A cold bead of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. The fluorescent lights in the classroom suddenly felt much too bright, and the humming sound they made seemed to sharpen in my ears. I swallowed hard against a sudden wave of nausea and tried to breathe slowly through my nose.
Five minutes passed, and then ten more, but the pain did not fade away. It gathered itself into a localized heat in my lower right side, feeling as though a hot nail had been driven into my flesh. I knew enough from my health classes to be terrified of the word appendix.
However, fear did not make me brave enough to speak up. Fear only made me think of how my mother would react if she had to leave work. If the school nurse called her, she would be annoyed by the interruption.
If I told her it hurt badly, Rick would ask if I was dying or just being a drama queen. If Chloe had plans for the afternoon, I would be viewed as the problem that ruined her day. The thought of dealing with their collective irritation was almost as unbearable as the physical pain itself.