The Last Class by Deborah Hauser

"It’s a pounding, usually on the left side. My head gets heavy and I feel like I can’t hold it up. My neck gets tight and stiff. I’m either hungry or nauseous, or both at the same time. Sometimes I throw up. I’m irritable. I feel like I’m on the verge of hysteria. I’m tired, I can’t focus, and I’m clumsy. Oh, and sometimes I yawn a lot."

"And how many migraines do you experience each month?" Dr. Duntnough asked.

"It used to be about eight per month, but it's increased to thirteen and fifteen. Sometimes recurring for up to seven days in a row." I told the neurologist at the research hospital.

"Fifteen is a lot. I would like to see you on a prophylactic medication to reduce the frequency of the migraines."

Second In A Three Part Series	"It’s a pounding, usually on the left side. My head gets heavy and I feel like I can’t hold it up. My neck gets tight and stiff. I’m either hungry or nauseous, or both at the same time. Sometimes I throw up. I’m irritable. I feel like I’m on the verge of hysteria. I’m tired, I can’t focus, and I’m clumsy. Oh, and sometimes I yawn a lot." "And how many migraines do you experience each month?" Dr. Duntnough asked. "It used to be about eight per month, but it's increased to thirteen and fifteen. Sometimes recurring for up to seven days in a row." I told the neurologist at the research hospital. "Fifteen is a lot. I would like to see you on a prophylactic medication to reduce the frequency of the migraines."
We reviewed the numerous medications I had already tried and Dr. Duntnough suggested I begin taking either anti-depressants or anti-seizure medication. Without hesitation I opted for the anti-seizure medication. Walking out of the hospital and back to our separate cars Adam teased me. "Everyone I know is dying to get their hands on Prozac. You’re offered anti-depressants and you turn them down?" I shook my head and gave an exasperated sigh. "You know I’m philosophically opposed to mood and personality altering drugs." Adam rolled his eyes. This was an ongoing debate that we engaged in. "I know, I know. We’re supposed to be depressed, right?" "Well, sometimes we are. We’re not supposed to be artificially happy all the time. I don’t want my mood altered. I want to be your sulky girl." I smiled as we reached my car. "Sulk all you want as long as you’ll always be my girl. You will fill that prescription, won’t you?" "Yes, yes. Now let me get in the car. It’s freezing out here. Are you working late tonight?" I crossed my arms, pulling my coat around me tighter. "Probably. I’ll call you later. I love you, honey." "I love you. I’ll see you after class." I kissed Adam goodbye, got in my car, and drove to work with the heat on full blast.
"Approve it, approve everything. That’s what I’m going to do this week," I counseled my co-worker. "Your eyes look funny. Do you feel okay?" "I’m getting a migraine." I admitted. "Screw this place. Why don’t you just go home?" This was our last week of work. The company had been purchased by Consolidated Medical and they were moving the claims operation to their offices in Iowa. I wasn’t upset because I would receive a generous severance package. After graduation I would think about a new job. Finally, I would know the luxury of being a full-time student. I was going to use the extra time to expand my paper on Plath. Professor Birdseye was helping me prepare it for submission to The Feminist’s Journal of Literature. It was a nationally renowned academic journal and Birdseye was recommending my paper for publication. The paper analyzed The Bell Jar as a feminist version of The Catcher in the Rye. I focused on Sylvia’s relationship with her mother and her experience with mental illness and electric shock therapy. It was the finest thing I had ever written but the latest draft still lay untouched on Adam’s desk provoking a rare argument. "I’m sorry I don’t have time to read your homework tonight. I’m tired and I have to be up early for a meeting at the museum. Can’t you understand that?"		Continue
*Did You Miss Chapter One Of* *The Last Class? It's Right Here.***