Rachel and the Riot by Susan Martins Miller

Author:Susan Martins Miller [MILLER, SUSAN MARTINS]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-62836-231-2
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2004-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

At the Hospital

Inside the main hospital door, Sam and Rachel stopped for a moment to catch their breath. They dropped into a pair of empty wooden chairs away from the door.

“Are you all right, Sam?” Rachel asked. “You look pale.”

Sam raised one hand to the side of his head. “I have an awful headache. I think I got kicked.”

“I couldn’t even see what happened to you,” Rachel said.

“I got knocked over, that’s all. I should have been paying better attention to what was happening.”

“Don’t be silly,” Rachel said. “You couldn’t help what happened.”

Sam leaned his head back against the wall behind him and closed his eyes.

“Maybe you need a doctor,” Rachel said. “The cut on your cheek is still bleeding.” She reached into the pocket of her pastel plaid skirt for a handkerchief and dabbed at the cut.

“I’ll be all right,” Sam responded, wincing a little bit. “But we should try to find out if Papa is still here.”

Rachel surveyed the lobby. It was crowded. Sam and Rachel were not the only ones who had come to the hospital to escape the chaos of the streets. They had gotten the last two empty chairs.

“You stay here,” Rachel said, “and I’ll try to find out if Papa is still here.”

Across the congested room was a large wooden desk painted green, and behind the desk was a flustered nurse. Nearly two dozen people swarmed around her trying to ask their questions. Some of them were scraped and bruised and probably wanted a doctor. Others were just asking a lot of questions. The nurse kept looking down the hall as if she wanted to escape.

Rachel went and stood at the desk. She knew that the nurse at that desk would have a big black book that would show whether her father had signed out and left the hospital. Ordinarily it was a simple thing to approach the desk and ask about Papa. But Rachel could not get anywhere near the desk that day. The nurse would not pay attention to a small ten-year-old when twenty adults were pressing in on her. Rachel tried to figure out if there was a line so she could get in it. Three times she was pushed away by someone much bigger than she.

Finally she turned back to Sam. He had not moved the whole time she was gone.

“The nurse is too busy,” Rachel reported. “I think I’ll go up to the ward on the third floor. That’s where Papa usually sees his patients. You can stay here.”

“No,” Sam said, “we should stay together.”

Inwardly, Rachel was relieved Sam wanted to stay with her.

Sam pulled himself to his feet, and they started down the hall to find the dark stairs that would take them to the third floor. At the top of the stairs they turned left and continued on to the ward. Sam cautiously pushed open the door to the large room. Sixteen beds were arranged in neat rows down both sides of the ward. Several nurses made their way swiftly from one bed to the next to make sure the patients were comfortable.

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