Disclaimer: I don't own House MD. I don't own Coldplay. See below the story for additional comments and musings.
Afflicted
Prompt I. A Rush of Blood to the Head
She's not sure if she's ready for this.
The doors to Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital are strangely plain, finely crafted from plastic and shined wood. They're deceptive; they give a false sense that if you go in through the doors, you can just as easily leave. But that's not true.
She knows this.
Nothing's ever that easy.
Just like how it's not easy to take that extra step that will bring her through those doors, like how it's not easy to stand in the paths of patients (some sick, some not) as they ebb and flow around her like the receding tide.
Her feet are frozen to the laminated floor and the nurses stare at her in unabashed bewilderment. Move. She tells herself. Move.
She's not scared.
The slight shaking of her hands means nothing and the acceleration of her heartbeat has nothing to do with this. She swallows, but it feels like her throat is closing up, and she's choking, choking.
She's not scared. This is what she tells herself as she makes her way blindly to the lecture hall. She lies to herself, lies because that is all she can do, lies because they are the only things keeping her barely-there dream alive.
Her false truths are finely woven, sewn from the delicately crafted threads of deception and shined with delusion. They trap her like those doors, seemingly easy to command and bend to her will. But she knows better.
Nothing's ever that easy.
So she lies.
Word Count: 256 words
Author's Notes: Thirteen is one of my favorite characters on House even though she's only been around for a very short time. Her enigma and philosophical way of thinking has really garnered my admiration and interest. I've written this particular chapter over five separate times, always striving to capture that part of her character that really speaks to me. Here's to hoping I succeeded. To all the readers who wonder at my strange choice of prompts, Coldplay's music is well thought out with deeper meanings behind the initial lyrics, and I figured they would serve a fitting purpose for my plan. Review if you have the time and feel that this is worthy of a comment or two. The encouragement is always a bright light in my otherwise mundane days.