Red Smiler

Ch3 ~ Shared Dorms

The mother hummed as she wrapped her son's arm in bandages, he sniffled as tears streamed down his cheeks. He watched his mother smile as she tended to his wounds and brushed away his tears. When she was finished, the mother lovingly patted the poor boy's bandaged arm and smiled up at him. "There you have it, Thorfrid. Everything is fine now." The mother said as she stood up from the chair she was seated in, she kissed her son's cheek and patted his head. Thorfrid let his injured arm fall to his side when his mother let go. He looked down for a few seconds before gazing up at his mother, a sad expression on his face as he murmured, "Momma... why is papa mean to me?" When her son asked her this question, her smile vanished. She had a solemn expression on her face as she looked down at the small boy. "He isn't being mean, honey," she said quietly as she kneeled in front of the boy. "He's just teaching you how to be a good and strong leader for the future; when he retires, you'll take over as the next Red Leader of the Red Army. You'll have to make difficult decisions, lead others, and you'll have to do so well. He's only helping you prepare for that."

Thorfrid frowned at his mother's words and shook his head slowly, "But what if I don't want to be the new leader, momma?" His mother furrowed her brows and slightly narrowed her gaze at her son before softening her expression and gently smiling at him. "But you do, you're just confused right now," she gently squeezed her son's left shoulder. "You'll reconsider when you're older." She rose from the ground and took Thorfrid's hand in hers. She walked out of the medical room with him and tenderly squeezed his small hand.

~~~

"Your mother said she'd try to make it, but if she can't, she'll let us know. Here's your medicine for today, Thompson. It will relieve any pain or headaches you may feel." The nurse placed the medicine in a small white cup and handed it to Tom. She made him eat a couple of salted crackers before taking the medication. He took the cup from the nurse with care and took a few seconds to look at the liquid medicine before drinking it. Tom's face scrunched up from the medicine's taste, and he nearly gagged. The nurse gently smiled at Tom and handed him a small cup of apple cider to wash away the bad taste in his mouth. "Good job, you also have a couple of visitors in the waiting room. Do you want me to bring them in?" The nurse asked the boy with a soft look in her eyes. Tom raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders at her. "Sure," he said after finishing his drink. She took his empty cup and handed him a remote. She approached a small television that was facing away from the boy in the hospital bed and turned it around. "Now you can watch whatever you want, sweetie. Remember to press the red button if you need anything." With that, the nurse left the room.

Tom sighed and returned his gaze to the television. He switched it on and began scanning the channels that appeared on the screen. Three people walked into his hospital room after a few minutes of looking through the channels. Tord, Edd, and Matt. When Tom saw Tord, his mouth twitched. "... Tord." The voice in Tom's head whispered. "Huh?" Tom thought to himself. "Tom!" "Tim!" Both of Tom's friends yelled at the same time and dashed up to the short male. Tord stood there watching as the two taller boys hugged Tom tightly. "We were so worried about you!" Edd exclaimed as Tom began to cough. Edd sobbed, and Matt gently patted Tom's back while nodding his head, agreeing with Edd. "I'm sorry..." In hushed tones, Tom said. Edd smiled slightly as he observed his friend, the Brit looked down at his hands and began to play with his fingers. "It's fine; you don't need to be sorry. I'm just glad you're okay." Edd smiled and wiped the tears from his eyes with his hands. The previous nurse returned to the room with a pen and clipboard and said, "I apologise for interrupting, but Thompson, you have not yet eaten breakfast. So, what do you want to eat?" With a soft smile on her face, the nurse approached the boy's bed and looked down at him. Tord was staring at the nurse with a slight annoyance, which Tom noticed. "Ohhh, food. I'll choose for the both of us~!" Exclaimed the excited voice. "Wai-!"