Chapter
5
Mariah
woke up in daze. She yawned and stretched out. She looked at the clock. It said
10 o'clock. She sat up and turned on the TV
'Nothing
on, as usual.' Mariah thought. She turned around and lay back on her pillow on
her face. She felt soft, cushiony strands on her face. She got up and looked on
her pillow.
'My
hair!' thought Mariah. 'My hair. I hate this. I HATE ALL OF THIS!' she screamed
in her head. She let out a loud scream and broke down crying.
"What's
all this commotion?" said a nurse, entering Mariah's room. She looked at
Mariah and noticed the hair and the little bald spots on her head. She looked
at Mariah with sympathy.
"It's
alright, child," said the nurse. "You knew it was going to happen.
It's okay. Hang on, I'll be right back."
Mariah
looked up and saw the nurse leave the room. She just laid her head down and
cried all the more. She did know that this was going to happen, but she still
couldn't be prepared for it.
"You
know, it doesn't look too bad." a voice came. "It's gotta happen
sometime."
Mariah
looked up and what she saw kind of surprised her.
"Just
go away." sobbed Mariah. "Nothing you can say can cheer me up.
Nothing" Her voice was barely audible.
"Maybe
not, but I could try. It doesn't hurt to try."
Mariah
just kept her face away from him. She couldn't face him.
"Hey,
how about letting me in, huh?"
Mariah
smiled.
"Sorry
about that." apologized Mariah. "Come on in."
"That's
okay." replied the guy. He hesitated for a moment, then said "My
name's Brian, Brian Littrell. What's yours?"
"My
name's Mariah Henson." she said softly.
"Well,
nice to meet you Mariah Henson." He paused for a minute, then said,
"I'd like to thank you for cheering up my little cousin. He couldn't stop
talking about you. It was adorable. He said he wants to come and visit you. I'm
not sure when, but I thought you might just like to know, that's all."
"Oh,
no problem," replied Mariah. "Your cousin is so adorable. It was no
trouble at all. I just love children. I used to volunteer at the Sick Kids'
Hospital. I was surrounded by kids. It was so much fun."
"Really?
That's sounds like fun. I used to be in the Sick Kids' Hospital all the
time."
"Really?
Wh-" Mariah got cut short.
"Well,
here we go. These are all that you need." said the nurse.
In
a basket were all sorts of wigs of different colors and styles. Mariah just
looked and stared and tears welled up in her eyes again. Brian noticed.
"Hey,
don't cry. It's okay. Listen, if you want, I can stay and help you choose one.
Not like I'm going anywhere."
Mariah
looked up at him through her tears.
"Thanks,"
she replied with a smile. "I'd like that."
The
nurse smiled at the two and quietly exited the room.
A
little while later, the nurse peeked in Mariah's room to check up on her.
Mariah and Brian were fooling around trying on different wigs. Brian kept
making her laugh, while wearing what
looked like a clown wig. He made funny faces at the same time.
'Good thing Brian's here. She sure needs a laugh.' thought
the nurse. She just smiled and walked away.
***
