by kc dyer
Logan bit back a sharp retort. He had to remember the kid was only trying to help.
“Not a chance, buddy. I think you’re right that she’s looking for something that’s important to her. I mean, it’s a big risk to run away, especially when…”
“When what?”
“When you… uh… know what big trouble you are going to get in if you are caught.” Logan grabbed the notebook and stuck it into the tiny circle of light made by the chart lamp. “I just need some kind of clue as to where she’s going. It’s got to be in here.”
Kip lay back against his pillow, and yawned cavernously. “Well, I still think she’d want to go where somebody loves her,” he said sleepily.
Logan nearly dropped Abbie’s notebook. He reached over and grabbed one of Kip’s feet under the covers.
Kip’s eyes flew open. “Hey!” he said indignantly.
“Listen, kid, I think you’ve got something. Who is the one person Cleo loves most in the world?”
“Her grandma,” Kip said promptly. “And her dog, Zoë.”
Logan rapidly flipped through the notebook. “She wrote something about her grandma, Kip. I know it’s in here somewhere…”
November 14
Kip G.
Dear Abbie,
You said my journal entry for today should be about my friends. At school I don’t have too many friends. Sometimes the other kids don’t get why I can’t play rocket dodgeball or anything, and it’s hard to hang out with kids if you want to play rocket dodgeball but you can’t. So, today I’m writing about the kids at the hospital here who are my friends.
The best thing about this place is that there are other kids around. Some aren’t very friendly, but some are. Like Spencer from last year. He was pretty friendly. Except that time he punched me for talking too much. But mostly he was friendly.
There are two other kids in here right now, plus a baby in ICU, but that isn’t our ward so it doesn’t count. I tried to talk to the girl yesterday but I think she was sleepy. She doesn’t like poker, that’s for sure. I checked her door again. It says her name is Cleopatra, but she said that for the last time didn’t I know that almost everyone here is an idiot and they got her name wrong and would I get lost. So I tried to talk to the other guy, but he was busy with the janitor patching the big hole he kicked in the wall of your office.
At least I can tell you what he looks like. He’s a bit scary looking. His name is Logan. He had white dust in his hair from the work he and the janitor were doing, and he is at least seven feet tall, so he must be a teenager. He seems cool, but he was very mad about having to fix the wall, so I left. I hate getting punched.
And that’s it. Two kids plus me.
From, Kip.
November 14
Jacqueline H-M.
5:17 p.m.
Dear Ms. Zephyr,
For my journal entry today I am writing to protest the withholding of my homework. I assure you, three days is more than enough recovery time from a minor fainting spell. As you know, it was NOT a heart attack. I am very ready to get back to work. Please relent.
Oh, and while I am down on my metaphorical knees, could you also help arrange the return of my red sweater? It’s always freezing in here. Thank you.
Yours impatiently,
Jacqueline
November 14
Jacqueline H-M.
6:04 p.m.
Dear Ms. Zephyr,
I have just completed the final page of Moby Dick and in addition to having no homework to work on, I now officially have nothing to read. As it seems you have gone home for the day, and I can’t even locate an old Reader’s Digest in this godforsaken place, I will be forced to read the contents of this notebook.
Jacqueline
Evergreen Hospital
X-Ray and Laboratory Services
Office: 101-45l6-7890
November 14
To: Ms. Abigail Zephyr,
Evergreen Hospital,
Education Department Head
Re: In-hospital school work schedule change
Dr. Valens has requested that Kip Graeme be withdrawn from any schoolwork tomorrow morning, due to a scheduled series of blood tests. Kip will be able to resume full activity by tomorrow afternoon. Thank you.
S. Isaacs, Lab Tech.
November 15
Jacqueline H-M.
8:59 a.m.
Dearest Ms. Zephyr,
Thank you so much for relenting! I will start on the math that I have missed right away. Will have it in to you by this afternoon, a full day before it is due, I hope you note!
