Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS writer.
God I need to go to the toilet!
I’m sitting here in the Gunna’s Masterclass, trying, willing myself to pay attention as each person introduces themselves; tells their story but I’m hopelessly distracted.
I should have just gone but now it is our turn.
Between the stabbing pains in my abdomen I am trying to remember what Sean told me about himself; went back to university, likes finding the perfect word, crafting exquisite sentences.
Yes that right. Ok Sean introduced – got through that. Now I should just go. But I don’t want to be that prick that introduces himself and then walks out on everyone else. I should just wait. Surely this won’t take much longer. Anna is being introduced she’s into Mountaineering. Awesome. Have to talk to her about that later.
The coffee orders start coming in. This is going to be torture. I have no self-control when it comes to coffee but that is not going to help my situation. Bugger it I’m just going to have to go.
I start to stand up as the next person is being introduced. Julia, this is Julia. Julia has just been diagnosed with cancer. Cancer!?! Fuck!! There is no way I can go now. It is one thing to be the rude prick that walks out while people are introducing themselves but completely another to walk out on someone talking about cancer. Julia starts to tell us about herself. She has four kids, all aged between five and ten. The youngest has Down Syndrome. Simultaneously my heart breaks and my bladder (almost) explodes. I begin moving restlessly on the chair. Concentrate I tell myself. Julie went back to TAFE last year to study community development; to work with Asylum Seekers. Asylum Seekers for the love of God, how much more inspirational can this person get.
The pressure is now exponentially building.
Catherine starts talking about her own experiences with cancer. I’m not getting out of here anytime soon. I use all my will to maintain a normal, interested and attentive facial expression but I feel it’s a battle I’m losing. Julia describes the previous year as the best of her life, when she finally started living it the way she wanted but in the last six weeks it has all been about the cancer. She hopes that this can be the start of new a chapter though. Get back to life on her terms; living it the way she wants. I hope she can too. Introductions finished. Wow there really is an amazing group here but I’m already out the door! Relief!