Pulse of Heroes by A.Jacob Sweeny Page A

was what really hurt Michelle on the inside. She had
disappointed her mom and she had disappointed herself. She did
something that she never thought she would ever do. What was
happening to her? Michelle begged for her mom not to tell her dad,
but her mom told her that she had no authority nor privilege to ask
for anything of the sort. The matter was far too important not to
be discussed with her father.
    When her father heard what she had done, he
looked at her as if he didn’t know his own child. “Why didn’t you
ask for help if you were falling behind,” he asked.
    “I don’t know,” Michelle said, unable to look
him in the face. Her parents looked desperate. What were they
supposed to do? This was more complex than just their youngest
child breaking rules. It was about their daughter who had never had
any problems sharing things with them. What had changed? No one
seemed to have the answer for that, not even Michelle.
     
    Michelle was back in her room. It was raining
hard outside, and she wondered if this sky was crying with her as
her tears stung her flushed cheeks. What was wrong with her she
thought? She’s growing up to be a rotten individual, and she didn’t
even know why. She eventually settled back into her studying,
cramming as much Italian grammar into her head as she possibly
could. She heard a quiet knock on the door, and watched her mom
step into the room closing the door behind her. It must have been
pretty late because her mom was already in her nightgown. “What
time is it?” Michelle asked. It was 11:40 PM. Her mother sat on the
bed next to her and just looked at her with an expression somewhere
between pity and inquiry. She then put her hand to Michelle’s
forehead. Michelle felt so little when she did that.
    “You’re a bit warm,” her mother said.
    Michelle was feeling as if a flush hung on
her entire body, but she often felt that after she cried. “Mom,”
she said, “I think I was too embarrassed to tell you, and I don’t
even know why.”
    “Does this have to do with your father being
on the Town Council?”
    Bingo! It hit Michelle like a runaway train.
How did her mom know before she even knew? Since her dad had taken
office, Michelle felt like she was on display. People who didn’t
know her talked to her, and asked her about her family as if they
knew them. She felt that if she wasn’t the perfect daughter of the
perfect town councilman, that somehow she wasn’t holding up her
part, and that she would ruin it for her father, ruin it for all of
them. And so she kept her failings away from them, so as to not
tarnish the family image.
    “I’m so sorry Mom.” Michelle let out a huge
cry and the tears and crying came out like they did when she was
little, before she could control them. Her mom stroked her hair as
Michelle laid her head on her lap. She wasn’t all grown up like she
thought she was.
     
    Michelle woke up, and from the darkness in
her room and the visible section of hallway she could see under her
door, she guessed that it must be the middle of the night. She had
been having a nightmare, but she couldn’t remember what it was. She
realized that she was freezing cold, and that her t-shirt and
pajama pants were soaking wet. She was shivering. Michelle called
out to her mother, who showed up within a millisecond to be by her
side. Her mom switched on the light on the nightstand and surveyed
Michelle’s condition with horror. Michelle was completely soaked in
sweat and her hair was limply arranged in clumps around her face.
Her mom checked her temperature and shook her head at the result,
102 degrees.
    “We’ve got to get you to the doctor
tomorrow.”
    Michelle immediately protested, “I can’t.
It’s my last midterm tomorrow, remember?”
    Her mom looked at her and smiled, “Sweetie,
there are some things that are more important to me than you
speaking Italian.”
    “But Mom,” Michelle continued. “The teacher
would never believe I was sick. Never. Not