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Episode 22: A New Friend
When we last left Sarah, she was just getting started in college. Now, she's loving college life, but she's having a little trouble with her accounting classmates, and wonders if maybe she's in the wrong major. An encounter with an ill-tempered girl helps change her perspective. --The Author
It was a crisp fall morning. The first bright rays of sunshine filtered through the golden leaves of the trees outside the window of Sarah and Melissa's college dormitory room. Melissa sat at her desk, trying to pay more attention to her books than to the beautiful day that was dawning outside. Sarah, meanwhile, wasn't awake yet. But that was about to change, as her clock advanced from 7:29 to 7:30, and the harsh beep of the alarm awakened the sleeping girl.
Sarah groggily pulled herself out of bed and turned off her alarm. "Good morning, Sarah!" Melissa greeted her cheerily from her desk.
"Morning," Sarah answered. She could see that Melissa was in the middle of a productive homework session. "How long have you been up?"
Melissa looked at the clock. "I don't know, a couple hours?"
"How do you do that?" Sarah asked. "I can barely drag myself out of bed at 7:30!"
"Guess I'm just a morning person," Melissa laughed. "But you stay up later than me too."
"That's true, I get a lot more done that way." Sarah said. "Anyway, I'm gonna get a shower and try to wake up! Have a great day!"
"Thanks, I'll see you at dinner?" Melissa asked.
"Yep, I'll be there!"
With that, Sarah disappeared into the bathroom. The shower was refreshing, and by the time she was done, Sarah felt like she was at least somewhat awake. Melissa had left for her first class, so Sarah had the room to herself for an hour or so before her 9:00 class - Principles of Accounting. Standing in front of the mirror, she worked on combing out her long, light brown hair. It had been quite some time since she'd had her hair cut - it now extended almost halfway down her back. Sarah always kept her hair long, but it was about time for a trim. It was simply taking too long to get it under control every morning!
As she worked on combing out a small tangle of hair, she was surprised be a quiet but forceful hiccup. She didn't even wait for a second one before she commented aloud, "Looks like it's going to be *hic* another day of hiccups!" She'd had hiccups off and on throughout the previous day, and it was quickly clear that they were back for more.
Coming to college had made for a lot of changes in Sarah's life, but one thing hadn't changed - she was still getting the hiccups as much as ever. She could hardly even remember the last time she'd used her little bottle of hot sauce to give herself the hiccups, but yet they still came on their own every few days, frequently in off and on fashion throughout the day. Today's hiccups weren't as loud or fast as they sometimes were, but they still bounced her body sharply every few seconds.
Sarah loved watching the strange motions that the hiccups put her body through, but with class coming up in just a few minutes, she didn't have time to stand and stare at herself in the mirror. It was a little difficult to do with the hiccups, but she carefully put on her makeup and brushed her teeth. Then it was time to collect her books and walk to class.
As usual, Sarah did nothing to hide her hiccups as she walked down the busy sidewalk to the building where her first class was, but no one really seemed to notice. Everyone was in just as much a rush as she was! Just before arriving, though, she caught up with a guy who was also in her class. He was a rather nerdy type, Sarah thought, but he was nice enough. They'd worked together on homework a couple times and gotten to be friends.
"Hey Sarah," he greeted her.
"Hi Mark, how are *hic* you this morning?" she responded.
"Wishing I was still in bed?" Mark suggested.
Sarah chuckled, her laugh punctuated by a rather funny-sounding hiccup. "Me too! At least we don't *hic* have 8:00 classes, though."
Mark agreed. "Yeah, we're lucky, I guess."
"My roommate gets up *hic* at like five every morning; I don't s-*hic* see how she does it."
"What a freak," Mark joked.
Sarah laughed again. "I know, *huck* right?"
"Do you have the hiccups again?" Mark asked as he opened one of the building's large doors for her.
"Yeah, I do," Sarah admitted somewhat sheepishly.
