The next thing I knew, everything was bright. And it was soft where I was. If I was dreaming then I wanted to sleep more, but it didn’t take me long to realize that I was in the school clinic. I knew that strong disinfectant smell very well; strong enough to have woken me up.
The pain was slowly coming back again. I thought it only meant that I could still feel my body. It only meant I hadn’t broken anything. I tried to move my muscles and found that it was my right arm that hurt the most while my left hand was feeling stiff from holding something for so long, or rather, from being held instead?
I opened my eyes, and my vision led me to a girl sleeping at the edge of my bed. I moved my fingers feeling the soft, yet steady grip of hers.
And it woke her up.
“Rin, you’re awake. Thank goodness!” Her face turned from worried to relieved, and her eyes seemed to be welling up. “Are you hurt? I mean, are you feeling pain somewhere?”
The strong throbbing in my head was distracting me that I ended up staring at her instead of replying to her question. She looked worried again.
“Rin? Do you recognize me?”
“I-I think so...”
She frowned and asked again. “If so, who am I then?”
I could tell she was urging me to say the correct answer. She was eager, and hopeful, and I felt I shouldn’t let her down. But my mouth chose to say what came to my mind first.
“You are...
She moved her face closer in anticipation. “Yes?”
“...someone important to me,” I finished, smiling.
I didn’t expect that it would make her hysterical—half-convinced that I had gotten hit hard on the head. But seeing how amused I was, she thought better and lectured me for a good few minutes for making her worry.
“I’m fine, okay? I still recognize you, Ms. Yana Sevilla, so it means I’m good.” Laughing wasn’t helping with my muscle pains but it made me feel lighter. Thankful.
Sensing the commotion, the nurse came in with a doctor to check up on me. I needed to be x-rayed but good thing I didn’t have to be transferred to a hospital. That would be too much trouble for everyone.
“Where’s Calvin? Is he okay?” I asked Yana the moment we were alone again.
“He’s fine. The school guards and the police are with him now. They have already contacted his mom too. I think they’re still interrogating him for the incident report.”
I was relieved hearing that and was about to ask more when the curtain suddenly opened which took us by surprise.
But what surprised me more was seeing someone I least expected to see: My sister. She was carrying her books and had a stuffed backpack with her. She probably came straight here from the university.
My sister turned to Yana. “Are you the one who contacted the Uni?”
“Ah, yes. No one was answering from your house so I decided to call your school. Rin has mentioned you to me before. That’s how I knew where to find you.”
After that, Yana excused herself so my sister could take over. My sister thanked her for the trouble.
“Grandma won’t be home until 8:30. She’s attending that weekly senior’s event,” I said to her. My sister was looking at me and I wasn’t used to her paying attention.
She sighed. “I knew you were up to trouble the moment you messaged me about the secret headquarters. Your friend has filled me in with the details.”
“You don’t have to tell Mom and Dad about it. It isn’t a big deal,” I said.
“You know I can’t do that. You call them later and tell them what happened.”
“But I’m fine. It’s just bruises.” I touched my still aching arm and convinced myself it was nothing big.
“Well, you tell them yourself when we get home.” She paused for a while and continued. “Irene, it’s bad enough that you have put yourself in danger without telling us. For now, let your family worry about you, too.”
Back home, I checked the phone I had brought with me to school and was relieved to see it was still working fine despite the fall. I had never been more proud of my Nokia 3310.
I was about to go change when I received a message from Yana asking about the x-ray results and if I had reached home safely. She also mentioned that she attempted to look at my phone for my sister’s contact number but failed because there’s a pass code.
I was amused at the irony of it and also felt relieved.
I couldn’t imagine what Yana would think if she discovered that the pass code was her birthday. Even more so, if she got to see my inbox filled with her past messages to me.
Specially chosen. Stored. Frequently visited.