Through years of physical therapy, Olivia had managed to find ways to do a lot of tasks without any help, especially in the specially designed penthouse condominium that her mom had designed for her. She had everything she needed easily accessible including a bathroom custom made to allow her to do everything she needed to without having anyone have to help.Her mom was adamant about not having any help brought infor her, in their culture that just wasn’t acceptable. Although Olivia really appreciated all that mom had done for her, she couldn’t wait for the day that all this specialized décor would be unnecessary, the day when she could walk again.
Life in San Antonio was quite different from that in small town Bishop. Although they tried to make accommodations for me, Olivia, she still had to rely on Katarina. She felt lucky that Katarina was such a caring person, she loved helping Olivia and knew when and what Olivia needed without her having to ask.
Traveling was a little harder for all of them. Olivia enjoyed seeing new places, but hotel rooms were not easy to maneuver in. She had never been to Iowa, they were going to take a flight tomorrow morning, but then they had to get a rental car to drive to the town of Beatrice, where the clinic was located. Olivia wasn't sure how her mom found out about the place, they didn’t even have a website for Olivia to check out which added to her overall apprehension about this treatment. She guessed it had to be a good one for her mom to pay so much money.
“Mom! I’ve got archery practice, when do you need me home?” Sam yelled from the doorway.
“Just don’t be too la te, we have an early flight. Have you packed already?” Sam's mom breezed into the entryway to kiss her on the cheek.
“Yeah, yeah, all packed. And you don’t have to kiss me every time I leave the house.” Sam rolled her eyes.
She took Sam's face in her hands, “I never know when you’re gonna play hero on me again.” “Ha ha.” Sam scooted out the door and waved goodbye to her as she clicked the unlock button to her eco-friendly mini car. Sam was proud that she bought it with the money she had earned at the thrift store. She also earned money playing a small role on Aunt Isabella’s soap opera. Sam NEVER told anyone except Edie about it. She spent the summer in San Antonio and went with Aunt Isabella to the studio and the director thought she was perfect for the American love interest of the one of the teenage sons of one of the main characters. It only lasted for a couple of weeks, but it was actually kind of fun, but Sam would never admit that to anyone, especially at her school full of preps and jocks. Her mom always told her how beautiful she was and that she had a Barbie doll figure, but that just wasn’t something Sam cared about. Sam usually stuck her hair under a knit hat (even in summer) and wore whatever she found at the thrift store.
Most of the kids at school thought she was weird; the rest just avoided her except her best friend Edie. Heaven knows why she chose Sam to be her best friend; they looked like oil and water together. Edie looked more like Sam's sister, Katarina, cute and girly. Whatever the case was, Edie and Sam were like peas and carrots.
Sam loved archery practice; she was the best on the team. Edie attempted it with her, but the odds of her actually hitting a target were about as good as winning the lottery. Sam almost made it to state last year, and this year they were headed to conference, but their school didn’t make a big production out of it like they had when the basketball team made it to (and lost) conference.
After the tornado Sam was treated like a superstar. They even had a recognition ceremony for her at the ribbon cutting for the groundbreaking of the new auditorium. Although she detested everyone gawking at her and acting like they were her new best friends, she had to admit it was actually kind of cool.
“I’ve been here for twenty minutes already and haven’t hit anything yet.” Edie pouted.
“And this is a new thing for you?” Sam teased.
“Ha-ha, we can’t all be like you.” She stuck her tongue out at Sam. "You’re just trying toohard, relax a little.” Sam picked up her bow and arrow and aimed at the target, without hesitation she let it go and it hit the target easily.
“Great job Sam!” Coach Reed yelled from across the field. “Make sure you get a good practice in, I won’t see you again until the end of next week.” With spring break starting tomorrow, their team would be on hiatus until Friday.
“Don’t forget to text me after you land” Edie muttered as she took another aimless shot.
“I know, I know, I won’t forget.”
