CHAPTER 11: The Good News

After we'd all gotten a chance to see Jason, we all got back on the bus to go back to the hotel. For some reason, I decided to sit with Dru. Ever since she and her mom first moved to Stoneybrook, we'd become good friends with each other.

"Jason really looks great, doesn't he?" Dru asked, offering me a stick of gum.

"Oh, yeah," I agreed, taking it and popping it in my mouth.

"Can I tell you something? And if I do, will you promise not to tell the others?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well," Dru said, chewing on her gum, "when I went up to Jason, I could see the tape on his stomach, and asked him if I could touch it."

"Really? I hope you were careful."

"I was," she answered. "I also wondered if it hurt a lot, and what it looked like under the tape."

"I'll bet it looked pretty gross," I commented. Even though I really didn't want to know what it looked like, I couldn't help feeling a little curious.

Then Dru decided to change the subject. "You know, Karen, when we were at that hospital, I couldn't help feeling somewhat fascinated, knowing that people had died there. Do you know what reincarnation is?"

"You mean coming back as something else?" I asked. I used to believe that cats really did have nine lives, and after Boo-Boo died, I imagined him coming back to life as a whole new kitten.

"Yeah," Dru answered. "I really believe in that stuff. My Uncle Tim once told me that in a previous life, he'd been a soldier during the French Revolution. I thought he was pulling my leg at first, but when we saw Les Misérables in Stamford, I noticed how much he was into the performance, and that made me believe him."

"Wow," I murmured. I was just awestruck. After Dru told me this, I wondered if there really was such a thing as reincarnation, and if so, I wondered what—or who—I'd come back as.

The next day, the day we'd all been waiting, and worked so hard for, had finally arrived. At 7:30 on the dot, the phone rang. This was obviously our wake-up call, because Mom picked up the receiver, listened for a few seconds, and said, "Thank you." Then as she got up and hurried toward the bathroom, she called, "Time to get up, kids!"

I woke Andrew, and got out of bed. After I put my glasses on, I went to the closet bar to make sure my outfit was still in place, and there it was: red T-shirt with dark blue jeans on the hanger, white Chuck Taylors with red laces on the floor. "Perfect," I said to myself. As soon as Mom came out of the bathroom, I grabbed my clothes and went in to take my shower.

Half an hour later, we were eating a light breakfast in the lobby while we waited for our chaperones. No sooner had they arrived, the desk clerk called Steve over. "Mr. Everett, I just got off the phone with your wife," he said. "Your stepson has just been released from the hospital."

All of us kids cheered, high-fived, and jumped around like we had Jell-O down our pants. We were so glad to hear this news.

"And don't worry," the desk clerk went on, "the hospital has taken the liberty of calling a cab for them, so you'll see them when you get back. Oh, and kids? Break a leg."

"Thank you," we chorused.

"Thanks for the message," Steve added. After whispering something to Bebe, she turned around and went back to the elevator. Then he turned to us and said, "Okay, kids, let's get this show on the road."

Man, you've never seen anyone run out of that lobby and onto that bus faster than we did.