I, Amy Cahill, was still nervous. Today was the science final... and I take my finals very seriously. Half of the test had multiple choice questions. When I got the same freaking letter four times in a row on the test, I was totally petrified! For the rest of the school day, that was all I could think about! However, now I am being tested on even a harder subject... my patience.

"And then," yelled Dan, ice-cream smeared all over his face, "the man was like, 'Help! My wife is about to have a baby!'" He started cracking up. Nellie and I just stared at him like he was going insane. In reality, that had happened a long time ago. He kept trying to tell us the rest of his joke, but could not stop laughing.

"Goodness Dan!" Nellie said from across the bright red table. "Just spit it out!"

Dan took a few deep breaths. "All right! Here I go!" he breathed, tears of laughter still lining his eyes. "Then the one person who answers 911 calls..."

"The dispatcher," I put in helpfully

"Yeah!" said Dan. "That person! Well, she was like 'Is this her first child?' Then, the man got really mad and yelled, 'No you idiot! This is her husband and I...'" Dan collapsed on to the table, sides heaving in silent laughter, not able to go on. When his hand hit the side of the table, I noticed him wince, but the laughter didn't stop. I had never in my life seen that kid laugh so hard at such a small joke.

Nellie and I smiled wearily at Dan, then looked at each other in alarm, expressions saying the same thing. Was Dan high on ice cream? He had NEVER been like this before! We had to get Dan home before he started laughing about the chicken that crossed the road. THIS is why we didn't visit Dairy Queen everyday... or year if possible.

Cracking up, Dan took his chocolate ice cream cone and smashed it on to the seat next to him. "Who blew it?" he demanded standing up dramatically then collapsing back in to his seat in laughter. And yes... he sat on the ice cream cone. That was the last straw.

We both aided Dan, who was laughing so hard that he could barely stand, out the restaurant's door as all the customers stared after us in wonderment. In the car, Dan could still not stop laughing! Every time he came close to stopping, he would look at his reflection in the window and exclaim something random like, "I bet if I died my hair rainbow, I would look like a unicorn riding the metro!" then burst into a fresh batch of giggles.

And just to let you know... Dan doesn't usually giggle. Half way through the car ride, the laughter finally ceased. I looked in the back and smiled; Dan had fallen to sleep peacefully against the leather seat cushions. Even though he was crazy... he was still my eleven year old brother!

"Nellie..." I whispered quietly to the drivers seat. "Um... is it just me or is something wrong with Dan. I have never seen him giggle like that and he is sleeping on his own free will! And do you think he looks kind of pale? "

Nellie looked back at Dan, miraculously staying perfectly on the road even while making a turn. She was a crazy awesome driver! Nellie turned back to me. "Yes," she said with a smile, "something has always been wrong with Dan. However, on a more serious note, I have never seen him like this either. We'll give him till tomorrow morning to see if he goes back to normal. Maybe, he is just plain sick or stressed out. I mean, he IS only eleven, even if he doesn't act like it."

I nodded. "Sounds good," I agreed. That is when I realized it... I should have recorded Dan's outburst! Darn! There went the perfect blackmail opportunity!

I woke up the next day at nine o'clock. Ah! Glorious Saturdays! I walked down the stairs into the living room yawning. When I looked up, I immediately knew something was wrong.

"Amy," said Nellie looking me sadly in the eyes. "It's Dan." She was sitting on a stool next to the couch where Dan was laid. His sweaty body... absolutely still. Oh wait, Dan is always sweaty...

I could feel tears start to water up in my eyes. "Is he... is he dead?" I breathed, hand over my mouth. Nellie took a deep, dramatic breath and gave me a comforting look as if to prepare me for the news that was about to come.

She looked me straight in the eyes, tension mounting. "No you idiot!" she yelled laughing. "Don't worry! I assure you that he is a hundred percent alive. He is just napping! Why don't you go pick up some depression pills or something?" I admit... I was so relieved I smiled.

I heard a croaky chuckle from Dan's figure, and he sat up, eyes still closed. He winced and put his hand on his wrist. "Ow..." he whispered hoarsely.

I looked at Nellie urgently. "Please!" I said. "What is going on? I need to know!" The information could not possibly enter my mind soon enough.

Dan opened his eyes for the first time and grinned. Nellie at him laughed coldly. "Well, let's have Mr. Dan explain," she said waving a hand towards him. She stood up and left to get something in the kitchen.

"Well..." his voice scratchy but cheery, "I... just happened to break my wrist yesterday!"

"Doing what you dweeb?" I asked sitting on the couch next to him. "And why didn't you tell us yesterday?"

Being the annoying brother was, he smiled at my eagerness to know. Typical. "No big deal," he said, "I was just playing basketball. I didn't tell you because I didn't know it was actually broken." His voice was recovering from the throaty morning mode. He propped his wrist up on the side of the couch casually.

