The First Time I Called 9-1-1

(This is one of my first short stories so please excuse any errors)

It was the middle of December, the sun had started to set at 4:30 pm and by 5:30 it was completely dark outside. The cold winds grow stronger as the sun tucked away further and further. The temperature dropped as the sun's heat rays weren't there to deflect some of the icy winds. The chill in the air was enough to make you shiver on impact. Me and my sister had just left a holiday party that our school was hosting before winter break. It was 5:30 when we left the building, already aware of how cold it was outside, we were bundled from head to toe. Hats, scarfs, gloves, boots with thick socks, and a long puffy jacket with a big hood. We took the first step out the double doors and instantly felt shivers, my face began to numb as the wind swirled and blew at me.

My sister, just as cold as me, began to walk faster leaving me to struggle to keep up with her. Now sniffling and shivering, we make it onto the bus and sit in the center of the bus where the double seats are. I always get stuck sitting next to the window while my sister sits next to the aisle. The bus is warm but the shivers yet to seize, our bodies yet to warm up. I look at the Christmas lights hung up on the electric poles in the streets, shining brightly amiss all the darkness. Street by street the lights shone less, that means our stop was just ahead.

Suddenly my sister began to cough, not a “down the wrong pipe” cough, but “something was wrong” cough. I quickly turn to look at her face, my heart sunk as I see a field of whelps growing all across her face. She kept scratching her face and her neck, both growing redder with each swipe. Her eyes get puffy, as if she had been rubbing her eyes for hours and her breathing gets heavier with each cough. I soon realized she was having an allergic reaction. A panic swarmed over me, engulfing my heart, seeping into my nerves. My heart began to beat fast. I feel a sharp “THUMP” in my chest. Then again “THUMP”. And again “THUMP”. And again “THUMP”. Each one becoming more frequent the longer I look at my sister.

I rush her off the bus and bombard her with questions. “ Are you okay? What did you eat? Can you breathe? Do you have your Epipin? Do you have Benadryl?" She looked at me, her face twisted, giving me the sign to stop talking but now wasn’t the time. “ Do I call 911?” I say frantically. She lets out a haggard “YES” as we cross the street. My hands shaking, I reach into my pocket and grab my phone, frantically trying to take my thumb and index finger out of my gloves to type in my password. Finally I press the phone icon and dial the numbers 9-1-1.

The phone rang twice before I heard a lady’s voice. “9-1-1 what's your emergency?” I yelped out the words “MY SISTERS HAVING AN ALLERGIC REACTION!” I didn”t even realize how high pitched my voice was, as if i was on the verge of tears. The lady still stayed composed, her voice firm and filled with reassurance, she asked me for my address and once confirmed she told me an ambulance was on the way. Now in my house at the bottom of the stairs, my sister was sprawled across the stairs breathing heavily.

My sister looked scared, her eyes darted around while her body was shaking. She was unzipping her coat, ripping off each layer of warmth one after another. The lady was still on the phone asking questions to understand my sister's condition better. As I'm answering the questions my sister begins to scream at the top of her lungs. “ I CAN”T BREATHE “ she shouted loud enough for the lady in the basement to hear. She didn’t stop screaming and continued to scream for nearly 10 minutes. The lady on the phone quickly urged me to get my sister to stop screaming.

“Teyanni please stop screaming, the 9-1-1 lady said you have to stop screaming.” I say, my voice quivering. Despite my pleas she didn't stop, with both the lady telling me to get my sister to stop screaming and my sister screaming non - stop, I got overwhelmed. My vision blurred, my eyes now covered in a film of tears. A tear streamed down my face, which was the indicator for the rest of the pent up tears to be released. They streamed down like rain fall, my face quickly becoming drenched. I begin to choke on my tears as I try again to get my sister to stop, stutter after stutter, I keep pleading with her.

Suddenly my neighbor from downstairs was in the doorway. “Are you okay sweetie? What happened?” I quickly told her what had happened, “ Do you have an epipen? “ she hastily said. I scurry through my sister's bag and find her epipen. My sister was too scared to use it herself, her face contorted, her eyes filled with fear as she started breathing harder . She twisted and turned on the stairs, screaming whilst struggling to stay still. The neighbor tried to calm her down but it wasn’t working. She then grabbed her leg and quickly administered the epipen in her leg. My sister, now frozen still, laid flat on the stairs. She finally calmed down and her breathing was a bit smoother.

The ambulance arrived and settled the situation. They made sure my sister was okay and gave her more medicine to ease the allergic reaction. I then called my mom, who was on her way home from work, and told her what happened. The sound of my mothers voice instantly made me cry again, her voice was filled with worry and concern. It was the first time I dealt with my sister having an allergic reaction on my own, the first time I called 9-1-1, something I could never even begin to forget..