"That's gonna be fun in class."
Sarah made a face. "You know, I've *hic* always loved getting hic-*huck* hiccups: in class, at work, *huck* whenever. It kind of *hic* sucks here though, cause l-*hic* like, no one even *hic* laughs or anything. People just act an-*hic*-noyed."
"I don't know why, you sound pretty funny to me," Mark teased.
Sarah punched him playfully. "Watch it! *hic* Seriously though, yesterday th-*huck* the teacher *huck* gave me a dirty look after *hic* practically every hiccup!"
"Yeah that's dumb, you can't really help it," Mark sympathized.
"I know! And oh my God, afterward, *hic* you know Marie, the girl th-*hic* that sits in the very back?"
"The goth-looking girl with the three lip rings?" Mark asked.
"Yeah her," Sarah said. "She was *hic* like, 'Thanks for making *hic* us listen to your f---ing hiccups all *huck* morning, bitch.'"
Mark was surprised. "She said that to you?"
Sarah nodded. "Yes! *huck* I didn't know what to say, *hic* I felt so stupid. She's *huck* going to want to kill *hic* me today."
"Speaking of which..." Mark trailed off as they reached the classroom door at just the same time as Marie, who had come from the other side. Instinctively, Sarah covered her mouth, but a very audible hiccup came out anyway. Marie hadn't even noticed Sarah and Mark, but after Sarah's poorly-masked hiccup, she stopped with her hand on the door and turned to look, glowering, at Sarah.
Sarah tried to act as if nothing was wrong. "Good morning, Marie," she greeted her. The cheery greeting was quickly followed by another sharp hiccup.
Marie didn't smile. "Hiccups? Seriously?" she said in an exasperated tone.
"Yeah, I'm sorry!" Sarah squirmed as Marie continued to glare at her. She honestly wasn't sure what to say.
"Think you can keep it down today?" Marie asked.
Sarah's typical confidence had totally melted away. She blushed deeply and fidgeted a little, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "I'll try?"
Marie said nothing more and entered the classroom ahead of them. Sarah grabbed Mark's forearm. He looked as shocked by the encounter with Marie as she was. "Could *hic* you sit with me to-*huck*-day?" Sarah asked. "I think I need *hic* the moral support."
"Sure," Mark agreed. "You want to sit over in the corner?" he suggested.
Sarah looked at the empty area in the far corner of the classroom. She and her hiccups would be the least distracting over there. She was about to accept, when she stopped herself. "You know what? *hic* This isn't me. I'm *huck* going to sit where I *hic* always sit." With that, she and Mark took seats in Sarah's usual place, the second row from the front of the classroom.
It felt a lot better having Mark there with her, but still, that class was possibly the most awkward hour Sarah had ever spent with hiccups. It seemed like everyone was staring at her, and not in the funny way people usually look at you when you have hiccups - more like they were about ready to strangle her. A few people were nicer about it - the girl in front of Sarah offered her a drink from her water bottle - but Sarah was still very uncomfortable. For once, she would have been relieved if her hiccups would have just stopped. But perhaps for that very reason, they continued unabated.
After class, Sarah and Mark stayed in their seats for a couple minutes as the room quickly emptied. The girl who'd offered the water bottle stopped to talk to them for a minute. "Are you ok?" she asked with obvious sympathy. "Your hiccups sound so miserable!"
Sarah chuckled, feeling more like her usual self now. "I'm fine," she assured her. "My hiccups don't *hic* bother me, but I feel *huck* bad because everyone seems so an-*hic* annoyed!"
"I know! It's kind of rude; I don't know why they're like that to you. My friend Amber had the hiccups in our pysch class yesterday, and everyone just laughed and we actually just talked about hiccups for like fifteen minutes."
"And how did that make you feel?" Mark asked with a playful grin.
The girl looked a little confused.
"It's a joke," Mark finally explained.
