Read On a Slippery Slope for Free Online Page A

bet it’s amazing! Just show it to me.”
    â€œIt’s …” I feel my breath getting shorter and shorter.
    â€œWhere is it?” Gabby demands again.

    â€œI don’t … I don’t …” I try to answer but my head starting to spin.
    â€œWhat do you mean … you don’t?” Gabby looks at me, confused. “Wait!” she suddenly exclaims, “Are you okay? You look sick.”
    Oh no … what’s happening? My heart is racing. Am I having a heart attack? Oh my gosh, does heart disease run in my family? I can’t breathe … why can’t I breathe? I’m feeling dizzy. What if I’m dying, right here, right now? I didn’t even write a will!
    â€œAre you okay?” she asks again.
    â€œI don’t know. I need to sit down,” I say breathlessly. Gabby studies my face as I lower myself onto my bed.
    â€œOh my gosh,” she says, frowning. “I know what’s wrong! You have no idea where your stuff is, do you?”
    â€œWhat?” I say, sucking breaths of air in through my nose, uselessly trying to slow down my breathing.
    â€œYou don’t know where it is!” she insists.
    â€œNo, I don’t!” I admit, now gasping for air. This is it … I ’ m going to die!
    â€œOh my gosh!” Gabby shrieks. “Hannah! You’re hyperventilating! You need a paper bag!”
    Hyperventilating? She’s right! My lips are tingling. I need a paper bag! “Gabby … get my … lunch bag … from my… backpaaaa …”
    Everything goes black.
    * * *
    â€œ Hannah … wake up,” I hear Gabby whisper. “Hannah!” she says a little louder. Then smack … I feel a cold, wet facecloth on my forehead. “Hannah! You fainted. Wake up!”
    I blink my eyes open and struggle to sit up on my bed.
    â€œSo, does this happen often?” Gabby asks, patting my cheeks with the wet cloth.
    â€œWhat, the fainting or the hyperventilating?”
    â€œBoth, I guess.” She shrugs. “You really should get that checked. I mean to randomly start hyperventilating for no reason at all … weird, huh?”
    â€œYeah, weird.” I nod, avoiding her eyes.
    â€œYou really should get that checked though. You might have a condition .”
    â€œA condition?”
    â€œYeah, like some kind of stress disorder or something. My dad is a pharmacist. I can totally ask him about meds for you!”
    â€œNo!” I cry out. “I mean … um … no. Please don’t tell your dad.”
    â€œHannah, your mental health is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
    â€œMy mental health?”
    â€œYes. Obviously the move and starting at a new school have stressed you out. You’re just overwhelmed. It’s probably just temporary, unless it’s not, in which case you should get checked out … like soon.”
    â€œFine.” I nod. “But just don’t tell your dad, okay?”
    â€œAll right, but promise me you’ll get to the doctor this week.”

    â€œThe doctor?” I can’t believe she wants me to go to a doctor! Could this get any crazier?
    â€œPromise me.” She narrows her eyes. “Hannah, this is serious stuff. You shouldn’t mess around with a stress disorder; it’s dangerous!”
    She’s right! This is ridiculous! Like, seriously nuts! I can’t go around fainting every time I hear the word ski . What if it happens at school and I fall down and split my head open, or worse, start frothing at the mouth right in the middle of the hallway! Gross! That would be so embarrassing!
    I have to confess! My only other option is to suffer through the rest of this year with a stupid stress disorder, which would be seriously awful. The truth must be told! Actually, it’ll be a relief! I can finally get off this crazy rollercoaster ride of lies.
    But then again … what if it makes Gabby hate me …