Emerging Compassions

Chapter 34: Not-So-Glamorous Hotel Stay

(Sheen's POV)

By the time we heard Jimmy had slipped into a coma, it was already going on 9pm at night. I was sure by now our parents were starting to get worried about us, and Mrs. Neutron wasn't gonna be happy when she hears about Jimmy. I swear, we had been in that waiting room for the past 4 and a half HOURS! ! Man, I was gonna go insane without anything to do!

Libby apparently saw me squirming around in my seat anxiously, so she rested her hand on my shoulder, gently yet firmly, and scolded, "Sheen, calm down, now... I'm sure everything's gonna be okay pretty soon."

"I can't calm down, Libs! For one thing, I've gone 4 and a half hours without doing anything UltraLord-related! And another thing, my best friend's in a coma! ! ! He could be DYING in there! !" I exclaimed, spazzing out.

"Sheen! ! Get a hold of yo'self! !" she snapped, grabbing my shirt collar to keep me from running off. Dang, that girl is strong, especially since she was gonna have a baby soon! I kept struggling, but it was no use. I finally settled down after about 5 minutes, exhausted, and worried about Jimmy, especially!

"Yeah, that's right, Ultra-Dork! Either keep it down and stay calm, or I'm gonna do that FOR you! ! !" Cindy put in aggressively, threatening me with her fist. Dang, her hormones must've been raging or something!

"Cin, ease off on him, girl... Besides, it's practically 9 o' clock, an' we need a place t' sleep fo' the night...," Libby told her best friend, taking her hand gently.

"I guess you're right, Libs. Anyway, the hovercar's beginning to run low on fuel, and we need to conserve as much as we can. We should stay at a local hotel tonight," she informed us, getting up from her seat next to Carl and motioning for us to follow.

The rest of us followed suit and retreated out of the hospital, but not without Cindy casting a wistful glance back and whispering, "Hang in there, Jim. We're depending on you to recover..."

She and the rest of us got in the hovercar and she started it up, set the next location somehow, then switched it to autopilot. Shortly afterward, her cell phone began ringing. "I got this one, guys," Cindy told us, and picked it up, saying, "Hello? Yes, this is Cindy; you've got the right number, Mrs. Neutron..."

Carl gasped and whispered, "It's Jimmy's mom! She's not gonna be happy when she hears about Jimmy! Be quiet and listen..."

"Um, here's the thing, Mrs. Neutron...," she continued, growing progressively anxious in her tone of voice, "About Jimmy... He's- he's in the hospital in Phoenix... He had a horrible accident. Well, he got a broken arm, snapped in 2 on his forearm, radius and ulna region, and a moderate concussion. Yes, I'm aware you know what happened before we got back; he must've explained it to you. But what happened after school is another story... Just calm DOWN, Mrs. Neutron! ! Lemme explain: the kids at school were mocking me and Libby for being with child, and I finally couldn't take it anymore, so I quietly ran away to Chile using the jetpack he made me last Christmas. He apparently was concerned about my feelings, so he ran after me, and while on the ledge of the mountain I'd settled on, he inevitably backed too far to the edge, and before I could save him, he fell backwards, breaking his arm and receiving his concussion! He was left hanging by his shirt from a branch on the mountainside, so I swooped down and lugged him to his hovercar. I set the coordinates for Phoenix and rushed him to the hospital there, where he's in intensive care at this moment, ...in... ...a coma... Yes, YES, I'm upset about this, too! ! Okay, Judy, yes, he's in good hands; don't WORRY! ! ! Alright, talk to you later. 'Bye."

"So, what did she say, Cindy?" Carl asked worriedly.

With a long sigh of anxiety, she reported, "She's extremely worried about him, seeing as he's her son and all, but I told her he was in good hands." Cindy then turned to face the direction we were headed and added, pointing at the hotel, "Hey, we're here!"

"Finally! !" I exclaimed, "A nice, warm, cozy place to sleep!"

With that, we all, including Goddard, clambered out of the parked hovercar and headed inside up to the front desk. When we approached, the woman behind it greeted us, saying, "Hello, welcome to United Relaxation Suites! How may I help you?"

Drawing out a debit card from her wallet, Cindy requested, "We'd like 2 rooms, please. Preferably, one with 2 separated sleeping areas and one regular."

She swiped Cindy's card and typed some on her computer, then returned it and 2 room keys to her and said, "You'll just love rooms 709 and 710! Room 709 has a deck and a built in indoor hot tub, plus a kitchen, bathrooms, and plenty of room! Room 710 has similar accommodations, with yet another hot tub, though smaller, and a double sleeping area. Enjoy, and we have wi-fi!"

"Thank you very much, ma'am!" Cindy thanked her, taking the room keys and putting away her debit card. Then she turn to us and instructed, "Let's head on up, guys."

"Do let's!" Carl and I proclaimed in unison. Then, as we headed up the elevator towards our rooms, Carl added, "I hope Jimmy recovers soon..."

