The three of them made their way back through the ward.
‘Agnes is visiting later, and I need to finish all this before she gets on at me again about my sugar levels.’ Mr Peterson took a giant swig from his cup. ‘In the meantime, kid, you’d better hurry up and get to work on uncovering this bloody mystery. If anyone is going to be able to get information out of Nurse Angles, it’s you.’
‘Yes, and the moment you find out anything, you’d better tell me!’ Sharon smiled sweetly, poking Alfie hard in the chest before making her way back to her bed.
‘Let’s give it a day at least, and then I’ll start asking questions.’
His friends didn’t look satisfied by Alfie’s proposal, but he knew this would be a waiting game. A test of patience. Something Alfie found incredibly difficult, but something he knew he’d have to get good at quickly.
‘One step is a step closer …’he muttered to himself.
9
Alice
‘Who’s in that bed, Mum?’
Alice woke lazily from her sleep to see the shadow of a little figure standing outside her bay.
‘What, sweetie?’ A voice from the other end of the room drifted past.
‘Next to Alfie. The curtains are closed. Is someone in there?’
Then the girl started to raise her hand. Alice saw the tiny pearl fingertips grip the material that was keeping her hidden and safe. Everything was moving in slow motion. How on earth was she going to get this girl away? Should she scream? She wasn’t sure her voice could take it, but she had to dosomething.
‘Ruby! No!’ one of the nurses barked. The girl dropped the curtain immediately. ‘Sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to shout. It’s just there’s someone behind there that doesn’t want visitors today.’
Alice could see another silhouette steering Ruby away.Beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead and her heart was thumping in her chest.
‘But who doesn’t want visitors?’ The surprise in Ruby’s voice made Alice’s heart sink. ‘Everybody wants friends, don’t they?’
‘Yes, of course they do. Just not right now. Come over here and show your mum how good you are at Snakes and Ladders, OK?’
Alice watched as the silhouettes faded away but the little girl’s question rang loudly in her ears.
It was her third day on the ward, and Alice realized that the ‘lie back and let the days pass you by’ plan she’d wanted to adopt wasn’t going to be as easy to execute as she’d hoped. In fact, from the very first morning she could see the outline of other patients strolling past her curtains, subtly lingering in the hope they might snatch a look at her. Failing any sightings, the whispers had started, and she’d definitely heard more than a couple of ‘have you seen her yets’ float past. Clearly this wasn’t a ward where you could keep yourself to yourself. Most of the time she managed to ignore it, relying on her old friend sleep to take her out and away from the ward, but sometimes, if the shape of someone lingered a little too long, or stood a little too close to her curtain, her heart rate would spike and anxiety would begin to course through her veins. This, however, had been the closest call yet, and Alice’s breath had barely steadied before she heard the sound of someone else approaching.
‘Alice, dear, I’m coming in if that’s OK?’ Nurse Angles’ face was already poking through the curtain before she’d finished talking. She knew it wasn’t going to be good news by the way the nurse hung tentatively at the foot of her bed, quite the opposite of her normal brash entrance.
‘I know we discussed the importance of physio the other day, and I also know how intimidating being up and about in front of the other patients is for you. So we’ve made a compromise. This is only temporary – just while you build your confidence up – and it’s important you understand that. We can’t do this for ever, OK?’
Alice wasn’t quite sure what she was agreeing to yet, so she didn’t dare make any movement of acknowledgement.
‘When you have your sessions, we’ll ask everyone on the ward to remain in their bays with the curtains closed while we transport you to the female lounge, which we’ve managed to reserve for an hour. It will be just you, the physio and a couple of the nurses, OK?’
Relief and fear swirled in her stomach.
‘We have to get you up and moving, Alice. There’s no room for negotiation about that part.’ Her face was stern. ‘We start now.’
Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head in resignation. Why? Why were they making her do this? Hadn’t she been through enough?
Nurse Angles placed her hand gently on her feet. ‘I know this is hard for you, honey, but I cannot let you rot away in this bed for ever. The sooner we start, the quicker it’s over with.’
Alice didn’t even look up; she could hear the nurses outside the curtain waiting for the green light from Nurse Angles. She was being moved whether she liked it or not.
On any other day, the sight of a wheelchair being presented to her would have caused Alice to revolt. Right now, however, she had much bigger concerns. The dissatisfied moans from her fellow patients barely registered with her. The nurses flocking to her bedside, waiting and watching,did nothing to anger her. All Alice could think about was Nurse Angles’ hand on the curtain, ready to pull it back.
‘Everyone’s in bed and all curtains are closed,’ the young nurse reported dutifully. If this weren’t happening to Alice right now, she would probably enjoy the absurdity of the situation. A military operation just for her. Because she was too bloody stubborn and too goddam scared of her own face to get out of bed.
