Foxworth Academy by Chris Blewitt Page A

eyes.  “Look left.  Now right.  Up.  Down.”  He turned off the light and said to his dad, “He’ll be fine.  Keep putting some ice on the bruise on his head.  No heavy lifting for a few days.  Be mindful of his rest.  Basically, keep an eye on him.”  He walked to the door, turned toward them, and finished with, “The nurse will be here in a moment to release you.”
    And she was.  Not a minute later, a slim, middle-aged woman in blue hospital scrubs came in.  She gave Brett’s dad a prescription for Ibuprofen to reduce the swelling, a blue rubber ice pack, and a few papers about the dangers of concussions.  They signed some paperwork at the desk and were on their way home, Brett sleeping most of the way.
    Brett was greeted by his mother who showered him with kisses and hugs as she led him to the couch to sit down.  For the rest of the weekend, he was treated like a king.  Food and drink were constantly brought to him as he hunkered down in the basement watching sports and movies both Saturday and Sunday.  His cell phone rang late on Sunday as he was watching the Eagles beat the Cowboys 24-17 late in the fourth quarter.  He didn’t recognize the number, pressed mute on the TV, and answered.
    “Brett?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Hey, it’s Ally.”
    Brett tossed off the Star Wars blanket that was cradled around him and stood up from the couch.  “Hey, how’s it going?”
    “Good, you okay?” she asked.  “I heard what happened at the game yesterday.”
    “Oh that?  Yeah, no biggie, I’m fine.”
    “So you think you’ll make it to school tomorrow?”
    “Yeah, definitely.”
    “Okay cool.”
    “How’s Lance?” he asked.
    “I heard he’s fine.  Got the wind knocked out of him but nothing major.”
    Great , thought Brett.  Well at least I won the game .
    “Listen....” She said before being interrupted by a beep.
    “Oh hold on a sec okay?” Brett said.  He looked at his phone to see who the incoming call was from.  Krista .  Oh man.  He pressed a button and said, “Hey Krista.”
    “Hey Brett, how are you?  I heard what happened.”
    “I’m fine.  Hey, can I call you back?  I’m kinda on the other line.”
    Krista paused and before she could stop herself she rudely said, “With who?”
    “Umm,” Brett scrambled, trying to decide what to say.
    “Never mind,” she said.  “Just seeing if you are okay.  See you later.”
    Click .
    “Krista wait!” but it was too late.  He flipped back to Ally.  “Sorry about that.”
    “So, I was just making sure you were going to be in class tomorrow.  We really gotta figure out this Titanic mess soon.”
    “I know,” he replied.  “How do you stop a ship from hitting an iceberg without telling them to literally ‘Watch out!’” 
    She laughed.  “Slip them a note?”
    “Mr. Martin will see us do that.”
    “Did they have those card readers back then?  You know the ones you see at restaurants or in the mall?”
    “Tarot card readers?” Brett asked.
    “Yeah.  What if we do a reading for the captain and tell him something bad is going to happen and that he needs to change course?”
    “Maybe, but Mr. Martin will still say we basically told him.  And I doubt the captain will trust two fourteen-year-old kids.  We’ve got to figure a way to do it without actually telling the captain or whoever is driving the ship.  I’ve got to figure this out.  We used to go out on my granddad’s boat all the time.”
    They were silent for a few seconds before Ally spoke again.  “Well, let me know if you come up with something.”
    “Okay.”
    “See you tomorrow,” she said before hanging up.
    Brett hung up.  He thought about his granddad’s boat.  There was something there, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.  He closed his eyes and thought back to a time when his dad was driving the boat through a narrow channel, but the beep coming from his phone interrupted his thoughts.  He looked down to see a text from