The next day the officers gathered together waiting to take off and leave for Wakeville. Jason arrived a bit late and looked exhausted like he had missed a night's worth of sleep.
Bryan jumped back when he saw him like that, "dude, what happened to you? The last time I saw you—which was yesterday—your face was fine and don't give me the 'I fell off the stairs' excuse."
Bernadette, who was beside Bryan, smiled and commented, "Even I won't use that excuse."
Jason looked terrible and his lips were swollen like balls and red like tomato while he had several cuts across his face. It seemed like he had just escaped the war zone.
Jason chuckled despite his hurting jaw and aching arm, "you should have seen the other guy."
Bryan and the rest stifled a laugh and Collins spoke up, "that's what they all say."
Everyone laughed even more. Jason decided to ignore them and stood to the side, his mind wandering all over the place.
