Shout out to sapin01 for the cover!

Chapter 26

       During lunch at school, Alan kept checking his phone over and over again. Every single minute, he would pick it up to look at it only to sigh and place it back on the table.

       By the tenth time, Orchid sighed. "I don't know why you keep checking your phone. You're going to hear it when he calls."

       "What if I don't?" Alan asked. "What if I completely miss the call?"

       "Is it on silent?" Orchid asked.

       "No."

       "Then I don't see how you could miss it."

       "You don't know how the universe works, Orchid."

       "You're right, I don't. But I do know that you shouldn't miss the call if your phone isn't on silent. Stop checking it."

       "Make me."

       "I'll take your phone."

       "You wouldn't dare."

       "Do you two ever shut up?" Wilder asked. "Seriously, all you two do is arguing and it's giving me a headache, so do me a favour and shut up."

       Wilder was always to make me laugh. He always looked so innocent, but he could get really angry so easily, and I just found it so amusing.

       Orchid and Alan actually did stop arguing, but Alan didn't stop checking his phone every minute. However, this time he kept his phone screen facing him so he could just glance at his phone instead.

       As soon as his phone rang, he picked it up and answered it. "So?....No, I'm not saying hello. I'm impatient. Tell me what how it went. Wait, hold on, I'm going to put you on speaker so Orchid can hear too." Alan put his phone on speaker before resting it on the table. "Okay, go."

       "You sound very eager," Jerome's voice said from the phone. "It could be bad news for all you know."

       "Sorry for being hopeful," Alan said. "Now stop holding it off. Tell us how it went. Unless....You're holding it off before....Don't tell me...."

       "Maybe if you'd stop talking for a moment, you'd actually know how it went," Jerome said.

       "Okay, go."

       "It went pretty much how the doctors expected it to."

       "So....he cant walk again?"

       "No, not yet, but that's only because he's been paralyzed for a few months, so his body won't be able to handle the pressure of him standing fully on his feet and walking. He has to go to physiotherapy to learn how to walk again, but he can feel the lower half of his body and he can move it as well. It's just walking and standing that's going to take a bit longer."

       "Oh, thank goodness," Alan said. "I was so worried the whole time, thinking something was going to go wrong during surgery and he'll never be able to walk again."

       "Uh, why wasn't I informed that Nolan went into surgery?" Wilder asked. "I'm his friend too. I'm insulted now."

       "You're also insulted," I said.

       "That is very much true, but I still would have liked to know," Wilder said. "Well, at least I'm looking on the bright side. You won't be blaming yourself for the car crash anymore now that he's no longer paralyzed."

       "Hey, I stopped blaming myself," I said.

       "Really? When."

       "A week ago."

       "Months after the crash? Wow, much effectiveness."

       "Jerome?" Orchid said. "Do you know how long it will take for Nolan to be able to walk again? Because we're graduating soon, and we all want him to be able to walk across the stage. And prom is afterwards, and I don't want him to miss out on that."

       "I'm not sure," Jerome said. "It depends how well he does during physiotherapy. He'll be going twice a week, so I'm assuming he will be able to walk across the stage. I mean, I am hoping, but we can't be too sure."

       "So, he's still going to be in a wheelchair for a bit longer?" Alan asked.

       "Yes, but not for too long," Jerome said. "And at least he'll be able to move around a lot more. The wheelchair is only because he won't be able to stand or walk for a bit longer. Anyway, I should be heading back to the hospital room. He's still asleep, but he should be waking up soon."

       "Alright," Alan said. "Thanks for calling me to tell us. Ooh, and tell Nolan we'll be there after school."

       "Will do," Jerome said.

       I was very relieved to hear that the surgery went well with Nolan and he would be able to stand and walk again very soon. I did stop feeling guilty about it after Jerome talked to me, but I had a feeling the guilt would have returned it the surgery didn't go as planned.

       Now, I really hoped he would be able to walk again before the graduation ceremony. That was going to be a huge achievement for him, and I knew a lot of us at the school would be cheering him on.

       "Ooh, guess what I saw earlier today?" Wilder said. "Posters for prom. What would you do if I nominated you for prom king?"

       "Nothing," I said.

       Wilder raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

       "Yes, really. Want to know why? Because you're not a senior. Only seniors can nominate people for prom king."

       "Damn," Wilder said. "Hey, Alan, want to nominate Atticus for prom king? I'll give you five bucks to do it."

       "Five bucks isn't worth getting my face punched in," Alan said.

       "Okay, one, I would never hurt you," I said. "And two, why would you think I would?"

       "Uh, because I could tell you hate prom king and queens," Alan said. "You hated being part of the couple's contest we did a while back."

       That was true. I just hated any kind of couple contest. Well, I didn't really hate prom king and queen since it had been a tradition for many years. I just didn't really care for it.

       "But just imagine if you and Orchid won," Wilder said. "It would prove that you're a good enough couple, which should make Uncle Seb and Grayson get over their feud."

       "Wilder, come on, they're never getting over their feud," I said. "But it would make my dad mad if I won with Orchid." I looked over at my girlfriend. "What do you say? Should we give it a shot?"

       "Uh, and make my dad mad if we win?" Orchid asked. "Of course. I love getting him mad."

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Yes, Orchid and Atticus. You make your fathers mad. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )