A Special Monday Night With John: Chapter One of Defending A Ghost
/Below is the first chapter of my book Defending A Ghost If you enjoy chapter one you can go to
http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-derryberry/defending-a-ghost/ebook/product-22852934.html
to purchase Defending A Ghost as an ebook
Chapter One
7:00am in a dorm room at Marycrest International University in Davenport Iowa,
"Today I keep my promise," I say as I roll over and turn off the alarm clock my mom bought. She worries I will be late to my classes. I lie back down in the warm cozy bunk bed and take a long deep breath. It is still dark out as I move the curtain to peek outside. I turn my attention to my dorm room, glancing around as my eyes adjust. There is no signal I can roll over and catch ten more minutes of sleep. I fall out of bed nearly hitting my head on the top bunk and take four steps to reach the other side. I hear a couple of people walking down the hall outside my door.
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It was going to be a normal school day for me in the fifth grade. I would grab my packed lunch from mom and know I would have gushers waiting for me. I had a spelling quiz I didn't study for and I was okay with that fact. I jumped down off the top bunk and realized it was rather light outside. I looked at the clock and discovered I was an hour late for school. I ran across the hall to my parents’ room to wake my mom up, but she wasn't there. I ran down the hallway to our living room and found my brother and sister watching television.
"What the heck are you two doing here?" I asked.
"You mean you didn't hear all that noise last night?" Crystal, my sister, asked.
"What noise?"
"The ambulance sirens, the paramedics in our house, and the stretcher carrying Dad out of here," Dave, my brother, stated with the bewilder look. I didn't wake up when our house was a scene out of an action movie.
"Ambulance here last night? Where's mom? Where's Dad?" I fumbled.
"Calm down John, we will fill you in," my sister stated in a manner slowing my nerves for a moment. “Dad had a stroke last night."
"What's a stroke? Is he all right?" I spilled out, as my nerves picked back up.
"First, he is as good as we can hope. He's in an intensive care unit and last time mom called everything was touch and go, but stable." Dave stated. "And a stroke is where blood is not working in your brain correctly.
"Oh," I mouthed while nodding my head but I was no closer to understanding what a stroke was.
"Mom said for us to stay here and when we are allowed, we can visit. She will call every hour with updates, so no school today," Crystal stated
I was happy for a second because the thought of missing school when I wasn't sick was great. I could have fun playing games all day. My feelings quickly jumped ship as I sensed the seriousness of the situation from my brother and sister. David endlessly flicked through all the television stations. Crystal tried to keep her nose in a book but kept glancing from the television, to the book, out the window, and then at me. David settled on a show for a second and then quickly changed it again. I wanted to scream, "STOP IT!" I couldn’t muster the courage and sat there on the floor. I looked at him, then my sister, and then the television.
We had experienced this a couple of months earlier when Dad's aorta almost burst at work one night. I was given the description of a balloon when it should have popped. The doctors said he defied all odds to still be alive, but a month later he was home. All was normal; at least I was thinking that way. My older siblings seemed a bit more concerned. After half an hour, my attention span for sitting and thinking was overwhelmed by hunger. I quietly got up and poured myself a bowl of cereal and returned into the living room. A funny look from my brother awaited me.
"You mean, you never woke up last night, not once?" Dave asked.
"No. Why, was it loud?" I responded.
My brother gave out a small chuckle, shook his head, and flipped to another show. I slept through the commotion of an ambulance flying down a dirt road, paramedics running through the house and hooking my Dad up to medical devices. Also my mom, sister, and brother getting everything in order for my mom to go down to the hospital, all while I was wrapped up in soft blankets and smooth sheets that kept my dreams pleasant.
The next hour seemed to drag on for weeks. I sat there fidgeting. My mind wandered to what everyone was doing in school, to the hospital, and my Dad. I tried hard to worry about my Dad, but I kept looking out the window and seeing a wonderful fall day being wasted inside. I had the day off from school when no one else did, I wasn't sick, and I was sure Dad was going to be fine. I hated hospitals. I wasn't allowed to touch anything, I ever understood what anyone was talking about, and I only had permission to sit there. I was ten I had bigger heroes than my father. I knew my father like most ten year olds. I saw him after work when he would smoke his pipe, and the dreaded statement “Wait till your father gets home” sent chills down my spine. My Dad would say things “Do you see me acting that way?” and “There is a time and place to joke around and you need to start seeing the difference between the two.”
My sister's attention turned to a call from our Aunt. I took this as my cue to bounce toward the door, and flew outside to not waste a gift of a day. I imagined I was playing quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. I beat the hated Pittsburgh Steelers with an amazing fourth quarter dive into the end zone. I played basketball on our little drive way court like I was on the Charlotte Hornets, along side Larry Johnson, my favorite player, beating Michael Jordan and the Bulls. I had most of the day so I fit in a baseball game where I pitched for the Seattle Mariners and always made sure Ken Griffey Junior hit a couple of home runs. My father hardly crossed my mind outside. As I played I convinced myself he was going to be just fine.
Defending A Ghost is available for purchase as an ebook at:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/john-derryberry/defending-a-ghost/ebook/product-22852934.html