"Oh not this again," Shinbo muttered from behind him. He got out of the car to access the damage of his vehicle, and the yell at the honking cars behind him.
But James wasn't paying attention to Shinbo. "Jess? Jessie is that you?" he shouted into the phone. He heard some muffled sounds from the other end, and finally someone answered.
"Hello, who is this?" it wasn't Jessie, if the first voice had been Jessie to begin with. "I'm sorry about this...a patient slipped right through. Dr. Kenson didn't even see her leave the room. She's supposed to be under supervision-poor thing, very confused, probably just dialed a random number while I wasn't looking, I'm very sorry." There was a click, and the line went dead.
James sat stiff in his place, stunned. Patient? Dr. who? Frustrated, he hit *69 and put the phone to his ear again. "You have reached the Red Cross International Medical Service Hospital. If you are enquiring about an appointment, press 1 now. If you-" he hung up. There must be hundreds of receptionists and secretaries in a hospital that big, there wouldn't be much of a chance of getting a hold of the one he'd spoken to. But the important thing was, he knew where to find Jessie.
Shinbo got back in the car, looking considerably worse than angry. "You're paying for this you know-and the fines that tipping a public mailbox, I don't even want to think about them!"
"Uh huh," James said distractedly. It was Shinbo's car...how was he supposed to get to the hospital? If he even brought up the thought that he suspected Jessie was there his friend would snap, tell him he was delusional, and take the keys. James cautiously pushed down on the gas pedal. The motor revved-yes! It's still running. Now he just had to take care of Shinbo...
"And another thing!" the aforementioned person was saying. "Some jerk says he'll sue me if he misses his plane 'cause of your delay, and I'm not paying-"
"Shinbo!" James interrupted him, yelling in melodramatic worry. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fi-"
"We have to get you to the hospital!" he slammed down on the pedal. "You could have a concussion, internal bleeding, whiplash..." he listed as they passed the speed limit by an easy twenty miles.
"Dude, calm down already! And SLOW down already while you're at-"
"Are you're eyes dilated? That could be serious..." they nearly missed a tree as James rounded another sharp corner. Shinbo had stopped protesting, now looking terrified and frozen-it was a good thing James had driven a good number of getaway vehicles or else he might have scared himself with his own driving.
When they finally arrived at the hospital Shinbo's face had a green tint. James had been forced to hit the brake so fast they'd gone into a sideways half-spin and landed in what was surely an illegal parking space, but James didn't care. As soon as he cut the engine, Shinbo dashed out of the car. "Okay, NOW I'm sick. You are crazy-insane, loony, psycho...I'm running out of words to describe you!" he shouted. "Hey, where are you going?!" James was already through the sliding glass doors at the entrance.
By the time Shinbo had caught up with his friend, James was at the front desk annoying/scaring the receptionist. "Look," he was saying in an irritated voice. "She has red hair, blue eyes, about twenty-seven...five foot six I think-" Shinbo felt sorry for the young candy striper manning the front desk. James was in her face, and she looked flustered.
"L-look I-I haven't seen her, and her name's not in our database. If she is here then she didn't come in though the front," she stammered, her voice high. "The doctors m-might not have been able to identify her...s-she could have come in though the E.R....y-you could check the patient's ward...o-or--"
But James had apparently given up with her, and stormed off in a random direction to look for Jessie himself. The candy striper sank down in her seat and breathed a sigh of relief. Shinbo stared after James worriedly-they guy had actually snapped. James needed help. He turned to the candy striper. "Look, I'm sorry about him-a friend of his died, he cant accept it," he told her.
She shook her blue-haired head. "No, it's okay...we get that a lot. I could recommend a therapist...if he doesn't have one already."
Shinbo sighed. "I thought I was doing a good job on my own, but I guess not." He thought for a moment. "Yeah, why don't you give me the name of that shrink. I'll talk to him." She handed him a slip of paper.
