Jana's Summer (English)

Chapter 3: Fateful Encounter

"Oh Jana, thank God. I was so scared for you!" Emma said to Jana, tears still streaming down her face. Jana looked at Emma with a remorseful expression and replied, "I'm so sorry, Emma. I know that was the dumbest thing ever."

At that moment, Jana's rescuer joined the conversation and said, "Hey, it all turned out fine. But once you've had a chance to rest for a while, we should definitely take you to the emergency clinic to make sure everything is alright. Try to sit up."

As Jana attempted to sit up with her rescuer's help, Julia, Max, Jonas, Juliane, and Medina suddenly appeared on the beach. They immediately noticed something was wrong, and Max was the first to run over to Jana and the others. "Jana! What happened?" Max asked as he sat down next to her and checked her pulse. "You're so cold!" he exclaimed as he felt her wrist, clearly very worried.

When everyone else arrived and gathered around, Christian, Jana's rescuer, explained what had happened, and finally, Jana learned his name: Christian. His friends were named Patrick and Tobias. Juliane, of course, was immediately taken with the handsome Christian, though no one suspected anything yet. Jana didn't even consider that Juliane might end up being interested in the same boy, even though she knew very well how fixated Juliane was on guys.

The girls from class 9c, apart from Jana and Emma (Jana was too shy at that moment to talk to Christian and his friends, even though she would have liked to), asked the boys about their origins, hobbies, etc., and learned that the boys were from Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, and were in Croatia with the Landjugend group. After a while, Max had had enough and said, "You guys can keep chatting here if you want, but I'm taking Jana to the doctor now. You all don't seem to be taking this seriously enough." Carefully, he helped Jana to her feet while Emma handed back the dress Jana had taken off.

Of course, it wasn't true that the others didn't care about Jana, except maybe for Juliane. Christian would have liked to accompany Jana to the emergency clinic himself, but Max beat him to it, and Christian was visibly disappointed, as he had hoped to spend more time with Jana to get to know her better. Jana was also disappointed that Christian couldn't come along.

Emma and Max brought Jana to the emergency clinic, which she was far from thrilled about. "Do we really have to do this? I'm fine..." Jana tried to convince them, hoping she could return to Christian and the others, but it didn't work. "Jana, I'm begging you. You had a cardiac arrest. You could have died! You absolutely need to be examined by a doctor," Max replied. Sometimes Jana's carelessness really annoyed him. Emma, of course, agreed that Jana needed to be checked out urgently but said nothing, not daring to contradict Jana.

When they arrived at the emergency clinic, the three of them went inside to the reception. Emma sat down in the waiting area while Max and Jana explained to the receptionist what had happened. Before they went in, they had seen a sign at the entrance that read: "Wir sprechen deutsch" and "We speak English." And it was true; they were able to communicate in German at the clinic.

The receptionist asked them to wait in the waiting area until the doctor would call them.

Meanwhile, Jonas and the girls were still at the beach with Christian and his friends, continuing their conversation. Jonas, who had only stayed with the girls because of Julia, felt quite out of place in this situation. Juliane, who had secretly taken a liking to Christian, tried to capture his attention by asking him many more questions than Patrick and Tobias. However, Christian's thoughts were solely focused on Jana. Although he was very well trained in first aid, he had never before had to apply his resuscitation skills in an emergency. The whole experience weighed heavily on him, and he couldn't bear to think about what might have happened if he hadn't managed to save Jana.

Jana was now in the examination room of the emergency practice, being examined by Dr. Meyer, the attending physician. Dr. Meyer was a German man who had moved to Croatia several years ago. As Jana sat on the examination table, Dr. Meyer first listened to her heart and lungs with a stethoscope and then performed an ECG.

"As far as I can tell, everything seems to be in order," Dr. Meyer explained after the examination. "However, I would like to send you to the hospital for observation, and I would also need to report this incident to your teachers."

"Please don't do that. I know my behavior was wrong and I risked my life. But if you inform our teachers, I'll be sent home and never see my classmates again," Jana desperately tried to convince him.

"I'm not sure I understand. Why would you never see your classmates again?" Dr. Meyer asked, puzzled.

"That's a long story..." Jana began, sighing.

"I have time and would really like to hear this long story," Dr. Meyer replied.

"Alright. My friends and I have been students at Schloss-Internat in Severn, a small village in Lower Saxony, for the past five years. Normally, we would stay there until our Abitur in three years. But at the beginning of the year, the state parliament decided that our boarding school would be permanently closed after the summer holidays. We tried to prevent the closure with petitions and a demonstration, but it didn't help. So, this school trip is our last journey together before we all go our separate ways," Jana explained with a downcast expression, as the harsh reality of her situation hit her again. The thought of soon leading a completely new life without her friends made her feel queasy.

"Hmm... I understand. That is indeed a very sad story," Dr. Meyer responded, clearly moved. "Alright... I have a proposal. I won't send you to the hospital or inform your teachers if you promise me right here and now that you will rest tonight. Additionally, I would like you to come back for a small follow-up examination tomorrow morning."

Jana could hardly believe her ears at first, but then she agreed to the arrangement without hesitation. She would have liked to hug the doctor in gratitude, but managed to hold herself back. Instead, she said, "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me," with a beaming smile.

After a brief exchange with Dr. Meyer, during which he reminded Jana to attend her follow-up appointment, she left the examination room and collected Emma and Max from the waiting room. Naturally, they wanted to know immediately what the doctor had said.

"I'll tell you everything outside. But for now, let's go," Jana said to them, and the three left the practice. On their way back to the apartment, Jana recounted the entire story to Emma and Max. Both were also pleasantly surprised by Dr. Meyer's understanding response.