TraceStHusky

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Clinic (Physical Health) – Ground Floor, Residential Building
1:27 PM – Hope Daly (Andrew Rhodes)

Hope was feeling worse than ever as her case worker rounded the corner and came to sit with her. She could see in the lines of his face that he was concerned. She felt a stab of guilt. It was obvious that this was going to cause so much trouble for her caseworker, the medical staff, and maybe ever her parents if they were found and notified. She had been honest about her name, but she had been unwilling to tell the staff of her home when she had first come in. She hadn't wanted to discuss the reasons for coming to Open Roads, electing to leave it at "trouble at home due to financial stress."

Her caseworker, assigned the day she entered OR as a resident, was a kind man, feeling more and more like an extra parent every day. Andrew had gone to bat about letting her stay despite her vague reasoning and past. Hope felt her stomach sink. He had done so much for her, and now turning her own world upside down was going to mess with his a bit too. It felt unfair, but she knew her condition was worsening. She turned to her caseworker and forced a pained smile onto her face. "Thanks for coming Andrew. I wasn't sure of the time, but I was hoping you weren't too busy. Sorry for interrupting your day like this..."

Hope was on the verge of tears again. She could barely look him in the eyes. "Let me start with saying I've never felt more content than during my time here at OR.... I wasn't completely... Honest when I came in. During the medical examination, when they asked if I had any pre existing conditions, I lied. I wanted to be here so badly in a place where nobody was turned away. I panicked. I thought that my condition would have me taken away and sent home." Hope paused, rubbing her arm where she had her blood pressure taken.

Taking her jacket off , she pulled up her sleeve to reveal violent bruising. Doctor Georgiana stepped forward gently took her arm, having stood nearby during this exchange. "Oh my goodness... Hope, honey... You need to tell us what's going on immediately. This isn't-" The doctor took a step back as Hope pulled away and burst into tears again.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Rookery said
@Tori, actually I was wondering what time was the interaction between Isa and Ms. Geer. I figured the posts ended on the range you mentioned, 3-5@TraceStHusky, I'm assuming that your posts is set just after the scenario posts, i.e. Lunch Time.

Yeah. It is. Sorry for late response. Been a bit caught up in some things.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Hope frowned as Dr. Wilson walked in, sitting up with a start. "I said I wanted my caseworker..." She stuck out her arm as the doctor unvelcroed the blood pressure cuff in her hand. When Hope had been checked into the clinic, her blood pressure had been very odd, according to the nurse. She had refused to tell Hope the numbers which only stressed Hope out more. Hope peered around the cuff to try and see the numbers, but couldn't see them.

Dr. Wilson pulled her stethoscope from her ears and looked Hope dead in the eyes. "Low. Tell me what's bothering you Hope. You would not have come to the clinic if you just wanted to see your case worker. Something tells me you need medical attention but are afraid of consequences. Are you sick, injured? Any symptoms you'd like to discuss?"

Hope squirmed, pain pulsing through her body. She was scared. Was this bone pain? Had the cancer spread? Her eyes filled with tears again and she gulped air, trying to keep herself composed. Shaking her head, her face crumpled and her body shook with her sudden sobs, unable to keep the exterior. Dr. Wilson's expression softened a bit, and she placed a comforting hand on Hope's back. Hope slowly gained enough control to speak. "How well equipped is Open Roads to deal with medical issues?"

Dr. Wilson frowned and rubbed the teen's back again. "It depends on the severity, Hope. We can't deal with everything, but we are willing to outsource to get help from surrounding hospitals and other medical institutes. It would be easier to help you and to ease your fears if we knew what we were dealing with, kiddo..."

