Chapter 13

POV: Simon

Out of fifty different people, there isn't one new review? I guess my readers do have lives, after all. ;)

Oh well, I hope the lack of reviews isn't a reflection of a loss of interest. Read on.

I awoke to the smell of a hospital, and recalled the events of the previous day. It wasn't a dream, I still had stitches in my leg, and no chance of going home for days.

I looked down to my shoulder to find Jeanette, with her head resting on me, snoring slightly. She was so cute when she was asleep. I smiled to myself.

I looked over at the clock that sat on the bedside table, to find a Rubik's cube resting beside it. It was six in the morning, I had slept for much of the previous day, so I wasn't tired. I didn't want to awaken Jeanette, since she hadn't slept through the day. I could see this was going to be a long day. I sighed.

Jeanette seemed to hear me, or feel my lungs contract, and turned over. Unfortunately, there was no more bed where she ended up. I grabbed her arm to keep her from falling on her head, but she had already fallen. There was a thud as her rear end landed on the floor.

"Ow!" Jeanette exclaimed. She opened her eyes, pushed her glasses up her nose, and looked around, disoriented. "Huh?" Jeanette was confused.

"Good morning, Jean." I chuckled, "I hope you don't usually fall out of bed in the morning." Jeanette started to remember what had happened.

"Gosh, did I fall asleep?" She gasped, "How long have I been here?"

"All night." I replied.

"Oh, I've got to get to school!" She exclaimed, and looked over at the clock. "Oh good, it's still early." She sighed with relief. "I don't want to leave you all alone, though."

"It's okay, Jean," I assured her, "Just go to school, and maybe you can tell me what homework we have in the subjects that we share. Anyway, your mother brought your Rubik's cube here, I'll be fine."

"Alright, fine, I'll go to school." Jeanette reluctantly surrendered. She stood up.

"See you later." I said.

"Bye, Simon." She said, and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She walked out of the room.

"So, it's just you and me." I said to Jeanette's Rubik's cube. I chuckled to myself.

I don't think there is anything more boring than staying in a hospital, alone. The only thing to look forward to was the next meal, and the meals weren't exactly gourmet. I wished I could just hibernate, and rise after my stitches could be taken out, and I could go home.

Eventually, the clock ticked over to the fourth hour, and I heard someone outside the door to my room. The door opened, to reveal the best thing for which I could have, and did, hope; Jeanette.

"Hello, Simon." She said, and walked over to me. I motioned to her to sit down, and she complied. I shifted to give her room on the bed.

"Hello, Jeanette." I replied, "You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice." She smiled.

"I brought your physics and chemistry homework," She handed me some papers, "And Theodore gave me your laptop to give to you, so you have more to do."

"Oh, thank you so much, Jeanette." I grinned, "YouTube will be my friend while you're gone." Jeanette giggled.

"I don't have anyone with whom to talk without you, now." Jeanette sighed, "I wish Brit and Ellie were doing some of my subjects, but I guess they have their own interests."

"Don't worry, If you try, you'll find someone to talk to. I'm sure there are others like you at school." I had seen quite a few quiet girls in Jeanette's classes. She just rarely initiated any social encounters.

"Maybe, but I still prefer you." I grinned at her.

"I prefer you too." We both laughed.

My stay at the hospital was broken up by frequent visits from Jeanette. Dave, Alvin and Theodore also visited when Dave wasn't working. I wish to impart the understanding of my boredom upon the reader, and not the feeling of boredom, so I will spare the reader the details. Suffice it to say that it was not an experience which I would willingly repeat.

That being said, one good thing came out of the fiasco; Jeanette and I spent a great deal of time together, and that was worth almost anything.

My stitches were finally removed, after days of inaction. I was definitely relieved when I could come home, and when I did, even Alvin was uncharacteristically sympathetic. It was as though I had emerged victorious from a great battle, when in fact, the only battle I had fought in was with the clock. It was difficult to return to my previous routine, after lying in bed for so long, but I knew it would only get harder if I put it off.

I finally regained my full strength after a week of exercise, and my life was starting to get get back to normal. It was almost time for my end of year exams, and I was confident that I could do well, after all, I had no trouble understanding most of the things that were taught this year, but I was always sure not to trade confidence for complacency.

When the first exams were only a week away, Jeanette and I were eating lunch in the cafeteria.

"I hope I do well, Simon." Jeanette looked worried. "What if I get everything wrong?"

"You'll do fine, Jean." I replied, "Just review everything that they taught this year, and you'll have no problem."

"But I'll freak out when the exam starts, I always do."

"And you always do well." I smiled reassuringly, "You need to calm down."

"What about you?" Jeanette asked, "Aren't you worried that you won't know the material?"

"Everybody who cares about their future worries about how well they'll do in exams. If you stay calm, you won't have any problem, but if you keep stressing yourself, it will have a detrimental effect on your results." I said.

"I guess your right, Simon." Jeanette sighed.

The school bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch break. At this point, there really wasn't much work to be done, we were only at school to extend our record.

"Come on, we've got to get to physics." We made our way to the lab, for which the teacher was late.

"Great. An empty lab." I looked around the room. Most of the students had stayed home. "Well, I suppose we just have to wait."

We sat down in our usual seats, at the back of the room, where we could see the rest of the students, when they were present.

We waited, for some time, before giving up. The teacher himself had probably stayed home. We decided to go home, as there was little point in our staying at school.

I studied everything I could find, for hours, to make sure I was ready. When the first examination day finally arrived, I was feeling confident that I could pass any test.

"Good luck, Simon." Jeanette smiled as best she could.

"I'd wish you luck as well, if you needed it." I replied, trying to increase her confidence, something which rarely worked.

We walked into the room, which smelled like sharpened pencils and new paper. I sat down, separate to Jeanette, by order of the math teacher. The clock ticked quietly on the wall and the whole room fell silent. I started to answer the questions. They were much easier than I had expected. When the time was up, I had long been finished.

"Those questions were easy!" Jeanette exclaimed as we walked out of the room, "I might just get a good score after all." I was glad that she was becoming less stressed.

"I know." I grinned, "MIT is within my reach, I can feel it." Jeanette's smile disappeared, "What happened?" I inquired.

"Nothing." Jeanette turned away, "I just don't know what I'll do when you're gone." I suddenly realized that, without me, Jeanette really had no one. Furthermore, without her, I had almost no one either. I had been so focused on the good qualities of an MIT education, that I had unconsciously ignored the fact that Jeanette would not be coming with me.

I suddenly had a reason to stay here, and a strong one, at that. This was not part of my plan for my future. I never expected to have to decide between an education and Jeanette!

I lay awake that night, trying to decide what to do. I couldn't give up on this opportunity, and I couldn't give up on Jeanette, but I couldn't have them both. Thank god this dilemma wasn't on the exam.

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