10:34 AM
"Maddy Smith! If you would give us the honor of your presence in class. You too, Rhydian! Wake up!" The two wolfbloods slowly opened their eyes. Mr. Jeffries was standing directly in front of them. Maddy and Rhydian pretended to pay attention for a few minutes, but soon Rhydian groaned and fell asleep again. Maddy followed suit about thirty seconds later. "Well, if you two cannot pay attention in class, I will see you both in lunchtime detention." Mr. Jeffries' voice woke both of them up instantly.
The bell rang, causing the wolfbloods to clutch their ears in pain. Grumbling, they headed to detention.
12:05 PM
Not surprisingly, Jimi was in detention. Again. He made a big display of snorting as Maddy and Rhydian walked into the room, barely able to keep their eyes open. They set down their trays and instantly fell asleep. Jimi had to choke to keep himself from laughing out loud. Maddy had let her head droop into her plate of tuna casserole surprise, and as Jimi fingered his apple, he had a brilliant idea. Moving ever so quietly, he crossed the room and lifted Rhydian's head up just enough to place the apple so that the sleeping wolfblood's chin rested on it. To finish it off, Jimi took out his phone and snapped a picture of the scene.
When Mr. Jeffries finally entered the room, he tripped over Maddy's backpack which she had left on the floor. The noise woke up the slumbering Wolfbloods, and Maddy jerked her face out of the casserole with a start. Rhydian raised his head and found the apple. A murderous look in his eye, he chucked the fruit toward Jimi with such force that they could hear the smack as it collided with Jimi's head. "Enough!" Mr. Jeffries shouted. "Maddy and Rhydian, come with me." He led them out of the room and down to the gym. Beckoning to the teacher, he informed her, "These two could not be bothered to stay awake in class or detention, so I thought some wind sprints might wake them up."
10 Minutes Later
"I can't do this much longer…" Maddy's voice trailed off as she collapsed. Rhydian stood there, staring at her limp form for a moment before falling beside her.
6:50 PM
Rhydian woke in a bright hospital room, the white lights glaring into his eyes. Glancing wearily around, he saw Maddy in a bed next to his. He wondered how he got into the hospital, but his reverie was interrupted by a cheerful nurse wheeling a rolling cart full of trays of food. "Dinner time!" she sang. Maddy stirred, groaning as she caught the repulsive stench of the bland hospital food. She figured that pre-packaged bread with a glass of room temperature milk and a slimy slice of ham had to be better than the tuna casserole she'd used as a pillow, though. Grimacing, she saw Rhydian take a bite, and bit into her own "dinner" as well.
"Why are we here?" Rhydian asked the nurse. "You and your friend Maddy fainted at school," she explained. "We're just going to keep you here overnight to make sure you're A-Ok, then you can go home and have the day off from school tomorrow." Pausing for a moment, the nurse added, "You're very lucky that you don't have to get any needles," she told them. "You were just overtired." Both wolfbloods breathed a sigh of relief. Their secret would not be revealed. When the nurse finally left, Rhydian turned to look at Maddy. "Night, Mads," he said quietly, smiling. Maddy returned the tired grin. "Night, Rhydian." The two closed their eyes and slept peacefully, in spite of all the noise, lights, and people all around. Their first no moon day, survived.
2:30 AM
"Ugh," Maddy groaned as the cheerful nurse danced into the room again, this time with the cart of medical supplies. "Time for Vital Signs!" she sang, switching on the light. Maddy tried to go to sleep again, but it was impossible with the nurse's poking and prodding. When she was finally done with Maddy, the wolfblood could hear Rhydian's annoyed grumbling as the nurse checked his Vital Signs, too. When at last the nurse left, the two fell back asleep without missing a beat.
8:45 AM
Rhydian sat up in bed, feeling much better than the night before. "Finally up, lazybones?" Maddy called over from her bed, where she sat doing a crossword puzzle. Rhydian smiled, then frowned as the nurse came in again. This time, however, it was good news. "We phoned your parents," she told them. "They'll be here in about a half hour. So, you two might want to freshen up and get ready to leave. Rhydian, I'll take you to another room so you can shower." With embarrassment, the two realized that they were both wearing hospital gowns.
A few minutes later, Rhydian and Maddy were dressed and sitting in wheelchairs, waiting for the Smiths to pick them up. When Maddy's parents arrived, they signed the release papers and took the two wolfbloods home for a day of rest. After a brief stop when Maddy couldn't keep down her breakfast, the wolfblood family made it home. "Straight into bed, you two," Maddy's mom ordered. "If you feel better, you can watch some TV later, but you need to sleep." Maddy and Rhydian were only too eager to comply, and trudged up to bed for sleep.