However, I have another request to make. Due to your slow acquiescence on the homework front, I read all the way through this notebook. I must say I am feeling quite hurt by Mr. Kemp’s journal entries. Could you please ask Mr. Kemp to cease referring to me as “the little weirdie”? First of all, “weirdie” is not a word. My name is Jacqueline Hornby-Moss. He may refer to me as Ms. Hornby-Moss or even Ms. Jacqueline if his tiny brain can’t manage the whole thing.
And secondly, though I am indeed physically smaller than he is, I am most assuredly not little. Adine Terrepini at my school wears a size zero and I wear at least a size three — higher on my fat days. And not only that, I checked Mr. Kemp’s chart when he was playing Xbox (as usual) and discovered that he is a mere fifteen months my senior. Less than a year and a half is hardly enough to give him such a superiority complex.
Thank you for allowing me to redress this misunderstanding.
~Jacqueline Hornby-Moss
Postscript: Ms. Zephyr, when you do have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kemp, you might also mention to him that Carl Sagan would say no such thing as “I’m outta here”? I speak from experience as he was an acquaintance of our family and, according to my Nona, he was a deeply thoughtful man.
Dr. Rob Valens
Evergreen Family Medicine
Office: 101-45l6-7890
November 15
To: Ms. Abigail Zephyr
Evergreen Hospital Education
Department Head
Re: Recommendation regarding course methodology for patient
Regarding your question about Kip Graeme’s schoolwork, I must say I am in hearty agreement about allowing him to use his laptop computer in the hospital. As I mentioned to you on the telephone yesterday, his blood tests indicate that his renal function is rapidly deteriorating and I have a very real concern that he may reach a crisis point in the next short while if the response to meds does not improve. Any action we can take with his school work to redirect his attention from the additional daily blood testing will be a welcome distraction, I am sure.
Rob Valens, MD.
November 15
Logan K.
Noonish
Hey Abs,
Finally broke down and talked to the new kid with the kidney problem. Friendly little guy, but a bit of a pest. I hadn’t known him sixty seconds before he was showing me his scar. I guess when it’s emergency surgery they just slice your whole side open to get that thing out, huh?
I felt kinda sorry for the kid after that, plus I remembered I hadn’t done my journal entry for today, so I took a few notes. (Hey, you can get back up off the floor, Abbie. I am only joking.)
Anyways, here’s the scoop for you because we all know — repeat after me, children — a completed journal entry means unrestricted TV, right? Right.
Me: What’s your name, kid?
KK: Kip. But around here, people call me the Kidney Kid.
Me: That’s pretty stupid.
KK: I was born with only one kidney that didn’t work so well. And I think it’s because my name is Kip. It’s like three Ks, right? Kip the Kidney Kid.
Me: Oh, God.
KK: Oh, sorry Logan, are you in pain?
Me: Uh — it’s okay. When you leave it’ll pass.
KK:
You’re pretty funny, Logan. How tall are you anyway? I guess seven feet. Want to see my scar?
Me: That’s too many questions, kid. And I’m only six foot one.
KK: Wow. Six foot one is pretty tall. Do you call Jacqueline “kid” too?
Me: No. Her I call “Weird.” Because she is. She’s a little like you, kid.
KK: Uh, thanks.
Me: And I think I hear her calling you.
KK: Really? Maybe she wants to play poker.
Me: Oh yeah, I heard her say that. You’d better go see her right away.
KK: Okay. Bye, Logan.
Me: Nice scar, by the way.
KK: Thanks, dude.
Me: Don’t call me dude. Get outta here.
And that’s it, Abbie. Now you know all about the little pest. That I can sic him on the little weirdie is the best part. They’re both irritating so they suit each other. And now… I do believe it’s time for Sports Central on ESPN.
Logan
November 18
Jacqueline H.-M.
11:00 a.m.
Dear Ms. Zephyr,
Feeling much better today. I took the liberty of going back to change my signature from my November 12th journal entry. I must have still been under the effects of the medication after the fainting spell.
It was Remembrance Day on the 11th but I guess I didn’t notice. In today’s mail I received an interesting letter from my Nona. The two people I miss most in here are my dog Zoë and my Nona.
The letter was only a week late — not bad for Nona! She sent me a poppy. Not a real poppy — a plastic poppy. Nona was my age when World War II was on. She always says she has a soft spot for a man in uniform. Since you asked us to write our journal entry on the most influential person we know, I am working on the story of my Nona. I should have it completed by this afternoon, even though it is not due until tomorrow. This will be a first where my Nona is concerned. She is just about always late for everything. She says now that she’s retired she’d rather have fun than always be on time.
And Abbie, I wonder if you could arrange for me to have my watch back?
Jacqueline (formerly known as Cleo)
November 18
Logan K.
Sometime after noon (With serious writer’s cramp.)
Okay, Abs, this is the last of the freakin’ apology letters. Ten letters. Ten! I never knew there could be so many people in charge of one puny hospital. I had to borrow paper from your desk to write ’em, by the way.
I am never kicking anything in this place again. Too many consequences. Please tell me all this writing counts for my journal entry today. My hand looks like an owl’s claw — I can’t write any more.
L .
Journal Entry
November 18
My Favourite Influential Person: Sophia Clement-Jones
by Jacqueline Hornby-Moss
If asked the question about their favourite person of influence, many people would pick a famous movie star or political figure (and others would even pick some stupid rugby star that nobody has ever heard of), but I choose my grandmother. Her name is Sophia Clement-Jones and she is a very special and influential person.
Most grandmothers bake cookies, but mine doesn’t. My grandmother lives in Clearwater these days, but she spent her whole career working as an astronomer in the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. Countless interesting things happened at that observatory. Famous astronomers like George Ellery Hale and Edwin Hubble made many discoveries using the Mount Wilson telescope. Of course, in those days women were not really allowed to call themselves astronomers (even though many were and my Nona was one of them).
Nona was working at the observatory when Walter Baade discovered the remnants of Keplar’s supernova, which actually occurred way back in 1601. She says it was a very exciting time, seeing history so far in the past happen right before her eyes. Of course, she was only classified as an assistant then.
It wasn’t until 1981 that the observatory hired its first woman telescope operator. I’m so proud my Nona was one of the first women who worked in astronomy. She didn’t get her degree from university until she was sixty-two. But then they had to call her an astronomer. If my mother wasn’t insisting I try out for the Miss Evergreen pageant, I would consider studying astronomy immediately after I finish high school. My sister plans to be a doctor if acting doesn’t work out. My mother thinks that I should consider taking a stand for world peace, because it sounds better in pre-pageant interviews, but I would rather be an astronomer. Besides, all the contestants take a stand for world peace. But I digress.
Nona is also a very good grandmother. She always remembers my birthday (though usually a few days late) and she sends me letters all the time. When I was ten she gave me a puppy named Zoë. Zoë reminds me of Nona because they both have white hair and very bouncy personalities. I miss them both so much.
My Nona has a computer and knows how to send e-mail, too. After mastering that big telescope, she says no little computer is going to get the best of her.
What I appreciate most about Sophia is how she always finds time to spend with me. Even when everyone else is busy, she is always around. And when I am having a bad day, she says: “Cleopatra, just remember to be yourself and keep watching the stars.” So I do.
by Jacqueline Hornby-Moss (but known to her Nona as Cleopatra)
6
Logan slammed the notebook down on the bed beside Kip.
“That’s it! It’s the essay Abbie made us write on the most influential person. Listen — she says it right here. ‘Most grandmothers bake cookies, but mine doesn’t. My grandmother lives in Clearwater these days, but she spent her whole career working as an astronomer in the Mount Wilson Observatory in California.’”
He closed the cover of the notebook with a snap.
“I think you’ve got it right, Kipper my boy. Cleo’s gone to Clearwater.”
