Free 4 You Say Tomahto and I Say You’re Dead by Gale Borger Page B

Boothe. Then I got names like Cash and Pone, Shroom and I—"
    Spaz threw her shoulders back. "I'm Spaz."
    Nurse Williams smiled. She lowered her half-glasses and smiled. "And Spaz."
    Ollie smiled and patted Spaz's arm. "There, you see dear? You are on the VIP list. Come, Evie, I'd bet our boy has been waiting for us." They slid past Nurse Williams and Ollie dragged Spaz into Bean's room.
    They stepped inside the door and stopped. Bean sat propped in the hospital bed. He wore no shirt and bandages criss-crossed both his shoulders and chest. On his head was a skullcap with tufts of purple hair standing on end. He happily sipped a Gatorade and watched Family Guy on the TV.
    Spaz smiled. Ya gotta love Bean. Whoa, what the heck did you just say, Spaz? She stepped back. Ollie thought she was scared because Bean looked like he'd been hit by a Mack truck. She grabbed Spaz's arm. Spaz pulled back and dropped her backpack. Bean heard the noise and Spaz knew she was stuck.
    He glanced their way and gave them a big smile. "Ollie! Spaz! You came to see me!"
    Spaz stood rooted to the floor. Bean looked so happy. Like a big dumb puppy. He was black and blue above and below his bandages. He also has abs to die for. What's up with that? Now who's the sick one? Ollie gave her a push. Spaz stumbled forward. "Uh, heh-heh. Hey, Beaner."
    "Hey, Spaz!"
    "You should hate me 'cuz I got you shot."
    "Hey, I jumped in front of you because you're my friend."
    "That was stupid."
    "Yeah, it was stupid. I didn't even think about it. It just happened."
    "Well, don't do it again. And what's up with your head?"
    Bean smiled and leaned toward Spaz. He bumped his arm on the table and saw stars.
    "Ow! Oh, damn. Ow, ow!"
    Spaz jumped toward the bed. She stood over Bean, flapping her hands. Bean panted and hissed through his teeth. He weakly waved a hand in the air. "Ss-okay, Spaz. Worth uh—the trouble." Bean used his good hand to shift a little in his bed. Step by slow step, Spaz saw the pain on his face lessen. A small smile touched his lips and he turned pink with embarrassment. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
    "I asked what's up with your head."
    He pointed to his fuzzy head. "Sorry about the wig. The nurses cut it off."
    "Cut it off?"
    He gently touched his head. "Uh, well, the wig you gave me kept sliding off my head. I tried everything to keep it on. So I was sitting at your desk and saw a bottle of Super Glue and I—"
    Spaz clapped both hands over her mouth. Her eyes popped wide open. "Oh my God, you dumbass!" She straightened and turned her head to the side. She tried her best not to smile. Closing her eyes, she struggled to keep a straight face. "Bean-o. Oh Bean-brained friend of mine, Please tell me you did not Super Glue that wig—"
    "I did." Bean smiled. He was embarrassed to the max. Even his ears turned pink.
    "Oh my God!" Spaz felt a giggle form in her belly. She tried to stop it, but it bubbled out. She opened her mouth and laughed—actually roared! She clung to Ollie and her knees buckled. Bean looked at her like she was flipping out. Ollie laughed along with her. Tears rolled down their faces. Spaz laughed like she'd never laughed in her life. She finally calmed down and wiped her face on her sleeve. Ollie dug in her purse for a tissue. She looked at Spaz and they howled again.
    The door burst open and Nurse Williams poked her head inside. "Everything okay in here? I heard the racket and . . . .Oh, you just got an eye-full of the boyfriend's new 'do?" She straightened and grinned. "Yup, I did the same thing first time I saw all that purple stuff stickin' up all over. Heard it from the ER nurses he was quite a hit down in surgery too. That hair jammed up the clippers and they had to cut it off. Took 'em a while to realize he wasn't some cross-dressing sweet dude who got hisself popped by some pissed off john. They said that hair started melting when the clippers got hot and it smelled like someone had set Barbie on fire."
    They laughed all