< HSoS 34 | High School Of Scenes | HSoS 36 >
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Antares Ras' roommate in the hospital is looking at him when he wakes up, a dark-haired girl with bandages around one arm and a modest scattering of scrapes and bruises on the rest of her visible skin. "Hey," she says a little cautiously.
Ras_Alhague "Uch, ow, oh... um, hi?" He looks around, bleary from the shock and the drugs. "Where am I? The last thing I remember is..." He stops. "Oh." He turns away. "Um, yeah. Hi, I guess."
Antares looks at his averted face thoughtfully. "This is a retarded fuckin' question, I know, being in a hospital and all, but you okay?" A little fuzzy-headed herself, she adds after a moment, "I'm Antares."
Ras_Alhague "Is this how it always feels?" He groans. "I don't think I like it. But yeah, I think I'm okay." He pats his hands up and down his body. "It feels like everything's still here, anyway." He groans. "Never doing that again, let me tell you. No more sleep for me."
Antares rolls onto her side with a passing wince, propping her head on her unbandaged arm and giving him her full attention. "Sounds like a story," she says with a crooked smile.
Ras_Alhague "I'm sure it is," he says, smiling wanly. A few moments pass before Antares realizes he's not going to expand on it. Then he speaks up again. "Oh, I'm Ras Alhague." Even in the middle of the astronomical naming trend, Ras's name was unique.
Antares "Another star child, huh? Well, whatever you did has the nurses keeping a close eye on you, although maybe they're just checking out your bits." She grins, unoffended that he doesn't want to explain himself.
Ras_Alhague "That's me. I knew an Antares once..." He shakes his head. "I'm not surprised they're keeping an eye on me." Holding up his fingers about a centimeter apart, he says, "I was only this close to death. If I was any weaker..."
Antares pushes herself a bit more upright, eyeing him more closely. "Oh, shit, it's you. My pick-up soccer nemesis." Her grin widens at recognizing a face in the unsettling hospital environment. "You don't want to talk about it, that's cool, but I'll be pissed if we don't get a rematch."
Ras_Alhague Ras laughs, and clutches his chest in pain. He doesn't let that stop him though. "You keep asking for rematches, and every time, you lose again... when are you ever going to learn?"
Antares "Any of my teachers coulda told you I'm a real slow learner," Antares laughs. "'Sides, I keep telling the girls they'll never get in real shape unless they take on the team with all the tough-looking guys."
Antares unfolds her arm, letting her head dropped on the pillow, and sobers as she looks at him. "Anyway, I might not have any more weekends in town."
Ras_Alhague "Well, me neither," he shakes his head. "I'm sure once I'm healing Dad's going to send me to Switzerland or Siberia or something. Every time it's further away... if I screw up again, he'll have to figure out a way to send me to the moon."
Ras_Alhague After a few moments of silence, Ras blurts out, "I was trying to sleep."
Ras_Alhague He looks away from Antares.
Antares Antares was preparing an offer to plead with Ras' dad on the grounds that he looks too good playing 'skins' to go away, but the joke dies in her throat. After a second, she says quietly, "Did it work?"
Antares After another moment, she adds, "They're calling what I had an 'episode'."
Ras_Alhague "A Very Special Episode?"
Antares snorts, closing her eyes. "Something like that. It's nice to talk to someone I know before they ship me off, though."
Ras_Alhague "It worked. But it wasn't worth it." He looks away. "They couldn't get my heart to keep beating for a while, I think. It's kind of a blur." Looking back at her, he meets her eyes. "Just stay awake. It's better that way."
Ras_Alhague Then he grins, obviously changing the subject. "So, you really filled out."
Antares flashes a slightly malicious return grin, her face lighting up like the old days. "So did you, sonny-boy. The nurses weren't the only ones checking out your bits. You look better in shorts than that hospital gown, though."
Ras_Alhague laughs. "You have no idea how nice it is to hear that after 4 years in all-boys schools. You're a sight for sore eyes in more ways than one." He looks at her. "What kind of 'episode', anyway?"
Antares laughs, then grimaces and holds her ribs. "Haha, fuck, ow. Stop it, I'll go cross-eyed thinking of all the possibilities." Some of the light escapes her face as she considers his question. "Would you believe I don't exactly remember?" She looks away, avoiding his eyes.
Ras_Alhague "No," he says, "but I won't push. Is that good enough?" He waits for her to look at him. "Look, we can't play soccer right now, but I think I might be able to scare up a deck of cards. The nurses DO seem to like me." He wiggles his eyebrows, then does an elaborate wink. "You game?"
Antares Antares relaxes a bit, visibly, and looks back at Ras after a second. "Yeah, okay," she says to both of his questions. "Prepare to be spanked, star-boy," she says, pushing herself upright with a grin and smacking the call button.
< HSoS 34 | High School Of Scenes | HSoS 36 >
< HSoS 65 | H So S Timeline | HSoS 1 >
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