Muse

Chapter 44

Binge-watching mind-numbing sitcoms was something I always did when I was sick. Even though my glasses were gone, and I was being kept in the hospital for observation, those were no exceptions to that rule. The Office played softly in the background on my phone since I had already finished Parks and Recreation and Friends had been done to death. I was currently listening to the paper airplane contest episode with my eyes closed- Jim and Pam's relationship had hollowed out from the picture perfect fairy-tale it had once been and had started to go to marriage counseling -when the nurse came in to check up on me.

"Alright, Miss Blake, it looks like everything's coming out clean for you on your chart. Your toxicology test came back clean, and it appears that your head trauma is nothing more than a superficial cut on the forehead. That being said, how are you feeling today?"

My eyelids peeled back to look at the nurse at the edge of my bed, my hair wild and free of hair-ties. "Is a splitting headache supposed to be normal?" My phone didn't bother me since I kept the volume so low, but the slow thrumming pulse behind my eye was annoying. Then again, maybe it was because I was trying to see without my glasses.

"It can be a side-effect. On a scale of one to ten, how high is your pain?"

"Umm... About a six or seven, I think?"

"Okay, then we'll get you some acetaminophen to help with the pain."

My fingers dug into the yellow scarf lying on my lap, tracing the green buttons- I called it a scarf but really I couldn't figure out exactly what this gnarled piece of fabric was. The fabric was so worn, it resembled a poncho or the remnants of a cowl, but on me it looked more like a ratty scarf. I couldn't recall exactly where I had picked it up, being found with it when I had been dropped off at the ER like some sort of overdosed druggie, but it had come with my bag of belongings and it smelled pleasant enough, like peppermint and old people. "...Am I allowed to go home soon?"

"Almost. We just need to keep you a bit longer to make sure you have no ill effects like a concussion or a relapse. Once everything checks out, you can go home on Monday." Monday!? That was three days from now! In America, they only kept you in the hospital for twenty four hours for observation.

"Is that really necessary? I feel fine."

"We just want to be absolutely sure you're in peak physical health. It's not often that we come across a person without a Quirk, much less one that has been injected with something like Trigger," the nurse's voice sobered. "You're lucky to be alive, Miss Blake. Those drugs that you were injected with were Quirk-enhancers well above the normal legal limit. Whatever nasty drugs you were shot up with would have likely killed you if you had a Quirk."

A hollow chuckle left my lips, coupled with a sardonic smile. "So my superpower is that I have no superpowers? The irony... So what, was I basically given one massive adrenaline shot?"

"In medical terms, no, but your body did experience a reaction similar to an adrenaline rush. The excitant stimulated your heart and respiratory rate, and the sedative that you inhaled shortly after caused your body to overwork itself with one trying to cancel out the other. It's generally not a good idea to mix stimulants and depressants. Such a mixture can cause heart attacks or even put people into comas. After the ordeal you've been through, I believe a headache is a small price to pay."

"...I guess that makes sense," I relented. For a country known for working their citizens to death, they sure love long hospital stays...

She wrapped a blood pressure sleeve around my upper arm, giving me a pins and needles sensation as the armband squeezed, something I was not comfortable with. "Hmm... 125 over 80. Your blood pressure still appears to be a bit high." Tch, yeah I'll bet. After taking a few more vitals, the nurse went to her cart and sat down a lunch tray on the bed table with a small paper cup with two white pills and a small water-bottle. "I'll be back to check in later. Call if you need anything."