Unparalleled

I open my eyes to find
a blank plaster ceiling,
cracked in places and
riddled with spots from age.
The smells of
antiseptic and
cough drops hit me
at almost the same time,
surrounding me in a
cloud of hospital-like
nastiness.
Gross.

I hurriedly sit up
to find myself in
the school nurse's office,
and wince as the fluorescent light
stings my eyes.
The nurse herself is
seated at her desk
on the other side of the room.
She shoots me a
cursory glance
upon noticing that I'm awake,
but does nothing else.
I realize why when
a blonde head
bobs into my line of view.

"Oh, thank god,"
Natalia breathes from
her seat just beside
the bed I'm now sitting on.
"I was so worried -
you just passed out
back there.
Mr. Barnes was freaking out
until I volunteered to
bring you down here."

As amusing as the idea is
of our six-foot-some
home ec teacher carrying on
about a comatose girl and
a bit of blood,
I can't help but cringe
with embarrassment.
It really isn't like
I'd wanted to pass out
in front of Natalia, anyway -
and especially not because
of something as stupid as
seeing my finger
bleed a little.

Speaking of, when I
glance down at my hand,
I find that it's been
bandaged up neatly,
hiding the wound and any
residual red hue
from my view.
Momentarily, I'm
distracted, and
breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm not really
the best around blood,"
I tell Natalia
at length;
she nods her understanding.
"And I haven't really
felt very well today,
so that probably didn't
help anything..."
That last bit
isn't strictly true, but
she doesn't need to know
that my distraction before
the accident with the knife
was sort of because
of her.
Sort of.

"Why did you
volunteer to bring me
to the nurse's, anyway?"
I ask after she doesn't
say anything more.
"And how'd you get me
down here?"

"You're not that heavy,"
she laughs
almost immediately.
"And it wasn't that far,
anyway."
My face burns red
as she continues,
"Why're you even asking
why I helped you, though?
It was the right thing
to do.
I wasn't about to let you
bleed all over the floor
back there.
And besides,"
she smiles conspiratorially,
"we're friends.
'Friends help friends
when they cut themselves
and pass out,'
or whatever."

"Wait,"
I interrupt,
my mind reeling -
I'm not sure if it's from
blood loss or surprise.
"We're friends?
Really?"

Natalia stares at me
for a full five seconds
before sighing.
"Well, yeah,"
she drawls,
rolling her eyes
sarcastically.
"What,
don't you want to be?"

"N-no,
it's not that,"
I hasten to
assure her -
but she's already laughing
as though my confusion
is the funniest thing
to her.
Maybe it should
offend me in some way
that she's laughing
at me -
but instead I feel
this strange kind
of happiness.

Maybe it's the fact that
she's claimed me as
her friend,
even in spite of the fact
that all her 'friends'
are typically in the
popular clique,
and I am definitely not
one of those people -
but I feel a
slow smile
start to form on my lips.
Maybe today
isn't such a bad day
after all.

Before I can accidentally get
too sappy about it,
though,
I push myself off the
nurse's office cot,
the crinkling of its paper liner
following me to
the floor.
"I should get going,"
I tell her
with a glance to the clock
by the door.
"School's already out
for the day,
and I don't want
my siblings to worry."

"You're right,"
she says
around the remnants of
her laughter.
"I didn't even hear
the bell ring,
but I guess last period
is over.
Too bad we didn't
get to finish our pie."

It takes me
a few seconds to remember
the pie apples that had started
this incident.
By then, we're
already out in the
mostly emptied hallway.
"I'm sorry about that,"
I tell her at last.
"If I hadn't
been so clumsy-"

"No,
don't worry about it,"
she hurries to
console me.
"Accidents happen -
even big ones
that you nearly lose
a finger
because of."
But before I can
fire off some kind
of comeback
(which would probably
sound really lame
in the end),
she continues.
"But you know what?
You can
make it up to me."

"How?"
I ask warily.
Thias' words from before
ring in my ears
unexpectedly,
made worse by the
grin Natalia suddenly
flashes my way.
What if she
wants me to do something
illegal
to pay her back?
I don't think that
bringing me to the nurse's office
is a suitable reason
to make me do something
like that...

I feel bad
for thinking that way
almost immediately,
though,
especially as she
leans forward
with that mischievous grin
of hers
and says,
"You're taking the
British literature class
this year, right?
Think you could
help me out
with that?"

×

HAHA this chapter was even worse than the last one. I give up, no more injured Matty in class. It just makes it awkward for all of us...

(I honestly just think I need to learn how to write properly, ughhh;;;;)

Anywayyyy, if you guys liked this chapter, I'd love if you would vote and leave me some feedback! It would be very much appreciated c: