Half a dozen nurses appeared – including several Mark had never seen before – and they began to tidy up the room as quickly as they could. Nurse Helen dashed over to Archie’s bed and took Mark by the arm. “Come on,” she said. “Time to get you back in your own bed.” “But we haven’t finished eating…” “Never mind that!” snapped the nurse. “Dr Stone expects everything to be in order for one of his visits.” “Who’s Dr Stone?” asked Archie, shovelling as much of the remaining lasagne into his mouth as he could before the tub was taken away. “His name is on the chart at the end of my bed,” said Mark. “He’s the surgeon who’s doing the operation on my leg tomorrow.” Suddenly, a thought struck him. “He’s the surgeon doing all these operations, isn’t he?” But Nurse Helen didn’t reply. She simply helped Mark hop back across Ward 13 and quickly tucked him back into his own bed. Within a few minutes, the ward was as tidy as could be expected. The nurses lined up at the door, fussing with their uniforms, as a short man with thinning hair entered.
