An Excerpt from a Writing Project

From The Magic Video Game 4: The Upbringing of a New Comedian

It was one of those mornings where Levi did not feel right. He woke up at 7:15 in the morning, which has always been unusual. He had a feeling that he was not going to have a good day today. Levi was feeling very sick to his stomach for absolutely no reason. He had a test that he had to take today, and this was horrible timing. He left his room and went through the common area of his suite to the bathroom. Levi was also on-duty tonight, so he really did have a lot going on for the whole day. However, based on how he was feeling right now, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to make it through the whole day sane. Levi entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He sat there for fifteen long minutes.

Levi was sure he was going to throw up, since he was feeling so nauseous. And it wasn't just the nausea that was getting to him. He also had a weird feeling in the center of his stomach, the area around his belly button. Overall, his stomach felt weird.

Levi leaned over the toilet seat and saw a spit string come out of his mouth. The sight of this made him even more nauseous. His elbows were pressed firmly on the toilet seat. It was all a matter of time when he would end up puking his guts out.

And then it happened, without him thinking hard about it. In a matter of five minutes, he heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Levi?" One of his suitemates said at the door. His name is Mike, and he is from Naperville, Illinois.
"What?" Levi responded quietly and somewhat harshly.
"You okay, man?"
"No. I feel like I'm dying."
"Can I come in?" Mike asked, trying hard not to be too awkward.
"Yeah, yeah. Come on in," Levi replied, slightly louder. Mike came in to the bathroom and saw that Levi was sitting against the wall with his head in his arms, which were resting against his knees.
"How long have you been feeling like this?"
"Since this morning."
"Do you think it might be the flu?"
"I don't know."

Levi decided to see if whatever he had this morning would pass. Mike also had a big test that he was still studying for, so he couldn't be of much help. Jack was also Levi's suite mate, and he didn't have much doing on. With this in mind, Jack could be there if Levi needed him. It was still pretty early in the morning, and Jack was still sleeping.

Mike woke up to Levi throwing up, and he felt bad that he couldn't help him more than he could. But he had a class at eight o'clock in the morning and another one right after that class. Jack didn't have anything going on until this afternoon, so at least he had some time to get ready for the day. And Levi had a test at eleven o'clock this morning. But he couldn't study while feeling like this.

"Do you have a test today?" Mike asked Levi as he was about to get ready for class.
"I do, but I don't think I'm going to take it today," Levi replied.
"You're really not feeling well at all, are ya?"
"No. Not at all."
"You gonna tell your prof?" Mike questioned his roommate and RA.
"Yeah, and I'm also on-duty tonight," Levi stated.
"Man, that sucks. Hopefully this will blow over soon."
"Hope so."
"Text me if you need anything. And Jack's also here."
"Thanks, man."

Mike left for class, and Levi was sitting on the bathroom floor. His head was resting against the wall, and he was hoping that what he had was nothing more than the flu. Assuming that was all it was, Levi was actually starting to feel better. He got up and walked slowly back to his room. He was already drained from what had happened this morning, so he was hoping to go back to bed.

When he finally returned to his bed, he heard the bathroom door close. He must have woken up his friend, Jack. Oh well. He probably needed to wake up and get ready for the day. But Levi wanted to go back to sleep. Within minutes, he was fast asleep. And he would most likely stay asleep for a while.

Thirty minutes later, Levi woke up. Only he was in any mood but a good mood. He had a shooting pain in the right side of his stomach, so he knew that something was definitely wrong. His stomach was cramping, and he didn't know quite what to do. At least Jack was in the suite, so he could walk with him to the health center, also known as the center of death. Levi crawled to Jack's room because he was afraid he was going to get dizzy otherwise. Twenty-five minutes of slow crawling seemed to be the equivalent of twenty-five hours of pure agony. Once he was at Jack's door, he knocked on it and fell to the ground. Jack opened the door, and he noticed that Levi was lying on his side, doubled over. He wasn't crying or anything, he was just lying there helplessly. Jack knew that something was up.

"Jeez, Levi. You okay, man?" Jack asked.
"No. I'm not," Levi replied, trying to stay motionless.
"Have you been feeling this way the whole morning?"
"Yes, Jack. I have."
"Where does it hurt?" Jack questioned his best friend and RA.
"Right side of my stomach," Levi replied, hoping that it didn't mean too much.
"I think I know what that is, and we need to get this taken care of soon."
"Oh jeez. What do you think it is?"
"You really want to know?"
"Yes, I do."
"Appendicitis."

Oh great. That really explained a lot. Levi has not had his appendix taken out. Yet. However, he had his tonsils and adenoids taken out, and he also had his wisdom teeth taken out. Hopefully he didn't have to give up his appendix either. Maybe he was just dehydrated and might have been cramping up. Maybe Jack was wrong in all of this. But it still needed to be checked out as soon as possible, in the event that it was appendicitis. Jack was planning to take Levi to the ER. And it would be nice to bring Mackenzie along. Jack was about to let her know what was going on.

"Hello?" Mackenzie answered.
"Hi Mackenzie," Jack responded.
"What's up?"
"Levi is not feeling well, so I'm taking him to the ER."
"Oh no! What's going on?!" Mackenzie exclaimed in utter shock.
"I suspect appendicitis," Jack replied.
"I'm going with you guys. I hope he's okay."
"He's not in a good mood, so you know."
"I can only imagine. I'll be there in five, so wait for me!"
"We will."

In a matter of five minutes, Mackenzie came to Jack and Levi's suite. Upon opening the door, she noticed Jack sitting next to Levi on the couch, who was doubled over and wearing his black and white athletic sweater, gray shirt, and jeans, which he had slept in the night before. Levi was shivering, even in the clothes that he was wearing, meaning that he probably had a fever.

Jack then drove Mackenzie, Levi, and himself to the ER, and everything after that was a blur. No one said anything because of how worried they were. They arrived to the hospital and spent five minutes in the waiting room. Then a nurse called them up and the kids followed her into the examination room. The physical exam seemed to be a blur, and then Levi had to have an ultrasound on his stomach to rule out anything. This was most definitely going to be fun, and what if Levi did have appendicitis? The doctor came in to see the kids.

Levi was lying on the table, waiting for all of this to be over. Mackenzie was sitting next to him, trying to get him to relax as much as possible. Jack was by Mackenzie, not quite sure what to do. The doctor ordered Levi to pull up his gray t-shirt so that she could apply the gel and the wand to Levi's stomach. Mackenzie held Levi's hand, which squeezed her hand tightly because the gel was really cold on his stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut until the wand was applied gently to the right side of his stomach. Then, he took a deep breath and relaxed as much as he could. He was still in a lot of pain. And he was still in a bad mood. He didn't care too much about what the inside of his stomach looked like. He just cared about getting everything over with and going home.

"How are you doing, Levi?" Jack asked his best friend.
"Leave me alone," Levi snapped.
"Alright. I'm sorry."
"I wish I was fine."
"I think you will be," Jack stated optimistically.
"Jack, be quiet," Levi replied with a heavy sigh, which caused him to cringe after the abdominal pain.
"What do you need from me?"
"Oh, I can tell you what I need from you."
"Levi, I'm just trying to...."
"Get out. Now," Levi nearly shouted as he pointed to the door.

Jack burst into tears as he stormed out the door. He had never been talked to this way by his best friend before. He stood just outside the door and started to feel a little bad about what he did. Sure, he could've handled things a little better. However, Levi was also wrong in acting the way he did. Jack attributed that to the fact that he was not feeling well at all. In a matter of minutes, Jack quit his crying and waited outside the door until someone would let him back in. That would probably be at least another thirty minutes. He did not want to go back in and cause any more trouble. In fact, he was thinking about keeping away from his best friend until he could find it in himself to apologize.

"Levi, how are you doing?" The doctor asked Levi.
"I'm okay," Levi replied quietly yet dreamily. Mackenzie's hand was now on Levi's chest. Levi had to rest his hands under his head for the doctor to examine him.
"Are you still in pain?"
"A little, not too bad."
"I do see some blockage in your appendix, so you will need to get your appendix taken out," the doctor replied.
"Okay. I can handle this," Levi replied. His heart was pounding underneath Mackenzie's hand.
"Are your parents coming?"
"His dad will be here in about ten minutes," Mackenzie answered.
"And what is your relationship to Levi?" The doctor asked.
"I'm his girlfriend."

And the doctor confirmed appendicitis, based on what she found and Levi's symptoms. He had to have another physical exam before the operation. His dad had arrived and found Mackenzie and Jack in the waiting room. Levi had already gone into surgery, and all everyone else could do was wait. No one said anything for a few minutes, as they had a lot going through their minds. They were hoping that Levi would get through the surgery as soon as possible, so that they could see him. Today was a very rough day for everyone, especially for Levi, since he had to go through all this. And he would most likely have to go back to Valparaiso for at least a week to recover. And it was not going to be the easiest recovery in the world. It was probably going to be as easy a recovery as it was when he had his tonsils and adenoids taken out.

"You guys want anything?" Mr. Cranston asked Jack and Mackenzie.
"No thanks. I'm good," Mackenzie answered.
"I'll take some saltines," Jack replied, starting to get hungry.
"I do happen to have some," said Mr. Cranston.
"Thanks!"
"I hope Levi's going to be fine," Mackenzie remarked.
"It will be a slightly painful recovery, but I think he'll be okay," Mr. Cranston said.
"I actually had my appendix out when I was little, but I don't remember much of it."
"Is that right?"
"I think I was like eight or something."

Mr. Cranston, Jack, and Mackenzie explored the hospital for a little while. They didn't know quite what to do besides just wait. Levi's surgery was most likely going to be no longer than an hour. Levi's dad got some saltines for Jack, and Mackenzie was just watching the monitor to see Levi's progress in the surgery.

"It still says he's in surgery," Mackenzie remarked.
"It's been a half hour," Mr. Cranston replied.
"I know. I'm just worried."
"He'll probably be in for another fifteen minutes."
"I just want to see him," Mackenzie said.
"You will. He'll do fine. I promise you," Mr. Cranston replied.
"You know that for sure?"
"Absolutely."
"You totally sure?"
"Absolutely."

Twenty minutes later, a nurse came out to the waiting room and got Mr. Cranston's attention. Levi was finally done with surgery, and he was probably going to be out of it. The three walked into the recovery room and saw Levi with his eyes closed. He was connected to the heart monitor, and he had the pulse oximeter attached to a finger. When Mr. Cranston, Jack, and Mackenzie came into the room, Levi slowly opened his eyes. He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes again. Levi and his dad had some time together, and Mackenzie held Levi's hand. Jack didn't know quite what to do because he had an argument with Levi earlier during Levi's ultrasound. However, he wanted to apologize to his best friend for being too nosy. And he believed that he should say something to him now.

"Hey Levi," Jack said to his best friend.
"Hi Jack," Levi answered quietly.
"How ya feeling, man?"
"Same old, same old."
"So, I'm sorry about this afternoon," Jack remarked.
"Yeah. I'm also sorry," Levi replied.
"I shouldn't have asked so many questions."
"I shouldn't have gotten mad."
"Friends again?"
"We've always been friends."