"This hospital ceiling gets more annoying to stare at day by day," a boy lying in a hospital bed mutters, his tone heavy with boredom.
"Don't worry, you'll be out of here in no time, Michael," the nurse says softly as she adjusts the drip connected to his IV.
"Don't lie to me. I know I'm not leaving here anytime soon," Michael replies, his eyes fixed on her with quiet resignation.
"A lot of people have survived cancer, you know, and you're gonna be on—hey!! Are you staring at my chest?" the nurse exclaims, stopping mid-sentence when she notices his gaze.
"Yeah, I'm just noticing it now, but you have really big boobs," Michael says, eyes still locked on her chest.
"Stop that, Michael. That's not a nice thing to do," the nurse scolds, quickly crossing her arms over her chest.
"I've never seen breasts before, you know, so all I can do is analyze yours," Michael says matter-of-factly.
"You've never seen breasts before?" she asks, finishing up with his IV, a mix of disbelief and pity on her face.
"Yeah, I've been a shut-in for most of my life, only leaving the house to go to school, so I never really got the chance to have a girlfriend—let alone friends, to be honest," Michael says, his gaze drifting back to the ceiling.
That would explain why I've never seen anyone come to visit him, the nurse thinks to herself, her expression softening.
"If you don't make any sexual remarks to the other nurses for two days straight, Michael, I'll show you my breasts," she says after a pause, half-teasing, half-serious.
"Are you serious? Like serious, serious?!" Michael says, a wide grin spreading across his face.
"Yes, I am," the nurse replies, giving him a small, amused smirk.
"That was the last thing I ever heard from him," she narrates quietly. The scene fades to her standing beside his bed, expression distant, as the staff gently drape a white sheet over the boy's still body.