A few days after I went home with Phoebe, I ended up getting sick and my parents sent me to a hospital. I was trapped in that hospital for about a month with nothing to really do. You know what was funny though? The days practically flew by, right out of the window. Before I knew it, half a month had passed. I was slowly getting back my strength and everything else as well. I made sure I asked the nurse, who was taking care of me, to bring me malted milk. She was very kind to me, and chatty in a nice, friendly sort of way. It was a nice break from the typical phony people. Speaking of phonies, you should’ve seen my therapist.
He came to me during this one session, started asking me questions in a very posh voice. You know, like he’s really trying to sound smart. He used these crazy words like deleterious and interminable. I wouldn’t have minded it that much if he did it naturally, but he was faking it so hard you could practically smell the phoniness in the air. Anyway, I didn’t cooperate much to mess with him, but it was hilarious to see how quickly he lost his little accent. It killed me. The problem with phonies is that they’re pretty much everywhere, it’s like the moment you step outside you see one.
THe thing is, I can deal with it a little bit better now. I mean, I got Phoebe, I got old Allie and I even got D. B. They aren’t phonies like the rest of the world. Well, D. B. is a little bit of a phony, but he’s still a good guy. The time I spent here has helped me out quite a bit. I don’t feeling like total crap for starters, and I’m kinda looking forward to be getting out of this place and getting back on my feet. I never imagined I’d be this eager to be surrounded by phonies again. Life is kinda funny when you think about it. D. B had came by with Phoebe occasionally.
Phoebe always gave the nurses that visited me a terrific time, which ended up having the nurses take care of me like i was the president. She left her latest story on my bedside table. Hazel Weatherfield got shot in the leg, but still somehow managed to fend off a mob of gangsters with an empty revolver. Of course, I found that impossible. My mother eventually to see me, along with the Phoebe and D. B. We had a long talk, and I don’t feel much like talking about it. I remember she started crying at one point. I got up and gave her a hug. D. B. and Phoebe joined in quick. It was the least phony thing you could imagine.
I told her that everything would be fine, and that we were all here, Allie too. That made her smile. She looked me in the eyes then kissed me on the cheek. She was still crying, but I swear they were tears of joy. What troubled me though was that Dad wasn’t there. He’s never there for these rare moments. That worried me a little bit. I felt like I should have worried about it, or at least pretended to worry about it, but I didn’’t. Come to think of it, Dad is hardly on my mind nowadays. He’s on my mind even less that he used to be when we were normally together, and that was pretty low.
Don’t ask me why, because I can’t explain it. Anyway, like I said, I was in that little joint for about a month. Boy was I excited when they finally discharged me. It smelled weird in there, I don’t like the smell of hospitals. I mean, the stench kinda makes me want to crinkle my nose and throw it away. I guess I still haven’t gotten used to it yet. It bothered me so much, having to smell it everyday when I was there. One of my nurses, Lily, came to see me before I left. She told me to take care of myself, and to stop making such a mess whenever I ate soup.
She even gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to ask her for her number, so I could see her again someday and hang out. I didn’t ask though. I guess that if I ever wanna see her again, she’ll still be working there, hopefully. The whole family came by to pick me up, even Dad. Which gave me a bit of a shock. I kept looking at his face, to see if I could figure out what he was thinking. He was focusing on the road though, when he wanted to focus on something, he focused on it like no other. That really reminded me of how stubborn Phoebe could be when she wanted to be.
Looks like that’s one trait she got from him. During the long ride home, Phoebe kept asking me about my stay in the hospital. D. B. was quite curious too. I told them about the awful smell, and the weird food, and the funny people I saw, and how I kept spilling my soup by accident, and that nurse Lily, and even about that one phony therapist. Phoebe practically almost died out of laughter when I told her about the phony therapist. I knew she’d crack up at that. D. B. did too, and I saw Mom with a smile on her face through the side view mirror. I smiled as well; everything was just so perfect.
Lots of things were practically perfect nowadays, or maybe it’s just me, I don’t know. I remember Phoebe asking me this one question during the ride. She asked me what I would want to be when I grew up, realistically I mean. I’m sure we both knew that I would never be a scientist or a lawyer in a million years. I didn’t answer her right away so i could take some time to think about it. When i thought about it though, I’d thought I would probably pick a job that would let me interact with children. Not those teenagers, I’m talking about small kids, like that boy I saw walking on the curb one day.
Maybe I could become a teacher or something like that, and I could even keep an eye on the kids as I taught them stuff they would ever need to know. I would never have to see another phony ever again, unless the other teachers were phonies, but in a way I guess it would make me feel like a catcher in rye. It’s kinda funny when I really think about it. I mean, I’m a total failure when it comes to school, just look at my record. However, maybe I could get a job as an English teacher, seeing as how that was the only subject I managed to barely pass, but for now I think I’m going to see where life will take me.