Read Online Near Future 1: Awakening by Randal Sloan - Free Book Online

to keep doing your exercises." Smiling, Miranda handed him her crutches. She didn't mention that several times she had found herself walking around her hospital room without them.
    "Thank you for all your help," she told him as she reached the door.
    "That's why we are here," he said. "But I'm glad we could help you."
    Miranda still had to be returned to her room in a wheelchair, but she felt a little bit of happiness. The therapy had been hard, but now it was paying off. If she only had something to do with her newfound freedom.
    Andrea came by a little later. She had obviously heard the results from her physical therapy and she was all smiles. "So you have 'graduated' from your therapy. That's awesome! That means we have to celebrate, but first we will have to start working on the next steps for you. I have asked Doctor Ted to come down here so we can talk about what you can do next."
    Miranda looked up quickly. "Thank you. I am really tired of being stuck here. Besides not have my past memories, not having any idea about even the very near future is very frustrating. I don't have a clue what I am going to do when I leave here and how I am going to make it on my own."
    "Well, we're going to help with that," Doctor Ted said as he came in the door. "Assuming you are physically and emotionally up to it, we have thought about setting you up to attend one of the local universities. I know you don't remember, but based on your past scores you should do well. A school with a somewhat controlled environment might be the best way to transition you from the hospital to the outside world."
    Andrea chimed in. "If we can get you in a local school, I will be able to visit you too. If you would be interested in that, I would like to do it.
    Miranda immediately responded. "Yes and yes. I have already been thinking about the local schools. I have been thinking about a couple of them, but I don't see how I could be able to afford it. Even with the trust fund, there is no way I could cover tuition, room and board."
    "I am going to see about getting you a scholarship," Doctor Ted said. "You will first have to take the college entrance exams. I know all the members of the local scholarship boards, and if you do as well as I think you will based on all your test results to date, they will be fighting over you! And because I can get you past all the red tape, it won't take months like most applications would."
    Miranda didn't know what to think about everything they were telling her, but she nodded and said, "Set me up for the exam. I'm not sure about the rest of that, but I will do my best. And thank you, both of you, for taking such good care of me."
    #
    For her celebration, Andrea showed up with a wheelchair, pushing her down to the food court in the public area of the hospital. She bought her pizza slices from the little Italian restaurant there. It was hot and to Miranda, it was great; much better than the hospital food she had been getting before that. "Wow!" she said. "This is awesome. Thanks again for all that you have done for me."
    Andrea just smiled. "I am glad to do it. You are a very special person, and you just need a little help right now. I believe that in the last couple of weeks we have become good friends, and this is the kind of thing that friends do for each other. I know if the positions were reversed, you would do the same for me."
    Miranda had been wanting to ask Andrea about something. She thought that she had recognized her from the pictures she had found of Julie Randolph's family. She did not want to pry, but she had to ask. "I want to ask you a question. I know it is a rather personal question. Are you the Andrea that worked for the family of Doctor Randolph from Space Tech? I know it's not fair to ask you that question, but I just have to know. It's something in here," pointing to her head, "that I can't get out of my mind."
    Andrea stared at her for a minute. Finally, she reached a decision. "Yes. I don't talk about