Jiya didn't realize when they had finished our march. But, right now, they were standing in front of the main tent. She was right there in the front, leading. She was dizzy all day and the scorching sun rays intensified it. All of a sudden, She saw Mr. Budding charge straight to where they were standing. She thought that he realized that she was feeling unsteady. But he charged past her. Jiya turned back in confusion and realized that one of their girls had fainted. The sun was at its peak, but the girl had still had her sweater on. Jiya sighed as she was led away by Mr. Budding to the benches under the temporary tents.
Their Headmaster decided that it was enough for the day. He let the crowd disperse for lunch break while the captains and the vice-captains had a short meeting. When they were heading back, the junior college students were already out for their break. Jiya never paid any attention to them ever. She heard a round of laughter and she shuddered. She slowly turned her head and saw the jocks laughing and howling under a tree. It sounded so... similar.
"Hey! Queen", Jiya darted a quick side glance to see who it was. It was from Sam, surrounded by the jocks. He had been teasing her about her Instagram stories since last year. Jiya would have joked about it if it was another time. Instead, she had shot him an unintentional glare. He raised his eyebrows with mockery. Jiya stormed off. I had to find Ava and talk to her, she decided.
As soon as she reached the classroom, she enquired about Ava. Abhi informed her that Ava had taken a sick leave. She closed her eyes and shook away the agony. She rubbed my temples in frustration. She decided it was time to put something in her stomach.
---
After the tiffin break, the students resumed their practice. Green House was leading the points in March past. It was an honor and everyone was happy. But, not Jiya. They were left to practice by themselves. As usual, Jiya did what she was supposed to do but she was losing focus. She sat down for a while and let the Vice-Captain lead the troops for a while.
Jiya was unable to open my eyes because she was on the brink of unconsciousness. She could hear someone calling her name. she thought that she had fallen asleep and berated herself in her mind. When Jiya finally tore her eyes open, she saw the troops surrounding her. Abhi, Harshita, Tamanna and Riya were crouched down near her.
She scratched her head with confusion, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong!" Harshita took on a berating tone, "You passed out, silly!"
"I passed out?" Jiya asked with confusion.
Abhi glared at Jiya, "You sat down because you were dizzy?"
"I don't know", Jiya crossed her arms with a frown, "Should you be glaring at me?"
He rolled his eyes in response.
"Are you planning a fall on the final day?" They raised their heads to see Sashank, the boy's captain, who rarely spoke, stand with his arms crossed.
Jiya snapped her fingers at the clueless girls, "What are you staring at? Go and practice!" She shot a look at Riya and she took to her feet immediately. The boys were quickly led away by Sashank.
"Wanna go home?" Harshita asked with concern.
"Nope", Jiya glanced at my wristwatch, "I will make do with these thirty minutes. Just get me my water bottle."
"I will get it", Abhi said as he stood up.
Harshita shrugged and left for practice.
Thirty minutes passed by quickly and Jiya strolled out of the school gate along with the bag in tow. There was a reason why she always left school grounds alone. She walked too quickly and her friends were unable to keep up with her pace.
Papa was already present with his scooter. She exhausted her strength by climbing on it. She slumped all her weight on Papa. When they reached home, the simple wash up seemed exhausting to Jiya. She was so tired that Mom had no choice other than to feed her herself. After eating, Jiya collapsed on the bed with a tired sigh.
The moment she closed her eyes, Ava's and Maddie's terrible memories mixed together in a dreadful nightmare. Her stomach was in knots. She was tired but couldn't sleep. She shifted under my blanket, Marshmallow. She shivered as the laughter echoed in her ears as if taunting her. She groaned and opened her eyes. Her eyes were stinging and burning. She felt a damp cloth covering her forehead. Jiya sighed when she saw Mom sitting on her bed with a ceramic bowl in her hand.
"What's wrong?" she tried to speak, but no voice came out. She tried to sit up but Mom placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her to stop.
"You have a fever, dear", she murmured in a sad voice.
Fever? Jiya wanted to ask, but her throat felt sore and dry. She licked my lips desperately. Mom understood her folly and poured her a glass of water to drink. It felt a lot better after drinking the water.
"How long?" She asked, her voice cracked.
"Three hours", Mom nodded at the phone.
She closed her eyes. Then, she said, "Give me some meds. I don't want to miss school tomorrow."
"No meds", Mom shook her head sternly. "It's about time", Mom murmured.
"Time for what?" Jiya asked but Mom didn't answer and left the room instead.
Jiya concluded that she hadn't slept at all. She was just passing in and out of consciousness.
Moments later, Mom brought her a sandwich and a glass of warm milk, that she hated the most.
"It will help you in your awakening", Mom murmured absent-mindedly.
"Awakening? What?" Jiya asked as soon as she gulped down her milk, "What is it?"
Mom patted her head before saying, "You will know it soon, dear."
After that, she left her room. Jiya stared at the door in confusion. That was until her eyelids became heavy and they drooped to sleep.