"Ahhh, psych class. Got it!" she finally laughed. "Sorry, I'm blonde for a reason. For real, though, I wonder if it's just the type of people in this class."
"So accounting *hic* majors hate hiccups?" Sarah asked. "Guess I don't *huck* fit that mold!"
"I don't know, it's such a stereotype, but a lot of them seem like really humorless people. Other than you two, I don't think anyone else in this class has even said 'hi' to me," the girl continued.
"And even *hic* we haven't asked your n-*huck* name," Sarah admitted.
The girl laughed. "I'm Charity. And I know you're Sarah," she said. "But what about you?" she asked, turning to Mark.
"My name's Mark, nice to meet you," he answered. "And I take it you're not an accounting major?"
Charity shook her head. "No way, I'm a psych major. I'm just taking accounting as one of my generals, in case I run my own practice someday."
"Oh, that's *hic* smart," Sarah said.
"But hey, it's been nice meeting you guys. I gotta get to another class now, though. Good luck with your hiccups, Sarah!" Charity smiled.
Sarah giggled. "I'm good now. *hic* I've got the next hour *hic* off. Thanks though; see you!"
Mark had another class to run to as well, so Sarah walked alone toward the library, where she usually spent the hour between classes. As she walked, she thought about the conversation with Charity. She'd only been in school a couple months, yet she was already having second thoughts about her field of study. She was doing great in all her classes, but she didn't really feel connected to her fellow accounting students. Charity was right; Mark really was her only friend in class. Otherwise, she hung out with Melissa and her friends. On top of that, she'd never really felt called to accounting, it was just something that she knew she'd be good at. Unlike those people who know seemingly from birth exactly what they want to be in life, Sarah really didn't know what she wanted to do for her career.
Reaching the steps of the library, a hard, almost painful hiccup reminded her that having hiccups in the library was going to make her about as popular as having hiccups in class had. So instead of going inside, she sat down on a bench outside the building. Such a beautiful day was meant to be spent outside anyway!
For a few minutes she sat, quietly pondering thoughts of her future. It's too early to be getting disillusioned with accounting already, she thought. Maybe she just needed to give it some more time. And just because her classmates weren't friendly didn't mean that being an accountant would suck, right? Finally, she decided she would give her dad a call. Talking to him always seemed to help.
After a few rings, her dad answered. "Hey, sweetheart."
"Hey Dad, how *hic* are you?"
"I'm doing ok, what about you? You between classes?"
"Yeah I am. Am I *hic* calling at an ok time?" Sarah asked, knowing her dad was at work.
"No, it's been a pretty quiet day so far," he assured her. "I can talk for a bit."
"Oh good," Sarah said, followed by another loud hiccup.
"You have hiccups, don't you?" Mr. Beloit laughed.
Sarah giggled. "Yeah, I *hic* do. I've had them most of th-*huck* the morning."
Unlike Mrs. Beloit, who was embarrassed and rather annoyed by her daughter's now-frequent hiccups, Sarah's dad had never given her any trouble about them whatsoever. Her love of her hiccups was just one of those quirky, cute things that made his daughter who she was. "That must have been interesting in class," he chuckled, knowing she always enjoyed the attention her hiccups brought her.
"Well," Sarah began. "I guess you c-*hic* could say that. It kind of *hic* got me thinking, though."
"What do you mean by that? Is something wrong?"
"I don't know, that-*huck* that's the thing. So like, today in *hic* class; I had the hiccups the wh-*hic*-ole time. And it used to be that pe-*hic* people thought my hiccups were *hic* funny, or just a weird interruption. Or maybe *huck* they'd make fun of me. But like in my business and accou-*hic* accounting classes here, it isn't that way. *huck* Everyone was so annoyed with m-*hic* me today, especially since I had hiccups in *huck* another class yesterday, too. People *hic* were giving me angry looks; *huck* this one girl even kinda cursed me out be-*huck* before class when she saw I had *huck* hiccups again."
