Is This Smart? (Under editing and revising)

Chapter 3

~Four months earlier~

We have all gathered in Ann's hospital room. I'm standing near the foot of her bed. Ann is near the edge with her legs hanging over the edge and her toes resting on the cold tile floor. She has her crutches situated underneath her arms. It's her first time using them.

"You good?" Jenn asks her, somewhat protectively.

She replies with a quick, "Yeah, I think I should be alright." Then, she brushes some hair out her face lightly with her finger tips.

"Okay, let me know if you need help." Jennifer continues.

With another quick, reassuring response Ann says, "Oh, I will." She grips her crutches tighter. "Why are you guys staring at me? It's so weird."

From behind her, I apologize, "Sorry. We're just making sure you don't, you know, fall..."

With a crack of laughter, Maggie bursts out, "Wow, Chelsea."

"Yeah, thanks for thinking I might fall down. Don't worry guys, I got this" Ann says as she starts to scoot off the edge of the bed. At first she is a little wobbly. We all step forward one step and are ready to help Ann if she falls. But, she shoos us away with a few words, "I got it, I can do it."

Then, Maggie challenges, "Okay, show us then."

"I will." Ann boasts. And, eventually, she does. When she reaches the door she turns and crutches her way back to us. She does this a few more times before exclaiming, "I did it!"

She raises her hands, which are still gripped tightly around her crutches, and claps. Luckily, she regains her balance before she topples over. "Now that takes talent!" She laughs.

I walk up to her and ask sheepishly, "Yeah, can I try?"

"You want to try? But, you don't have a bad leg, like I do." Ann gives me a sly look.

Sweetly, I say, "I know. I'll pretend, I'm good at that, remember?"

"Well, you wouldn't have to pretend though." Ann is confusing me now.

"Wait. What do you mean?" I ask to clear things up.

Informatively, she says, "Do you know that I can kick someone on the back of the leg and make them become paralyzed for a short period of time?"

I look back at Jennifer and Maggie, who both nod at me encourage what Ann just told me. Then, I just shrink back and hide behind Maggie, who lets out a slight giggle.

"Never mind."

Matter of factly, Ann states, "I thought so."

~Later~

We are still in Ann's room a few hours later when the doctor enters and addresses Ann, "Well, Ann, your health status has changed dramatically since you first arrived and, I'd say, you're almost back to full health." He clicks his pen closed and sets it on his clipboard just as turns to leave, but before he exits the room, he adds, "Another six weeks or so, you should be off your crutches in no time. You're a strong girl. You may even get your cast off by then."

With a huge smile plastered across her face, she continues, "Well, that's always good."

Jokingly, Maggie adds in, "Yeah, you wouldn't want to waste the rest of your summer, would you?"

"Well, you girls take care and... enjoy your summer." The doctor says as he walks out.

Politely, Jennifer replies, "Thanks, you too."

After he walks out into the hall, I suggest, "Speaking of summer... how about we go grab some ice cream?"

Maggie starts with an extremely sarcastic remark, "That would be kind of hard, Chelsea. How can you grab ice cream? Your hands would be slimy and cold and--"

I cut her off, "That's not what I meant and you know!! I meant lets go eat some ice cream."

Then, it's Ann's turn to annoy me, on purpose might I add, "You don't really eat ice cream. You kind of swish it around in your mouth, until it melts and everything."

I walk over to Jennifer and grab her hand, "Come on Jenn; they're being mean. Let's go."

Tugging on her arm, we both leave as I hear Maggie call after me, "I was just kidding."

We run across the street as I call over my shoulder, "Don't believe you!"

Once we are safely on the other side, we stop. I ask Jennifer, "Where do you think we can find a good place to eat ice cream?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure, but we will find a place, no worries!" Jenn says back to me, honestly.

I stand up on my tiptoes and look all around, "Do you see anything at all? You're taller then me." I cross my arms.

"No, I don't see-- oh wait!!" Jennifer stops and points somewhere in the distance.

I bounce up and down on my toes, asking excitedly, "What?? Where, Jennifer!?"

Reaching down, Jennifer grabs my hand, "Come on. I see a place that sells ice cream!"

Taking a few steps forward I shout in extreme excitement, "Ooh! I see it too!" I pull on Jenn's arm and we reach the door in a matter of seconds.

"What about Maggie and Ann?" Jenn asks.

While we are running, I huff out, "They'll find us... Eventually." We push open the door and a bells jingle above our heads. A friendly man behind the counter turns, "Hello, there girls. What can I get for the two of you?"

Feeling slightly guilty, I turn and ask Jennifer, "I don't know. Should we wait for the others?"

She agrees, "Well, we did leave them." Just as we hear the bells jingle again, familiar voices and laughs behind us fill the room.

"Hey, thanks for leaving us." I turn around and see that Ann is hobbling through the open door, which Maggie is holding for her. She crutches over to us and exclaims, "I could do this all the time; it's easy!"

"Well, good." Jennifer encourages. Then, she turns to the man behind the counter, "I'll have.... cookie dough. What do you guys want?"

I go next, "I'll have chocolate chip; I'm not a fan of chocolate ice cream, but vanilla, yummm, that's enough for me." 

"I'll have mint Oreo." Maggie decides. I'm not surprised one bit.

And, finally, Ann orders, "I'll have the peanut butter one and a cola. Oh, and, how much are sprinkles?"

The man smiles warmly, "Just fifty cents."

I can feel my eyes widen and my face light up as Ann continues, "I'll take it!"

"Oh, can I have sprinkles too?!? Like.....a lot of them?" I speedily say.

"I'll have them right out in just a sec." He finishes with a smile.

Jennifer thanks the man and suggests, "Come on, let's take a seat." We all move over to a table and we take a seat. Our ice cream arrives promptly and our server tells us to enjoy. At the same time, all of us answer, "We will!" This brings on a round of giggles.

Jennifer takes a bit of her ice cream and, with a sigh, she says, "This is so good."

I take a lick of my cone and some sprinkles fall off, "No! I'm losing sprinkles!" I try to catch them and when I look up I see Maggie sticking her cone towards Ann's face, "Open wide little girl."

Ann swings her arm and says, "Get that out of my face." When she swings her arm, she accidentally knocks the scoop out of Maggie's cone and into her lap.

"Ahhh! That's cold!" Maggie lets out a little shriek.

Jennifer helps her put the ice cream back in her cone, "Here, good as new."

"Thanks! That was cold!" Maggie replies gratefully.

Then, Jenn agrees, "I bet, I bet."

We finish up our ice cream, stay and talk for at least two more hours. It's full of laughter and giggles. No one mentions our adventures of a few weeks ago. All I want to do is forget how Andrea manipulated me into betraying my friends.