Angel

Chapter 21

I woke up from my glorious nap at about 5:30. Zack was still on the case with his dad, so I was lonely.

I decided to call Dr. Pasterik to ask him about that new room I wanted. I didn't know if they had that kind of thing at this hospital. I didn't even know what hospital I was at.

I pressed the nurse button and Darlene almost immediately appeared.

I asked her to get Dr. Pasterik. She turned to leave after that, but I stopped her.

She was like a maid or a slave. She got ordered to do things, and she would instantly try to fulfill the orders with this attitude as if she was frightened. She acted like she would get punished if she didn't finish the tasks quickly enough. It was odd, and I was curious.

"Why do you always act like that?" I asked.

"Like what?" She sounded confused and nervous.

I realized that I hadn't made what I wanted to know clear.

"You go so quickly. You always act so nervous."

"Oh. I don't know."

She left after that. She didn't really answer my question. In fact, she completely avoided giving me a truthful answer.

I ignored it. She was the least of my concern.

Dr. Pasterik came in maybe ten minutes later.

"What do you need?"

"Can I get a better room? You know, like one of those ones you see on TV. The ones that the teens that have to live at the hospital stay in. I want one of those."

My voice was pretty serious, but he started to laugh.

I sat there and stared at him with a straight face. I didn't really understand what he got amusement out of.

"We've got those upstairs. You could have the available one if you really want it. Just know that you have to do all the decorating. We don't provide any, sadly."

That got me excited, and I started to smile.

"That's okay! Thank you! Are there any other teens up there?"

Dr. Pasterik continued to laugh.

"You should always be this happy, Vanessa. Anyways, there's one. Ana is her name. I think you two will get along."

"Why's that?"

"You'll see. Get ready to move. We'll do it tomorrow morning, and afterwards we'll get you that heart monitor."

"Okay. Will I be able to leave the hospital and get my things to decorate?"

"I'll think about it," he said, smiling. He was standing near the door now, getting ready to leave.

"Get a good night's rest, Vanessa."

He opened the door and left.

I was back to my lonely self once again.

***

I ate a dinner of mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets. I was starving; I couldn't wait for Zack to get back.

He texted me and said that he would be back late.

I decided to go ahead and sleep. He'd be here tomorrow, I figured.

I turned the TV to cable and found a channel I liked. None of them were that good, but I decided on Disney Channel.

I let the sounds of it drift me into sleep.