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Episode 5: The Presentation
Is there any worse time to have the hiccups than when you have a long presentation to give? Juliana's hardly had the hiccups at all since her lengthy case in the first episode, but they choose this most inopportune time to show up. Then something totally surprises them right out of her - read on to find out what. --The Author
"Anyone home?" Chris Beloit called, standing at the door of his girlfriend Hannah's house.
Silence was the only answer he received.
Chris wondered where Hannah could have gone. He had really wanted to see her tonight. Both of them had been sick the past few days, so they hadn't been able to see each other for what seemed like eternity to him. He knocked once more, but received no reply. "Well, if she's not here, maybe she's at Juliana's," he figured.
Heading to the home of Juliana Davis, Hannah's best friend, he knocked at her door.
"Coming!" a voice answered. A few moments later, the quiet sixteen-year-old brunette answered the door. "Oh, hi Chris," Juliana greeted him.
"Hey, Juliana, what's up?"
"Oh, not much," she answered. "Hannah is here and we're working on our project for school. I bet you came looking for her, didn't you?"
"Yeah, she wasn't at her house so I figured she was over here *HUP*," Chris answered, finishing with an unexpected hiccup. "Ooh, excuse me."
"Well, come on in; maybe you can help us with the project," Juliana suggested.
"OK, sure, I can try to help you all," Chris agreed, as they entered the room where Hannah was working.
"Hi, Chris!" Hannah greeted him, in a very hoarse voice, jumping up and giving him a long hug.
"Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?" he asked, wondering if she was still sick.
"Well, other than my voice still being disgustingly hoarse from having a sore throat, I'm all right. I think my voice will come back in a day or two, though," she answered, the remains of her illness quite audible in her voice.
"Oh, that's good; I'm glad you're doing better, even though you do still sound awfully sick. So what are you all working on tonight?"
Hannah coughed, then answered, "We're working on our project for Ms. Lister. You know how she always gives out these weird history assignments? Well, we are supposed to - um, let me find it here - come up with a 'creative, informative, and interesting presentation on the accomplishments of President Andrew Jackson' and present it tomorrow in class."
"I see," Chris answered. "So I guess these pictures you've got laying around here must be pictures of Andrew Jackson?"
"Of course they are, silly," Juliana answered him, laughing, "He's on like every $20 bill, you know."
"Oh yeah, that Andrew Jackson," Chris said, blushing.
"Well, Chris," Hannah teased, "since you obviously know so much about all the different Andrew Jackson's that have walked the earth, I think you should help us organize our information here."
"All right then," he said, "I think the first thing that you should do is, umm… *HUP*" A loud, powerful hiccup interjected itself into his already-faltering sentence.
Hannah giggled. "No, I really don't think that's what we ought to do first. That's part of the reason why Juliana's going to do most of the talking; since I'll probably be hiccupping."
Chris blushed again. "Sorry, I think I've *HUP* umm, got the hiccups."
"Aww, Juliana," Hannah said in mock sympathy, "Poor Chris has the hiccups. What should we do for him?"
Juliana had just the solution. "Eh, the hiccups won't hurt him. Let's have him help us by reading what we've got written out. Then we'll know what it will sound like if you have to present any of it!"
"That's a great idea!" Hannah agreed. "Come on, Chris, here's our papers. Read what we've got written there."
"Aw, come on y'all, I've really *HUP* got bad hiccups," Chris complained.
"So? That shouldn't matter," Hannah answered, "When was the last time bad hiccups stopped me from talking?"
"But you all don't want to hear m-*HUP* hear me talking with the hiccups!"
"Ah, but maybe we do," Juliana suggested, still laughing. "Come on, Chris, let's hear it!"
Both girls were laughing helplessly by the time Chris finished hiccupping through their presentation notes. "Oh Chris," Hannah giggled, "You sooo need to learn how to talk with the hiccups!"
"But don't you think he should do our presentation for us?" Juliana said between laughs.
"Oh yes, definitely!"
The two girls tormented poor Chris all evening, and his hard hiccups never let up, interrupting him with a loud *HUP* every ten seconds or so regardless of what he tried to do to stop them - or what Hannah and Juliana tried to do to make them worse! Not a whole lot of work got done on President Jackson, however, and finally the girls made Chris take his hiccups home so that they could concentrate on their work - and stop laughing. Even after he left, though, it took them quite a while to get over how funny and totally embarrassed Chris had been! He didn't get the hiccups often - in fact, he hadn't had them since that day Hannah had taken him around town with them - but when he did, they both found it totally hilarious. And Hannah had to admit, she also found them really cute, not so much because of the hiccups themselves, but just because of the way he reacted to them.
Eventually, though, the girls' presentation was finished, and they both went to bed.
