Chapter 16

The rest of the weekend was very quiet. I wandered around the public areas of the hospital and bought a couple of doorstop novels from the ‘Hospital Friends’ outlet, then spent most of the time reading them.

Sunday afternoon Mum, Dad and Janey paid a visit. Mum and Dad seemed grim and taciturn, so Janey and I took up the slack by teasing each other. They left, but Mum promised to return the next morning to collect me after I was discharged.

Monday morning Dr Kelleher came to see me. “Bad news I’m afraid,” she admitted. “Professor Palatinsky went over my head to ask for more sets of EEG readings. Because he’s a world expert and good relations with him reflect well on the hospital, I’ve been asked,” she made an air quotes gesture, “to cooperate. I rang your parents to warn them that you’re not being discharged until this evening.”

Dr Kelleher hooked me up with electrodes and started the EEG machine recording.

While I was being recorded, a nurse came in and changed the dressings on my face. “Everything’s looking good,” she said. “The wounds are nice and clean with no sign of infection. I’d leave the dressings on until tomorrow then go without.”

Fortunately I still had most of my second doorstop novel to read so I wasn’t too bored.

Late afternoon Dr Kelleher returned and hooked me up to the EEG machine again. “This is a complete waste of time,” she sighed. “Your readings are absolutely normal again.”

Some time after the EEG, Alex Ferguson appeared in my hospital room’s doorway. She had changed out of her school uniform and looked absolutely stunning as usual.

“Hi,” she said. “Is it okay if I come in?”

“Any time,” I replied, trying not to appear too eager.

Alex scrutinised the dressings on my face. “Brenda told me about what happened. She feels really bad about raking your face. She said it was instinctive.”

“No harm done. The doctor reckons there won’t even be any scars.”

“Good,” approved Alex with genuine feeling. Then a look of curiosity crossed her face. “So you’ve been in Brenda’s bedroom. I’ve never seen it. What’s it like? Is it all black and gothic with heavy metal posters?”

The surfeit of pink had been unforgettable. “I didn’t really see anything,” I lied. “It was night.”

Alex looked disappointed. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said. “Will you be back at school soon?”

“I don’t know. Physically I’m well but these sleepwalking episodes are very troubling. I’m hoping as few people as possible learn about about them.”

“I’m afraid I may have some bad news for you,” Alex admitted. “My dad’s looking very pleased with himself and keeps muttering ‘I’ve got him’. I think he’s referring to you.”

“Thanks for the warning. Do you have any idea what he might have planned for me?”

“No, I’m afraid not.” Alex leaned over and kissed my cheek, giving me a waft of deliciously feminine perfume. “Please be careful,” she said, almost in a whisper. “I’d hate it if anything bad happened to you.” Then she turned and left, leaving me with a strange empty sensation.

It was quite late when my parents turned up, accompanied by Richard Masson, so I even got an evening meal out of the hospital.

“Are you ready to leave?” Richard asked.

“Yes, I’ve just got to put my things in my bag.”

“Please hurry,” he urged.

“Do as he says,” seconded my mum.

Thirty seconds later I was ready to go. Richard Masson led the way out of the hospital room.

“Don’t we have to wait for Dr Kelleher?” I asked.

“No,” said Mum. “She approved the discharge and it was signed off by the Discharge Team this afternoon. But it’s important we get out of here as quickly as possible. I’ll explain when we’re outside.”