(eng) K. A. Applegate - Animorphs 50 by The Ultimate

Author:The Ultimate [Ultimate, The]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Marco swept his cape in a glittering arc. "We are," he said quickly.

James and the girl gave him a long, level stare.

"My infamous charm doesn't seem to work in this place," Marco said under his breath.

Then there was a sound from the room behind James.

"See you later," James said. The pale blonde girl nodded and wheeled back toward us.

James turned abruptly and wheeled into the room. Again, we followed.

A boy lay on the bed closest to the door. His dark hair had been badly cut, at places way too close to his head. His eyes followed James closely. The rest of him was still.

James wheeled himself over to the boy's bedside. "The nurse is coming with your medicine, Pedro. Don't worry. It'll be here soon. You want to hear some music?"

Pedro's eyes closed then opened.

"Rock?"

Pedro stared, unblinking.

"Country western?"

Pedro's eyes flickered, the lashes fluttered.

"Country western it is," James said, wheeling himself over to the radio. "Though I don't understand how you can listen to that stuff, man," he leased. "Sure I can't talk you into some Blink 182?"

We backed away from the door.

"What now?" Jake whispered. "How are we going to get through to these kids?"

"We're not." Marco. "They hate us."

"Sorry about the rude reception." It was the girl in sweats. "I'm Collette."

"Hi. I'm Cassie. This is Marco. And this is Jake. We came to entertain but, um, we seem to be going about it the wrong way."

"Yeah," Marco added. "The little kids seemed glad to see us. What's with the big attitude up here?"

Collette began to wheel back toward the group. We walked beside her.

"Let me tell you something," she said. There was no anger or bitterness in her voice. "A disabled kid is like the kitten who becomes a cat. You're a kitten, everybody wants to pet you and play with you. You get a little older, you're just a nuisance. Some of the people here haven't been home in years."

She pointed back toward James's room. "About all he has to look forward to is a nursing home when he's too old for this place. And he's been here since he was a little kid. He got hit by a drunk driver when he was four. His mother brought him in to be operated on and never came back to get him."

"Okay." Marco. "He can have all the attitude he wants."

Jake cleared his throat. I heard what Jake had heard. James, coming out of his room. He wheeled past us and on down the hall.

"Where's he going?" I asked.

"There's another lounge further down the hall. Through those double doors. It's a good place to go if you want some privacy. The door shuts. James spends a lot of time there."

"Think we could talk to him?" I asked.

"You could try," Collette answered. "James isn't too friendly. But he's cool. He's the one who makes sure we get what we need. He's the man. Even the nurses and doctors listen to what he says."

"A leader," Jake said.

"Yeah. He's gone to bat for me a couple of times.

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