If 1978 smelled like a delicious Kinchley’s Pizza, the present day smelled like a giant frozen lemon that had been cleaned with extra-strength bleach. It was the “Hospital Smell.” It’s the kind of scent that tells your brain, “Hey, something is wrong, and you should definitely start panicking now.”

I didn’t need the smell to tell me that, though. I just had to look at Bones. One second ago, we were in a junkyard back in the seventies, and Bones was standing tall, laughing and probably thinking about pizza. Now, we were back in Valley Hospital, and he looked like a deflated balloon. He was tucked under a thin white sheet, with more tubes coming out of his arm than a spaghetti factory. And my heart was doing a heavy-metal drum solo against my ribs.

“Bones, are you ok?!” I blurted out.

I was currently in my “Tomato-Red” phase of worrying. My face felt like it was on fire, and I was pretty sure I was forgetting how to breathe. Bones opened one eye. He gave me a look that was half-smile and half “not ever gonna get up”. He pointed a shaky finger at the beeping monitor next to his bed.

“Lump,” he whispered, his voice sounding like it had been dragged through gravel. “I think I’m back in the wrong year.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” I said, I think my voice was shaking just as much as his finger. “We’re back. And listen, I’m officially the boss of the Ching now. You’re not allowed to touch a touchscreen again. Your size fourteen feet are basically time-traveling wrecking balls.”

I reached for the IV stand. I hated medical stuff. Usually, just seeing a needle makes me turn “Tomato-Green” and head for the nearest garden to throw up, but I, the Wizard of Worry, was being overtaken by Lumpy the Commander of Chaos.

“We gotta move,” I said, grabbing the metal pole. “Look, the stand has wheels. We’ll just roll you out of here like a high-speed parade float. I’ll be the truck, you be the main attraction.”

“Lump,” Bones was struggling to talk, “I can’t even pick up a spoon. How am I supposed to win a parade?”

“Because we have to!” I lost my patience and for good reason...Bones was being a doofus, nobody “wins” a parade.