"I'm really sorry," her dad sympathized. "Was that embarrassing for you?"
Sarah nodded, even though her dad obviously couldn't see her. "Oh my word, *hic* you have no idea. But like, *hic* that's ok. I know most people don't l-*huck* like hiccups like I do. The *hic* thing is, I was talking about *hic* it to a couple friends after class, *huck* and what they said got me to thinking. M-*hic*-ost people wouldn't have been like that to me. It *hic* just seems like these other people in a-*hic* accounting, they're so serious. It's like *hic* they don't have any fun at all. Not every-*huck*-one, but most of them. I seriously *hic* have like two friends in the whole *hic* department."
Mr. Beloit understood. "So you feel like you don't belong?"
"Yes, that's exactly *hic* it," Sarah agreed. "This thing with my *hic* hiccups today just made *hic* me realize it more."
"But you are doing fine in the actual classes, right?"
"Oh yeah, my grades *hic* have been great so far. It's just that *huck* I don't know that this is the *hic* kind of people I want to work with *hic* all my life, you know? And *hic* it's not like I love it, it's just some-*hic* something I'm good at."
Sarah talked to her dad for the entire hour between classes. Some of the people coming and going from the library took a second glance at the girl sitting on the bench talking so earnestly on the phone while jerking and bouncing with hiccups every few seconds, but Sarah was oblivious. Talking to her dad about things always made her feel better, though, and by the time the hour was up, she felt like she had a plan of action.
Mr. Beloit had encouraged her not to make any rash changes, but to seriously think about whether accounting was what she wanted to do, and if not, to decide what else she might like better. Then if she needed to, she could make a change beginning with the next semester, or even next year. In the meantime, she could check out some of the other departments' clubs or events, and see if any of the fields - and the people in them - appealed to her more. Sarah thought that was a great idea, and after a warm good-bye to her dad, she set off for her next class in a much better frame of mind.
* * * * *
Just over an hour later, Sarah stood at the end of the line for her school cafeteria's lunch. Her hiccups had stopped just a few minutes into her previous class, and while people all around chatted and laughed, she stood quietly, texting with Nathan. Being so busy at college had put some added stress on their relationship, as there wasn't a lot of free time in their divergent schedules to spend talking together. Sometimes a text every now and then throughout the day was all they could find time for.
Suddenly, between texts, Sarah noticed the sound of hiccups; and for once, they weren't her own. Rather, they seemed to be coming from someone behind her. Turning to take a curious glance over her shoulder, Sarah saw that four or five people had joined the line directly behind her. One of them definitely had a bad case of the hiccups; and Sarah quickly recognized that it was none other than Marie!
Sarah didn't want Marie to feel like she was staring at her, so she quickly turned to face forward in line again. Still, she had to laugh to herself at Marie's violent hiccups. "What goes around comes around," she thought.
Marie had seen Sarah glance back, though, and through the embarrassment of having the hiccups now herself, she realized that how she had treated Sarah the past couple days had been pretty mean-spirited. Nonetheless, she didn't want to talk to Sarah; apologizing was out of the question. "If these stupid hiccups will just go back to her, I promise I won't complain about them again!" she mentally pleaded, to no avail.
Finally, Sarah turned to again face the group behind her. Despite what Marie had said that morning, Sarah still felt a little sorry for her. Her hiccups sounded very painful, and her face was red with the flush of embarrassment. As much as she wanted to make a snide comment, Sarah decided to take the high road. "Hey Marie, are you ok?" she finally asked.
Marie looked even more uncomfortable after Sarah addressed her. "I'm fine," she mumbled, followed by another loud, raspy hiccup.
Just from the sound of them, Sarah could tell that the hiccups had to be pretty painful. Her body hardly moved with each hiccup, except for a slight indentation of her neck, but the rough sound of each one made it seem like they were in the process of giving Marie a very sore throat. Sarah's anger at Marie for the harsh encounter earlier that morning slowly faded away, and, allowing the people between the two of them to advance, she moved back to Marie's place in line. Reaching into the book bag that was slung over her shoulder, she produced a small, unopened bottle of water. "Here, this might help," she offered.