Cindy nodded with a worried look as the elevator stopped at the 7th floor and let us out. It wasn't long before we reached our rooms. Then she handed Libby and me a room key and told us, "You 2 take room 709, and Carl and I will take room 710, okay?"

"Sure thing, Cindy," Libby and I replied in unison, and used the room key to head inside while Cindy and Carl did the same.

I had just ran to one of the beds and flopped on it, facing the ceiling, when we heard a knock at our door. "I'll get it, Sheen," Libby informed me, and went over to open it. Standing before her with Jimmy's hypercube was Cindy. "I almost forgot! Don't forget your things!" she put in, pulling all the things we'd need out of it, from our clothes to our bathroom stuff.

Libby took them and thanked her, "Thanks, Cin!" She then shut the door again once Cindy retreated to her room.

"Okay, Sheen," she said, laying our clothes neatly inside the dresser drawers provided, then placing our bathroom stuff and personal items in the bathroom, then returning to the bed I was still laying on and flopped beside me playfully, "Now what do we do?"

"I wanna order room service!" I immediately exclaimed, feeling all hyper, as usual.

"Sheen, it's almost 9:30 at night. We need to get ready for bed and get some sleep," she gently reprimanded me, "B'sides, they're probably closed for the night. And I'm also worried about Jimmy a bit, but Cindy's probably more nervous about his well-being than I am."

"Darn it!" I muttered loudly, sitting upright. Then I added, "Oh, well... We might as well do that." Then I began undressing while Libby retreated to the bathroom to clean up.

Ten minutes later, she walked out wearing a silky nightgown, all pink and frilly. Whoa, BABY! ! She looks HOT! I thought excitedly, a stupid grin spreading on my face. "You look Ultra-AWESOME, Libs! !" I informed her.

She just giggled flirtatiously and commented, "Thanks, Sheen. Go get yo'self cleaned up an' teeth brushed, hon..."

As I went into the bathroom, I glanced out of the corner of my eye at her, hearing her giggle quietly to herself as she climbed into bed. I got myself cleaned up, then returned to bed and climbed in with her.

After a minute or 2, I noted with a slight shiver, "It's a bit chilly, babe. Let's pull up that extra blanket at the end of the bed..."

"Well, no wonder, silly goose! You've only got boxers on!" she replied, giggling while pulling up the more insulating blanket over us.

"That's better. Thanks, Libs!" I thanked her.

"Don't mention it, sweetie. Now let's get some sleep...," Libby murmured, almost half asleep. She must've been in a friendly mood, because she right afterwords began cuddling with me, a favor of which I gladly returned. We fell asleep within half an hour after that.

Even as I slept, I never forgot about Jimmy. Heck, I even dreamed that he was gonna be back to normal the next day that night. I sure hoped that would eventually come true, cuz he's my best friend. During my dream, I felt myself muttering, "Hang in there, Jimmy... You're in good hands."

Before I knew it, morning arrived. I gradually opened my eyes to the bright sunshine shining right in my eyes. Very gently, I shook Libby's shoulder to wake her. "It's morning, Libby," I told her.

"'Mornin', Sheen," she muttered sleepily, rubbing her eyes. Then they flew open, as she seemed to realize something. She sat bolt upright in bed and worriedly asked, "Sheen, how late did we sleep? !"

I turned to face the digital clock right next to us, and saw that it was rather late in the morning. "Ten-thirty, Libby...," I told her, "What's up?"

"Sheen, we're REALLY late fo' school! ! It's 11:30am in Retroville! ! !" she shrieked, flying out of bed and scrambling to get some clothes on. I just sat up and stared, bewildered. "Well, don't just SIT there! Get movin'! !" she scolded, rapidly gathering our things, then added, "Put some clothes on, sheesh! !"

I looked down and felt my face turn beet red. Right then, a knock was heard at the door, followed by the doorknob jiggling. It opened a bit to reveal a cleaning lady, and a downright hot one at that! I just shrieked in embarrassment, causing her to quickly shut the door. Just brilliant... Great! How embarrassing! ! I must've kicked these off during the night! I thought, grimacing, picking up my shorts from the floor, Gotta get dressed, NOW! ! ! With that, I skeedaddled to the bathroom with some clothes and threw them on in a flash. Once I was wearing them, I felt my embarrassment leave me.

We finished picking up our things and ran to Cindy's room. Libby banged on the door and hollered, "Cin, Carl, get yo'selves in gear! ! We missed a TON o' school!"

We then heard her reply, "Sheen, Libby, cool your jets! There's no school today; teacher work day."

"Well," Libby replied worriedly, "We still gotta see how Jimmy's doin'! Aren't ya worried about him? !"

"Of course!" Cindy said, with some rustling around being heard in the room, "C'mon, Carl! Let's go!"

A minute or 2 later, she and Carl emerged with their stuff and the hypercube. We all piled it in, then rode the elevator and hit the lobby soon afterward. We grabbed a couple things from the brunch buffet, then hurried out to the hovercar, hoping against hope Jimmy was recovering fine...