Chapter 28

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Mandy's mother's prediction had been right. Mandy had caught the flu, and for the remainder of the week, she remained confined to her bed, too exhausted to get up and move. Her mother constantly would bring her fresh soup and hot meals, as well as make sure she had plenty of tissues.

While Mandy enjoyed being cared for, she was annoyed with being sick. There was so much she wanted to do in regards to looking for the key, but this terrible sickness had kept her from doing these things. She was forced to remain home from school for the rest of the week and had no chance at investigating.

Iris and Roy called daily, and though they wanted to visit, Mandy told them it would not be necessary. She appreciated the thought, but the last thing she needed was to get them sick as well and end up lonely at school again.

By Friday morning, however, she was feeling much better and was able to move freely around. It seemed her fever had faded, and she became excited, glad to be feeling like her old self again.

Her mother, meanwhile, insisted she stay home from school just in case a fever happened to spring back on her. So for most of the day, Mandy was stuck lounging around her house, her mind frantically trying to figure out where else the key had been hidden.

She recalled Roy and Iris' idea of visiting Jessie in the Year Dimension. It was not a bad idea, but since she had fallen ill, she had not been able to use it because of her mother's constant checking on her. Now that she was feeling better, however, she wondered if she might be able to make use of it again.

Mandy pulled out the Time Precedent from her dresser and glanced at it. While she was tempted to use it immediately, she knew with no doubt her mother would be checking on her again soon, and she secretly wished she would have Roy and Iris to talk to about it after her journey.

Suddenly, Mandy was hit with an idea. She carefully placed her a Time Precedent away and walked down the stairs, finding her mother working frantically at her laptop.

"Feeling okay, Mandy?" she asked.

"Great," Mandy told her. "Actually, if it's okay, could I invite Roy and Iris over after school this afternoon for a few hours or so."

"But your father is picking you up later," her mother reminded her.

Mandy groaned, missing when her parents lived in the same household and life was much simpler. But that life was far gone now.

"Can't he pick me up a little later like after dinner?" Mandy suggested.

Her mother sighed, and though Mandy knew her mother would rather Mandy stay with her all the time, she also believed Mandy's father should still get some time to see her.

"I suppose I could call him," she said. "When he hears you have friends coming over, well, I think he'll understand."

"Thank you, Mom!" Mandy exclaimed, rushing back upstairs.

"I still want you resting though!" her mother called from downstairs. "You're still not completely well, you know!"

Mandy ignored her mother's comment and leapt onto her bed, pulling out her phone. She knew Roy and Iris were most likely in class, but she guessed they'd check their texts some time before school was over.

She quickly sent a short text asking if they'd like to come over to her house after school for "investigation purposes." After that was taken care of, she set her phone down and tried catching up on homework assignments that her mother had picked up from school.

A little after noon, during lunchtime, Mandy supposed, she got s response back from both claiming they would come directly after school to her house. Mandy grinned excitedly, hoping she'd be able to find Jessie in the Year Dimension.

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