Practice continued without a hitch. Sam usually let her mind wander since archery came so easily for her. She would occasionally sneak a chuckle at Edie trying desperately just to hit anywhere near the target. She would usually ponder the reasons why she was so different from the general public, especially kids at her school. She had a shrine to Pikachu, listened to obscure bands from the 90's, collected Japanese manga, and counted the days for the next comic con. Her mom tried so hard to "get" her, and she kind of had a clue, but unless you were like Sam, you just didn't get it. Sam had to give her credit for trying though. Her sister, Katarina, was the mirror image of their mom, so Sam guessed she had more time to try and figure Sam out. They would have plenty of time on their trip to the bustling Midwest metropolis of Beatrice to talk and figure things out this upcoming week.
Katarina was really excited to go to Iowa with Olivia. She always worried when her mom or Aunt Isabella would tell her about some new treatment and she couldn’t be there for her. Kat thought of her like a sister and she was a little easier to get along with than Sam. Sam did have more guts than Kat thought she would have had in the same situation. Kat was scared enough with Olivia and her mom. Her mom said she was a different kind of hero because she managed to stay calm through the whole ordeal and keep Olivia from getting too scared. "I guess, whatever." Kat mumbled to herself.
Olivia and Kat had a lot in common; they liked the same television shows, the same music and had a celeb crush on the same guy from their favorite movie. They loved to go shopping at the mall; Sam was thrilled when mom blessed them to be old enough to be dropped off at the mall without an escort. Being in high school gave Kat a lot more freedom.
They were still attempting to pack their limited amount of luggage for the trip. Mom warned Kat that they were only going for 4 days and didn’t need to bring everything in the closet. Kat thought she was completely wrong, how can she possibly pack enough for 5 days in one, yes she said one, suitcase. Thank God she could bring a carryon, I mean, what if something happened to my suitcase and I was left with no makeup, no flat iron and no lip-gloss? She mused silently. It was bad enough that she couldn’t bring her laptop if she wanted to stuff a carryon. Mom said she had to choose between the laptop and stuff. She begged her to let her put her laptop in her carryon, but it was a no go. Olivia was much better at this packing thing because she did a lot of traveling with her mom. She wasn’t as attached to her possessions as Kat was either; Kat wished she could be like that.
“Hey, Olive, what did you bring to wear for the trip home?” Kat stuffed and threw out and re-stuffed her bag some more. “Did you bring more than one purse? I can’t decide which purse will be all purpose enough to bring.” Kat sighed and threw her hands in the air.
“You know we will probably go shopping, you better leave room for stuff you buy.” Olivia further added to Kat's angst. “How do you get packed so fast?” Kat asked in amazement, noting that her (much smaller than Kats) suitcase was neatly packed and she had no effort securing the zippers. Kat's, on the other hand begged for mercy as she tried to zip it. “Come sit on it Olivia.” Kat still had difficulty zipping and she was sure that she had forgotten some very important piece of clothing or footwear that she would regret upon arrival in Iowa.
Beatrice, Nebraska “Can Katarina come in here with me?” Olivia asked the attendant that was finishing the tape on the IV. She could feel herself getting drowsy already, but she knew that she would not completely be asleep for the procedure even though she wished she could be. She couldn’t look
at the tray of needles and sterile instruments, she knew if she did she would probably break down and cry.
“We don’t usually allow minors in the procedure room;I’ll have to ask the doctor.” She squeezed Olivia's hand and smiled.
The doctor entered the room with a smile that was meant to put Olivia at ease, but at this point she doubted an entire bottle of her mom’s valium could manage to do that. “So are we ready for a miracle?” He snapped the latex gloves on. “Your cousin should be here any second.”
“Thanks Doc.” Olivia feebly smiled, slowly feeling a bit more at ease. Katarina meekly entered the room and brightly smiled in her direction. She waved shyly and Olivia motioned for her to get next to her.
“OK, Olivia, my assistant and I are going to roll you over onto your tummy. I am going to put some cold stuff on your back and then you will feel a little prick. After a couple of minutes we will begin the procedure. I know it will be uncomfortable, but you have to remain as still as you can, OK?”
