“Honey，you’re going to be late for school…Are you okay？”My mom came into the bedroom.Her hand flew to my forehead.“Oh no！You’ve got a fever.”I didn’t feel hot;I felt cold，so cold.My mother helped me dress，and she drove me to my doctor.I had been there only a few minutes before my doctor called an ambulance.I couldn’t understand all that my doctor was telling me.All I could hear was a muffled“Onehundred-four-degree fever.”
The hospital’s bright lighting was blinding as a nurse with long，dark hair stuck two IVs in my arm.I didn’t remember seeing her come into my room，only the blanket being thrown on top of me.“Cold，very cold，”I said，“The blanket is filled with ice.”She explained，“You have a bad infection.Your doctor ordered fluids and antibiotics for you.Just rest.”I closed my eyes.
It seemed only a few minutes later when I heard，“Good morning.”My doctor woke me.“I’m glad you slept through the night.Luckily，we’ve brought your temperature down.You are one special little girl.You have a very serious ear，nose，and throat infection，but it seems we now have it under control.”“Mom？”I gasped.“Dad…”“I’m right here.”My mother grabbed my hand.I looked and my parents were there beside me.“Did I miss the dance？”My mom smiled.“I called Rick.I got his number out of your address book and let him know that you were in the hospital.”“Oh no！”I cried.“There’ll be other dances，”said my doctor.“Be thankful you’ll be alive to see them.”
Days passed.I got increasingly stronger and no longer had a temperature.They discovered that I had developed a very bad strep infection that was treated with antibiotics.I hadn’t heard from Rick at all.That bothered me.I worried that he was angry.Not only had I missed the dance，but his parentshad also spent that money on a limo.I had let them all down.Who could blame him if he never spoke to me again？I cared so much about looking good，I had worn myself down.The same nurse who had given me my IVs came into my room holding another hospital gown.“Put this on backwards so your rump won’t show，”she said.