Estrellas: Book 2

CHAPTER NINETEEN: STORIES

(told in perspective of Andrometa)

I laid in my hospital bed where the doctors had forced me. I tried to convince them that I was going back to the hospital bed on my own and they didn't have to drag me, but they insisted on doing it their way. I mean, I wouldn't blame them, I had just basically run out of the med bay room to go find a jacket. I reached to the jacket on my shoulder, then I put my hands in the pockets, feeling that same letter I had read earlier. I sighed and leaned back. Suddenly, Zana walked in.

"So! Two days of being in the med bay and you've already run away." She joked and sat on my bed.

"You know it." I played along, then sighed, "Do you know when he's coming back?"

Zana shook her head, "We don't even know that he's coming back..." Her face grew solemn, then she noticed the jacket I was wearing, "That jacket, isn't it Matthew's?" I looked down at it then nodded.

"Yeah."

"Let me just say, I told you so." Zana laughed and gave me a playful nudge.

"What?"

"I called it before the food fight, remember?" I thought back to the food fight and realized she was right. I shrugged. "Hey are you bored in here?" Zana asked.

"Of course, I can't exactly do anything." I laughed then slightly propped up my leg a bit more.

"Well, how about I tell you about the time when Matthew was out in the hospital with a broken arm." Zana started.

"Wait, I think I know this one, he fell out of the back of a moving truck, right? He hopped into the back because he didn't want his parents to go on one of their missions without him." I recalled from a few years back.

"Yeah, everyone basically knows that part, but did you ever hear about afterwards, when he was put in the hospital?" Zana asked.

"Huh, guess I didn't really think about that part much, other than the balloons my family and I sent him." I shrugged.

"Well, let's just say, he was as anxious as you to get out of that bed, said he wanted to go play with his friends or something like that, the point is, he wanted to get out of that bed so bad, that he decided to sneak out when the staff wasn't paying attention to him. And knowing Matthew, he didn't have much trouble..." Zana laughed, "Let's just say it took a couple of hours to find him, and when they found him, he wound up breaking his other arm trying to get on a motorcycle to go after his parents. So they took him back, and he had to stay there for even longer. So, they asked me to come in and preoccupy him. And I did exactly what I'm doing here with you, told him stories about his parents, or about me, then I read him books and kept him company, and soon enough, his arms were healed and he was up and running again." Zana smiled and I laughed.

"Yeah, sounds like Matthew alright." I joked. Then I thought back to the letter in my pocket, and the one hidden underneath the mattress. Should I give them to her? Just give her a quick glance or something? I feel really guilty keeping these without showing them to her. I felt inside my pocket and played around with the tiny note inside.

" I'm just worried about him you know? He can be reckless sometimes, and in war, that could be someone's greatest mistake." Zana's face turned solemn. I reached in my pocket again, continuing to feel guilty.

"What is Matthew to you?" I asked Zana, my voice filled with curiousity, she was awfully close to him for just a Commander, I just didn't know quite why they were close.

"He's my um..." She stopped, hesitantly, "... you know what, I'll just tell you, because if Matthew comes back with a mission success the wars over and I don't need to hide anymore anyways, and even if he fails, I get fired and it doesn't really matter who I tell." I looked at her, completely confused, trying to make sense of what she was saying. "Long story short, Matthew's my nephew." Zana shrugged and I looked at her in shock.

"H-hes your what?!" I continued to look at her with an astonished face.

"My nephew." She sighed.

"H-hes your nephew... Does he even know this?!" I looked at her and she shook her head.

"Of course not, the Media board refused to let me tell him because my job was to be his superior officer, not his aunt." She looked down, her face disappointed. I gave her a reassuring look and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that he has surviving family." I laughed. She smiled and patted my back.

"So what was this possibly losing your job thing about?" I asked her and she sighed.

"Well, when Matthew left with the Media property, I had the chance to send retrieval units after him, but of course I didn't. They called me in for a meeting, and unless I had made a last minute deal with them right then and there, I would have been fired, not being able to see any of you again." She said sadly.

I nodded, "What was the deal?" I asked my voice filled with doubt.

"If Matthew and his team come back with a mission success, I can keep my job, or keep it for however long after the war this job might last..." Zana explained.

"And if he doesn't come back or he fails?" I asked concerned.

"Let's just say I have to formally resign and hand my commander rank over to Captain Trenton." she shivered.

"Yeah, I get you there, why does he even want to be a Commander? Let's just say he doesn't have the best set of leadership skills..." I joked.

"Now let's not talk about him like that behind his back, I'm sure he has some very good qualities." Zana said, leaving me in shock. I never thought she would be defending him... She leaned in to whisper into my ear, "At least that's what I'm supposed to say, your descriptions are highly accurate." We both laughed and Zana started to get up.

"See ya Zana. Come back tomorrow?" I called after her.

She turned around and gave me a thumbs up, "Same time tomorrow!" She yelled, then walked out the door. I reached into my pocket one last time, then, I quickly hid the note underneath the mattress like the letter. I laid back down in my bed, propped up my leg, and relaxed.
TO BE CONTINUED