Will You Be My Friend? (10 page)

“If I can't sleep, I might as well read,” she mumbled to herself, flipping the magazine open.

At this angle Beth could see past her propped-up knees to the other side of the room. On the opposite wall, near the door, a window looked out into the hallway. It was pretty busy outside her room during the day, but now, except for the occasional nurse walking by with a chart, it was empty.

As Beth mindlessly flipped through the pages of her magazine, something in the window caught her eye. There, standing in the hallway, looking into her room, was a girl who looked exactly like Beth.

“Lizzie?” Beth wondered aloud. “Lizzie!”

Fighting past the pain, Beth tossed her magazine aside and threw off the covers. She struggled out of bed, wincing and moaning. Stumbling to the window, she pressed her face against the glass and felt as if she were looking in the mirror. Then suddenly Lizzie bolted.

Walking with great difficulty, her rib now burning from the pain, Beth shuffled to the door and threw it open. She stepped out into the hall and looked in both directions, but there was no sign of Lizzie.

Wait a minute!
Beth thought, struggling back into her room. She glanced over at her bed, half expecting to see herself lying there.
How many dreams have I had lately in which I saw a girl, or lots of girls, who looked like me? Could this be another one?

She reached her bed and crawled back in.

If this is a dream, it's pretty cruel that I would dream myself in so much pain! Still, what sense does it make that after all I've gone through to find her, Lizzie just shows up here at my hospital room at three o'clock in the morning!

Exhausted by the act of walking across her room, and emotionally drained from the events of the past twenty-four hours, Beth finally drifted off into a deep sleep.

She had no dreams for the rest of the night—at least none that she could remember.

Dr. Snow entered Beth's room early the next morning, clutching a new set of X-rays that had been taken late the previous day. She flipped on the light above Beth's bed, startling her out of her slumber.

“Sorry for the rude awakening, Beth,” Dr. Snow said, “but things get going pretty early around here. And I wanted to discuss these X-rays with you.”

Grimacing with pain, Beth sat up in the bed so she could get a better look. Dr. Snow held the X-rays up against a light box.

“Now, you see this dark line right here,” Dr. Snow said, pointing to a spot on the film. “That's the bruise on your rib. Unfortunately it's worse than we first thought. I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep you in the hospital for at least one more night.”

Beth slumped down in disappointment, although a part of her was relieved. With as much pain as she was in, she knew that she'd be more comfortable here, though she was anxious to get back home to her mother after the weird way she had left the previous day.

“Dr. Snow, this may sound like a strange question, but is there another patient in the hospital who looks like me?” Beth asked.

Dr. Snow smiled. “Why do you ask?”

“Last night I saw a girl who looked exactly like me standing out in the hallway, staring at me through that window,” Beth replied, pointing to the window on the far wall.

“No, no one who looks like you that I know of,” Dr. Snow said. “But it's not unusual to have very vivid dreams in a hospital, especially dreams about missing your friends or kids your own age.”

Beth nodded. She decided not to tell Dr. Snow about all the other dreams she'd been having lately in which she saw girls who looked like her.

“Speaking of kids your own age,” Dr. Snow continued, “my daughter is here with me at the hospital today. She's about your age. It's gotta be pretty boring lying around here by yourself. Maybe she can stop by a little later and you two can hang out. It might help break up the boredom.”

“That sounds like a great idea,” said Beth. She smiled at Dr. Snow. “Thanks.”

“Great, I'll let her know,” said Dr. Snow. “Now I've got to check in on my other patients.” She turned and left the room.

Beth spent the next hour or so reviewing the events of the past few days. She pondered what she might have done differently and couldn't really come up with anything. She thought about her mom and how strangely she had acted yesterday.

Beth's ruminations were interrupted by a knock on her door.

“Come in,” she called out.

The door swung open and in walked a girl. Beth couldn't see her clearly at first in the harsh, cold fluorescent light of the hospital room. The girl was tall. She appeared to have short black hair and pale skin.

“Hi!” the girl said, stepping into the room, her head down so her hair covered her face. “I'm Elizabeth. I'm Dr. Snow's daughter. She told me that you might like some company.”

“Sure,” said Beth. “Thanks. I'm Beth.”

“I know,” said Elizabeth, coming closer to the bed and lifting her head.

Beth was stunned to discover that the girl in her room was indeed Elizabeth—the same Elizabeth whom Beth had met yesterday. The same Elizabeth who went to Glenside Middle School and helped Beth sneak inside.

But what in the world was she doing here?

“Elizabeth!” Beth cried. “I can't believe it!”

But Beth's happiness didn't last for long. She suddenly remembered seeing Elizabeth at the window in the records room, shaking the ladder just before the man came into the room and Beth fell.

“What happened in the records room?” she asked. “I remember seeing you just before I fell.”

“I was trying to stop you from getting caught,” Elizabeth explained. “As I was on my way out of the school, I overheard a conversation about how the school was in the process of scanning all the old records, and how someone would be in and out of the room all day.”

Beth recalled the conversation she had heard through the door about Harold Wasser.

“I didn't want to risk going back into the building and getting caught,” Elizabeth continued, “so I went around to the window, hoping I could climb in. But the opening was too small.”

