"Shhh! People, be quiet!"
"Is she awake?"
"Is she dead is what you should be asking."
"Guys, be QUIET! She's sleeping."
"Aww, how cute."
Briten groaned at the thought of waking up, but opened her eyes, and was surprised to see a
large group of her friends standing in front of her.
"Oh my gosh," she said groggily, and sat up dizzily on her bed. "What are you all doing here?"
she rubbed her eyes. "Why in earth are you here at nine o'clock in the morning?" Briten asked,
pretending to be angry. "I could have slept until noon!"
Her friends laughed. All together, there was six of them; Parker, Gretchen, Brooke, Bridgette,
Alex, and Joey.
"Uh, no to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here? It's Tuesday...and your not in
school... uh, what doesn't seem right here?" Briten asked sarcastically.
Amy rolled her eyes. "We're here to see you, dummy. Your in the hospital, your our frind,
you've never been sick a day in your life, and now you are --- we wanted to see how you were!"
"Believe me, I've been better," Briten remarked.
"Hopefully, you can fight it," Gretchen said, with a smile that looked like it was painted on.
Parker grinned. "Look on the bright side --- you get to eat the hospital food!"
Briten groaned, and threw her pillow at him playfully, laughing with the rest of her friends.
"So," Briten said, changing the subject, "Don't you think Mrs. Osbourne will think it's a little
weird that all seven of aren't at school?"
"Probably. Maybe she'll think there was a mass alien invasion who goes after people with their
name in the first part of the alphabet," Parker replied, smirking.
"Oh, very origonal, Parker. Don't use that as an excuse, it'll only get you to the principal's
office."
"My second home," Parker smiled, only half kidding.
Joey laughed, and patted Parker on the back. "Aw, poor baby, can't stay out of trouble?" She
flinched when she chipped one of her long fingernails on his shoulder.
Briten laughed. Though she had a masculin name, Joey couldn't be anymore feminine. She was
always dressing up, and creating the new fads that went as quickly as they came. Her hair, layred,
was always pinned up, or set down, looking different every day. She was one of the more popular
girls at Bayview High School, but she always knew who her true friends were.
"Parker, what do you have IN that shirt of yours?" Joey asked incrediously, examining her nail.
He grinned and flexed his arm. "Muscles," he replied matter-of-factly, as though it was the most
normal thing in the world.
Briten scoffed, and rolled her eyes. "Right, and when's the last time you've been in the gym?"
Parker lost the smug smile on his face. "Uh...well... Next question!"
Brigette laughed, and began chanting 'Liar'.
Briten giggled, and nodded her head, joining in.
"Okay, okay, so I'm not that buff. Big deal."
"Compared to me, You'r a tree branch!" Alex said, jokingly flexing his stomach muscles, as he
lifted up his shirt so they could see.
Just the the nurse poked her head in, and glanced around, counting. "Six..." the nurse smiled.
"Six minutes till chemotheropy," she said with a wink. "See you there."
Briten smiled as the nurse left. "Yay, chemotheropy," Briten said sarcastically. "Good thing you
all came. If only two of you came, I'd have TWO minutes."
Bridgette laughed.
Brooke just smiled. "Something wrong, Brooke? You havn't said a word!"
Brooke shrugged her shoulders, and put on a smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Briten made a mental note to call Brooke when school got out, and see what was up. "Well,
guys, thanks for coming, but I gotta get going. I've got a date with medicine."
Everyone smiled. Parker, Amy, Bridgette, and Alex gave her a hug, and the other's waved.
Brooke was the last one out. "I'll call you," Briten mouthed as she walked out the door, nodding
on her way.
Briten sighed, and got out of her bed. She was met by a nurse who wheeled her off to the chemo
lab.
Chapter Nine
