Spy School: Danger is my Middle Name

The Recovery

Ever since the kiss, Erica had barely spoken to me in any way. Our communication with each other had skydived to the core of the earth.

Shortly after Jayden made his subtle comment about the beat drop thingy, I was quickly escorted to the hospital in order to deal with my immense bullet wounds. They weren't fatal, since they didn't hit in my inner organs, but they still hurt. And they also meant I was going to have to spend a while in the hospital for recovery.

So while everybody else on the mission was exploring California, I had to lay down on a bed, listening to the bustling of the people in the hospital, the beeping of the heartbeat monitor, and the drone of the air conditioner.

The only heights of the stay was when my fellow spies came to visit me during my recovery. They had quickly named the hospital 'Rehab center,' making me the 'rehabee'. So not only could they explore California while I moped around, they could also give me a sucky nickname.

Anyway, the first person to visit me, was, of course, Trixie. She had inherited her mother's genes, which meant she was the most caring and motherly type of all the spies together. After all, Catherine was probably the sweetest soccer mom I've seen in my entire life.

It was only after three hours that Trixie came in to visit me. I was currently counting the dust collecting on the floor, so seeing her brightened me up a lot- even though it wasn't her sister that came. It was a Hale, so I was still satisfied.

"Ben, are you feeling well?" Trixie said, laying down on one knee and feeling my forehead. "Looks like you don't have any fever of some sort. That's good. Now let me just check for any signs of other disea-"

"I'm okay, Trixie," I said gently, pushing her hand away. "I can hold down the fort here by myself. I just need company of some sort while I'm over here. Are you in for some chatting?"

Trixie beamed and pulled up a chair. "I'm free until five. Me, Dylan, Jayden, Kylie, and James have a dinner at the best restaurant around here- then tickets to the movie theater for the rest of the night."

I held in the urge to scream 'YOU DON'T HAVE TO FLEX ON ME, OKAY?' and smiled reluctantly. "That sounds nice. Well, how do you think of California so far?"

"It's very similar to Florida, for one. Whitesand beaches, a hot climate, theme park central, you name it. I just think it's a bit more crowded over here."

"Yeah, it is. After all, California has the biggest population of all states in America. Doesn't it have 55 electoral points during the election?"

"Yeah," Trixie says. "That's true."

A small period of silence followed afterward, and Trixie coughed purposefully, pretending to inspect the hospital chair. "Is there anything interesting here that you've found out so far?"

"No, unless you count staring at a blank, white-painted wall and watching dust gather entertaining," I said. "In which you'd be insane if you found that an amusing way to pass your time."

"And you're not insane," Trixie noted helpully.

"Exactly. So I'd prefer I leave this hell of a funhouse as soon as possible, unless it meant I was to die."

Trixie sighed. "To be honest, I really feel bad for you. You're missing out a lot. After all, the dining night we're having is going to be amazing. Is there any way that you could be somehow out by five today?"

"Nope!" Sammy, the nurse who was caring for me, cheerfully said. "He has to be here for at least a few days to fully recover. If you want him to go out with you all tonight, then you're basically asking for him to get some sort of internal injury. It's for his sake."

"Are you sure about that?" Trixie said. "If it's for his sake, then why can't he come with us? Just transport him in a wheelchair, woman! After all, he's going to feel much better if he's with us for the night!"

Sammy retracted in fear, bumping her back against the wall behind her. "I-i'm sorry, but it's against the rules of the hospital to let him out! It's not my choice- it's the state governer's!"

"Actually, that makes no particular sense," Jayden suddenly said, walking into my hospital room. "Hello, it's me, Jayden. I work for the CIA, and so do these two kids over here too."

We all flashed our badges, watching as Sammy's jaw hit the floor.

"And," Jayden continued. "According to my Health and Wellness course in the Academy, recovering from a bullet wound can be successfully done in exactly three hours if prepared well."

"And," Dylan emphasized, strolling into the room. "That's three hours of recovery if you refrain from using any type of medically approved medicine."

"So that means someone could theoretically heal from a bullet wound-"

"-multiple bullet wounds," Trixie interrupted.

"In exactly three hours, if you only use natural products, such as plants, leaves, and grass. But since Ben's been treated with high-quality medicine, he should be in perfect condition to walk out of the hospital right now."

And for the final encore, Jayden took the latest vaccine sirenge and threw it perfectly in aim towards the nurse. It whizzed a millimeter past her head, precisely nailing itself into the wall beside her, causing her to shreik in fear.

"Thank you," Dylan and Jayden said at the same time, and both walked out of the room.

Now it was time for my jaw to drop. They had planned all of that out? Geez, my friends were much better than I thought they were. They actually cared about me, unlike some people. (*cough cough*)

"So therefore, Ben's in perfect condition to come with us," Trixie said, taking my hand and carrying me off my bed. I quickly moved my body into the walking position, and to my surprise, it was relatively easy to move my wound. It didn't even hurt when I accidentally tripped on my shoelace, which had been untied.

"Yo-you can go on, then," Sammy said quickly. "Please, just don't tell my boss. She's going to fire me on the spot."

Trixie winked. "We won't sweetheart. And that's because we're going to have the best afternoon of our lives, and you're not going to be in it."