Alan woke up with a start. He looked up and saw his dean standing over him. He looked over to his alarm clock. 2:57.
"Get up, Mr Tracy. There's been an emergency at the girl's school."
"What? Wha-what happened?"
"Your cousin, Tin-tin, got into a fight with her roommate at around 1:30."
Alan gasped. "Is she okay?"
"She is in the hospital with very serious injuries. She wanted to see you and Mr Hackenbacker. She also said something about a knowing a hoodie."
Alan sighed. He knew what she meant. Evie must be the Hood's daughter.
Just after he thought this, Fermart walked into the room.
"Mr Hackenbacker, how nice of you to join us."
Fermat looked understandably surprised, seeing the dean in his room.
"Is everything alright, sir?" he enquired, mightily confused.
"There's no time to explain. Get dressed and meet me at reception."
As their dean left, Fermat turned to Alan with a puzzled expression.
"What the heck is going on here, Alan?
"Tin-tin got into a fight with Evie. I think she came out worst."
Fermat looked worried. "But I thought you can only leave in a family emergency?"
"Our parents all said we are cousins, remember? Just in case."
"Oh, yeah."
They didn't talk much as they got changed and walked down to the reception area to meet the dean.
"You took your time, boys. Come on, let's go."
On the ride to the hospital, Alan just stared out of the car window. He was feeling pretty down. First he had gotten grounded, then Kyle had made fun of him for being a "fan" of the Thunderbirds again, and now this. All he could think about was how Tin-tin had been sharing a room with the hood's daughter for about half a term. He hoped Evie was going to get punished for it.
Suddenly, Fermat spoke up.
"What exactly is wrong with Tin-tin?"
Their dean looked at him through the rear-view mirror.
"I don't know exactly, but her dean told me it is very serious."
They didn't talk until they got to the hospital. As they entered, Fermat hung back.
"What's up?" Alan enquired.
"I don't like hospitals." Fermat answered.
"Why not?"
"Do you remember when I broke my leg and came into the hospital?"
Alan cringed and nodded. That wasn't a pretty memory.
"Well, they said it was a clean break and gave me a cast. That's why I was called a wimp, remember? Because I still couldn't walk."
"Yeah, so?" Alan replied.
"When I got back to Tracy Island, Virgil looked at it and told me that the bone was completely crushed."
"So?"
"So, the hospital had got it completely wrong."
"Enough chit-chat! Come on, Tanusha is this way!" Their dean interrupted.