Chapter 22 - Apple Juice

A few minutes after the nurse left, Masha and Gabriel entered the room one after another. While the teenage boy paid his respects to Mrs. Brown, the teenage girl quickly went to her brother's side, kissing his forehead as she said, "Hi, little devil. How's your fever?"

When the boy heard the nickname, he smiled brightly, his eyes forming an adorable crescent moon shape. Although he knew he hated that nickname as a child, and that he definitely shouldn't be happy when his sister called him this way, he still couldn't help but smile from ear to ear every time he heard it. He had missed it too much. In the previous timeline, he would have given up everything to hear that silly surname once again. Now that his wish came true, how could he pretend to despise it?

In any case, Misha could always blame his fever if Masha becomes suspicious of his odd behavior. Anyway, she still hadn't said anything about his sudden change of attitude concerning her lame nickname, so he put his concerns in the back of his mind. He would deal with the problem if it ever arises. Why should he worry about something that didn't happen? He had enough concerns to keep his mind busy for who knew how long — no need to add more. Hence, he naturally focused on the present and his time with his dear sister. He fully accepted that his acting was inconsistent.

"Still the same," pouted Misha, crossing his arms in front of his c.h.e.s.t while silently cursing the fever. Then, he asked tentatively, "And your exams? How did it go?"

"Ergh…" mumbled Masha, averting her eyes. Since her brother's hospitalization a few days ago, she had been too worried to concentrate on her studies. Her mind was blank even when she faced her exam papers, and frankly, she could already visualize the big, red zero on the corner of her exam papers. Nevertheless, she answered, "It went pretty well, don't worry."

'What a white lie!' thought Misha, raising an eyebrow.

Masha also had difficulties at school, which was one of the reasons she had been quick to drop out of school and work after their father lost his job. His sister couldn't sit still for long, and neither did she like the feeling of her brain being flooded with her teachers' empty words. She wasn't an intellectual; she was someone that loved to use her ten fingers. In Misha's eyes, she overworked her brain only to pull pranks. The rest wasn't worth the effort.

In the end, Misha decided not to expose her lie. Instead, he patted his bed, inviting her to sit on it. Without any reservation, Masha slouched on the mattress as if it was her own, smiling happily.

There weren't enough chairs since Misha wasn't supposed to have more than one visitor at once. However, no one complained in his room, and his roommates even welcomed them with open arms. Every time Gabriel came, he became the sacrifice and was sent to the old lady to keep her company, giving everyone a breather. So, of course, no one would dare to call the nurse at the risk of becoming the next sacrifice. Moreover, Gabriel always did a perfect job, and the old lady seemed quite satisfied with her 'new son'.

But before entertaining the old lady like the teenage boy always did, he got closer to the child, holding a small plastic bag in front of Misha's eyes. "Can you guess what I brought this time?" Winked the teenager, a gentle smile lingering on his lips.

Misha looked at the white bag, frowning as if he was seriously pondering over the question. His small face seemed overly serious, making a few smile without realizing it. It was a cute sight.

In truth, Misha wasn't pondering on what was inside the bag. Instead, he was wondering if smashing the bag into Gabriel's face would be over the top. Every time Gabriel came to visit him, he would bring something to eat. Most of the time, it was some expensive sweets from well-know shops. And every time, Misha would be faced with this dilemma. However, he always chose to do the same thing, which was accepting the gift and pushing aside his violent thought.

Well, the hospital food was tasteless and had a funny texture. Thus, those sweets were the saviors of his taste buds, and he couldn't refuse them, even if they came from his worst enemy – truthfully, he just wanted to eat something sweet.

After a while, Misha guessed, "Chocolate cake?"

"Congrats! You're right. It's a small chocolate cake," chuckled the teenage boy as he gave the child the sweet, watching him unwrapping the gift. The boy's greedy eyes made Masha laugh, and Gabriel's smile grew wider.

