Olivier's head was still ringing when he was placed in a hospital bed and made to take a few tests. The doctor shined a light in his eyes to check his pupil's reaction and other things.
And then he was left alone in the room once more. His phone had been taken away so Olivier could not even look up what happened on the internet.
He was wallowing in self-pity when the door opened and Terry walked in.
"Captain? What are you doing here? You should be back at the venue, competing in the top 8. What about our team standing? What about the opponent team?"
Olivier was surprised to see Terry here. His captain had a complicated expression on his face and it was also laced with some anger.
"Fuck kid, calm down. How could we have remained in the venue when one of our team members got injured this heavily of course we had to fortify."
Olivier suddenly felt guilty about what had happened.
"Could we not have used a substitute player? We did have Ezra with us."
Olivier tried to reason but the sour look on his captain's face told him all he needed to know. They had not been allowed to sub for players.
"The opposite team was disqualified as well due to this incident. We will press charges
Terry offered this but Olivier decided not to press charges in the end. It was all just not worth it when nothing major had happened.
As soon as he told this to Terry, the man looked terrifying. It was enough to make Olivier feel tiny and squeeze his hands in discomfort.
"Kid, learn to treasure yourself a little more. Just because nothing happened to you does not mean we should allow the ones who hurt you to remain free. We need to at least make a case of this."
"Just let it go. It was an accident and nothing more. Anyway, do you know when I will be discharged from this hospital? I need to level up my account before the regionals."
Olivier had seen what a problem an under-leveled account was. It had somehow worked in this tournament because everyone else did not consider Olivier a problem. But that luck would not last.
He was sure that people would be cautious of him during the next competition and Olivier needed to be ready for that.
"Unfortunately, your gaming sessions would have to wait for a week. Your head is alright but we do not want to take any risks with your health. So, avoid the screen time as much as possible for the next few days."
The doctor entered the room with his face full of dis-approvement. His eyes burned Olivier where he was sitting and his words cut into Olivier as well.
"A week? Are you serious? Do you know how much progress can be made in-game in a week? I cannot do that."
Olivier denied the doctor's orders. He was going to go back to his gaming session as soon as he went home.
And the doctor certainly did not like it. The doctor had seen many similar and stubborn patients before. He knew what was wrong inside Olivier's mind.
"In that case, I will have no choice but to hold you back a few days for observation in the hospital. Your uncle has offered to shoulder your bill and he has already paid for a two-night stay."
The doctor let Olivier know this. The doctor wanted to inform Olivier that there was no way to get out of this.
Olivier's mouth opened and closed, almost resembling a goldfish. All his protests fell out of his mouth when the doctor leveled him with a stern look.
"Do not worry Olivier. I know someone who can play your account and level it up in the meantime. You just focus on recovering for now."
Olivier wanted to protest the injustice he was being subjected to. He did not need to take a week's rest and he especially did not need to stay in the hospital for a few days.
The small headache he was feeling would go away once Olivier had a few pills in his system and two hours of rest. It had always worked before for him.
But no one was willing to listen to his words.
......…
Time in the hospital room passed slowly. It felt like an eternity to Olivier but only a few hours had passed. He was getting tired of sleeping in the same bed again and again.
So, Olivier finally decided to roam around the hospital and look at what it had to offer.
If he was lucky, he would be able to find a way to play games in the hospital as well.
He almost made it to the reception when he noticed a familiar face walking in the hallway and heading toward his room.
'Lucas's manager. I do not think I ever got along with this man. We had different interests and our schedules always clashed with each other.'
Olivier remembered how this manager always wanted Lucas to leave the practice early and head toward the shooting site or other activity. There had been more than one fight because of this.
But since the man was here, Olivier had to wonder what happened. Was Lucas sick? Or, was this man here for private business?
One thing was for sure. This man had not improved his habit of cursing people out at least. Even now, he was saying things like, 'Stupid Lucas, stupid kid,' under his breath.
"Excuse me, but can I help you out? You have been standing in this hallway for some time now and you are making the patients nervous."
Finally, after 10-20 minutes, a nurse came in and decided to ask the manager to leave. The poor nurse looked tired and annoyed with the manager.
Lucas's manager wanted to tell the nurse that he did not need anything. But her expression caused him to flinch and take a step back.
He quickly looked around, only to see the kid he and Lucas had been looking for.
"No, nothing is wrong. I was just here to meet my nephew and I found him. Hey kid, it has been a while, right? I came to meet you as soon as I knew you were here."
Lucas's manager walked toward Olivier and beamed at him. His eyes indicated for Olivier to play along with him.
Now, Olivier could have caused a lot of problems for this manager if he wanted to. A single word out of his mouth could have ruined the reputation of this man.
But that would also impact Lucas and that was a problem. Olivier had worked too hard to set Lucas up on the stage. He did not want to see Lucas's carrier end because of an incompetent manager.
"Phew, that went well. Thanks, kid. I own you one."
The manager looked relieved to see the nurse go away.
The naked relief Olivier saw on that manager's face could not be fake. It made Olivier curious about this manager, but not enough to stick around and bond with him.
"You know, you took a big gamble when you called out for me. What if I decided not to help you out in the end? You would have been in big trouble."
Olivier reminded the man standing adjacent to him. But the manager looked calm and his face was filled with confidence.
"Kid, my main work is to scout out humans and see if they would be a threat to my artist or not. As soon as I saw you, I had a feeling you would help me out."
The manager was very confident and his confidence left Olivier speechless. But since this manager had yet to be wrong with his decisions, Olivier decided to cut him some slack.
"Well, now that I have helped you out, I will leave. I need to find an empty computer I can use. I need to check up on my game profile and make some changes."
The manager frowned as soon as he heard the kid's words.
From what he had heard around the venue, it seemed like this kid had hit his head hard and needed rest. He should not be looking for screens to play games.
"Hey kid, I do not think you should be looking around for computers to play games. Don't you have a head injury? You can cause yourself harm if you play games right now."
The kid looked shocked at the manager's words.
After all, Olivier knew that Lucas's manager was a selfish man who did not care about anyone else other than himself and his profit. So, seeing him advise Olivier in such an open manner was weird and new.
"Butt out of my business. You are a stranger to me and you cannot tell me what to do."
Olivier replied once he got his senses back under control. But the manager just shook his head and followed Olivier for the time being.
It was such an awkward time that Olivier was not able to concentrate on finding a free PC.