Shawn walked toward the stage as Jake and Heather stood dead in their tracks.
“Stephanie come here. Let’s go outside and talk,” Shawn insisted as he grabbed her hand and pull her from the stage. As everyone stared, Shawn hurried toward the closest exit pulling Stephanie behind. Heather was shocked by what had just happened and wanted to keep Stephanie from becoming the laughing stock of the school. She hurried to the stage as Jake followed her.
“Now that our little skit is over, I thought you would get a kick out of that. Anyway, I want to thank everyone for this honor,” Heather said as principal Thomas put a crown on her head.
“Yes, me too. Thanks guys,” Jake said as he tried to play along. Principal Thomas went on to announce that they would have their first dance as king and queen. After the dance started and everyone else joined them onto the dance floor, Heather said, “Jake I am worried about her. I told you she was acting a little nuts,” Heather whispered into Jake’s ear.
“After we finish this dance, let’s go check on her. I’m worried about her too. She is not acting like herself at all. She’s flipped out,” Jake replied.
The song began to end and Jake and Heather hurried outside to find Shawn and Stephanie. Jake saw Shawn and Stephanie in the parking lot next to the limo, and Jake pointed toward them so Heather would see them.
“Come on. They’re over there,” Jake said. Heather followed Jake to where Stephanie and Shawn were.
“Stephanie are you all right?” Heather asked.
“I’m perfect. Didn’t you hear? I won prom queen,” Stephanie said as if she was completely clueless. Heather was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say. Jake looked at Shawn who was trying to make sense of what was going on.
“I tried to tell her. She seems like she is in la la land or something,” Shawn said.
“We need to take her to her mother or to the hospital or something,” Heather replied.
“Stephanie are you feeling ok?” Jake asked.
“I guess, but I feel a little whoozy. Shawn can you take me home now? I’m feeling a little sick,” Stephanie replied.
“Guys, I’m going to run her home and have a talk with her momma. I’ll call you two later,” Shawn said as he helped Stephanie into the limo and then jumped in after her.
Heather was upset about how Stephanie acted but worried that something else might be going on with her.
“Jake what do you think just happened?” Heather asked.
“I have no idea. This is got to be the worst I have ever seen her act. This is not normal,” Jake replied.
“Your absolutely correct. This is not normal behavior. Do you think we need to go check on her?” Heather asked.
“Maybe later but I think we need to get back to the dance. I don’t want anyone talking about what happened here. It was clever what you said on the stage. Let’s go back and try to do some damage control,” Jake replied.
Chapter Thirty
Later that night, Heather and Jake went to Stephanie’s house to check on her. Cecelia told them that she was going to take her daughter to the ER. She was worried about Stephanie’s behavior and the way she was looking. At that point Stephanie began to vomit and started to look pale.
“Jake, do you care if I go to the hospital with them?” Heather asked.
“Of course not. Just call me and let me know how everything goes. I’ll call your uncle and let him know where you are,” Jake replied.
Heather thanked him and helped Cecelia get Stephanie to the car. After they arrived in the ER, Cecelia told the physician everything that Shawn had told her about that night. The doctor came to the cubicle and did a thorough examination. He asked the nurse to draw her blood. He wanted to check her lab work to make sure that she didn’t have any deficiencies. After completing certain test, the physician diagnosed her with Addison’s disease. He asked Cecelia to follow him outside the room into the hallway. Heather asked if she could go too, Cecelia agreed.
“What is Addison’s disease exactly?” Cecelia asked.
“Addison’s disease is a disorder that is caused when the adrenal glands quit functioning properly. They don’t produce enough hormones. These hormones normally regulate and control sugar levels, electrolyte balances and help the body control stress. Usually people go undiagnosed with this disorder until something stressful happens in their life. I assume the stress of the tornado and other things could have brought on these symptoms,” the doctor replied.
“Yes, Stephanie has been under a great amount of stress lately. Not only the tornado, but the loss of her dad. What can we do for this?” Cecelia asked.
“I can prescribe her some medication. Gluco-corticoids are usually the main type of medicines we give for this disorder. They are usually effective and no other treatment is necessary,” the doctor replied.
Cecelia was glad that there was treatment for the disorder, but hated the idea that her daughter would be on medication for the rest of her life. Heather gave Cecelia a hug and they both walked back into the room to check on Stephanie.
Heather felt terrible about how she treated Stephanie. She accused her of being crazy and trying to imitate her. She felt horrible for the way she acted toward her. After all Stephanie was her best friend and she doubted her. She hated that her friend was sick and that she had been mean to her.
“Stephanie, I am so sorry for everything. I love you and hope you get to feeling better soon,” Heather said as she rubbed Stephanie on the back.
“I’m not mad or anything. I love you too. You’re my best friend,” Stephanie replied.
After a couple of weeks, Stephanie was back to herself and feeling better. Graduation was around the corner and all the seniors were excited but sad too. They were happy to be graduating with a sense of accomplishment, but knew that their time with their friends at the school was ending.
Even though Heather had only spent a year at Huckleburg High School, she had made friends to last forever.
Epilogue
The tornado had brought devastation to the little town of Huckleburg but didn’t shatter the spirit of the townspeople. It made them all come together and form a closer relationship with their fellow neighbors. After high school, Heather received acceptance letters from different colleges around the world but decided to stay in Alabama. That way she could visit her uncle and spend time with Jake. She took Fashion Design at a local community college close to home because of her love for fashion.
Since some of the events from the storm had been broadcast all over the news, it brought some interest from talent scouts. After seeing Jake play football, he was offered two scholarships; one from the University of Alabama and the other one from Tennessee. Both were fantastic teams but he had always dreamed of going to Alabama. So he set his sights on the University of Alabama.
Shawn wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. He became a teacher and later a principal. He decided to work close to home and attend a community college for a year to be with Stephanie. Then he later moved on to a bigger college. Stephanie got a job at The Something Blue Shoppe, because she shared in Heather’s passion for fashion. Jake made every attempt to visit Heather and his friends and family during every school break and holiday. Uncle Mick got cozy with Sally and they began dating. The town of Huckleburg remained a close knit family of neighbors working together, at least until the next big storm blew into town.
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