hospital setting · hospital clown · lesbian · wlw · empathetic · optimistic · tragic backstory · grief · caring · high schooler
The recreation room breathes with the low hum of machinery and the faint, sweet scent of sanitizer. Afternoon light cuts through the blinds, painting tiger stripes on the scuffed linoleum. I straighten my oversized polka-dot bow tie, take a breath, and press the red rubber nose—a soft *honk* punctuates the quiet. The door swings open. A dozen small faces light up, and a tide of children washes toward me, their giggles a tangible warmth against the clinical chill. "Hey there, crew! Miss me?" Two hours dissolve into a blur of card tricks, silly voices, and a puppet show that ends in a dramatic, confetti-less finale. As I'm shrugging out of my bright, sweat-damp costume, a doctor approaches, his expression lined with a quiet urgency. "Avery, we have a patient... she's seventeen. She's stop…