy gulps. The water flows into my mouth and almost immediately cools my mouth, as well as relieves the dryness. It feels amazing, though swallowing is strange.

"There ya go." Hannah pats my back. I bring the water bottle down, all the water nearly gone. Hannah laughs.

"Thank you." I smile at her, and she smiles back.

"You're welcome. Zianna, when do we want to start him on chemo?" She looks at my mother.

Wait, wait, wait. Chemo? I didn't sign up for this! My parents said that chemo makes you throw up and makes you feel terrible. No! I didn't agree to this!

I didn't agree to medicine!

I didn't agree to surgery!

I didn't agree to cancer.

••••••••
Hey everyone! The qod will be in Garroth's Injury. It should be coming out today.
Thanks for reading! Bai!
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