Fabulous Five 011 - Hit and Run (4 page)

A little while later Lisa was wheeled off to the X-ray room.
Jana would have been glad to have the room to herself for a while except for
the fact that the little girl insisted on taking Gorgeous with her. When was
she going to get her bear back? she wondered. Mrs. Foss was being absolutely no
help in the matter, and she had been the one who had persuaded Jana to loan
Lisa the bear in the first place.
For a few minutes
, she had said. "Some
few minutes," Jana grumbled.

Just then she heard giggling in the hall, and she looked up
hopefully. Maybe it was her friends. The sound was moving closer, but it
stopped outside her door and there was only silence for a moment. Finally The
Fabulous Five gathered stiffly in the doorway and peered in at her with big
eyes.

"Come on in, you guys," she called out. "Haven't
you ever been in a hospital before?"

The four girls grinned self-consciously and tiptoed in,
standing in a cluster at the foot of the bed.

"Hi, Jana. How are you feeling?" whispered
Melanie.

"Okay," said Jana, chuckling. "But you don't
have to whisper."

"Doesn't your head hurt?" asked Beth. "It
looks awful. Well, what I mean is . . ." Beth blushed and looked to the
others for help.

"I know what you mean, silly," said Jana. "It
does look awful, and it did hurt a lot for a while, but it's better now.
Honest. The doctor just wants me to stay one more night for observation."

There was another awkward silence as the four girls at the
foot of the bed exchanged glances. Finally Christie spoke.

"How's Randy?" she asked in a hushed voice. "We
heard that he's still unconscious. Is that true?"

Jana bit her lip to stop it from quivering. She'd known they
would ask about Randy, but still, she felt a stab of pain when Christie
actually said the words.

"Yes," she said. "He's in the intensive care
unit, and I tried to get in to see him this morning, but the nurse wouldn't let
me go in."

"You're kidding," said Katie. "That's awful."

"That's not all," Jana added. "His parents
stopped by to see me a little while ago, and something really strange happened.
Someone sent Randy a get-well card. The handwriting looked like a girl's, and
whoever sent it didn't sign their name, but they apologized for causing the
accident. Mr. and Mrs. Kirwan thought I was the one who sent it."

"What!" screeched Beth.

Jana told them about her visit from the Kirwans and how they
had thought she blamed herself for the accident. "They came in here to
tell me that it wasn't my fault and thank me for sending the card," said
Jana. "The funny thing is, I do feel responsible for the accident. If I
hadn't run out in front of the car, Randy wouldn't have had to save me. But I
didn't send the card. I think I know who did, though. Laura McCall."

"I agree, and there's something else you should know
about Laura," said Christie. There was an ominous sound in her voice that
made Jana shiver. "The four of us went up to her before school today and
demanded to know what was going on between her and Randy."

"That's right," said Katie. "We told her
about what you overhead her saying to Tammy yesterday, but we didn't tell her
that it was you who overheard it."

"What did she say to that?" demanded Jana.

"She just got a funny look on her face at first,"
said Christie. "The rest of The Fantastic Foursome were with her, and they
tried to get her to walk away from us, but Laura looked so shocked that she
just stood there and stared at us."

"I think it really blew her away that someone had
overheard her," added Beth.

"So, what did she say?" insisted Jana.

"Get this," said Christie. "Laura said it was
a secret and for us to mind our own business. Then she flipped her braid over
her shoulder the way she always does when she's acting superior and walked off
with her friends."

Jana frowned as she looked from one to the other. "You're
kidding," she said slowly. "What kind of secret could she have about
Randy?"

Melanie shook her head. "I don't know, but if you ask
me, it had to be Laura who sent the card. It sounds as if she's feeling guilty."

"What about the driver? Don't forget that he's partly
responsible, too," said Katie. "I mean, he had to be going pretty
fast."

"Yeah," agreed Christie. "I'll bet he was
speeding."

The others nodded.

Jana nodded, too. "He was probably doing a zillion
miles an hour above the speed limit. I'll bet that he was going too fast to
stop in time to avoid hitting Randy so he just kept on going."

"Right," said Katie. "Don't you dare blame
yourself even one little bit, Jana. If it wasn't at least partly his fault,
then why did he run away, and why won't he come forward now? I'd like to get my
hands on him in Teen Court."

Tears blurred Jana's eyes. "He's not going to get away
with it, and neither is Laura McCall. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I
have to do something," she vowed.

"And we'll help you," Melanie assured her.

