Angelique collapsed on the floor and the students running on the track field stopped. Angel Mukaido, who was the one beside her when the event happened, panicked as she wasn't waking up.
" Angelique! Angelique! Angelique! Someone, please! Someone please, help me!" Angel screamed out her name in desperation.
The P.E. teacher heard his student screaming and came to check. When he arrived, he found Angelique lying on the floor immobile, and Angel in a panicking state.
" Angel! What happened? What happened to her?" He asked.
" I don't know what really happened. She was running and suddenly, her breathing got shortlisted. She had difficulty breathing and all of a sudden, she collapsed on the ground". He explained all that occurred to the professor.
" I see! We have to hurry and carry her to the infirmary". The professor picked her up and together with Angel, they headed towards the infirmary.
At the infirmary, they explained everything to the nurse and she made a diagnosis upon checking her condition.
I now see what has happened!" The school nurse was pensive.
" How is she? Is she alright?" Angel asked the school nurse in a worried tone.
…
" Say something!" The school nurse was on silent mode.
" Listen you two! Listen very carefully! She was out of breath and then after she collapsed, right?" She asked them.
" That's right!" Angel nodded.
" Ever since she was born, she has always been so fragile. She has a weak constitution, but she never complained about her condition, not even once. What happened today was the result of her weak constitution and fragile body". Nurse Sakura Kirisawa made a full-out diagnosis. She explained Angelique's special condition to them.
" Can we do something to help her? Anything?" Angel was concerned about her.
The nurse was helpless and unable to suggest a solution.
" Nope! There's nothing you can do. There's no treatment for it, but there's medicine she takes when she feels weak. That medicine makes her feel slightly better. Don't worry! She'll be fine. She'll regain consciousness soon".
" Can she do physical activities?" The P.E. teacher asked the nurse.
" She can if she wants. She just has to be careful not to push herself too hard. If she did, she would collapse once again".
" We understand! We'll be extra careful from now on. I have to leave. Angel, wanna come?" The professor asked his student.
" No, I'll stay here until she regains consciousness". He answered.
" Alright then! I'll leave the rest to you. Take good care of her!" He exits the nurse's office.
" I will!"
I better leave some time alone! The nurse was pensive.
" I will go too, just for a little while. Can you handle things here while I'm gone?" She asked.
" No problem!" He said with assurance.
" Okay! Be careful and take care of her". She left the room.
" Angelique! I hope you recover soon. I can't believe what happened. You have always been so energetic, so strong, so full of energy. You were in pain and you never showed it to anyone. You always keep things inside of you. From now on, I won't leave you all alone anymore. You can count on it. I'll take good care of you. You won't ever feel lonely. I promise! This is my promise to you". He held her hand.
She looks peaceful when she's asleep. She's so different from when she's at school. She's nice and smart too. Wait a second! What am I saying? Am I crazy or something? His thoughts got interrupted by Angelique moving her finger.
She was regaining consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked around her.
" Where am I? What happened to me?"
" Try to calm down! I'll explain everything. You were running and in the middle of the run, your breathing got shortlisted and then, you collapsed on the ground. The teacher and I carry you out here to the infirmary. Do you remember now?" He cleared her confusion by explaining things as they occurred to her.
" I guess! Thank you!" She said all of a sudden.
" Hum! Hum! What did you say?" He thought he heard her wrong.
" Thank you!" She repeated herself.
" I can't hear you!" He played the deaf ear game.
" I said,'' Thank you! Thank you very much for saving me. Thanks a lot!" She screamed in his ear.
" You're very welcome! It was nothing, really!" He said with a bright smile on his face.
" I have to go. I need to thank the teacher for what he did for me". She got up from the bed and as she started walking, she lost her footing.
" Be careful!" He caught her and she landed right into his arms.
" Thank you!" She sits on the bed.
" You're not in very good shape! You have to rest first. As for the teacher, you'll thank him once you're completely recovered".
" No! I'll go right now. I'm fine! I feel better, thanks to you". She didn't want to remain in the infirmary.
" No, you don't! I won't let you go! You'll stay here. You won't go anywhere in this state". Angel was determined not to let her leave the infirmary.
Angelique was furious.
" Who are you? Who are you to tell me what to do? I've already thanked you for saving me. Now, what do you want? I don't have anything to give you".
" Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" He murmured.
" Who are you calling an idiot?" She asked angrily.
" You! You're an idiot!" He answered.
" What? What did you say to me?" Angelique was extremely angry at Angel for calling her an idiot.
" You heard me! Do you have the slightest idea of how worried I was?" He screamed at her.
" Worried! You were worried about me!" She was shocked by Angel's revelation.
" Of course I was! You're my classmate. When you collapsed, I didn't know what to do. I panicked. I was so worried. I was lost. I even blamed myself". He said anxiously.
" Blame yourself! Why?" She asked.
" Because, if I had paid more attention to you, I could have prevented it from happening. I could have stopped you for example. It was entirely my fault that happened. I'm so sorry!" He said apologetically.
Angelique, who has never been cared for before, was surprised by a stranger's sudden care of her. She wasn't used to such attention.
