"AJ!" Max cried. "What are you doing here?" AJ saw Max and the doctor staring at him. He shrugged and managed to smile.
"I don't know. I guess I was bored so I came here," he lied. Max looked doubtful while the doctor just smiled.
"Well, I guess I'll leave you two to talk," he said and left the room.
"So," said Max smiling. "Have a seat." She pointed to a very uncomfortable looking chair, but AJ sat in it anyway. He's been in worse before.
"AJ, why are you really here? I know you're not just bored."
He looked surprised. She was good for a 12-year old. "Um, I dunno. The gang went out dancing, and I don't feel like dancing."
Max gave him a sideways look and shook her head while frowning. "Naw, that's not it. You LOVE dancing, AJ. You just wanna talk, right?"
AJ shook his head as if to say "no" but out of his mouth came out, "Yeah." Max laughed. AJ smiled. He loved the way she laughed. Max sat up on her bed and hugged her knees. She looked at him.
"So, talk."
"Um, ok," he said slowly. But he didn't talk. They sat there in silence. Max looked down to the floor and AJ looked sadly at her. "Max?" She looked up at him.
"Yeah?"
"Are you afraid?"
She smiled. "Of course. Who wouldn't be afraid?"
"Then why are you so....confident and happy? Shouldn't you be crying?"
Max shrugged. "Well, listen to me, AJ. Listen very carefully. Yes, I should be crying, but I'm not, right? That's because when you KNOW you only have a few days to live, you have to live them well. You wanna do everything you wanted to do during your whole life. Already I went sky-diving, met the Backstreet Boys, went white water rafting, and so forth. It's better to die happy then to die sad."
AJ looked at her with admiration in his eyes. "Wow...."
She giggled. "The problem is, I grew up too fast."
"What are you talking about?"
"I dunno. I act so grown-up. I guess everyone's like that when you die, even when you're just a kid."
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
AJ jumped up in surprise. He realized it was only his beeper going off, and he clutched his heart, breathing heavily. Before seeing who was beeping him, he glared playfully at the girl on the hospital bed who was laughing her head off. The beeper said "AJ, WHERE ARE YOU". He rolled his eyes and stood up.
"Hey, Max? I gotta run. The guys are lookin' for me. I'll come by tomorrow, deal?"
She smiled at him. "Deal."