Olivia couldn’t manage to make a sound come out of her lips so she nodded in response. Before she knew what was happening she felt the cold liquid on the small of her back. Time seemed to creep at a slugs pace, she just wanted this to be over. She was thankful that she couldn’t see what was going on behind her. Katarina’s expression never revealed the procedure that was taking place. She just stood with Olivia's hand in hers, a comforting smile on her face.
The initial pain of the instrument plunging into her spine was overwhelming. She wanted to scream or jump off the table, but she knew that if she did anything at all she could make her situation worse than it already was. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Katarina was aware of the pain Olivia was feeling and attempted to absorb the pain by squeezing her hand harder. Her calming attitude actually made the pain tolerable. Olivia felt that time had stopped completely as the instrument probed deeper into her spine.
“OK, Olivia, you are doing great.” The doctor reassured. The assistant moved away from the doctor to give me a cursory nod of reassurance as well. “The hard part is almost over now. You’re going to feel a rush of warmth where I have the needle and then I will be almost finished. I know this hurts, just hang in there a couple more seconds and it will be all over.”
A few seconds felt like an eternity. Olivia closed her red, swollen eyes when flashes of memories streamed through her thoughts. She thought of her childhood, she thought of the first time she met Katarina and Sam, she thought of the fever she had in Cancun. This must be what it’s like when you die. For a moment she completely forgot what was happening with her body.
“Olivia, Olivia, open your eyes.” Katarina calmly pleaded. Slowly Olivia opened one eye at a time. The light in the room seemed much more intense to the point of annoying. Olivia was now on her side on the table. She still felt sharp twinges of pain emanating from the point of entry at the small of her back, but the intense pain she had endured seemed to be over, for the most part. She felt an unusual sensation in her legs; it was as if they were warm again.
“Hey, Olive.” Sam peeked in the door.
“Hey” Olivia murmured, still trying to find her voice “Mom said you were a trooper.” Sam smiled at Olivia. “It hurt like hell.” Olivia blurted out, looking at Aunt Lizzy for forgiveness.
“You have earned the right to say it like it is sweetie.” Aunt Lizzy smiled. “I would have been screaming like a baby, I almost passed out when I saw the needle.”
“I feel warm, in my legs.” Olivia tried to explain.
“Should I get the doctor?” Sam was concerned.
“No, no, it’s not a bad thing, or uncomfortable, it’s just different.”
“Maybe it’s going to work!” Katarina beamed.
Three Weeks Later “I’ll let her know, I understand.” Lizzy reassured Isabe lla on the phone. Lizzy knew that Olivia would be heartbroken when she heard the news that she now had been obliged to give her.
She was a bit apprehensive that she had to break the news to Olivia that her mom was taking a cruise home instead of flying. This meant that instead of getting home by Friday, Isabella wouldn't be home for two more weeks. By then Olivia could possibly be walking, she has made so much progress since her treatment.
"I'm so sorry Lizzy, please tell her I love her and I have so many stories to tell her and tons of presents, I could not have gotten them all on the plane."
"Ok, be careful and we will see you soon.” Lizzy ended the long list of excuses sputtering from Isabella's tongue even if she was partially telling the truth as I'm sure that she bought enough clothes, handbags, and shoes to fill a 747. Lizzy just did not want to be the one to break the news to Olivia. "Olivia!" she called in the direction of Katarina’s room. May as well get this over with, she thought solemnly. It wasn't long before Olivia was trekking down the hallway with her new walker and Katarina in tow.
"Yes, Aunt Lizzy?" “I have s ome news that you aren't going to be too happy about." Lizzy drew her face into a pout and trudged onward. "Your mom is taking a cruise back from Europe and she won't be back for two more weeks"
Lizzy could see her demeanor instantly sag, " Oh, Ok, " was all she could muster. Katarina immediately sensed the disappointment and guided her back toward her room. "We gotta finish getting ready for school; Bobbi said he was going to give you a note today." She smiled from ear to ear sufficiently managing to change the subject.
