Superstar

Chapter 3

Keith felt something... soft? A mattress and a pillow... where was he? One of the people who'd bet on Sendak had jumped him in an alleyway. He'd nailed Keith on the head with a baseball bat... then he'd run into those people...

He opened his eyes with some difficulty, his head throbbing. Ow. That hurt.

"Hello! How are you feeling?"

Keith eyed the-nurse?- with confusion. "What- where-?"

She smiled at him. "You're in the hospital. You passed out on the street, and a couple of citizens brought you in. What happened to your head, do you remember?"

"Um- I got hit with- something. It was an accident," he lied, "Someone was carrying a beam or something, and it- yeah.

"Ah. Do you have someone to call? The doctor will be here in a minute, but I think you'll be released. You've got some bruised ribs and a concussion, but those are both relatively minor."

"Yeah- hold on- do you know- my phone-"

She handed to him. "Here."

Keith hit call on the one out of two contacts that he had and waited as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Pidge, it's Keith."

"Oh, hey. Where have you been?"

"Uh- the hospital, apparently."

"Oh- wait, what?!"

"I passed out in the street. Got hit on the head. Concussion, apparently. You'll probably have to sign for me or something."

"Okay. I'm coming. See you."

"Bye."

Keith hung up as a cheerful woman walked in, smiling at him. "Hello, I'm Dr. Star. I'm just going to check out how bad your concussion is, but I think you'll probably be alright. Do you have a job?"

Keith thought of the streetfighting. "Um- no."

"So this Pidge-"

"Step-sister," he lied.

"I see. And she has a job?"

"Yeah. She looks young, but she's got a job. Is the hospital bill-"

"Paid for."

Keith blinked. "Uh, the concussion might be worse than you think. Did you just say that it was paid for?"

Dr. Star nodded. "By the person who brought you in. I guess he's rich or something and can just... do that."

Keith whistled softly. "Wow."

Dr. Star made a wry face. "You've got that right. Now, let's see. Follow this pencil with your eyes, okay?"

Keith focused with some difficulty on the pencil nearing his face, but he quickly lost it. He was still a little dizzy, and the bright yellow- why was a normal, #2 Ticonderoga pencil so bright, they'd never been that bright before- was making his head hurt.

"Keith?"

"I'm okay." Dr. Star shined a light into his eyes, and he batted at her hand. "Ow!"

"I'm trying to see if your pupils are dilating properly. Stop fighting." Dr. Star clicked the light off. "Alright. You look like you're fine, more or less. Take it easy for the next few days, okay? Don't try any sports, drink lots of fluids and stay away from bright lights, they'll just aggravate your head. If you have any really bad headaches or if you get dizzy to an extreme, call a doctor."