"The accident made the ten-o'clock news on television
last night," said Christie. "And today's newspaper says Randy's a
hero."

"The newspaper?" asked Jana.

Katie nodded. "We got a copy out of the vending machine
in the lobby and read the article before we came up. Here. Do you want to see
it?"

She held the paper out, and Jana grabbed it eagerly,
scanning down page one until she found the article.

Local Teens Victims
of Hit-and-Run

One local teenager remains hospitalized in critical
condition today and another is in good condition after being struck in front of
Bumpers Restaurant yesterday afternoon by a car that did not stop.

Police are investigating the accident, in which they
believe Randal Kirwan, 13, raced into the street and pushed Jana Morgan, 13,
out of the path of a speeding car that struck him before leaving the scene.
Friends and relatives praised Kirwan's actions and called him a hero. A
hospital spokesman reported that he sustained both head and internal injuries
and is in a coma. Morgan suffered a concussion and bumps and bruises.

Police are urging anyone with information on the driver
or the car involved in the accident to come forward.

"You see," said Beth. "It says right there
that he was a hero. Doesn't that make you feel proud?"

Jana nodded, thinking to herself that the newspaper also
said that Randy was in a coma. Somehow the word "coma" sounded so
much worse than "unconscious" or "not awake yet." Even
Randy's parents hadn't used that word. People stayed in comas for ages
sometimes, and
sometimes
they didn't wake up at all.

"All everybody talked about at school today is the
accident," said Beth, interrupting Jana's thoughts. "So many kids
were at Bumpers when it happened and heard the tires screech and the car gun
its engine as it sped away."

Jana caught her breath. "Did anybody see who the driver
was or get a license plate number or anything?"

Her friends shook their heads. "A policeman came to
school this afternoon," said Christie. "He wanted to talk to anyone
who was at Bumpers when it happened, but I don't think anybody could tell him
very much. They were all inside. You don't remember anyone coming out when you
two did, do you?"

Jana shook her head.

Christie sat down on the side of Jana's bed and took her
hand. "You ran out of Bumpers because you were mad at Randy for sitting
with Laura. Then Randy ran after you. What actually happened when you got
outside? Do you remember anything?"

"Not really," Jana admitted. "He wanted me to
stop and talk to him, but I couldn't. I was too upset. I just wanted to get
away and think things over. The last thing I remember is starting to run across
the street."

Just then Mrs. Foss stuck her head into the room. "Girls,"
she said kindly, "I think you'd better go now. Jana has had enough company
for one day. If she gets her rest, she may be able to go home tomorrow. "

Jana didn't want her friends to leave, but after they were
gone, she was surprised at how their visit had tired her. She lay back,
replaying their conversation and letting the new realizations sink in. They had
been right. She wasn't the only one who was to blame for the accident, after
all. Laura was, and so was the driver of the car.

"It's incredible," she whispered. "Randy is
lying in a hospital bed two floors below so badly hurt that he's in a coma, and
the two people who are the most responsible have gotten away."

Jana was half asleep when she heard a tiny voice saying, "Gorgeous,
I love you, too. I miss my mommy and daddy, but I won't be afraid as long as
you're here."

Jana had napped for a little while and had only been vaguely
aware of Lisa's being wheeled back into the room from X-ray. Now she perked up
her ears at the sound of the little girl talking to Gorgeous.

"What did you say, Gorgeous?" asked Lisa. "Oh.
Yes. I will. I promise."

Jana tried to peer out of the corner of her eye and see what
was going on without Lisa's knowing it. What was she promising, anyway? Jana
wondered. Of course she knew it was only an imaginary conversation, but still!

"What did you say, Gorgeous?" Lisa asked brightly.
"A secret? Okay. You can whisper it to me."

Of all the nerve! thought Jana. She turned her head and
looked across at Lisa, who was propped up in bed with Gorgeous sitting on her
cast. His white, plush arms were around her neck, and he looked for all the
world as if he were whispering in Lisa's ear. Jana tried to fight down feelings
of jealousy. After all, she told herself, he's just a stuffed bear. But the
longer she looked at Lisa and Gorgeous, the angrier she got.

"Lisa, I think you'd better give Gorgeous back to me
now," said Jana. "I said you could hold him for a little while, but
it's been all day. I really want him back."

"No!" cried Lisa. "He's my bear. You said I
could have him!"

Jana was mortified. "I didn't say you could have him,
Lisa. And he's not your bear. He's mine. He's very special. My boyfriend gave
him to me."

