I trace the outline of my sister’s drawing, lungs _____ from a sea of flowers.
Modded
Petals burst out from every edge of the twin ovals in soft pinks, deep whites, even _______, but somehow each one has a uniqueness, a vibrancy that feels like it’ll bloom forever.
Heather Blues
Some of the flowers haven’t bloods omen yet, and I can feel the promise of life just waiting to unfold from the tiny _____ under the weight of my finger. Those are my favourite.
Buds
Slipping off the last petal of the last flower, my hand sinks, fingers dragging through the background of stars, each _____ of light that Abbey ___________ to capture infinity.
Pinpoint, drew a separate attempt
I clear my throat, pulling my hand away, and lean over to grab a picture of us from ________
Off my bed
There was something magical about it. The soft glow of the ______ in the park.
Lamppost
There was something magical about it. The soft glow of the Lampost in the park, the white snow ______ the branches to he trees, the quiet stillness of it all.
Clinging to
We nearly _____ our butts ____ for that picture last year, but it was our tradition. Me and Abby, ________ to go see the holiday lights together
Froze off; braving the cold
I take a _____ and hang the picture next to the drawing before sitting down on my bed and grabbing my pocket notebook and pencil off my _______ table
Thumbtack; bedside
Me with an ______ in my arm, the bag __________ butterflies of different shapes and colours and sizes
IV drip; bursting with
Me wearing a nose ______, the cable twisting to form an infinity sign
Cannula
Me with my nebular, the vapour pouring out of it forming a cloudy halo
Nebulizer
My pile of medical equipment, sitting right next to a hedge ours green fau-leather postal chair that ________ for every room here at Saint Graces’s
Comes standard
I eye the empty _______ warily, knowing my first of my rounds of antibiotics over the next month is exactly an hour and nine minutes away. Lucky me
IV pole
I look up as the door slowly ________ and two familiar faces appear in the _________.
The small crack of the doorway
Camila and Mya have visited me here a million times in the past decade and they still can’t _______ the lobby _____ my room without asking every person in the building for directions
Get from, to
Wrong room, I say, grinning as a look of pure relief ______ them
Washes over
Camila pulls away to look at me, _______, her dark brown hair practically ________ with her. SEcond trip in a row without you.
Pouting; drooping along
It’s true. This isnt’ the first time my cystic fibrosis has __________ some class trip or sunny vacation or school event
Taken me out of the running for
This particular ______ just happens to be entered around the fact that I need to be ______ with antibiotics to finally get rid of a sore throat and a fever that won’t go away
Tune-up; pumped
That and my lung functions is ______.
Tanking
Mya _______ my bed, sighing dramatically as she lies back
Plunks down on
I can’t go off to Cabo, or anywhere ________, and risk not coming back. I can’t do that to my parents. Not now.
For that matter
Since I am not going to be basking in the warm Cabo sun in a bathing suit of my voice, I figure I can at least live a little ________ through my friends by picking out theirs with them
Vicariously
Vicariously means
In a way that is experienced in the imagination through the actions of another person
This ____ them both ____. We eagerly dump their bags out on my bed, creating a mishmash of florals and polka dots and _______.
Perk up. Fluorescents
IHer eyes widen, and she holds it up ____ her waist
To
CAmila snorts, putting her suits back in the bag and giving me a _________
Sly smile
Camila snorts, putting her suits back in the bag and giving me a sly smile. Mason and Brooke __________.
Called it quits
But Mya has been crushing on Mason since Mrs. Wilson’s English class __________.
Sophomore year
It ____ me ____ I won’t be there to help her make a killer ten-step Whirlwind Cabo Romance with Mason plan
Bums me out
It bums me out I won’t be there to help her make a _________ whirlwind Cabo Romance with Mason plan
Killer
We all _______ with excitement
Squeal
I hold up an adorable polka-dot one-piece that is super vintage and ____________
Right up her alley
Up one’s alley
Well suited to one’s tastes, interests or abilities
I stShe sees She is a champion procrastinator and probably hasn’t packed a single thing for Cabo yet
Besides the bikini, of course.
She sees me notice her checking her watch and grins ________. I still need to buy a beach towel for tomorrow. _________ Camilla.
Sheepishly. Classic
I stand up, my heart sinking in my chest at the thought of them leaving, but I don’t want to ______
Hold them up
My cheeks hurt from all this fake positivity, but I don’t want to ____________
Ruin it for them
I watch them go, waving until Mya’s bouncing curls are completely out of sight, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be walking out with them, _____ to pack instead of unpack
Off
It was taken a few summers ago on the front porch of our house during a Fourth of July barbecue. Me, Abby, Mom, and Dad, _______ on all of our faces as the camera captures the moment.
Goofy smiles
I feel a ________ of homesickness as I hear the sound of the worn, _____ wood of that front step, creaking underneath us as we laugh and get close for the picture
Swell, rickety
