The nurse arrived. Same one as last time, and she rolled her eyes a little bit when she saw me. I must have looked okay—surly and glaring, actually—because she went to Angelyn first, took her temperature and blood pressure, checked her bandaged cuts and scrapes, and announced that she needed to stay under observation overnight. Angelyn actually looked relieved, like she felt better with someone watching over her.
I got my temperature and blood pressure taken, then was poked and prodded, which made my chest hurt even worse. The nurse frowned. Then made me stand behind a bone scanner.
“Cracked ribs,” she said.
“What does that mean?” I said.
“You’ll need to rest.”
So I had to stay in the infirmary overnight, too. She also prescribed extra calcium supplements. Apparently, my non-Earth bones were so weak they’d taken damage from the pressure on the rope, and I was lucky they hadn’t all broken and collapsed my lungs and killed me. The nurse asked what made me think I could tie a rope around my middle and climb up the side of a mountain? I answered, Because it worked?
The overnight nurse stayed in her office, leaving Angelyn and me on our beds in the infirmary, with the lights out, only a glow coming in from the hallway.
I had to admit, lying flat on my back, perfectly still, felt kind of good. I still hurt when I breathed. Cracked ribs, right.
“Polly? Are you awake?” Angelyn whispered from her bed.
I blinked, startled; I’d been almost asleep. “Yeah.”
“I just want to say thank you. You saved my life. So thank you.”
Saved her life—sounded very momentous. Huge, really, and in a way, scarier than falling. I didn’t want to be responsible for something so important. I’d helped her because I could, because that was what you did—helped people. At the colony, we couldn’t survive without working together.
“I’m really glad you’re okay,” I whispered back.
I heard her shuffle as she arranged her blanket, rolled over, and settled in to sleep.
Now, I was awake, totally, and all I could think about was the pressing ache across my ribs when I breathed. I couldn’t believe how much had happened over the last two days; it all seemed hazy now. Like it had happened in some video about someone else. Angelyn hadn’t really fallen, and I hadn’t really saved her. The rockslide hadn’t really happened.
But it had. Against all odds, it had.
* * *
The next morning, I demanded to be set free, cracked ribs or not. I didn’t have a concussion, I wasn’t bleeding, I didn’t want to be here anymore. The place smelled like a hospital and my stomach was turning. I promised the nurse I’d rest, and I got a note in my file excusing me from PE for the next two weeks. Angelyn was still asleep. She’d be fine, but the nurse would let her stay as long as she needed to.
Another note from Mom arrived on my handheld. Once again, Stanton must have reported what had happened immediately. Was she sending my mom reports every week? Every day? Why did that give me chills? The note wasn’t long, just saying that she was glad I was all right, and that she was proud of me for “stepping up” when someone needed help. Again, I felt baffled. Why wouldn’t I? Wouldn’t anyone?
I went to the dining hall for breakfast.
As soon as I entered the room, people looked at me, even more than normal. Even worse than after the motorcycle incident. Their heads bent together as they whispered. I blushed. I didn’t really want to know what they were saying. Ladhi and Ethan were sitting together, and I joined them. Charles wasn’t here.
“Hey, it’s the big hero!” Ethan said in greeting.
I scowled. “Is that what everyone’s saying?”
Ladhi stared. “Polly, of course they are. I was there, I saw the whole thing—it was amazing. You were amazing!”
“It was … I just…” I slouched and stared at my toast. “I didn’t do it to be amazing. I didn’t even really think about it.”
“It still makes you a hero,” Ethan said. “Maybe even more of a hero.”
“Is Angelyn okay?” Ladhi asked. “No one’s seen her.”
“She’s still in the infirmary,” I said. “She was in shock.” My shock seemed to be delayed—I was starting to feel twitchy. “Did any of that seem weird to you guys?”
“Which part of it?” Ethan said. “Because the whole trip seemed pretty weird to me.”