Halfway Normal by Barbara Dee

Author:Barbara Dee [Barbara Dee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781481478533
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2017-09-05T04:00:00+00:00

THE SOCIAL THING

After the exam I had a bone marrow aspiration so they could check me for any leukemia cells hiding deep inside my bones. (Even after two years of treatment, I still hated needles worse than anything, and this one hurt like a whole hive’s worth of beestings. But at least it was over pretty fast.) Then I had an appointment with Raina while my parents sat on separate couches in the waiting room, reading their phones.

Raina seemed happy to see me, but a bit distracted, like she’d just run a tough marathon. I guessed she’d had a hard time with some patient.

“So how’s school going?” she asked.

“Fine,” I said. “And you were right! I mean about the work not being hard for me.”

She grinned. “Not surprising, smartypants! And the social thing?”

“Yeah, so you were right about that, too. Silas is a jerk. He’s practically ignored me the whole week.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Norah. But maybe over time—”

“And I’m still good friends with Harper, but I can’t do a bunch of things, and I don’t want to keep explaining everything to her, you know? Or talking about cancer stuff, which makes me feel guilty, because she thinks I’m hiding information. Which I sort of am, I guess.”

“Hmm.”

“Plus, she’s hanging out with these girls who aren’t my friends. They’re not my enemies or anything, although Kylie says it’s depressing when I talk about being sick and Addison acts like she thinks I’m faking. But I guess since I wasn’t around for two years, Harper decided she needed new friends. Which I totally understand, but . . .” I shrugged.

Raina nodded thoughtfully. “Norah, let me ask you a question. Is there someone at school to talk to?”

“You mean someone like you?”

“Yes. Not necessarily a counselor. Any adult, really.”

“Well, there’s my guidance counselor, but she’s kind of bossy. She wants me to do this stupid Overcoming Challenges thing where I have to stand up in front of the entire school and talk about cancer.” I shuddered. “Which, by the way, she refuses to say. She just keeps saying I was ‘sick’ or ‘out,’ never that I had leukemia, or even just cancer. And it really, really bothers me!”

“That does sound tricky,” Raina agreed. “Did you tell her how you feel about that?”

“No, but I’m sure she can tell.”

Raina took a small box of Skittles out of her pocket and handed it to me. “So here’s a thought: I wonder if you’d be interested in joining a support group at the hospital. It’s for kids who’ve returned to school but are still patients at Phipps.”

“You mean come back to Phipps—”

“Just once a week. After school. For support.”

“No, that’s impossible,” I said immediately. I could fast-forward to the conversation with my parents: Norah, you can’t do BOTH the support group AND Afterschool. It’s too much! So for now, why not put Afterschool on hold, and later, when you get your strength back—

Raina chewed some Skittles. “Why is it impossible?”

“Because I have other stuff to do.

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