Free Symby by Steven Heitmeyer Page A

voice.
    "I had a little setback today," she answered. "I just felt really tired and weak. I couldn't get out of bed. My mom brought me to the doctor, but the doctor wasn't very helpful. The scary thing is that I haven't even been doing chemo. I had lots of days like this during chemo. On top of that, the new treatment I've been getting doesn't seem to be working either."
    "Are you feeling any better now?" asked Jody.
    "Not really," she replied.
    "So you're not coming to school tomorrow either?" asked Jody.
    Missy hesitated before she replied. "I don't know yet, but I'll have to feel better than I did today." She didn't want to tell him the truth and have him worry about her. The truth was that she was feeling as if she might never make it back to school.
    Even through the poor lighting in her room and the ethereal effects of the video transmission, Jody could tell that she looked pale and gaunt. He had been so busy celebrating his own recovery that he hadn't really noticed her rapid deterioration.
    "You live at 25 Howland Street, right?" he asked.
    "Yes, but..."
    "I'll be there in thirty minutes. Tell your parents that you really need to see me and that you don't think you can live without me, or something like that. Just make sure they let me in."
    "Jody, I'm not sure I can talk much more..."
    "You don't have to talk. This isn't about talking. It's about maybe making you better."
    She started to object again, but Jody wasn't having it. "Remember our old friend Jimmy Hines?" he said. "He confronted me on my way home tonight. Guess what happened?"
    She guessed. "I don't see any bruises on you, so I guess he just threatened you?"
    Jody smiled. "Wrong. I nailed him. He ended up crying like the baby that he is. You've been telling me how much better I've been looking and moving, but you don't know the half of it. I'm pretty much a normal kid now. My disease is just about gone."
    Missy looked stunned. "How can you be recovered from a disease that can't be recovered from?"
    "Let's just say I found a cure," replied Jody. "I think it might work for you, too."
    Missy laughed as derisively as he had ever seen her laugh. "Come on, you can't cure me. You probably just think you're cured because you're in remission."
    Jody answered patiently. "There's no remission for my disease. It's supposed to just get worse until I eventually die. But that's not what's happening. And it might not happen to you, either."
    Missy was beginning to wonder whether Jody had gone off the deep end in her absence, but she had to admit that something had been making Jody better. Since she had met him, he had clearly grown stronger and faster. His coordination and balance were almost normal again. His arms and legs were no longer twisted. She had actually been jealous recently as she watched him energize while she continued to weaken. Besides, what did she have to lose by trying Jody's "cure?"
    "O.K., Jody, I'll talk to my parents and get them to let you in. They feel so sorry for me that I can pretty much talk them into anything."
    "Great!" said Jody. "See you in thirty minutes." He clicked off before she had a chance to change her mind.
    Jody raced to the backyard, scanning for the creature. He panicked when he couldn't see the creature.
    "Snuffles, go get him, go get him," he said, hoping that Snuffles would understand that he was referring to the creature. He regretted that he hadn't yet thought of a name for the creature that Snuffles would recognize. Snuffles obediently wandered into his dog house and returned with the requested ball of fur in his mouth. Jody breathed a huge sigh of relief. He took their little friend out of Snuffle's mouth and placed it inside the big pocket of his heavy overcoat. The temperature was approaching eighty degrees when he left the house.
    Snuffles attempted to follow him, but Jody closed the gate too quickly behind him.
    "Sorry, boy, see you in a little while."
    Jody began sweating profusely after a just a few minutes of