* * * * *
Morning came unpleasantly soon for Juliana. She awoke quite early, and turned to lean across the bed, reaching for the clock on her desk, since she thought it might be time to get up. But a sharp hiccup jerked her away from the desk.
"Oh, great," she moaned aloud. When she had the hiccups, they didn't play around. If she hiccupped once, she was all but guaranteed to either have them non-stop for hours, or at the very least to keep getting little cases throughout the rest of the day. Then, of course, she couldn't forget that one time a few months ago that she had the hiccups for six days straight. *HUCK* *HIC-uck* A couple more hiccups confirmed that this was no teaser. She stayed lying in bed for a while, as her case of hiccups quickly worked itself into full swing, but soon decided there was no point in doing that. Every few seconds, a monstrous hiccup - the kind that would threaten to throw her halfway across the room if she would let it - jerked her body and resounded through the small room. So even though it was only 5:30, Juliana got up and, being the ever-studious pupil, started working on an assignment for school that was due in a few days.
Through the shabby walls of Juliana's room, her hiccups were still clearly audible, and the sound actually awakened her father from a light sleep. "Oh geez, that girl's got the hiccups again," he muttered, although it had actually been quite some time since the last time she had suffered from them. He couldn't get back to sleep any better than she could, and after a few minutes, appeared at the door of her room. "All right, Juliana, are you gonna have the hiccups all week again?"
"*HUCK* I sure hope n-*hulk* not," she groaned. "But yeah, they-*HIC-uhh* they'll probably be *HULK* bothering me a l-*HIC* lot today. *HUCK*"
"Hmph," her dad replied, "Well, you're not the only one they're bothering. There's no way I can sleep with you making all this noise."
"Oh shut *HUCK* up," she shot back, already rather cross. "Let's see *HUCK* you with dread-*HUCK* dreadfully hard *HULK* hiccups like th-*HIC-ulk* this *HUCK* for no reason. *HIC-ulk*"
He just sighed and shut the door, leaving Juliana alone with her hiccups again. "I hope these things are gone before school," she thought. Then she remembered the presentation. She was supposed to do most of the talking since Hannah's voice was still so weak and hoarse, and since Hannah could very well end up with the hiccups. And here she was the one with them! "Please m-*HUCK* make these things g-*HIC-ulk* go away bef-*HIC-uhh* before my pres-*HIC-ulk* presentation!" she pleaded, to no one in particular.
Much to pessimistic Juliana's surprise, her violent hiccups vanished just as she prepared to leave for school. Her father noticed that, saying, "Well, sounds like you stopped those hiccups after all!"
"Eh, they'll probably be back much too soon," she predicted unenthusiastically.
As they took the short walk to school, Juliana mentioned to Hannah how she had gotten the hiccups earlier, and was afraid that they would come back. In her typical fashion, Hannah told her not to worry about it. After all, maybe they were already done for the day.
Halfway through Juliana's first class period, they reminded her that they weren't, with a couple loud hiccups jerking her upright in her seat. She turned and gave Hannah a worried look. The teacher, surprised to see that it was Juliana with the hiccups instead of Hannah, the usual victim, sent her out to the water fountain. The results were predictable - she came back hiccupping just as badly as before. As soon as the class was over, she wailed to Hannah, "What should *HUCK* I do? *HIC-ulk* There's only one m-*HUCK* more class before our *HULK* our presentation. *HUCK* I can't go th-*HIC-ulk* through our pres-*HUCK*-entation like this!"
"Well," Hannah thought for a moment. "Just don't get all worked up over them, and breathe really smooth and deep, then maybe they'll go away. And if the teacher doesn't bother you about it, just let them rip. Stifling them makes them worse."
Juliana tried her best to follow those instructions, but by the end of her next class, the hiccups were unchanged. Actually, the teacher had made her keep quiet, so they were a little worse. Not really any faster, just harder and more painful. But she didn't care about the pain; it was being able to give that presentation that she cared about.
As she met back up with Hannah, though, she was obviously in no shape to give a presentation. The problem was that Hannah's voice was still so hoarse that, even though she was hiccup-free, if she did the talking, half the class wouldn't be able to hear her. Still, Hannah wasn't perturbed. "Don't worry, Jul," she consoled her friend, "You'll be OK, and I'll help you as much as I can. You know I'd be glad to do all the talking if only I could."
"But Hannah," Juliana wailed, "I *HUCK* I can't do all th-*HIC-ulk* that talking with *HIC-ulk* these hiccups! *HUCK* They're awful! *HULK*"
Hannah put her arm around her friend's bouncing shoulders. "You can do it! I do it all the time. Concentrate on what you're saying, not the hiccups, and if you can't handle it, I'll try to finish it for you, all right?"
"Hey, do *HIC-ulk* you think she'd m-*HUCK* move us to a *HIC-ulk* different day? *HIC-uhh*" Juliana suggested.
