CHAPTER 10: At The Hospital

The next morning over breakfast, Bebe told me about what happened when Jason woke up from surgery. "Do you want to know what his first words were when he woke up?" she asked, taking a bite of toast.

"What?"

"He said, and I quote, 'Good morning, starshine. The Earth says hello'."

I was taking a sip of milk when she said that, and I almost blew it out of my nose and all over the table. I was laughing so hard, it's a wonder I didn't choke.

"You know," I said as soon as I'd pulled myself together, "what surprises me is that he came on this trip if he was so sick."

"He insisted on it," Bebe explained, finishing her grapefruit juice. (Blecch!) "He'd never been to Washington before, but that was before we found out it was going to be on TV."

I nodded. That made perfect sense.

"Anyway," Bebe went on, "they have visiting hours for kids ten and under from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon."

"That's great," I said. "I can't wait to see him."

A little later that morning, we were rehearsing in the hotel ballroom, under Bebe's watchful eye, while Jessi and Mr. Drubek were out. To be honest with you, the good news about Jason's condition was just the confidence-booster we needed.

After we finished rehearsing, we saw Jessi and Mr. Drubek returning, and they each had a canvas garment bag draped over one arm.

"The costumes!" Claire squealed.

They laid the bags on the table in front of the stage. "I guess you've already figured out that these are your costumes," Mr. Drubek said as he unzipped one of the bags and opened it. "When I call your name, please come forward."

The costumes—which were basically satin shirts with no sleeves—were really pretty. The girls had pink or blue, and the boys had yellow or green. The best part about them was the sequins on the underside: red or navy blue for the girls, and orange or turquoise for the boys. We also had tie-on headbands that matched the shirts, and depending on our age, wristbands. The youngest kids didn't wear any, middle kids wore one, and the oldest kids wore two. Finally, each shirt was marked with our initials on the collar on the back of the plain side, so we'd know whose shirt was whose.

We were going to rock the house for sure!

The next afternoon, we went to visit Jason at the hospital. We got off the elevator on the fourth floor, and followed Steve, Diann, and Bebe down the hall to Jason's room.

"Remember when we fixed up the playroom at the hospital back home?" I whispered to Nancy.

She nodded. "Being in this hospital sure brings back memories, huh?"

"I'll say," I agreed. I remembered when I fell out of my treehouse at Mom's and had my spleen removed, not to mention how paranoid I was for a little while after I got out. That's something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

When we got outside Jason's door, Steve turned to us and said, "Now kids, remember what the doctor said. He may be out of it, so keep your voices down, and try not to stay too long. The doctor has also requested that only five of you at a time—and two or three chaperones—can see him about ten minutes each. Capisce?"

We all agreed. The first ones to see Jason were my brothers, my two best friends, and I, and our chaperones were Mom, Kristy, and Diann.

Jason was fast asleep when we first saw him, and compared to the other day, it hardly looked like anything was wrong. Diann walked over to his bedside and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jason?" she whispered.

"Mmm," Jason answered, his eyes closed.

"Jason, wake up."

"Mum, it's summer vacation," Jason grumbled. My friends and I exchanged glances.

"Jason, baby, look who's here."

Jason's emerald eyes fluttered open, and he yawned. When he looked in our direction, he gave us one of his famous smiles. "Hey," he said softly.

"Hi, Jason," I said as I played with his ring. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm getting my strength back, thanks to moving my legs up and down in bed, making a trip to the bathroom every two or three hours, and the nurse having me get up and walk around both yesterday and today. And let me tell you, she's not an easy person to argue with," he said, then coughing and wheezing. "Sorry, I have to keep doing this to clear my lungs."

"Oh, I see," Hannie said.

"If we're really careful, could we give you a hug?" Andrew asked.

"If you're careful," Jason answered. "Whatever you do, stay away from my stomach, or I'll be really upset with you." Of course, he was grinning, but I also knew he meant what he said.

After each of us had a turn to hug Jason, a nurse came in. She was a pretty Filipino woman who looked about Charlie's age or a little older with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, and her name tag read "Jo". She took the blood pressure cuff down from the wall and checked Jason's blood pressure, then let the stethoscope dangle from her neck. When she looked up and saw us, she commented, "Well, it looks like you've got some visitors."

"Yes, ma'am," Hannie answered. "We're from Stoneybrook."

"Stoneybrook? Oh, yeah, you're in that competition," Jo said as she put the Thermo-Scan in Jason's ear to take his temperature. "98.6," she read, then put her stethoscope back on.

"Um, excuse me, but how soon do you think Jason will be released from the hospital?" David Michael wanted to know.

"Well, the doctor says that since his appendix didn't burst, he stands a pretty good chance of being released sometime tomorrow," the nurse answered as she helped Jason lean forward so she could listen to his lungs.

"So, will he still be able to make it to the competition?" Hannie asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Jo answered as she helped Jason lie back down and checked his pulse. "He still needs plenty of rest, so I'm afraid he'll have to miss it."

"No, he won't," I said. "Mr. Drubek told us in advance that it was going to be on TV."

"That's good," the nurse said as she folded Jason's arm across his chest. "I'm sure you kids will do a good job."

"Thanks," Nancy said.

Just then, the loudspeaker out in the hall started blaring, "Dr. Walsh, please report to Trauma One. Dr. Walsh to Trauma One, stat." (I should also mention that David Michael whispered to Hannie, "Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard." We all thought it was funny, but we knew we shouldn't make too much noise, so we waited until we were out in the hall to laugh.)

"Well, that's my cue," the nurse said quickly as she headed to the door. "Break a leg, kids." And she ran out of the room while Mom started tapping her watch.

"Well, our ten minutes are almost up," Nancy said. "Oh, the rest of us are outside waiting to see you. We'll send the next group in now."

"Now don't go back to sleep until after we've left," I teased as I squeezed his hand.

"I won't," Jason laughed quietly.

"See you later, Jason," Andrew said, giving him a kiss on the forehead and following us to the door. Dru, Hank, Pamela, Scott, and Bobby headed toward the door, followed by Steve and Seth.

I was glad that Jason would get to see us, even if he couldn't make it to the actual competition.