The cake was classy, with a drizzle of raspberry coulis and red ornaments. Overall, it had an elegant appearance, but Misha barely glanced at it before wolfing it. He closed his eyes to savor it, not caring at all about his surroundings. He knew he had made a mess, dropping pieces of cake and chocolate all over his gown, and that the contour of his lips probably turned brown. But it was so good! He couldn't help himself!

"Here, sweetie," said his mother, a white handkerchief in her hands.

"Thanks!" Misha smiled, taking the tissue before cleaning his hands and his face, furiously rubbing his mouth to get rid of the chocolate. While he was doing so, the grumpy nurse came back.

The first thing the middle-aged woman did was complaining about the number of visitors the child had. It was against the rules. Before anyone could answer, the old lady said icily, "Do you have something against my son?"

Everyone raised an eyebrow while Gabriel gently smiled, saying as he took a small step toward the woman, "I'm here to visit her." Since he was standing between the two beds, it wasn't clear who he came to see. Although the nurse knew he was lying, she couldn't pursue the matter further. She didn't want to incur the wrath of the old lady and deal with her nasty temper. If she were to be harsh with the elderly, it would be quite harmful for her already bad reputation.

"And I'm also leaving," admitted Mrs. Brown as she stood up, stroking her boy's head. Even if she didn't work, she still needed to take care of the house, and now that his daughter was here, she was reassured and could leave with an easy heart. Moreover, Gabriel always brought his cellphone with him, and if something were to happen, he would give her a call immediately.

"Fine," grunted the nurse as she got closer, standing between the bed and Gabriel. "Where's your pee sample?"

"Oh, there," Misha said, stretching his arms to take the plastic cup on the night table. It was hiding by the tissue box. As he was about to give it to her, he said, "Wait! I'm a bit thirsty." Then, he opened up the cup and took a sip under the incredulous gaze of the nurse.

"Y-You!" She stammered in anger, pointing the boy while trembling.

Before she could scold him, Misha spat out the liquid on the nurse's face. Because Gabriel was close to her, his t-shirt and his arms also got damp a little – Misha made sure to target him in passing. How could he miss such a good opportunity? Who told him to stand close to the nurse?

The nurse's face paled drastically, then she lost it and insulted the brat, screaming that he was disgusting and so on, before leaving, angered to death by the boy. She would never come back! Taking care of this devil was impossible.

The moment she left, the noisy roommate burst out laughing, holding his stomach, while the bookworm also wore a grin on his lips. No one loved that nurse and all were happy to see her suffer a little. They had seen what the boy had done, and thus they knew he hadn't actually drunk pee. Only the old lady was clueless about what had happened.

Smiling from ear to ear, Masha asked, "So, what was inside the cup?" She knew her brother fairly well, and although he wasn't the smartest, he still wouldn't drink pee for no reason.

"Apple juice!" proudly answered the boy, puffing out his small c.h.e.s.t. A minute or two before Masha and Gabriel arrived, he had poured the juice of the carton into the cup before throwing the empty carton in the trash bin. The color was similar to urine, and because the nurse didn't pay attention to everything that was related to him, like the color of the liquid in the cup, he was pretty sure he could fool her easily. It had indeed been the case.

"Good job!" complimented Masha while patting her brother's head. Misha couldn't help but laugh, blushing slightly. He was quite weak to his sister's compliments.

As for Gabriel, he didn't complain and only excused himself, saying that he needed to go to the bathroom to clean himself a little. The apple juice was sticky. The family of three only smiled in response, and Mrs. Brown prepared to leave. She said, "Don't cause too much trouble for your sister, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am!" promised the boy with a clumsy military salute, making his mother laugh.

She stroked his hair, then left. Mrs. Brown didn't reprimand him, not even showing a hint of disapproval; she had let him prepare his prank in front of her, after all. In the end, her children only inherited her bad habit. They did what they saw at home when she felt like bothering her poor husband a little. At their age, she was worse than them. Therefore, she didn't feel like she had the right to say anything. It was even a bit entertaining to watch them. She only had to clean their mess after them, which she gladly did every time.