Chapter 4 - Takes a Day to Remember a Day

          A month has passed since my dads accident and nothing has changed. He is in a slight coma and hasnt really responded to anything. I have made a few visits to the hospital, but he cant speak yet. I read the newspaper to him to let him know whats going on in the world and thats about it. I think he used to read the sports page every morning, so I read him the box scores from the ballgames the night before. After I read the newspaper, I sit there in silence hoping for a reaction. I dont know what to say in these situations. Im too young to fathom whats really going on. The best i can do is hit on the cute asian nurse that comes in on the hour every hour to check in on my dad.

          It was two weeks until the end of the school year and I have been thinking about the summer. I wanted to find a job to try and escape this situation. I responded to a local law firm ad for a file clerk with no experience. Based on the description, I am pretty sure anybody could do this job. I got a call that Saturday afternoon and had an interview set for the following morning. I was praying like hell to land this gig as I was getting real tired of making pizzas on Friday and Saturday nightrs. The lady who interviewed me was pretty straight laced. She started out hard, but soon unravelled as i acted like i knew what i was talking about reciting lines from last night's NYPD Blue episode. We talked more about our interests than the actual job. We agreed on many things. She went on and on about asbestos and how much weight she's lossed. I had no idea what asbestos was til I googled it later on that night. She would bat her fancy eyes at me to see if i was still interested, but  not a word went by that i cared about. I just wanted to start working. She wasnt my type anyway. Twelve bucks an hour totally outweighed my interests of swooning her. With an older, troll, dumpy body, what could i do with that? Im 18 years old. I dont need to be gettin fussed around with a 46 year old. Who knows what sick motives she has. The door to the interview room opened and in walked the boss of the company. Older man, slightly graying brown hair. In decent shape. The vibe changed immediately. From playful, flirtacious to we all knew who the guy with the big cock was. Flaunting his skills and legal task force groups and legal words that didnt mean a damn thing to me, much like the words from the lady. From the looks of it, the interviewer was really in to it. Bobbing her head like a lemon in water. I felt totally out of place without words which is the most incredible feeling. An ad online led me to an interview that i know nothing about with people who i didnt know. Im glad they didnt ask me any real questions. They might not want to hire a wannabe.

          They asked me to start in two weeks. I pleaded to begin before the start date, but the person who was going to train me is out of town. We agreed and they had me sign some documents. Afterwards I went and got a coffee downstairs. The air that morning was smoothed over and hot. As soon as i walked out people were buzzing everywhere. I was happy to be apart of the work force. I wanted to follow every single one of them everywhere to see what they do. To see the american dream in a minute and to to see if they hated it like most do, as much as I will. As i sat there, my aunt called. I have been staying with her. I told her about my job. She sounded like she didnt care. She was talking very vaguely and quietly. I think she was just glad I was out of the house and she wanted to do her due diligence to check on me.

      
           The next day I got a call from my dad's doctor. I was happy because it got me out of fourth period history class. I sat in the vacant hall that smelled of summer. Our school colors zipped around the walls as the doctor said he had some good news. "Your Dad said he wanted to talk to you". I quickly replied, "About what?" "I dont know. Just come to the hospital as soon as possible. He says its important."

I walked back into class. After I told my teacher about what was going on, he told me to sit back down in my seat "Fifteen minutes left", he said. He wouldn't let me go due to finals preparation, so when the lunch bell rang in between 4th and 5th periods, I took to the parking lot to catch a ride from one of my friends to the hospital. I walked around from red mazda to white subaru when finally i ran into my friend Matt May. Matt was a funny kid. He always led the charge down the hall for "buffalo chicken wrap day" which is the best lunch day and only happens two times a year, once per semester.  Not the best looking kid, but always managed to snag the hot private school chicks. He comes from tons of money so that probably has something to do with it.  Always smelled of smoke and always acted like he didnt care. About what, im not sure, but i just knew he didnt care and everybody else knew as well. I hopped into his mom's black SUV and we sped off. I told him i needed a ride to the hospital by his house. He said, "Ok cool. We gotta stop by this sandwich place first. They got the best roast beefs in town". As we weaved through the private neighborhoods that lined the surrounding area of my school, Matt explained to me about everything that was going on in his life. He must have been lonely because he was telling me about his mon's infidelities and how his dad knew, but didnt care. He seemed torn over the entire situation. And who could blame the poor kid? I cant imagine living in an environment like that. False words and actions, from hugs to love words being tossed around like they had meaning. We went through the drive thru and the latina girl serving fries was actually cute. Matt threw her some lines and not to my surprise, it worked. They agreed to meet up later. Well, thats what he told me on the way to the hospital. I wasnt really paying attention when we arrived to the second window in the drive thru. I was mainly focused on what the hell I was going to say to my dad. We finally arrived to the hospital. I packed my sandwich into my backpack. Matt told me to call him this weekend. I told him I would for sure, but I had zero intention to. He was quickly a distant memory as I entered the hospital 10 feet away. Four doctors were standing outside the door by the required length indulging in their ironic bliss. The automatic doors opened and I entered that smell that immediately attaches you to your first breath. Its the most unwelcomed smell and sight. As I continued, I passed room after room of people that have already passed me before. I tried to find the elevator, but the thought of talking to my dad immediately ceased. I dont understand this part of me. I sold myself one hundred percent that i wanted to do this, but now I act like I forgot who i was speaking to. People think this is complicated, but I knew myself better now than i did five minutes ago. I turned around and walked back through the entrance to the freeing outside world. Ill be backk soon, I thought to myself. And soon couldnt come quick enough.