New Characters
Brad Falls (Birtchfalls)
Lacie Star (Leafpool) (I think I've introduced her before, but this is the first time you actually see her have dialogue, though it is a small part.)
Mrs. Natalie Foster (Nightcloud)
Tina Case (Tawnypelt)
Chapter Four
"Ouch!" cried Brad Falls. "Can't you be gentler?"
"Not if you want it to heal correctly," snapped Jayden, wrapping a bandage around Brad's sprained wrist. He felt the young man wince as he tightened the strap. "I'm finished," he announced, "and just in time. I thought my ears would fall off from your complaints."
"You know," snapped Brad, "you are very unsympathetic for a doctor."
"I'm here to heal your wrist," retorted the medical apprentice. "If you want sympathy, run on home to your wife. I'm sure she'll agree that your injury is so deadly." Jayden felt embarrassment flooding off Brad in waves.
"Can I leave now?" the patient muttered mutinously.
"Yes," agreed Jayden after one last inspection of his wrist. "If you have any pain, take some Tylenol, and use some ice. Come back if you feel it's not healing properly."
"Sure thing," agreed Brad, already leaving the room.
Jayden sighed. It was nearly midnight, but people were still coming in for things as simple as sprained wrists, sore throats, and slight fevers. Wasn't the emergency room supposed to be more exciting than this? Yes, Jayden thought with a slash of bitterness, but even if someone came in missing their torso, he wouldn't experience any of the actions. It was true he was beginning to gain the trust of some of the staff, but he still had a long way to go. Blindness was constantly intervening in all aspects of his life. He wished people would stop acting like he was some poor kid with the plague and just treat him normally for once.
"Jayden!" he heard Aunt Lacie call from the hallway. "I need your help listening to Tina Case's lungs. I'm not sure if she has pneumonia or not." Jayden sighed once more. This was going to be one long night.
Landon grabbed his bag, knowing it was going to be a long day. He would be spending all Saturday stuck in the library, working on his dumb report for Mrs. Foster's class. Turning it in late wasn't an option, either. Mrs. Foster had a short fuse, so to speak. She didn't hesitate to erupt at any innocent student that happened to get on her bad side. She was always handing out lectures like they were candy, and Landon didn't feel like being her human target on Monday.
Landon walked into the hall, envious of his family. Holly had finished her paper, of course, and was napping lazily in her room after a sleepless night at Cynthia's house. And though it was nearly noon, Landon could hear Jayden's gentle snoring floating from their shared room. His mother and father were out for a lunch date together, and wouldn't be home until later that afternoon. It looked like everybody would have an enjoyable day that day, except for him. Well, sitting there moaning about it wasn't going to help, he reflected. He sighed and walked out of the house.
He straddled his bike unwillingly and set off down the road. The ride was shorter than usual, or perhaps it just seemed that way because he was dreading arriving. This was definitely not at the top of his "want-to-do" list.
All too soon, he was sitting at a desk, staring at a blank sheet of paper. Where would he even begin? The topic was so dull, he could cry, and he had no motivation to do any research. He continued to stare at it, as if ideas would simply jump from the paper. He sighed after a long, silent moment. Nothing. No ideas, no inspiration, no sudden leap of motivation. Nothing. Zip. Nada.
He stood up, not knowing what else to do, and began browsing the shelves. Suddenly he spotted a familiar figure who was delicately fingering the binds of books. Heather's sparkling blue eyes seemed to be filled with awe. Did she really find these word-filled pages to be interesting? Unexpectedly, he was caught off guard with a rush of interest. Maybe books weren't so bad after all, if Heather liked them, anyway…
Heather's eyes slid past the shelves and towards Landon. Landon felt his heart come to a screeching halt. "Hey," she murmured shyly, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.
"Hey," he responded, finally regaining control. "What are you doing here?"
"I, uh, just wanted to check out some books," she stammered. There was an awkward pause. "How about you?" she offered.
"I just came here to check out the view," he said with a smile. Heather's cheeks turned an even darker shade of red. "Will you sit with me? I've got to work on my paper." Landon's pulse quickened. What if she said no? What if she said yes? What was he getting himself into? It was against the rules to date kids from other sides of town. And even if this wasn't a date, he knew this was treading into unknown territory.
"Absolutely," she answered. Landon gave an internal sigh of relief, no longer caring what this would lead into. All that mattered was that the most beautiful girl he had ever seen was walking by his side, close enough to feel her warmth radiating onto his skin. Suddenly a day at the library didn't seem so bad.