“But why didn't you just talk to me through the open window?” Beth asked. “You could have warned me.”

“Just as I was about to do that I heard someone coming,” Elizabeth replied. “I got scared and ran away.”

In her mind, Beth went through the series of events that had happened in the records room. Things remained a bit fuzzy for her, but what Elizabeth just explained made sense.

“And now here you are,” Beth said.

“Here I am,” Elizabeth repeated. “I think there's a ladder out in the hall you can climb on if you like. You know, for old times' sake!”

Beth started to laugh. Elizabeth joined her. Beth realized that this was the biggest, most genuine laugh she had had since the night of the sleepover at Chrissy's. She was surprised by how immediately comfortable she felt with Elizabeth, as if she had known her for her entire life.

And she also realized that laughing made her rib hurt. She winced and clutched her side.

“Are you in a lot of pain?” asked Elizabeth.

“Only when I laugh, doctor,” replied Beth, sending them both into gales of laughter once again.

“Shhh,” cautioned Elizabeth, putting a finger to her lips. “We'll disturb the other patients.”

“Not to mention my poor rib!” said Beth.

And again the two girls laughed loudly.

“So,” Elizabeth began when the laughter subsided, “did you find that girl? What was her name—Wait, don't tell me. Lizzie, right?”

“Yes, Lizzie, and yes, I found her!” Beth said triumphantly.

Elizabeth gave her a high five.

“Well, I didn't find
her
, of course,” Beth continued. “I haven't been anywhere but the hospital since I saw you, but I did find the file about her.”

“And?” asked Elizabeth.

“And I was right!” said Beth. “Or I should say my friend Chrissy's cousin Alice was right. Lizzie did go to Glenside and she did look like me. I mean,
exactly
like me, like a twin sister.”

“So what are you going to do?” Elizabeth asked. “How are you going to find her?”

“I don't know,” answered Beth honestly. “One second I was thrilled to have found her file, and the next second I was falling off a ladder, blacking out, and waking up here.”

“Well, you should stay here and get well and worry about Lizzie later,” said Elizabeth.

Beth nodded. “That's the plan. Dr. Snow—your mom—told me I would have to stay here at least one more night.”

“Well then, let's make the best of it!” cried Elizabeth. She pulled out her phone. “I have thirty-eight games on here. My favorite, though, is Counting Chickens. I'll show you how it works. It's easy!”

It only took a few minutes for Beth to get the hang of the game. When they got tired of playing Counting Chickens, they moved on to another game. The minutes melted away. At times Beth even forgot that she was in a hospital bed; she was so focused on playing with Elizabeth.

“I see you two are getting along well,” Dr. Snow observed, walking into the room.

“Elizabeth's awesome, Dr. Snow,” said Beth. “Thanks for bringing her here.”

“Well, I think Elizabeth thinks you're pretty awesome too,” Dr. Snow said. “Because of my schedule, and how much time I spend here, she has to be here a lot, so I'm glad she found a friend.”

Dr. Snow listened to Beth's heartbeat, took her blood pressure and temperature, then felt around her rib, being careful not to press too hard.

“You seem to be healing nicely, Beth,” she said. “You'll spend the night and then we'll reevaluate tomorrow. Now don't let me interrupt your fun any longer. I think you two are going to be great friends!”

“Thanks, Mom!” said Elizabeth.

“Yeah, thanks, Dr. Snow, for taking such good care of me,” said Beth.

Dr. Snow smiled and left the room.

“Now, where were we?” Elizabeth asked. “Oh, yeah, level nine of Cosmic Climb. It's your turn. You're on the Labyrinth Ladders. You have to make it to the Vanishing Vault before the Dark Demons finish you off. Ready?”

“Ready!”

“Resume!”

The two girls played all the way through the afternoon, pausing only to eat. Over lunch, Beth grew curious about her new acquaintance.

“So, do you have a lot of friends?” she asked Elizabeth between bites of her tuna sandwich.

“Not many,” Elizabeth replied, her shoulders slumping, her eyes looking away. “Most of the friends I've ever had have left. They're not here anymore. I get lonely sometimes.” Then her face brightened. “That's why I'm glad I met you.”

“Me too,” said Beth. “I don't have many friends either. Just Chrissy, my neighbor. It's nice to have a new friend.”

Elizabeth gave Beth a gentle hug, being careful not to squeeze too hard. “I'm so glad to hear you say that.”

Beth smiled. “Now all I have to do is get well and get out of this hospital.”

Elizabeth smiled back but didn't say anything.

“So, what's our next game?” asked Beth.

“Journey through the Elf Kingdom,” said Elizabeth. “You get to be a queen, or a ghost warrior, or a sorcerer princess. You have to journey through the kingdom to get to the Golden Palace of the Elves before the Crazy Creatures get you.”

“Cool,” said Beth, unable to remember the last time she'd had so much fun. “I'll be a sorcerer princess.”

“I'll be a ghost warrior,” said Elizabeth. “Let the game begin!”

The girls battled trolls, recited secret chants, unfurled ancient spells, and trekked through stormy forests and over craggy mountains until they finally reached the Golden Palace of the Elves.

Beth completely lost track of time. She was surprised when the tray with her dinner arrived and Elizabeth had to leave.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” Beth asked anxiously.