The text from the school didn't go into detail about what the "emergency" was. This was quite unusual to happen.
Eva was a good student and was fine among her classmates. Her grades weren't that bad, even though Tim always thought she could improve. It couldn't be related to her academics; it had to be something even more serious.
"Probably just sprained her leg on track", Sera assumed the less likely outcomes to be true, but her motherly instincts had to be correct.
By the time Sera had reached school, Tim was already there waiting for her.
He approached the car, as Sera was parking it.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here already", Sera panicked.
"Relax, it might not be very serious. Could be related to her studies and her conduct in class. Your so-called motherly instincts might be wrong. What's the worst that could happen?", Tim tried his best to calm her down.
Apparently, it had no effect on her. It did nothing but agitate her even further.
"Fine, let's meet good ol' Buck,", Tim said.
Both of them went to the principal's room.
"May we come in?"
There he was, Mr. Henry Buck. He was the living embodiment of a Colonel Sanders cosplayer. The only difference was that Mr. Buck never wore white clothes, as he was known to make a mess on every cloth he owned.
"Yes, welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Delaney. Please, sit.", Mr. Buck remained as stoic as possible.
"Mr. Buck, is Eva okay?", Tim inquired.
"Yes. Sorry for not elaborating much. I felt it was better if we addressed it face-to-face", Mr. Buck responded.
"Sir, what happened? Where is she?", Sera asked.
"I'll just explain what happened before we bring Evelyn into the room. I think that would be better."
Tim gave Mr. Buck a nod of approval.
"Earlier today, Evelyn's peers had already alerted the substitute instructor that she was ill. Evelyn herself also stated that she had trouble sleeping. The teacher felt she was just tired from a lack of sleep. Evelyn, on the other hand, had her head down and wasn't moving much in one of the classes. She was sweating heavily as one of the students approached her. That's when the teacher told her she needed to see the nurse."
In case you didn't know, this was what his assistant had to write down for him. Mr. Buck had a tendency to forget intricate details.
"Oh, that's it? Just fever symptoms?", Tim asked.
Sera looked at Tim with a look of disappointment. She couldn't believe that he thought this was something to take lightly.
"No, Mr. Delaney. This is where the actual problem started".
This made Sera worry even more.
"Oh boy", Tim thought to himself.
"We checked her pulse and temperature after she went to the nurse's unit. I was told that her skin was burning, and her pulse was rather irregular. Her pupils were... I'm not sure how to put it nicely, but they were going crazy. She appeared to be possessed."
Now, Tim was tensed as well.
There was no need to mention how Sera must have felt after hearing that bombshell.
"Possessed?", Sera tried to make sure she heard Mr. Buck right.
"I mean, she appeared like she was."
"Where is my daughter? I need to see her now!", Tim screamed at Mr. Buck.
"Mr. Delaney, let's not escalate this further. She is sleeping in the nurse's room,", Mr. Buck replied.
"What did you mean by 'possessed'? I would be really careful with my words if I were you!", Sera snapped back.
"Okay, Mrs. Delaney. I'm not going to speak further then. You both may go check on Evelyn at the nurse's office yourselves.", Principal Buck calmly replied.
Sera and Tim left without escalating the situation further.
Mr. Buck gave himself a pat on the back for dealing with another issue without it leading to him getting fired.
"Ahh, that was a close call," Buck thought to himself.
Tim was furious. The last thing he needed to hear was someone claiming his daughter was possessed.
"I swear I would have killed that old man if he had said more."
"Tim, please. Not now.", Sera had heard enough and wasn't prepared to deal with a temper tantrum from Tim.
They entered the nurse's room.
They looked around for Eva, until the nurse showed them where she was.
"Right over there", the nurse murmured silently.
Eva had just woken up. She was still clearly in a state of uncertainty about what happened. Another nurse was by her side, trying to explain to Eva what had happened.
Sera immediately ran and embraced Eva. And Eva hugged her back too.
"We would like to have a moment with our daughter", Tim politely told the nurse.
"Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Delaney,", the nurse said, leaving Eva's bed with a smile.
Sera burst into tears, unable to see Eva in such a state.
Tim decided not to interfere and let Sera speak.
"Oh, my poor child! What happened, Eva?", Sera asked Eva while still being an emotional wreck.
"Mom, I'm... okay. I just felt a bit dizzy in class. I don't remember much. All I remember is that Caden helped me to the nurse's room.", Eva replied.
"You need to stop tiring yourself to sleep. You keep on using your phone, and it's taking your attention away from classes, and now it has affected your health"
"Mom, it's not the phone, I-"
"Just don't talk now, just rest well kiddo", Tim said, before she could finish.
"Mom, let's just go home."
"I'll just talk to the nurses and then Mr. Buck,", Sera said.
Sera stood up.
While she was passing by Tim, she gave him a nod. Tim knew what he had to do.
"What's up, kiddo?"
"I'm sorry for making you come early from work, Dad", Eva said with tears in her eyes.