"I'm sure she would, except that today's the last day of these presentations, since we're the last ones, remember?" Hannah reminded her.
Juliana sighed and shook her head. "All *HURK* right. I'll *HIC-ulk* try to make it th-*HIC-ulk* through."
"That's the spirit," Hannah said, as she gave her friend a quick squeeze and they stepped into the classroom.
Ms. Lister called them over to her desk. "Good morning, girls," she greeted them. "Do you have a presentation ready for us today?"
"Yes, it's all ready, but I'm not sure how ready we are!" Hannah croaked.
"My, Hannah, you still sound sick; are you sure you're all right?" Ms. Lister asked, concerned.
"I'm OK. My throat doesn't really hurt any more; my voice just disappears after about five sentences," she explained. Then she added, "So we decided Juliana would do the talking, but now she has the hiccups."
"Oh, no, I'm sorry Juliana," the teacher sympathized.
"Can we *HIC-ulk* please do our t-*HUCK* talk another day? *HIC-uhh*" Juliana pleaded.
"Why certainly, you can do --" she started to agree, but then remembered, "Oh, no, I wish you could, but you're the last one, and they have to all be done today so report cards can be ready in time to be sent out next week. Why don't you try drinking something, or maybe holding your breath?"
"I've *HULK* tried everything!" Juliana wailed. "Th-*HIC-ulk* They won't st-*ulk* stop!"
"I'll try to help her as much as my voice will let me," Hannah promised.
"All right, you all just take your time and if you can't handle it all, Juliana, just do whatever you can. I do wish we could postpone it. But they're already onto me for our being behind in the schedule. So don't worry if you all can't do the whole thing. I'll know that you tried."
"OK *HIC*" Juliana sighed, "Thank you *HIC-ulk* Mrs. Lister."
Presentation time came, and Juliana dragged her hiccupping body up front with Hannah. Hannah spoke first to give a little explanation. "Good morning everyone," she said, in a voice so thin even Juliana could hardly understand it. Hannah cleared her sore throat and coughed. "That's better," she laughed, somewhat more audible now. "Good morning, everyone. Today we are going to tell you all a little bit about the accomplishments of President Andrew Jackson, who we have all been studying for the past few days. But you are going to have to bear with us, because, as you can tell, I still haven't found the voice I lost last week, and Juliana is like, being assailed by some monstrous hiccups." A giggle rippled across the classroom. "My voice is quickly going to get worse the more I talk, so I'm -- *cough* I'm going to have to let Juliana do a lot of the talking. So listen real close when I talk, and try not to laugh when she talks, ok? All right, sooo, my hiccupping friend," she announced, turning to Juliana, "Take it away!"
Juliana had to smile, in spite of herself. "Uh, *HUCK* *HIC-ulk*" Two fast hiccups interrupted her before she could even begin. Everyone laughed, and Juliana blushed, holding her hand to her chest as she tried again. "OK, so *HIC-ulk* we've all been r-*HUCK* reading about An-*HUCK* Andrew Jackson. *HIC-ulk* As you all *HUCK* probably know, ex-*hulk* except for Chris, *HIC-uhh* his picture is o-*HUCK* it's on the twenty *HIC* dollar bill." Hannah held up their enlarged copy of the famous portrait of Jackson that adorns the center of every twenty, and Juliana pointed to it with one hand, keeping her other hand on her chest, as if that would somehow soothe her angry hiccups. Even her extended hand bounced up and down with every hiccup. "So *HUCK* we decided to *HIC-ulk* find out what Pr-*HUCK* President Jackson did *HIC-ulk* that earned him a *HIC-ulk* spot on our m-*HUCK* money."
Juliana bravely plodded on through her talk, keeping her hand on her bouncing chest and her eyes away from the giggling students. Hannah occasionally took a short section because she knew her friend needed a little break now and then, even if she wouldn't admit it.
About halfway through the presentation, Juliana was trying to describe President Jackson's confrontation with conservative South Carolina lawmakers who believed in 'nullification', a state's right to over-ride federal law. But her hiccups were getting worse and worse. "One *HUCK* of the mo-*HIC-ulk* most far-r*HUCK* far-reaching *HIC-cup* accomplishments of *HIC-ulk* Andrew J-*ulk* Jackson invol-*HULK* involved a disagreement *HIC-ulk* over the *HIC-ulk* states' right of n-*HUCK* nullifi-*HIC* *HURK*" she grimaced and took a deep breath, as the other students whispered and giggled. "Over the st-*HUCK* state's right *HIC-ulk* right of *HURK* nullifica-*HIC-ulk* *HURK*" Juliana lowered her head into her free hand, in total despair. Finally she stood straight again and handed her notes to Hannah, saying, "Now Hannah *HIC-ulk* is going t-*HUCK* to tell us how *HIC-uhh* how that happe-*HIC* happened." Everyone laughed, except Ms. Lister, who obviously felt very bad for Juliana. She chided the students for their inconsiderate laughing.
