The Cinder File Chapter 3

Chap. 3

I came to in a white room in a low, comfy chair. I realized it was a hospital room. At first I couldn't remember anything.
'Why am I in a hospital room?' I thought as my eyes wandered. 'And why am I in a chair?'
Then the wave of memory washed over me: my parents! I braced myself, stood up, then wandered over to the bed. I gasped as I stumbled backwards.
My parents were staring up at me with a look of confusion in their eyes.
My father looked at me, I mean really looked at me. For a minute I thought he realized who I was. I was wrong.
"Who are you?" he asked forcefully.
I opened my mouth and tears sprang to my eyes.
When I didn't answer, my mother panicked. "Nurse! Nurse!"
I flung myself at her. "No, Mom, it's me, Angela!"
She just screamed louder.
A woman dressed in a white robe ran in and peeled me off of her. She hauled me out to the hallway like a mother hauling a three-year old to the first day of preschool. She shoved me out the door, shut it, and sighed. Then she looked at me.
"You're finally awake," she scowled. Then into her walkie-talkie she remarked, "Can I have some nurses to room 202?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt anybody. Why don't they recognize me? What happened to them?"
These and just about a million other thoughts were running through my mind.
She didn't answer. She just started walking, so I followed her down the hallway.
"Can I have Tammy meet Miss Angela and me," she paused here to scowl at me, "in the waiting room on the second floor," she said, again, into the walkie-talkie.
A million more thoughts ran through my head.
'Who's Tammy? What is she going to --? Ooh, brain cramp.'
We entered a large room with a white, circular desk and many more low, comfy chairs. Across the room were three or four elevators, but all of a sudden the center one opened. Out stepped the woman with the tan suit. The bearer of all bad news. This woman must be Tammy.
"Hi! My name is Tammy Reynolds. Yes, like the Reynolds Wrap," she said perkily, which was the exact opposite of what she was earlier.
She must have read my mind because she immediately said, "I apologize for my behavior earlier. I hadn't had my cup of coffee yet."
'How can she joke about this when my parents don't know who I am?'
She must have read my mind again because she immediately dropped her head and looked at my shoes. It was odd because she seemed to know what I was thinking and what I was going to say next.
Miss "Nurse" looked at Tammy's downcast face, then at me, then she scowled and stomped off.
Tammy waited until she was out of earshot.
"Glad to get rid of her," she snorted nervously.
"Would someone please just tell me what happened to my parents?!" I screamed, annoyed.
She puffed up, got all business-like, and stated, "Right. I apologize for my silliness. But before we begin, would you like some coffee? No? Okay, then sit, sit."
I felt myself plop down and calm down a little.
"Now," she began, "I suppose you want the whole story with all the details. Well, on the way to your graduation they got in a head-on collision with a semi-truck. It's a miracle they didn't, well, -- you know."
I felt my body throw itself forward. "Well, to me they're practically dead!"
She looked stunned and confused, like she didn't know what to do next. Quite frankly, I was stunned myself. I pivited around and stormed out the door; too embarressed to look back.