"He's in the hospital now," the candy striper told him. "You can find him in the East Wing across from the optometry department-he's working with the mentally ill."
Shinbo held up his hands. "Whoa, wait a sec. James may miss his friend but he's not crazy," he told her, even though he had just called James crazy among other things in the parking lot.
The candy striper narrowed her eyes at him, "I can see that," she said. "But refusing acceptance of anything important can often make people turn unstable. I'm just trying to make you catch it before it gets worse."
Shinbo eyes the paper. "R-right." He was about to head for the East Wing, when he turned back to the girl at the desk. "Hey, how about giving me your phone number too-OW!!"
She had slapped him. "I'm in high school you pervert!"
-
Shinbo didn't like the East Wing at all. He stood in the only hall way, and on either side of him the walls were plaster half way up, and thick glass the rest of the way to the ceiling. Like a sick little fish tank.
He stiffened, and kept walking. If James didn't get help he would end up in here. Through the glass he could see all sorts of people. Many of them talked to themselves, muttering things about revenge or holding conversation with invisible people. Some nurses were trying to coax a woman down from the lighting fixture, while a little girl sat huddled under a table as a man and a woman who must be her parents cried. In the back of his head, Shinbo noted that none of these people looked like the woman in James's photo.
He reached a door, but it was, of course, locked. He knocked and a nurse answered. "May I help you?" she asked as if she was already bored with him. Her eyes only hung half open as if she was sleepy.
"Um...yeah..." Shinbo shifted nervously. She gave him the creeps. "I'm looking for a Dr..." he checked the little piece of paper that the candy striper had given him. "A Dr. Sabrina...um...I guess it's just Sabrina."
The nurse eyed him. "She'll be here shortly. Wait in the hall." And she slammed the door. Shinbo wanted to mutter something sarcastic, but he decided against it, for he didn't want any therapists to walk by and hear him talking to himself.
He heard footsteps behind him, and his ears instinctively perked up as he recognized the sound of high-heels. He turned around to face a young woman around eighteen. She had long green hair, and piercing eyes. An Alakazam trotted at her heels. "May I help you?"
She looked real familiar...this wasn't just Dr. Sabrina, this was THE Sabrina! "Hey, weren't you the Celadon Gym leader?"
"Saffron City gym leader." She said shortly. "I was. What do you need?"
He fought off answering 'a date with you' and began to tell Sabrina about James. He told her that he thought James would be in trouble if he didn't accept that this Jessie girl was dead, and he told her about how weird James acted when the subject was brought up. His story only got interrupted once when a woman banged into him.
"I'd like to talk to this James," Sabrina finally said. "You said he was here?"
"Yeah," Shinbo nodded, "Freaked out the girl at the front desk-although I can't say I didn't either..." he coughed. "I'll call him up here." He reached for his cell phone, but found it wasn't in his pocket. "Hey-what gives-" he looked up and saw the woman who had bumped into him near the end of the hallway. She leaned against the wall, and was dialing a number on a cell phone. That chick had ripped him off!
He'd been about to run over, but before he'd even opened his mouth to yell at the woman, Sabrina had taken notice. Her eyes had shot open wide and red, and in a second, the phone was ripped from the woman's hand in a crystal blue aurora, and floated to the waiting Sabrina. She handed it to him. "Your phone."
It took him a second or two to respond. He'd forgotten that the Saffron City Gym was also an institute for people with telekinesis. "Uh...thanks..." he managed, and then looked down at the phone to dial James's cellular. But his number was already there, on the tiny display screen, just waiting for someone to push the 'call' button.
Considerably surprised, Shinbo looked up at the woman at the end of the hall. How had she known James's number? She was wearing a green hospital gown, so she must be a patient. She still stood, leaning against the wall, staring at him. She was tall and just too thin, as if she hadn't eaten well in a long time. Her hair was cut messily and very short and it was very dirty, but still you could see the bright red color that hung under the layer of film. She kept staring at him with strange eyes, deep sea-blue and piercing.
