Return to You (Letters to Nowhere #3)(10)
“Karen Campbell. But she’s not staff.”
He lets out a low whistle under his breath as he types her name into the database. “Nina Jones is not going to be happy with you.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, so what else is new.”
“No drug allergies, no recent illness,” he says to himself before opening a drawer and pulling out two boxes. He tosses both lightly into my lap. “One Z-pack for you and one for the girlfriend as a preventive measure. Tell her to replace her toothbrush and come see me if she has any nausea, rash, vomiting, and so on…” He also hands me a tiny paper cup with one white pill and one brown pill. I look them over carefully, but don’t make a move to take them. “Steroid to reduce inflammation and a pain pill. You’ll have to come here for each dose of these. Can’t have them floating around staff quarters.”
I’m pretty sure pain pills and anti-inflammatory meds are already floating amongst the staff.
He jots down the details for next week’s appointment and hands me a sticky note. “No coaching for two days. Which translates to, stay in your cabin and don’t kiss anyone, got it?”
“Got it.” I slide off the table, my hands full of pills and paper. On the way back to my cabin, I debate calling my dad and updating him on my recent health issues but decide against it. I’m eighteen now, I don’t have to run everything by him.
***
After downing three different medications, I took a three-hour nap and woke up after dinnertime. Apparently, while I slept, Nina Jones ordered the camp directors to move all of “her gymnasts” to the cabin next door for fear of my bacteria finding its way into their mouths. Or at least that’s what TJ said when he explained to me why Karen and Stevie’s room is now empty. And he used air quotes, so I’m assuming that’s exactly how Nina had worded it. But seriously? There’s only a chance of one girl getting infected by me.
Speaking of that girl…
“How do you feel?” Karen steps through the door of my room and comes right in to sit beside me. Her keeper must be far away because she’d have a fit. “I brought sick food.”
I sit up on my bottom bunk, and check out the spread she’s just dumped on my sleeping bag. “Yeeeess, popsicles!” I unwrap the purple frozen treat and stick it in my mouth. “Grape is my favorite.”
“I was told you have a present for me,” she prompts, holding out a hand.
Guilt eats at me while I dig for her box of antibiotics. “I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”
She shrugs and takes the box from my hand, examining the directions and dozens of warnings about ways you might die from taking these pills. “I feel fine, but whatever, I’ll follow the doctor’s orders. He also said to make sure that you drink plenty of fluids.” She taps one of the three bottles of Gatorade that she brought me.
I pick the orange flavor and take my time peeling the plastic off the cap, while the popsicle hangs from my mouth. She talked to the camp doctor. Does that mean she knows about the potential surgery that isn’t going to happen no matter what? I’m refusing.
“So what is this specialist going to do?” she asks.
Okay, she doesn’t know everything. “Not sure, probably see if I have an allergy or something that’s causing the repeat infections.”
Worry creases her forehead. “All right. I guess that’s a good thing.”
TJ comes storming in right then, interrupting us. He looks right at Karen. “Did you do it?”
Her eyes widen and her face turns pink. “Uh…”
“Come on, Campbell,” TJ says, “What’s the problem? Get back on the horse, right?”
My gaze bounces between the two of them. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” Karen clips so fast, I can’t help spinning theories in directions they shouldn’t be going in. She turns to me, giving me her judges smile. “Seriously, it’s nothing. TJ has a distorted perception of the word fearless.”
TJ’s jaw tenses, but he doesn’t argue with her. What the hell is going on? Karen jumps up from the bed and grabs TJ’s arm. “The scavenger hunt starts in five minutes.”
I flop onto my back again and groan. “Dammit. I’m missing the scavenger hunt. That’s like the best evening activity all week.”
Karen flashes me a genuine smile this time. “We’ll do it again next week, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumble.
The second they’re both out of sight, I dive into action, trying to figure out whatever silent words were just exchanged between the two of them. I reach for my phone, pull up YouTube, and type in Karen’s name to see if there are any new videos. The most recent is still Karen’s fall from this morning, the one that my dad had seen already. Not only does it have thousands of views, there’re also two hundred and twenty comments. I scroll down and begin reading.
DanceFreak666: Ouch.
JosieGrossy: Why is she touted to be a surprise potential uneven bar gold medalist at Worlds? Stevie Davis could beat that routine on her worst day.
LevelEleven: she sucks.
GymnGrandMommy: Overrated, over-hyped, and obviously in over her head.
JeffCoach24: some serious air time on that layout Jaeger… if only the dismount had gone a little bit better…