Collateral

Arsen's eyes fluttered open slowly. A girl with long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail was sitting in the chair beside his bed.  "You're an i***t," Reyna told him when she noticed him waking. Then she flung her arms around him. "That was such a stupid thing to do."  Arsen remembered inking his signature onto that fateful piece of paper. He always wanted some risk in his life, something more exciting now that he had graduated from high school. What could be more exciting than a sudden, dangerous surgery to change him, permanently?  No, it wasn't plastic surgery.  He was supposed to be stronger. Faster. Smarter. Arsen noticed Reyna's forest-green eyes were teary.  "Hey," he said softly, "it's okay. I'm fine." Reyna ran her sleeve across her nose.  "No, it's not that... you don't know what you've just done. What you've gotten into."  "It's alright, Rey. I've always wanted to be a superhero," he tried again.  "You're not understanding!" She exclaimed. "You're my best friend. You've just imprisoned yourself. You won't be a superhero, Arsen." Her expression was a cross between anger and sadness and something else that Arsen couldn't decipher.  Reyna composed herself in an instant. "I'll get the doctor so he can discharge you," she said. "Already?" Arsen asked.  "Are you feeling sick?" Reyna inquired. Arsen shook his head. If anything, he felt better than he ever had. "Then you're going to be fine."  The doctor ran a few tests on him, taking his blood and temperature, but it all seemed half-hearted. "You're good to go," the doctor informed Arsen finally. "Check out at the front desk."  Arsen muttered his thanks. At the doorframe, he paused. "What am I supposed to do now? I don't think that I'm just allowed to go."  The doctor offered him a soothing smile, "You don't have to worry about anything until tomorrow."  Reyna grabbed his arm and started pulling him away, muttering under her breath about how this wasn't going to end well.  At the front desk, there was a blonde receptionist.  "Miss Laurier," she exclaimed, addressing Reyna. "Nice to see you again. Who's your boyfriend?"  "Ah--this is my friend, Arsen Ashford. And we aren't dating," Reyna explained, blushing bright red. "Too bad," the receptionist sighed. "Would've been a good match, I can tell. Arsen Ashford, we'll check you out. I hope you'll come back to visit us soon."  Arsen thought, This is a hospital. Why would you want us to come back? "I know she's a little odd," Reyna apologized once they were out of the receptionist's earshot, "but she's really not that bad."  "Well, you're right about one thing. She definitely is weird," Arsen muttered, giving one last glance at the receptionist, who was greeting another patient.  "I'll take you home," Reyna offered. "You can change into some different clothes." Arsen glanced down at himself--he was dressed in a hospital gown that he knew made him look stupid, hanging above his knees. "Good idea," he said quickly.