Lizzy was so thankful for Katarina in situations like this. Lizzy returned to her cooled coffee mug hoping that the mass quantity of caffeine she consumed this morning would enable her to get through another Monday.
"Jan Brown reports live from the small town that once stood here. What happened is simply unexplainable; it was as if the entire town was wiped off the map." Lizzy turned off the TV as she yelled for the girls to get in the car.
Chapter 3
Olivia didn’t get to talk to her mom on the phone before she left on the cruise to come home. Olivia was really excited about all the things that she could do now. Without a doubt she will be walking in a week or so. This treatment really did work. Olivia just hoped it doesn’t wear off because she felt better than she had since the day she got sick with fever in Cancun. Olivia didn’t expect the treatment to work at all, let alone work as quickly as it did. She could feel her legs by the end of the first day, she was using a walker by the end of the first week, and she just kept getting stronger and stronger as time went by.
Sure, she was disappointed that her mom chose to take a cruise instead of flying straight home, but she also knew that her mom loved her, but sometimes loved the spotlight more. Olivia knew it was hard for her to set her life aside to take care of her and she really didn’t like leaving her with Aunt Lizzy all the time, but she also knew that once you accept the lifestyle she had chosen, you have to do all that you can to maintain it. If she decided to quit acting and making appearances altogether, it wouldn’t take but maybe six months for the money to run dry. Olivia thought her mom thought that being poor would be the worst case scenario.
Katarina was attempting to play matchmaker again with Olivia. Olivia always felt weird around guys, but she had to admit that Bobbi was kind of cute, and funny, and did she mention cute? This was one of the few guys that Katarina and Olivia both didn’t have a crush on together. She kind of thought Kat may have had a crush on him before she came to town, but she knew that Olivia really, really liked him so she kept her feelings to herself. Katarina was a social butterfly anyway, cute guys tended to flock to her without any effort on her part. Kat didn’t think she was all that special, but Olivia could see that her charm and cuteness could win anyone’s heart. Olivia, on the other hand, she was that exotic kind of pretty. Some guys thought that was way cool, others weren’t sure. Olivia had that blackest black hair, just like her mom’s and she was petite just like her mom. Her mom said she had the face of a china doll that you would keep locked up in a curio cabinet, whatever that meant.
Most of the kids there in Bishop had no idea who Ol
ivia's mom was or they would probably just like her for that reason. In San Antonio, she was pretty sure that the kids all liked her just so they could come over and meet her mom. Olivia was very, extremely, to the point of scared of her shadow, shy. Though hanging around Katarina made it kind of tough to keep up the shyness, she did her best anyway. Olivia hated it when teachers made a big fuss over how cute she was or how good she did on her assignments, or worse, called on her to answer a question in class.
Today was a typical Monday at Bishop High School. Most of Kat and Olivia's friends were too busy talking about what happened over the weekend than trying to pay attention to another lecture on reverse osmosis in the rock cycle.
Kat took extra time straightening Olivia’s hair to the point that she thought she heard it scream for mercy this morning. She had to look extra good for Bobbi. And without hesitation he slipped Kat a note to give to Olivia, but specifically instructed Kat to wait until lunch because he wanted to sit by her and didn’t want her to have a chance to think about it too long and change her mind, or worse, say no. Kat told him he was crazy and that she would most definitely say yes, but he wanted to stay on the safe side anyway.
Kat's love life was a bit more complicated. There were actually two guys that she was into at the moment, so she couldn’t say yes to Quinn when Shawn might ask her to the prom. Regardless of who she chooses to go with, she already had her dress picked out at the mall. Kat found the cutest spaghetti strap and tulle hi-lo dress in the most amazing shade of lavender that she had ever seen. Now the shoes for the ensemble were a whole ‘nother story. Should she wear strappy, should she wear glittery? She had no idea, she just prayed for an epiphany so she doesn’t end up going barefoot. "Although, if I had my toes done at the salon in a cute pattern, maybe that could start a new trend? " Kat silently mused.
Undead Rising- Transcendendence Reborn Page 2