So this was Jessie.
But James wasn't paying attention to Shinbo. "Jess? Jessie is that you?" he shouted into the phone. He heard some muffled sounds from the other end, and finally someone answered.
"Hello, who is this?" it wasn't Jessie, if the first voice had been Jessie to begin with. "I'm sorry about this...a patient slipped right through. Dr. Kenson didn't even see her leave the room. She's supposed to be under supervision-poor thing, very confused, probably just dialed a random number while I wasn't looking, I'm very sorry." There was a click, and the line went dead.
James sat stiff in his place, stunned. Patient? Dr. who? Frustrated, he hit *69 and put the phone to his ear again. "You have reached the Red Cross International Medical Service Hospital. If you are enquiring about an appointment, press 1 now. If you-" he hung up. There must be hundreds of receptionists and secretaries in a hospital that big, there wouldn't be much of a chance of getting a hold of the one he'd spoken to. But the important thing was, he knew where to find Jessie.
Shinbo got back in the car, looking considerably worse than angry. "You're paying for this you know-and the fines that tipping a public mailbox, I don't even want to think about them!"
"Uh huh," James said distractedly. It was Shinbo's car...how was he supposed to get to the hospital? If he even brought up the thought that he suspected Jessie was there his friend would snap, tell him he was delusional, and take the keys. James cautiously pushed down on the gas pedal. The motor revved-yes! It's still running. Now he just had to take care of Shinbo...
"And another thing!" the aforementioned person was saying. "Some jerk says he'll sue me if he misses his plane 'cause of your delay, and I'm not paying-"
"Shinbo!" James interrupted him, yelling in melodramatic worry. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fi-"
"We have to get you to the hospital!" he slammed down on the pedal. "You could have a concussion, internal bleeding, whiplash..." he listed as they passed the speed limit by an easy twenty miles.
"Dude, calm down already! And SLOW down already while you're at-"
"Are you're eyes dilated? That could be serious..." they nearly missed a tree as James rounded another sharp corner. Shinbo had stopped protesting, now looking terrified and frozen-it was a good thing James had driven a good number of getaway vehicles or else he might have scared himself with his own driving.
When they finally arrived at the hospital Shinbo's face had a green tint. James had been forced to hit the brake so fast they'd gone into a sideways half-spin and landed in what was surely an illegal parking space, but James didn't care. As soon as he cut the engine, Shinbo dashed out of the car. "Okay, NOW I'm sick. You are crazy-insane, loony, psycho...I'm running out of words to describe you!" he shouted. "Hey, where are you going?!" James was already through the sliding glass doors at the entrance.
By the time Shinbo had caught up with his friend, James was at the front desk annoying/scaring the receptionist. "Look," he was saying in an irritated voice. "She has red hair, blue eyes, about twenty-seven...five foot six I think-" Shinbo felt sorry for the young candy striper manning the front desk. James was in her face, and she looked flustered.
"L-look I-I haven't seen her, and her name's not in our database. If she is here then she didn't come in though the front," she stammered, her voice high. "The doctors m-might not have been able to identify her...s-she could have come in though the E.R....y-you could check the patient's ward...o-or--"
But James had apparently given up with her, and stormed off in a random direction to look for Jessie himself. The candy striper sank down in her seat and breathed a sigh of relief. Shinbo stared after James worriedly-they guy had actually snapped. James needed help. He turned to the candy striper. "Look, I'm sorry about him-a friend of his died, he cant accept it," he told her.
She shook her blue-haired head. "No, it's okay...we get that a lot. I could recommend a therapist...if he doesn't have one already."
Shinbo sighed. "I thought I was doing a good job on my own, but I guess not." He thought for a moment. "Yeah, why don't you give me the name of that shrink. I'll talk to him." She handed him a slip of paper.
"He's in the hospital now," the candy striper told him. "You can find him in the East Wing across from the optometry department-he's working with the mentally ill."