Kip looked wide awake again. “Are you going to go get her tomorrow, Logan? Are you going to bring her back safe to the hospital?”
Logan’s stomach clenched and the excitement of finding the clue he was looking for drained away. Cleo was hours ahead of him. Even if she was really only going to see her grandmother, he had a long way to go to find her. And if she was headed somewhere else — well, he couldn’t even let himself think of that possibility.
“I think I’d better go now,” he said quietly. “I’m pretty sure there’s a bus I can catch that will get me there by morning. It’s not a big town. I’ll be able to find her, no problem at all.”
Kip leaned forward and began pulling at the IV tape on the back of his hand.
“Whoa, hold on there, buddy. What do you think you’re doing? If you bump that wire, you’ll have the nurse back here in a flash, and that, my friend, will wreck everything.”
“I want to come with you to find Cleo,” said Kip, still peeling tape.
Logan reached over and pulled Kip’s hand away. He took a deep breath to keep himself from yelling at the kid. “You can’t come, Kip,” he said, as calmly as he could. “If we want to find Cleo, I’m going to have to move like lightning.”
He looked straight into the kid’s eyes. “If you leave the hospital, you’ll get really sick. You know that. But I can’t do this without you. You can be my partner, okay?”
Kip’s face brightened. “Your partner? Really?”
Logan nodded. “But we’re going to have to work really fast, dude. We figure she’s headed to Clearwater, right? So you can help me find her when I get there.”
He grabbed Kip’s laptop computer and flipped open the lid. Kip’s face lit up with a reflected glow as Logan thrust the computer into his lap.
“First, we need to find out if I still have time to catch a bus before the station closes. Can you look up the bus schedule?”
Kip nodded and began tapping keys. Logan looked at his watch. “It’s eleven thirty-five. Are there any more buses tonight?” H
e paced back and forth between the bed and the window.
“It says here that the last bus leaves Evergreen at midnight, Logan.” Kip looked up from the screen. “Wow, that’s really late.”
“But does it go to Clearwater?”
“Uh,” Kip ran his finger down the screen. “Yes! But it stops a whole bunch of places first.”
“Okay, that’s really good news.” Logan stopped pacing and came to stand at the head of Kip’s bed. “So here’s the thing. My Blackberry is broken from the time I dropped it down the stairs, but I know there is an internet terminal at the bus station in Clearwater. My team went there last year for a rugby game. I think the café is called ‘The Bean’ or something.”
Kip tapped the keys again. “It says here there is a ‘Bean and Gone Café’ at the Clearwater Bus Terminal with internet access.”
“Yes!” Logan clenched a fist. “Soon as I get there, I’ll send you an e-mail. And while I’m on the bus, you can look up any information you can find on Cleo’s grandma. Between the two of us, we’ll find her in no time.”
“Okay,” said Kip. “But maybe we should use instant messaging. It’s faster.”
“You’re right, you’re right. Okay, my e-mail address is [email protected]. ‘Rugbyrox’ is one word, and ‘rox’ is spelled with an ‘x’. Got that?”
“Yeah, I got it. As soon as you e-mail me, I’ll log into IM and we can talk on-line.” He beamed, and Logan was suddenly glad he’d included the kid. He might actually end up being a help.
“Great. Okay, when I get there in the morning, I’ll head over to the coffee shop and e-mail you. So just pretend to Abbie like you’re doing homework and keep your e-mail connected, okay? That way if Cleo contacts you during the night, you can fill me in.”
Kip nodded enthusiastically. “Are you going to put the notebook back on Abbie’s desk?”
Logan shook his head. “Nah, I want to read through it some more. Maybe it has an address or something in the back. I’ll have plenty of time. It’s going to be a long bus ride.” He looked at his watch again. 11:45 p.m. And it was a fifteen-minute run from the hospital to the bus station… when he was in shape. “I gotta go, buddy. Watch for my e-mail, okay? It’s really important. Just like ‘M’ in James Bond, right?”