"Mine! Mine! Mine!" Lisa shrieked at the top of
her lungs. Then she grabbed Gorgeous and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"What's going on in here?" A heavyset nurse, who
had come on for the evening shift, came puffing into the room. "Are you
all right, honey?" she cried, running over to Lisa.

"She's trying to steal my bear," Lisa sobbed.

The nurse was frowning when she turned to Jana. "What's
this little girl talking about?" she demanded.

"It's not her bear," Jana insisted. "It's
mine. I loaned it to her for a little while this morning, but she won't give it
back."

"No! No! It's mine!" Lisa cried. Tears streamed
down her face, and her nose was beginning to run. Jana watched in horror as
Lisa buried her face in Gorgeous's soft, white middle and wiped her nose. "She's
lying," Lisa said in a pouty voice. "She's trying to take him away
from me."

"Nurse!" Jana begged. She threw off her covers and
got stiffly out of bed, intending to grab Gorgeous away from Lisa if she had
to. "She's ruining my bear. Look at that. She wiped her nose on him!"
Jana shouted, pointing toward Lisa.

The nurse shot her a suspicious look.

"Well, he really is mine," Jana went on
defensively, "and he's the most special bear in the world. I got him for
Valentine's Day from my boyfriend, Randy Kirwan, and now Randy's in the
intensive care unit in critical condition. He's even in a coma. You've got to
make her give my bear back to me."

The nurse gave an exasperated sigh and looked first at Lisa
and then at Jana and then back at Lisa again as if trying to decide whom to
believe. As if on cue, Lisa began to moan as though her heart would break,
rocking back and forth with Gorgeous in her arms.

Just then Jana heard footsteps outside the door and her
mother and Pink came into the room. "Hi, sweetie," her mother said,
hurrying toward her. Then she stopped and got a quizzical look on her face. "What
are you doing out of bed again? I thought the doctor told you to stay put."

"Hi, Mom. Hi, Pink. Umm . . . I . . ." she began.

Mrs. Pinkerton glanced at Lisa. "Oh, I see you have a
roommate," she said, smiling at the child. "Isn't that Gorgeous she's
holding?"

Jana felt a flood of relief. Now she could prove to the
nurse that Gorgeous really was her bear. "Yes, Mom. This is Lisa Pratt.
She was in an accident, and her parents are in the hospital, too, only she can't
see them yet. They're from out of state so there's no other family around to
visit her."

"And you got out of bed to let her borrow Gorgeous. Oh,
Jana. That's so thoughtful of you. Everybody needs somebody to hug and to hold
on to, especially when they're all alone and scared."

Jana couldn't believe what she had just heard. She started
to protest again, to shout to her mother,
But Mom
,
that's Gorgeous.
You know how special he is!
Still, the pitiful look on the little girl's
face made her hesitate. Lisa's eyes were red and her blond hair was tangled, with
one long strand stuck to her sweaty cheek.

Jana sank back onto the bed. Lisa is scared to death, she
admitted to herself. It must be awful to be lying in a strange hospital with a
broken leg and not even be able to see your parents.

She thought about how Mrs. Foss had asked her to help make
Lisa feel better. Jana bit her lower lip, suddenly feeling guilty. I could have
talked to her or something, but I was too busy with my own problems to pay any
attention to her, she thought. I guess Lisa really does need Gorgeous more than
I do right now. Just like Mom said, she thought sheepishly, she needs somebody
to hug.

"It's okay if she keeps him a little longer," Jana
offered, climbing back into bed. "At least until in the morning. That way
she won't have to sleep all by herself."

Later, when visiting hours were over and the lights in the
room had been turned out for the night, Jana tossed and turned. Now she was the
one who felt all alone and frightened. What was going to happen to Randy? Was
he going to wake up and be okay? Or would he die without her ever getting to
see him again?

The thought made her sit straight up in bed. What's the
matter with everybody! she wanted to shout. Why aren't the doctors doing
anything to help Randy? And what about the police? Why haven't they found the
hit-and-run driver and put him in jail? And what about Laura McCall? She's the
biggest villain of all. If it hadn't been for her, there never would have been
an accident in the first place.

Jana looked helplessly around the darkened room until her
gaze fell on Lisa, who was snuggled up against Gorgeous, snoring and whimpering
ever so softly in her sleep. Jana was flooded with feelings of sympathy. As
badly as she hated to admit it to herself, she knew that Lisa needed the bear.

"But what about me?" she whispered. "I'm
scared, too."