Book 1-Alex Bishop and the North Side Detectives

Continue Alex Bishop and the North Side Detectives

     The next day, Dawn, Fletch, Glenna and Lee came trooping into Alex's room with Christmas gifts in their arms.  Alex was sitting up in bed eating his lunch with his left hand, a wide grin spread across his face when he looked up and saw his friends. 

     "Alex!"  Dawn cried.  "Do you need some help with that?" she said, dropping the presents down on one of the chairs in the room.  "No thanks.  Actually, I'm ambidextrous."  Alex said modestly.  "That's too bad."  Lee said with a grin.  "Now you don't have an excuse not to do your homework."  Alex chuckled.

     "You look pretty good,"  Fletch said, pulling up a chair.  "Thanks.  The nurse took my head bandage off this morning and my headache is gone," he said, taking another bite of macaroni and cheese, then looking over at the presents.  "How about you take my gifts over to my house and we can open our presents to each other after I get out of here."  "We can do that,"  Dawn said smiling at him.

     Alex put down his fork having finished his meal, and pushed his tray aside and stared around at his four friends.  "Thanks for being there for me," he said nodding.  "You thanked us yesterday."  Lee replied with a snicker. "I did?  Man, I must have been really out of it.  I don't remember that."

     "Did I thank you Dawn for calling my parents, ur, after the accident?"  "How did you know I did that?"  Dawn asked in surprise.  Alex chuckled.  "Because your you."  Glenna answered for her.  Dawn stuck her tongue out at her friend, and Glenna giggled.  Then Dawn said, "You're Welcome Alex."  Dawn said with a toothy smile.

     "So, any word on Mr. Piles' killer yet?"  Alex asked eagerly.  "Yeah.  He's back to normal."  Fletch said, nodding at the others.

     Alex was discharged from the hospital three days before school begin again.  Max helped Alex into the house and onto the sofa.  Due to the fact that Alex's right arm and left leg were in casts, crutches were not an option. However,  Max had procured a small electric cart that Alex could steer with one hand, so he could get to his classes. 

     Fletch, Dawn, Lee, Matt, Sam, Nick and Glenna were knocking on Alex's front door within in a half an hour of his arrival.  Fletch eyed Alex's cart longingly.  "I want one of those," he said, sitting down behind the wheel.  Lee rolled his eyes at Alex, and he chuckled.  And Glenna gave Fletch a "You're being insensitive" look.

     "You have to have broken bones or otherwise be incapacitated to use on,"  she said with her arms crossed.  "It might be worth it."  Fletch said, a look of glee on his face.  Then, realizing Glenna was probably right about the insensitive thing said, "Sorry Alex; especially when he saw the look of aghast on Glenna's face.

     Alex chuckled again.  "That's okay Fletch, he told him.  "This is really convenient."  Dawn said, admiring the rather large basket bolted between the handlebars.  "All your books should fit inside that."  Alex gave her a disgruntled look.  "I'm going to look like an old lady tooling around in that thing."  Max cleared his throat while everyone else, but Dawn laughed.  "Sorry Dad."  Alex said, ashamed of himself for making the comment.

     "That's okay Alex.  If I were your age, I'd probably feel the same way.  "Hey!  Watch it with that kind of talk," a shaky voice said from the doorway, as Mrs. Books and Mr. Wells came into the room.  Mrs. Books leaned down and planted a kiss on Alex's cheek. 

     "I certainly wasn't referring to you."  Alex said earnestly, and with an apologetic look at her.  "Don't worry about it," she said, taking a seat beside him on the sofa.  Alex looked up at Mr. Wells.  "Good to see you sir,"  Alex said with his crooked grin in place.