Hope nodded, her head hanging. "I would still like to see my case worker and tell him at the same time, but I think I can do this..." She drew her knees to her chest on the cot, shivering slightly. Dr. Wilson nodded and left the room. This was it. She would either be able to get the help she needed or be kicked out. It didn't feel like there was anything between the two outcomes. It felt final and terrifying.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Just got home from work. Going to post soon, I guess. Kinda worried on the outcome of the situation. Also, being confined to the clinic will probably not be conducive to Hope coming clean. She's terrified she's going to get kicked out.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Hope sobbed once more as she rounded the corner, stopping dead in her tracks as her eyes laid upon Clair. She clammed up and stopped her sobs, tears streaming down her face silently. She couldn't let Clair see her like this. With fists clenched, she took a seat on the bed she was led to, taking deep breaths. "I'd like to see my case worker, please. Mr. Rhodes." She said this in a quiet tone. The nurse was walking away to go and make the page, when Hope spoke up again, adding bitterly, "I'd also like to know how much effort Open Roads is willing to spare for a lost cause."
Hope looked down at her bruised wrists pulling her sleeves over her hands. She closed her eyes and felt tears fall from her lashes. She calso felt the stare of Clair and the one she had been talking to when Hope had walked in. She felt the sting embarrassment and failure. Hadn't she tried to be a good role model for Clair despite her own problems? How had she been so pathetic as to walk through these halls crying like a child? Hope rubbed her face with one of her sleeves.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Hope found herself curled up in her bunk, watching her clock tick away the minutes before her next class. As she turned her head away from the clock, she looked at her arm and pulled her sleeve up.She could see a myriad of tiny red dots and purplish bruises. This morning she had run into a door frame trying to get out of the way of some more exuberant residents running totheir class for fear of being late. She winced as she pressed lightly on one of the bruises.
Hope felt so tired. It seemed even as she went to bed earlier and earlier, she still felt this way. The urge to sleep now felt so comfortable. Maybe uit was time to come clean. She had been hiding her condition for a long time now, and it was beginning to really damage her. maybe it hadn't been bad before, but it certainly was now. Hope stood up, taking her bag, and began the walk to the clinic.
It felt like a death sentence. They will thinkyou're lying. They will kick you out for lying before if they believe you. They will take you back to your family where you will do nothing but burden them with your sickness until you finally die.
She was sobbing as she rounded the corner near the clinic, eyes following her, murmers reaching her ears. She walked into the clinic's waiting room and sat down. Tears were streaming down her face and she emitted soft whimpering noises as she waiting for the person who manned the front desk to come back.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

It was at 9:45 that Hope heard an announcement that awoke her to the fact that she had classes soon. She sat up and began to gather her books and made her bed, the tasks feeling monumental. Her joints were feeling impossibly broken and like she would fall apart at any moment. She repeated her mantra in her head and tipped her books into a simple canvas bag that had been provided when she started classes. The edges were beginning to fray, and she wasn't sure of its strength anymore. Perhaps she should ask her case worker for a new one. Wasn't he there to help?
Hope held her face in her hands for a moment as she wondered why she was still here. It was miraculous that she was alive still, but she had a feeling that she was going to get kicked out when she entered Open Roads. She hadn't made much effort to make known why she was there and felt like the counselors and staff just thought she was lost and didn't know where her life was going. Was that enough reason to let a teenager in off the streets? Most of the others who made their home in these halls had much more serious issues. She laughed to herself as she realizes her issues were very serious.
Hope pulled her sneakers on and last second decided to pull on a thick hooded jacket, feeling very cold. A voice in her head reminded her that it was most likely a flare up of anemia. Pushing the thought away, she zipped the jacket up, pulled her bag onto her shoulder and let her sleeves cover her shaking hands. She opened her door and walked into the hallway, closing it behind her as she left, headed across the Open Roads campus for her first class.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Hope woke to the sound of the eight o' clock bell. Feeling the ache that was becoming more and more familiar, she swung her feet over the side and stretched. She drove her mantra into her head, 'This pain is nothing and you are more than pain.' She let a slow smile creep onto her face; she has made it another day. Seventeen years and sixty-eight days alive, just under two of those years spent here.
Hope had forgotten how she got here, but she knew it was a miracle that she was alive. Standing up an stretching more completely, hugging her calves as her body protests.
It is lonely keeping to yourself, she suddenly thought. She had a weird feeling about today as she walked through the breakfast line. Hope was hopeful.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Name: Hope Daly
Age:17
Personality:
Hope is quick to let herself be shut down, and it quiet unless engaged in conversation by someone else. Despite her quiet nature, she is quite inelligent and brimming with creativity. Once she becomes close with someone, she tends to speak more with them, and treats them with utmost respect. She isn't talkative, but that doesn't mean she is a sad person; Hope is a positive person which seems at odds with her current situation.
Background:
Hope had a relatively normal childhood, with parents that loved her and an older brother who looked after her. She diidn't have much trouble in school besides the average run of the mill bullies that teased her for being slightly over-weight. She didn't have many friends, but those she had were very supportive.
Nothing was ever too much of a problem until she was diagnosed with early stage leukemia at the age of fifteen. Because of this, her parents began to fight, their marriage suffering. Her older brother considered dropping out of college to help pay for her treatments. Fearing the pain and suffering she knew that would come, not to mention the further stress on her family, she left home and traveled all the way to Open Roads and intends to hide her cancer and live out the rest of her life without burdening anyone with the knowledge.
Having just turned seventeen and started her second year at the shelter, Hope is surprised at her survival and has, dare she day, hope for the future despite the pain she is constantly in.

Open Roads [Slice of Life / Always Open]

Still accepting characters, Rook?