"Oh no, no, don't worry about my job. But you did make us worried. We all care about you, you little munchkin"
"Dad, don't call me that", Eva replied with a smile on her face. Tim always called her that.
"Okay, fine. So, that Caden kid must have helped you, huh?", Tim inquired.
"Yes, Dad. Because that's what friends do,", Eva replied.
"Yeah, sure. But I'm being serious; you've got to stop playing on your phone at all times. See what it has done to you."
"Dad, it's not the phone, trust me.", Eva replied, still with some dizziness in her voice.
"What is it, then?"
Just as Eva was going to reply, she felt some restraint within her.
"No, rest for now. You're not ready to tell yet"
"Chinese takeout, by any chance, tonight?", Eva tried to bargain.
"Sure, but let me ask your mother first."
The one of the nurses had come in and told Tim that Eva was ready to leave at any time.
"That's our cue, I think." Tim said with a wink to Eva.
While they were walking out of the nurse's room, ready to leave, Eva noticed Caden standing behind the wall, trying to get a peek at her.
Tim also noticed this.
"Go ahead, talk to your friend. I'll search for your mom", Tim reassuringly told Eva.
Eva slowly approached Caden.
Caden walked faster and made it to her first. She noticed that Caden was all flushed out because of the incident, so she made sure to give him a reassuring smile.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?", Caden politely asked Eva.
"I'm fine; it's just... I don't know. Where are Josh and Chloe?", Eva asked him.
"They wanted to come too, Chloe was very emotional and stressed."
"Hmm, I'll text them when I get back home", Eva replied.
"You need a break from everything. A break from school, and maybe a break from me too."
Eva noticed her parents waving at her; it was her sign to wrap it up and leave. Caden noticed this too.
"Hey, I gotta go. Text me when you get home. Take care, okay?"
"Sure, I will,", Caden replied with a smile, deciding whether he should hug her or not.
Just as Eva was walking away, Caden called her from behind.
She turned back to his call.
"Hey Eva, talk to your mom, okay?"
Eva wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she smiled back to pretend like she understood what he said.
She met Tim and Sera, standing next to Mr. Buck.
"Please rest well, Evelyn. Take a break, and come back refreshed", Principal Buck said.
"Thank you, Principal Buck,", Eva replied, trying to smile as she tried to get in the car.
There wasn't much talk between Tim and Mr. Buck. Tim gave him a firm handshake. That was all the conversation needed.
"Sera, I'll drive", and with that, the Delaneys were on their way home.
There wasn't much conversation in the car; everyone was tired and exhausted.
Sera was in a crossroad of emotions. She was happy about her promotion, but nothing mattered to her than her daughter. Tim was lost in his thoughts too.
Eva tried to recall what had happened. She reimagined every instance, bit by bit. She felt the same heavy feeling in her head as she had in class. But she fought through it and tried harder.
Then it dawned on her.
When she was starting to lose her consciousness, the only thing she could think of were those dreams.
She knew the answer to her problem, and Caden's words suddenly brushed into her mind.
"Maybe Caden did have a point. I should talk to Mom."
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Few Hours Later
As Eva had suggested, she and Tim somehow convinced Sera to get some Chinese takeout on the way home. They got home before the food got cold.
Everyone was still lost and conflicted in their own thoughts, but they still had to put on a fake smile to comfort each other.
"Alright fellas, dig in."
There wasn't much conversation during dinner. Everyone was quite happy just enjoying the food, but deep inside they carried some burden of concern.
Eva still had some gloom on her face. But yet, Tim and Sera never mentioned it. They just smiled and enjoyed the dinner.
They knew they had to approach this in a better way.
"I'll help you with dishes", Eva told Sera.
"Oh no, don't worry, sweetie. I got this", Sera replied.
"I got this; I'll help her. You just go cool down,", Tim said, eyeing Sera as he did.
Eva stood up and left the dining table.
Sera stood up too, clearing the table and clearly anticipating a conversation with Tim. Tim made sure Eva was far enough away so he could approach Sera.
"Okay, why didn't neither of us know she wasn't well?", Tim asked Sera.
"I have no clue myself. I'm just as confused as you are. She always told me school was going good, this is just so shocking to me too.", Sera replied, being just as confused as Tim.
"Fine, let's cheer her up and make her feel comfortable so she can open up to us, okay?", Tim said.
Sera nodded.
Tim sat next to Eva, trying to spark up a conversation with her.
"Today's food was awesome; I really enjoyed it,", Eva said.
"Oh yeah, it's also kind of spicy", Tim said.
"Oh, someone can't handle spice, huh?", Sera mocked Tim while scooping some ice cream for both of them.
She approached both of them with ice cream. Tim couldn't wait; he wasn't lying about the spice bit.
"Here, dear. Have some ice cream. It will help you cool down."
Eva, however, didn't share the same excitement as Tim.
"No, Mom. I'm not in the mood for any ice cream", Eva politely rejected.
Sera didn't want to force anything on Eva, so she silently agreed to it. Tim found it unusual, as Eva always liked ice cream, especially when it was handed to her in that particular cup. Eva oddly loved that cup.