Shinbo held up his hands. "Whoa, wait a sec. James may miss his friend but he's not crazy," he told her, even though he had just called James crazy among other things in the parking lot.
The candy striper narrowed her eyes at him, "I can see that," she said. "But refusing acceptance of anything important can often make people turn unstable. I'm just trying to make you catch it before it gets worse."
Shinbo eyes the paper. "R-right." He was about to head for the East Wing, when he turned back to the girl at the desk. "Hey, how about giving me your phone number too-OW!!"
She had slapped him. "I'm in high school you pervert!"
-
Shinbo didn't like the East Wing at all. He stood in the only hall way, and on either side of him the walls were plaster half way up, and thick glass the rest of the way to the ceiling. Like a sick little fish tank.
He stiffened, and kept walking. If James didn't get help he would end up in here. Through the glass he could see all sorts of people. Many of them talked to themselves, muttering things about revenge or holding conversation with invisible people. Some nurses were trying to coax a woman down from the lighting fixture, while a little girl sat huddled under a table as a man and a woman who must be her parents cried. In the back of his head, Shinbo noted that none of these people looked like the woman in James's photo.
He reached a door, but it was, of course, locked. He knocked and a nurse answered. "May I help you?" she asked as if she was already bored with him. Her eyes only hung half open as if she was sleepy.
"Um...yeah..." Shinbo shifted nervously. She gave him the creeps. "I'm looking for a Dr..." he checked the little piece of paper that the candy striper had given him. "A Dr. Sabrina...um...I guess it's just Sabrina."
The nurse eyed him. "She'll be here shortly. Wait in the hall." And she slammed the door. Shinbo wanted to mutter something sarcastic, but he decided against it, for he didn't want any therapists to walk by and hear him talking to himself.
He heard footsteps behind him, and his ears instinctively perked up as he recognized the sound of high-heels. He turned around to face a young woman around eighteen. She had long green hair, and piercing eyes. An Alakazam trotted at her heels. "May I help you?"
She looked real familiar...this wasn't just Dr. Sabrina, this was THE Sabrina! "Hey, weren't you the Celadon Gym leader?"
"Saffron City gym leader." She said shortly. "I was. What do you need?"
He fought off answering 'a date with you' and began to tell Sabrina about James. He told her that he thought James would be in trouble if he didn't accept that this Jessie girl was dead, and he told her about how weird James acted when the subject was brought up. His story only got interrupted once when a woman banged into him.
"I'd like to talk to this James," Sabrina finally said. "You said he was here?"
"Yeah," Shinbo nodded, "Freaked out the girl at the front desk-although I can't say I didn't either..." he coughed. "I'll call him up here." He reached for his cell phone, but found it wasn't in his pocket. "Hey-what gives-" he looked up and saw the woman who had bumped into him near the end of the hallway. She leaned against the wall, and was dialing a number on a cell phone. That chick had ripped him off!
He'd been about to run over, but before he'd even opened his mouth to yell at the woman, Sabrina had taken notice. Her eyes had shot open wide and red, and in a second, the phone was ripped from the woman's hand in a crystal blue aurora, and floated to the waiting Sabrina. She handed it to him. "Your phone."
It took him a second or two to respond. He'd forgotten that the Saffron City Gym was also an institute for people with telekinesis. "Uh...thanks..." he managed, and then looked down at the phone to dial James's cellular. But his number was already there, on the tiny display screen, just waiting for someone to push the 'call' button.
Considerably surprised, Shinbo looked up at the woman at the end of the hall. How had she known James's number? She was wearing a green hospital gown, so she must be a patient. She still stood, leaning against the wall, staring at him. She was tall and just too thin, as if she hadn't eaten well in a long time. Her hair was cut messily and very short and it was very dirty, but still you could see the bright red color that hung under the layer of film. She kept staring at him with strange eyes, deep sea-blue and piercing.
So this was Jessie.