Alex wondered why these close friends and so called nurse were unable to admit Raser into the hospital or were they blind not to notice his critical condition.
Alex's Silence generated an ice wall that froze the ongoing conversation and movement; Benzo and other boys glared at him waiting for a tantrum. but they received nothing in response.
Seeing that the atmosphere had turned awkward, Anna decided to break the ice.
"Did all of you prepare for your final exams?"
The boy who slapped Bald had answered, "I'll do it later; we still have a week."
"Wait, guys, we have exams. Why didn't anyone tell me?" Benzo asked in surprise.
"Anna, you are joking, right?"
She shook her head, answering, "You should keep your attention on the notice board."
"And should hurry up, go home, do your homework and prepare for the exam. It's already evening, and you have been here since school finished."
"Yeah, yeah, we'll do it." The boys started to stand up; they had already finished eating the ordered food.
The boy who slapped the bald man had turned to Alex and addressed him, "Raser, you can go home by yourself, right?"
Alex, in puzzlement, answered, "Do you know where my house is?
_ How do you expect me to know where I have to go when I don't even know, Who am I?_
Everyone turned silent, staring at him like a zoo animal out for display. Anna also slapped her right hand on her head, saying,
"Seriously, Raser, how much have you forgotten? You should not take too many doses to the point where you don't remember where you live."
She turned toward the boy who slapped the bald head, "Impact, can you drop him?"
"I also drop you off. Hey, why don't we just stroll to his house," Benzo interjected excitedly.
"No, no, no, you need to go. Your parents might be worried about you. Anyway, Impact, drop him and keep this; give it to his sister Shilla." She put a small thumb-sized bottle in Impact's red palm — redness becoming proof of how much he loves slapping a bald head.
Alex, who was carefully listening to them, was surprised to hear that Raser had a sister and wondered even more about how much Anna cared for him to arrange the medicine.
"Don't even let him touch it," Anna said, waving goodbye to the boys and entering the shop.
"Can I have one of the pills?" Benzo asked.
Anna, who was walking ahead, yelled, "No!!! Don't even think about it?"
"Oh, come on, it's antidepressant pills. I just need one to calm down."
"No means no. Impact, go quickly. If you give him even a grain of that, don't forget there will be no tomorrow in which you can survive."
"Okay, okay. Let's go!"
All the students decided their path toward their home. Impact grabbed Alex's bag, who seemed to be in puzzlement.
Alex thought, _What did he mean by antidepressants? Isn't Raser physically ill? these people didn't even react much, almost like they were familiar with this occurring. Wait, I can get my answer; they already think I can't remember much, right? I should just ask something related to Raser's illness; right, he had fluid in his lungs, which means something that could reduce pain would be the perfect excuse. Yes, I can ask him about the clinic so I can buy them._
"Hey, Impact, do you know where I can get medicine to reduce pain?"
The boy answered, "Why would you need that? Are you having a headache? Besides, you need a prescription to buy any medicine."
"No, my chest is aching. I think my disease is acting up."
"Don't joke around; that has already been cured yesterday. Your brother has already helped you with it. Right, he had even used up all his savings to buy ingredients for the ritual. Do them a favour and be careful with what you do."
Impact stopped in his tracks; both of them stood in front of a house. It wasn't big, just a two-story building, a little narrow like only a two to three medium-sized room can have.
Ding-dong, they pushed a doorbell.
Click open, a young lady came out; she had golden eyes and black hair, a similar facial structure to Raser, a little egg-like shape, wearing a hoodie.
"Why don't you come in?"
"No, Sister Shila, I have to go. Mom's waiting for me."
"Thanks for dropping my younger brother."She said
"It's no problem," Impact quickly took his leave.
Alex entered the house; he was still confused about what "cured yesterday" meant. Did that mean Raser had surgery? But there was no sign of any of it. How can an illness be cured in one day? And what did he mean by "ingredients for a ritual"? Was that a joke?
"Why did you do that?" Shilla yelled at him, her voice echoing throughout the entire house. She lunged at him, hugging him tightly, crying, tears veiled in her eyes.
"Do you even know how many hours our brothers had to work just to provide us with a decent living environment? And you, what are you?"
She stopped hugging him and then raised her hand...
Slap! A hard, thunder-piercing sound echoed.
Alex's eyes widened in shock and surprise, unable to comprehend what had just transpired.
Shilla seized his shoulder with a firm grip and shook him wildly.
__What the hell is happening?__
"Don't you care about us, me, Thomson? Why don't you just keep living normally? Why do you always put your life on the line?"
_Seriously, what the heck? I am not in a good mood, I don't want to cause too much drama; I should just ignore her and be on my way. But which room is mine?_
"Your current situation is a result of your habit of helping everyone." She stood there in front of him, her eyes red from crying, her fair cheeks flushed and wet, and she was unable to breathe properly because of constant hiccups between her sentences.
Alex did not notice it; his head downward, facing the tiles. He asked, "Sister, can you tell me where my room is ?"