"Hey kiddo, you sure everything is alright?", Tim asked Eva.
Tim might have been a dominant brute of a man, but nothing mattered more to him than Eva and Sera. He was genuinely concerned about his daughter.
He patted her on the back, trying to get her to speak up.
"Eva...."
That was all that was needed to break the ice.
She couldn't hold it in anymore; she broke down almost immediately.
"Hey, hey, hey kiddo. What's wrong?", Tim comforted Eva. Sera also joined them, looking very concerned.
"Mom, Dad, I've got something to say to you both."
"Tell us", both of them replied in unison.
After a while of hesitation, she finally spoke.
"I have been seeing some weird dreams. It's really weird and keeps repeating form time to time."
"What exactly do you see, dear?", Tim asked.
"When I close my eyes, I see this dark, cloaked figure in the middle of a thick, dark forest. This figure just murmurs something."
Sera looked very concerned.
"And then, when I get closer to this person, it goes blank. And I keep seeing this every single night. And I saw this exact same dream before whatever happened at school."
Tim and Sera were concerned; they felt all this was very odd.
"Hmm, maybe you watched something on YouTube and it stuck to you?", Tim suggested.
"I don't know, Dad. It's very precise and clear everytime it comes to my mind"
"Did anything bad happen at school? Don't hesitate to open up", Tim told her in a calming manner.
"No no, school has been fine. It's just happening out of nowhere"
"It's nothing then, kiddo, trust me. It's just a recurring dream. It will go away", Tim assures her.
"Yeah, honey. Trust us; we have been through the same phase. Everything will be alright, okay?", Sera also reassured Eva.
Both of them embraced Eva.
"I don't know, Mom. But I believe you both. I really do."
Those words made Sera a bit teary-eyed.
"Honey, you should get some sleep. You need to get this 'dream' out of your mind. Get some rest and don't use your phone. We will check on you on a while", Sera said to Eva.
"You heard your mother. Go to your room. Or I'm making you do a hundred pushups tomorrow", Tim tried to make her feel at ease.
Eva let out a small chuckle.
"Good night, guys. I think I need some rest", Eva said.
She then decided to give her parents some space.
She had some idea about what the conversation would be about—it had to be about her phone use.
As the sounds of the footsteps grew fainter, Sera stared straight into Tim's eyes.
There was going to be a really interesting conversation between Sera and Tim. It wouldn't be pretty, but it would indeed be interesting.
.
.
.
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.
Back in Eva's room.
Eva was still thinking about the whole day.
She was feeling humiliated about having to be dragged to the nurse's room in front of the entire school. She didn't even go back there after what happened today.
Just as when she was trying to get some sleep, a notification popped up on her phone.
It was Caden.
"Maybe talking to him might help me clear my mind", Eva thought to herself.
She decided to reply to him, still embarrassed to talk to him. The last thing she remembered before blacking out was Caden holding her up and helping her to the nurse's room.
She didn't want to FaceTime him, so instead she just called him.
"Hey dude.", Eva started the conversation.
"Hey, are you feeling good now?", Caden asked.
Eva took a while to reply, "I don't know, bro."
Caden wasn't unsure what to ask.
"Have you talked to your parents about the dream yet?"
Eva wasn't expecting him to ask that.
"Hey, are you there?", Caden asked with a tone of concern.
"I did tell them about the dream. They think it's probably because of me watching something on YouTube and kinda helped me out with it", Eva replied.
"It could be true, though."
"Oh, come on, not you too now.", Eva wasn't happy that he shared the same opinion. She expected him to be her voice of reason.
"Hey, I trust you more than you think I do, but they could be right too, you know."
"Yeah, you might be right. It's just that its so vivid....", Eva replied.
"I'm always here for you, okay?"
"I know that, doofus."
"Haha, take some rest. I'll text you tomorrow"., Caden said.
"Good night, Caden."
"Good night."
Caden cut the call, as usual. Eva put her phone away and rested on her bed. She felt sleepy, but she felt this urge to finish her thoughts.
"Maybe he's right, but..."
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Back in the living room.
"I'm really worried about her. Acting erratic—what the hell is that supposed to mean?", Tim spoke out first.
"I'm so sorry, Tim. I have been so occupied with this Cetus work that I have been so distracted from her. There really wasn't any signs that she wasn't well.", Sera replied with tears in her eyes.
"Sera, it's not just your fault. We both have fallen behind as parents,", Tim firmly said.
"How about we take her to the doctor tomorrow? Let's not tell her about it now, but let's just do it", Sera suggested it to Tim.
She didn't like making that recommendation to Tim, she was still a firm believer that her daughter is just fine. But yet, she couldn't take any risks with Eva.
Tim nodded back in approval.
"I had something to tell you and Eva. I'm still conflicted about it", Sera said.
Tim looked at Sera.
"I had something to say too", Tim replied.
"You go first, then", Sera said.
"I insist you go first."
"Nada, you first"
"Alright alright, you're in for a treat", Tim chuckled as he said this.