Then Hannah cleared her throat again and picked up the story, as Juliana just stood there with her hand on her chest, hiccupping her heart out. "OK, so the people of South Carolina didn't agree with some of President Jackson's policies. Thus they decided to nullify, or over-ride, the federal laws. *cough* Many people supported South Carolina's move. Jackson's own Vice-President was from South Carolina and he agreed with the nullification. But President Jackson believed in the union of our nation, and did what was necessary to preserve *hic* --" Hannah stopped in mid-sentence. Her eyes widened. "I don't believe this!" she gasped - and hiccupped again. "Now we *huck* both have the hiccups! *hic*"
The whole class once again burst into laughter. Even Ms. Lister and poor Juliana had to smile.
Juliana turned to Ms. Lister and asked, "Haven't we *HIC-ulk* done enough n-*HUCK* now? *HIC-ulk* At least w-*HIC* we tried! *HULK*"
"Yes girls," Ms. Lister chuckled, "I think you two have done very well, considering the circumstances. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you get up and talk like that. You come down here and let's all thank them for working so hard to give us this presentation." The other students gave Hannah and Juliana a nice long round of applause. Juliana was still totally humiliated. She sank into her seat without another word, covering her chest with one hand and her face with the other.
* * * * *
Hannah's sudden case of the hiccups only lasted an hour or so, but Juliana's continued through the entire day. By the time she arrived home, she was exhausted - ready to lie down on her bed and not get up until the hiccups stopped. But hardly had she made it into her room and put her stuff away when her father called her.
"What *HIC-ulk* is it?" she answered.
"Come here!"
"Can't you *HIC-ulk* leave me *HULK* alone?" she yelled back irritably. "I've h-*HUCK* had the hic-*HURK* hiccups all day a-*HUCK* and I need a *HIC-ulk* break!"
"I need to talk to you," her father said surprisingly gently, coming to the door of her room.
"What d-*HUCK* do you want? *HIC-ulk*"
"Listen, Juliana, I know you've had a hard day, and I'm sorry you have the hiccups again. But I need to tell you something."
Juliana couldn't believe how kind her father's voice sounded. "Sorry, *HIC-ulk* I have h-*HUCK* had an awful *HIC-ulk* day. Well, *HIC-urk* not awful, j-*HUCK* just embarr-*HIC* embarrassing. *HUCK* Go ahead, though, *HIC-ulk* what's up?"
"Well, you see," he began, "I've been thinking a lot since- since your mother died, and, well, I'm realizing that I've been an awful father to you. Whenever you see me, I'm drunk, or grouchy, or both. I mean, like this morning, I should have been sorry for you having the hiccups and all, instead of complaining about all the noise you were making."
Juliana's body continued hiccupping helplessly, but suddenly she didn't seem to notice it as she listened intently to what her father was saying.
"And, well, I've been really mean to you for the longest time," he continued. "But I've been feeling worse and worse about it, so today I decided to do something about it. It was because of me that your mother --" his voice grew shaky, but he spoke on - "It was my fault that she was so ill and had to die. I don't want to do the same to you. So I've decided that I'm not going to be a worthless wretch any more. I'm going to stop spending my nights at the tavern; I'm not going to pass the days hung over - I'm gonna quit it all. My buddy Tom is going to quit with me and we're going to keep tabs on each other. I can't do much, but I'm going to be a decent father to you before this is all said and done. Will you forgive me for how bad I've been?"
Juliana sat there with a stunned look on her face - her mouth open, her hand still on her chest, even though her dad's words had shocked the hiccups right out of her. Her father was not a man of idle talk; this was something she had never heard the likes of before. "Uhh," she stammered, "Are you serious?"
"I'm as serious as I can be, sweetie," he assured her. "Won't you forgive me?"
Tears came to Juliana's eyes. "Of course I do, dad," she answered. A twinge of doubt crossed her mind. "Do you promise you're really going to do this?" she questioned.
Mr. Davis embraced his daughter, his own eyes suddenly feeling a little wet. "I promise," he whispered.
Juliana remained in her father's embrace a long time. Finally she stood up, and put her hands on his shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. "Well, if we're going to start a new life here, I'd say we've got a lot to get done. Where should we start?"
"Well," he smiled, "I think we've accomplished something already."
"What's that?"
He scratched his chin, as if he were in deep thought. "Hmmm, perhaps it might have something to do with curing the hiccups?"
Juliana gasped. "Oh, they are gone! Thank you!!"
"No problem," he chuckled, "Just don't expect me to be able to do that every time!"
Juliana laughed and threw her arms around her father once again. She never dreamed a new life could feel so good.