Marie shook her head. "I can't *hurkkk* take your water," she protested.
"No, seriously, drink it," Sarah insisted.
Finally Marie acquiesced, and gratefully took the water bottle. After opening it, she took a long drink of the water, and then held it in her mouth without swallowing. It seemed to be a hiccup cure that she was very familiar with.
Sarah watched Marie standing there with her mouth full of water, and couldn't help but comment, "I guess this would be a really bad time to tell a funny joke, wouldn't it?"
Marie started to chuckle but barely managed to keep herself from choking on the water before swallowing it. "My brother does that to me every time!" she finally laughed. It was quickly clear that the water had brought her hiccups to an end.
"Wow, that was easy," Sarah commented.
Marie nodded. "It doesn't always work but usually it does."
"Well hey," Sarah began, "I'm sorry about distracting you all in class with my own hiccups the past couple days."
Marie sighed. "No, it's my fault, I shouldn't have gone off on you like I did. I know you can't help it; I just..." she trailed off. Sarah gave her a questioning look. Finally she continued. "I guess I've just been having a hard time with everything lately. But don't worry about it. I don't even know you; I shouldn't be bothering you with my troubles. But I definitely won't get upset at you about your hiccups any more!" she promised.
"Thanks, I may need that," Sarah giggled.
"No kidding, do you get hiccups every day or something? I swear when I see you, more often than not, you have them."
Sarah laughed. "Not every day, but they do come a lot. But to be honest, I usually enjoy having the hiccups - which is a good thing since I can't cure them! It's been embarrassing in our accounting classes, though, because it seems to bother everyone so much," she explained. Then she hurried to add, "Not just you! I've gotten annoyed looks from a lot of people."
"I see, well I'm really sorry for making you feel bad," Marie apologized. "I didn't mean it!"
"It's ok, don't worry about it," Sarah assured her. "But yeah, what's been giving you a hard time?" she asked. "Are you having trouble with classes? Or maybe family issues?"
Marie thought for a few moments. Eventually, she just shook her head. "It's a long story; I don't want to bore you with it."
They had almost reached the front of the line anyway, so Sarah suggested, "Well, would you like to sit together and then we can talk a little more?"
Marie smiled. In fact, it was the first time Sarah had seen her really smile. "Yeah, that sounds nice," she agreed.
They talked through the entire lunch hour, and Marie finally opened up to Sarah. She really did have a lot going on. She was new to the school and the area, and thus had hardly any friends yet, and on top of that, she was going through a painful breakup with her boyfriend back home and problems with her family as well. Sarah couldn't really solve any of Marie's problems, but just being able to open up seemed to make Marie feel better. The two girls were so different - in appearance, in personality, even in lifestyle - yet as they talked together, friendship quickly grew between them.
Suddenly, Sarah realized that it was already five minutes past one. "Oh no, I'm already late for class. I'd better go!" she exclaimed.
Marie looked surprised. "Oh! Me too!"
As the two girls quickly stood up and gathered their things from the table, Marie thanked Sarah for offering to spend lunch together. Sarah just smiled, "It's been so nice meeting you!" They shared a quick hug, and rushed off to their respective classes.
That night, thinking about the experience with Marie, Sarah recognized that maybe she just needed to put more effort into getting to know her classmates. She realized that, subconsciously, she had been expecting people to gravitate toward her, whether because of her beauty, her intelligence, her charm - or even her hiccups. Because of that, she had been missing out on people like Marie: people who seemed dull or even prickly on the outside, but who could, with some time, actually become close friends. She wondered how many more potential friends like Marie might be around her, even among her accounting classmates. There was only one way to find out; and Sarah determined that from now on, she would try her best to be a friend to the people in her class. Even when she had the hiccups!