Operation: A.A.F.T.E.R.
Adults Against Father's Tyrannical Everlasting Rule
Chapter 8: Recovery
Nigel awoke to the sound of voices, the smell of baked goods, and a bright light directly above his head. He moaned, bringing his hand up to his head. "Wha...what happened?"
Everybody looked at him, distracted from their conversation. "'E's awake!" said Wally, the first one to his side.
"Hey there, sleepyhead," Kuki said softly.
"How ya doin' Nigel?" Hoagie peered over his friend.
"Fine. How long have I been out?"
"Oh, about a couple days," Abigail responded.
"Wow. What happened exactly? I mean, I remember Father...Kuki and Wally took me out of the prison..." he trailed off. "Thanks, guys."
"You bet!" Kuki said.
"'Ey, no problemo, boss," Wally punched his shoulder, causing Nigel to wince. "Oh...err, sorry. Still tender, I guess."
Nigel looked around the hospital room, spotting someone else for the first time. "Who's that?" he whispered to Hoagie, pointing a finger in the direction of the stranger.
"Oh, that's jenny, Father's sister. She was a prisoner at the mansion, too."
"Oh! I remember Father talking about her! Is she okay?"
"I'm okay. I wasn't held captive nearly as long as you were," said Jenny, joining the others at his bedside.
An awkward silence engulfed the room. Nigel cleared his throat, saying, "So...what's next?"
"Well," answered Abby, "it's your choice, really. You can stay here and go back to what you were doing when you're better, you can come with us and live in California, or we can erase your memory of the past six years in the mansion, giving yo a clean slate to do whatever you want. We'd supply a new memory, of course."
He thought about it. "I think I'll decide later. Whichever I choose, I'll want to feel better than I am now."
"I have to go, guys," said Jenny, picking up her belongings. "Thanks for everything – rescuing me, bringing me back to America–"
"We're in America?" asked Nigel, surprised.
"Uhh...yes. Anyway, I need to leave. Call me if you ever need anything!" She was about to open the door, but stopped and turned around. "And I'm...sorry for whatever offensive things I did as a kid to you guys," she blushed.
"That's okay," "It's alright," "The past is the past," came the replies.
"Okay, well bye." She left them to themselves, hailing a taxi outside.
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"Class dismissed," Professor Uno told his students after the bell rang. They filed out, and Nigel packed up his things, preparing to leave for the day. I love my job. Who would have thought – me, as a Critical and Tacktical Thinking teacher? He made his way down the hallway, opened the door, and clicked the unlock button on his car keys. The car pulled out of the college campus parking lot and onto the main road. I need to call Hoagie. He hooked me up with it...I should thank him.
He pulled out his cell phone, dialing Hoagie's number.
"Hello?" a familiar voice sounded over the line.
"Hey, Hoag!"
"What's up? You doing well out there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"How do you like your job?"
"I love it! I never thought about this career before. I just called to thank you again. I've always loved New York, and now I live and work here!"
"Your welcome! And we'll be getting together as a group again soon, right boss?"
"I'm not your boss anymore...but yeah, we'll all get together again around winter break."
"Cool! Bye, Nigel."
"Goodbye, Hoagie," he said, disconnecting.
YAY!!!! End fanfic....I can't believe I actually finished this! It was a lot shorter than I had thought it would be. Actually, it's 15 pages long, but I mean chapters.