" No! No! Don't blame yourself! It wasn't your fault, I assure you. You have to believe me. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what could have happened to me. When I collapsed back there, I thought it was over. I thought it was all over for me. I asked myself: Is it the end? Am I going to die right here? I'm out of breath and unable to breathe. Is it time for me to go? Someone, please! Someone, please help me!"
…
" Before I lost consciousness, I heard a voice. I heard a very gentle voice who was calling my name so desperately. That made me so happy. I was so happy. Right after that, I completely lost consciousness. That voice I heard was yours. I'm 100% sure of it. It was yours. That voice saved me. Both you and the P.E. teacher saved me back there. I could never thank you enough. I want to repay you. I want to repay what you've done for me, Mukaido. That way, we'll be even. So, tell me what you want. What can I do to repay you, Mukaido? Tell me! Tell me! You just have to ask one thing, just one thing. I'll do my best to grant it".
…
" Anything you want! Is there something you would like to be granted? Like a wish!" She asked.
A wish! He thought.
" Yeah! There's a wish I want you to grant me. Before that, don't think I did whatever I did to have something in return". He said.
" I know you didn't do that to gain something in return, but I have to repay you somehow. So then, tell me your wish! What wish do you want me to grant you?"
" I want you to grant me this wish".
" What wish?"
" I want!"
" You want!"
" I want us!"
" You want us!"
" I want us to be!"
" You want us to be!"
What is he trying to say? I wondered.
" I want us to be friends". He finally blurted out his wish.
" You want us to be friends! No problem. Sure thing! Sure! What? What? Friends! Friends! You want us to be friends!" Angelica thought she had heard him wrong and wanted a reconfirmation.
" That's right! That's my wish! So, can you grant it?" He asked with a serious gaze.
He's serious! Why would he want to be friends with me? I wondered.
" No! I'm sorry! I'm very sorry but I'm unable to grant your wish. Anything but that. I will grant you another wish. Just ask me! I can't grant you this one. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I said helplessly.
" Why? Why not? Why not grant me this one instead? Has something happened? What I mean is--------?" He was reluctant to ask.
" Shut up! It's none of your business". I screamed.
" I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you". He apologized.
" No! No! It's me. I'm sorry! I shouldn't have yelled like that. It's not against you. I'll grant you a second one. Just tell me!"
She refused a simple request I asked. What was wrong with my primary wish? What else could I ask her? He was pensive.
Sorry, Mukaido! You cannot be friends with someone like me. You'll find someone better than me to fit that role. There's just no way I can be friends with you! I painlessly thought.
" Well then, I have another wish. Will you grant it this time?" He stared intensely at her.
" Yes, I will! What is it?" I said with confidence.
" Stop addressing me by my last name! I would like you to address me by my first name. That's my wish! Will you grant it?" He inquired.
Is that what he wants? He wants me to address him by his first name instead of his last name! Why does he intend to get familiar with me? What's his purpose? No matter, what he asks me, it is not impossible. It's better than the first wish he asked me to grant him.
" Your first name! Call you by your first name? Well then, I'll grant your wish!" I said in a serious tone.
" Really! You will!" He was happy.
" Yes, I will! Well then, it's time to grant your wish".
She took a breath in and out. She smiled and with no effort at all, she pronounces her name gently.
" Angel! Angel! Angel!"
Wow! She's smiling. She smiled. When she was calling my name, she smiled. She actually smiled, Angel was satisfied.
" Well then, I'll be going now. I'll go back to class. I'll come to pick you up once classes are over. You should rest just in case and also, one more thing: Don't force yourself! If you require anything, call me! I'll be glad to help you. I'll always be there if you ever need me". He stepped back from her.
" Thank you! Be careful on your way back!" I said thankfully.
" I will!" He left the nurse's office.
Angelique laid back on the bed. She got suddenly pensive regarding what had happened to her.
That Angel Mukaido! What a strange guy? He's different from the people I met. He has something more. I don't know why, but, when I'm with him, I feel safe. I feel secure. It's like nothing can happen to me. I feel strong, very strong. What am I saying? Why am I saying those words? It must be because of my current state. I'm spouting nonsense. I should rest for a little while! She sleeps soundly.
Back to class------
" I'm back!" Everyone was overflowing with joy when he got back, especially the girls.
" How is Angelique? How is she?" The P.E. teacher inquired.
" She's safe now. By the way, teacher, she thanked you for what you did for her". He relayed the information on Angelique's behalf.
" It's you she should thank the most. You were the one nearby when she collapsed. The only thing I did was carry her to the nurse's office. You're the one who saved her. You're the only one. You're the only one she should thank and not me. I didn't do much". He said.
" Teacher, stop it already! You're embarrassing me. I just did what had to be done". Angel was nervous.
" Whatever you say!" He could see his student's embarrassment.
The bell rang, ending the lesson. The students left the tracking field. Angel Mukaido was about to depart when the professor interpellated him.
" Wait up, Angel!" He intently stopped.
" What is it, teach?" He inquired.
" It's about Angelique Tsukishima". He said in a sharp tone.