I sighed. If it didn't have to do with a certain clue hunt, if it was something that could happen to a normal kid, I wasn't incredibly worried. Nellie came back in and handed us both a mug of hot chocolate. "I warm morning treat!" she said smiling over her own cup.

"Why didn't you at least tell us that it hurt?" I asked curiously. "I mean you had to be in pain!"

"Well I was," began Dan, "but I mean it was pain so I tried to be tough. Ninjas have to learn not to feel pain. I took two of those pain reliever tablets in the cupboard... uh... mophyna... and it didn't hurt as much."

"You mean morphine?" I asked. He nodded. "That explains why you were acting high at Dairy Queen last night! You are only supposed to have a half a tablet of that at your age!"

"I was acting crazy?" he asked. "Seriously! That is so funny! I don't even remember!"

Nellie was serious. "Dan," she said, "NEVER take medication again without our approval and the wrong amount."

"I could have sworn I took the right amount of pain reliever!" he said. "The Internet said that..."

"And this my little friend," I cut in, "is why I use books. The information is more solid. Anyone can post anything on the Internet! For all we know people could be posting stories about us on that thing!"

Dan snorted. "But seriously Dan," said Nellie, "this is not a big joke. Now let's all get dressed and go to the doctor." She examined Dan's wrist once more. "You probably need a cast."

Dan's face lit up. "OOH!" he yelled excitedly, at the top of his lungs. Is it possible to scream at the bottom of your lungs? Hm... I have to look into that. "What color should I get? This will be the thirteenth bone I have broken since kindergarten! That means I will have thirteen casts in my collection! Some people think thirteen is a bad number but I don't understand how it got it's reputation! I think it is a lucky number!" And he went on, and on, and on. This was how the first half of my day being stuck in a doctors office got started. Joy.

"This is a major fracture!" said the doctor finally coming in with an x-ray. "You are lucky it wasn't your right arm."

"That's the problem," sighed Dan so dramatically that I knew that he was enjoying himself, "I am left handed!" I knew he was right handed but I didn't say anything. He was probably just trying to get the doctor to pity him enough to give him an extra lollipop.

"How did you break it exactly while you were playing basketball?" asked the doctor. "This is pretty bad!"

Dan blushed. "I was jumping off a trampoline and was trying to make a slam dunk," he muttered. Nellie and I looked at him hard but he refused to meet our gaze, looking curiously around the office. Yeah! That was a little important detail that he had accidentally left out from telling us about.

The doctors eyebrow shot up questionably and stayed there, kind of like a like when a flying fish flops on to a dock, and she wrote some notes on her clipboard. She started speaking to Dan.

I had been watching Dan's appointment for more then an hour. "Nellie," I said yawning, "can I go do something?"

"Sure," Nellie said. "I have the laptop with me. I am pretty sure they have Internet access in the cafe in the lobby. You could hang out there until the appointment is over." She checked her watch. "Dan should be done in about forty-five minutes!"

"Sounds IDEAL," I said. "Thank you so much." Nellie smiled at me and slid the laptop out of her large side bag.

"Be careful!" she said handing it to me.

Hardly anything is better then the smell of fresh baking bagels and pastries. The cafe was practically empty except for a few couples and tiny families, chatting cheerily. I sat in a corner booth with lots of padding. Wow! I couldn't believe how comfy this place was right in the middle of the hospital! I put in some headphones and started listening to music, checking CliqueMe, and looking up a new book series I was planning on reading. Guess who dropped me a line? Yes, Ian Kabra. I hoped I wouldn't look to weird to bystanders, talking to a computer casually.

Thanks so much for the reviews last time! After seeing them I felt like I had to give a uplifting speech to a crowd so I did. It ended enthusiastically with me yelling, "I have to update... FOR THE PEOPLE!" Then, the entire audience of stuffed animals listening to my speech all gave me a standing ovation and started to cheer!

And now folks, I have updated! I will again really soon! I was working on chapter 16 of Boston by amycahill555 so it took me awhile to update this time. You should read it, it's good! Also, I finished Dan's 200 Things to do in Math Class. The conclusion is awesome but didn't get a lot of reviews. Read it please!

So how did you like this chapter? What is your favorite part? I love listening to them. Hmm... I don't have much to say now that I am putting most everything on my blog now. I read the first Alex Rider, and then watched the movie this week. Nice name he has there! I just discovered the coolest way to sign my name! I write "AL" and then I put a large "X" over it. It is awesome!

Think about Kris Allen's (I saw him in concert) song "Live Like Your Dying," and replace the word "live" in every verse with "REVIEW." Get the point? :D

Where Adventures Begin...

Alex Almighty