Witching The Wild One

My phone buzzed for the fourth time during my microeconomics lecture. Hospital. Again.

I slipped out of the back row, ignoring the professor's disapproving look. In the hallway, I answered with shaking hands.

"Maya Collins?"

"Yes."

"This is Dr. Patterson. I need you to come to the hospital immediately. Your mother's condition has taken a serious turn."

The world tilted. "How serious?"

"We need to discuss treatment options in person. How quickly can you get here?"

"I'm on my way."

I ran across campus to my dorm, my heart hammering against my ribs. Zoe was getting ready for her afternoon class when I burst through the door.

"I need to borrow your car," I said, grabbing my purse and keys to our room.

"Maya, what's wrong? You look"

"Mom's in the hospital. I have to go. Now."

Zoe tossed me her keys without hesitation. "Call me."

The drive to Hartford General took thirty minutes that felt like hours. I found Dr. Patterson in the oncology wing, his expression grave.

"Maya, sit down."

"Just tell me."

He pulled out a file. "The latest scans show significant progression. Your mother has maybe six months. There is one option an experimental treatment program, but..."

"But what?"

"The cost is two hundred thousand dollars. Insurance won't cover experimental procedures."

Two hundred thousand dollars. I stared at him, the number echoing in my head. I made maybe fifteen thousand a year between my tutoring and restaurant jobs, sending most of it home for bills and Jake's school expenses.

"There has to be something else. A payment plan, charity programs""

"I've already checked everything, Maya. I'm sorry."

I drove back to campus in a daze. Two hundred thousand dollars to save my mother's life. Impossible. But I had to try something.

That evening, I sat at my desk researching everything I could find. Emergency loans, fundraising ideas, selling everything we owned. Nothing came close to the amount we needed.

"You missed dinner again," Zoe said, returning from the dining hall with a container of food. "And you look like you're planning to tunnel through the earth with your bare hands."

"Two hundred thousand," I said without looking up from my laptop.

"What?"

"That's how much it costs to save my mom's life. Two hundred thousand dollars."

Zoe set down the food and sat on her bed, studying my face. "Maya..."

"Don't. Don't tell me it's impossible. I know it's impossible. But I have to try something."

"Okay. What's the plan?"

I laughed bitterly. "I don't have one. Work more hours? I'm already working every minute I'm not in class. Take out loans? I've been rejected by everyone. Sell my organs?"

"There's got to be another way."

"Like what? Rob a bank? Marry rich?" I slammed my laptop shut. "I'm out of options, Zoe."

Zoe was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "You know what you need?"

"A miracle?"

"A break. One night where you're not Maya Collins, responsible daughter and sister. Just Maya."

"I don't have time for breaks."

"You don't have time not to take one. You're going to burn out completely, and then what happens to your family?" Zoe pulled out her phone. "There's this party tomorrow night at the Grandview Hotel. Some trust fund kids are hosting it."

"I can't afford hotel parties."

"You don't need money. Just show up and exist for three hours. Talk to people who don't need help with homework. Drink expensive wine someone else is paying for. Remember what it feels like to be young."