Chapter Seventeen
Now
Instead of taking me to my room, Dr. Murphy took me to the infirmary. By then, I was feeling so bad I could hardly walk. The nurses fussed over me for a while and they let me lie down on a cot. A nurse that I had never seen before gave me a ton of medicine; she told me what each one was for as she gave them to me: headache, fever, different crap. Eventually, the nurses left me alone and I heard Dr. Murphy on the phone with one of my brothers. I only heard half of the conversation, but it went like this:
"Yes, I can tell he feels awful," Dr. Murphy said.
Pause
"He has a fever."
Pause
"A few hours, maybe."
"Yes."
Long pause
"He'll be alright."
Long pause
"Calm down, he's fine."
Pause
"Don't cry. He's fine, I promise."
Pause
"You can come see him if that will make you feel better."
Pause
"Ok."
Pause
"I'll see you in a few minutes."
Dr. Murphy hung up. I wondered who he had been talking to. I hoped it wasn't Darry, he had enough to worry about. It couldn't have been Darry, he never cried, not even at mom and dad's funeral. But hadn't he cried when I started talking again? I couldn't remember I was too sick to remember; and too sleepy, I was so sleepy.
"Pony," Dr. Murphy said. He was standing right next to me.
I didn't answer, I didn't feel like answering.
"Can you hear me?" he asked.
Once again, I didn't answer.
"Your brother is coming," Dr. Murphy said.
"Mmmm," I said. What did he mean 'brother'? I have two brothers.
"Soda is worried about you," Dr. Murphy said. "He was the only one home at the time, but Darry will come as soon as he's off work."
So it was Soda. Thank God.
"Are you awake?" Dr. Murphy asked after a long pause.
I didn't say anything. I wanted him to leave me alone.
Dr. Murphy left after a few minutes. Different nurses would come in every five minutes or so to check on me. They thought I was asleep, so they didn't talk to me. Where was Soda? He should have been here by now. I hoped he hadn't been in a car wreck, I couldn't live through another person dying; especially Soda. Eventually I heard footsteps coming down the hall.
"He's asleep now," Dr. Murphy said. "I'll let you see him, though."
I didn't bother to open my eyes because I knew that the person next to my bed was Soda.
"Hey, Pony," Soda said softly.
I wondered why he was talking to me if they thought I was asleep.
"You probably can't hear me. Don't wake up, you need to sleep," Soda said.
I slowly opened my eyes. They were sore and heavy, probably from the fever. Soda's eyes were red, and his face was tear-stained. He smiled when he saw I was awake.
"I bet you feel bad," Soda said.
I nodded slowly, it made my head hurt even more. I'd have to ask for some Aspirin.
"Darry wasn't home, but he'll be here soon," Soda said.
He was still talking softly, but it wasn't annoying, like when the nurses talked to you. Soda's voice was soothing, and it was making me sleepier. My eyelids started to droop, but I couldn't fall asleep; Darry wasn't there. Soda was still talking to me, but I didn't know what he was saying. All the words sounded the same. My eyes fell closed, and I drifted into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, Soda was gone. The clock on the wall said that it was midnight. My head was throbbing; it felt like my brain was going to burst out of my skull. I looked around the room; there were no nurses or other patients. I really needed an Aspirin. I told myself not to panic and to try to ignore the throbbing pain in my head but I couldn't. Then I noticed the button on the side of my bed with a note that said: If you need assistance, press button and a nurse will come. OK, so that's not exactly what it said, but it's close enough. I pressed the button and waited for a nurse to come. One showed up after a few minutes.
"What do you need?" she asked in an 'I haven't got all day' tone of voice.
"Do you have any Aspirin?" I asked feebly.
"I can't give you anything without Dr. Murphy's permission," the nurse said.
"Then call him up and get permission! My head hurts like heck, and I want an Aspirin now!" I hadn't meant to yell, I didn't even know that I could yell. I used up all my energy yelling at the nurse, and I sunk wearily back onto my pillow. The nurse was about to tell me that she couldn't call Dr. Murphy, but another nurse walked in.
"What's going on?" she asked. She had one of those soothing nurse voices.
"She won't give me an Aspirin," I whined.
"I told him that he can't have any medicine without Dr. Murphy's permission," the evil nurse said.
"It's just an Aspirin," the nurse that had just came in said, "I'm sure he'll be fine."
Both the nurses left the room, and I was alone and miserable again. One of the nurses came in and gave me an Aspirin a few minutes later. I didn't bother telling her that I usually take at least five Aspirins because I knew that she wouldn't let me have any more. My head still hurt, the Aspirin wasn't helping at all. I laid awake for a few hours before I finally fell asleep.
