Look What I Found!

Ch. 7

The following day, Mikey found his way to the kitchen much better than he thought. He heard laughter already, and when he arrived, he saw that Mike, Ben, and Beverly were already up.

Beverly was the first to spot him, "hi Mikey! I hope you like eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, biscuits, toast-"

"Just be expecting a five-course meal," Mike interrupted Beverly's ramble. Mikey smiled and nodded but winced when his vision went slightly out of focus.

"Are you ok, Mikey?" Ben asked, concern evident in his voice.

"My head hurts, and so do my eye and ribs. I took my meds, but it's going to take a while for them to kick in."

"Would you like to sit down while I get you some ice?" Beverly asked, already getting out of her seat and leading Mikey toward the table.

"That would be nice. Thank you."

As she handed Mikey an icepack, Bill walked through the door with a loud yawn.

"Mike's cooking this morning? Hope you're prepared for the best meal of your life," he gently patted Mikey on the shoulder before standing by Mike and starting up a conversation.

Beverly searched Mikey up and down. "Hey, Mikey?"

"Yea?"

"Weren't you wearing a splint yesterday?"

He looked at his injured wrist, which he had even forgotten about. It was swollen and purple in some areas, and it did hurt, but he didn't think he needed it. It didn't look pretty, though.

"I don't like wearing it. It makes my wrist itch and sweat."

She gave him a sympathetic smile, "but you need to wear it so your wrist can heal properly."

"I know... But I don't think I need to wear it. I mean. It's fine."

"Wait until you hit it on something," Richie claimed, walking through the door, hair wet and a towel draped over his shoulders.

"Hey," Bill called, "you look a lot better and a lot less hungover."

"Practice," Richie called back, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Can I have some?" Mikey asked, not noticing the pot before.

Richie raised his eyebrows, "is it even safe to give kids caffeine? I'm pretty sure there's an entire movie on why you shouldn't give kids caffeine after a certain time in the day."

"Wha-Are you talking about Gremlins?"

"That's the one!"

"Fuck you, old man!-"

"Enough with the old man thing-"

"And I can handle my coffee."

"Well, I don't think we should risk that." Richie made a pouty face at the glare Mikey gave him.

"Come on, Richie. Let the kid have some coffee!" Bill laughed, having turned around to watch the argument in amusement.

"Not until he puts his splint on," he took a long, slow sip of his coffee. He was making slurping noises with one eyebrow raised towards Mikey.

Mikey groaned with his head thrown back before stomping out of the room. They heard him muttering under his breath, and Bill couldn't help but gawk at the absurdity of it all.

"I can't believe that worked."

Richie shrugged his shoulders, "the kid needs his caffeine. He's extra grumpy when he doesn't."