The One (A Selection Fan Fiction)

Chapter Five

"WHY DO WE NEED TO know first-aid?" Silvia asked looking around the room. We were in the hospital wing, the nurses about to teach us first-aid on simple injuries. "We don't," Celeste muttered. It was audible enough for everyone to hear. Everyone but Silvia glanced at her, and she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she had a little smirk on, as if to show that she was enjoying the attention.

Ignoring Celeste, our mentor continued on. "First-aid," she emphasized to regain our attention. "First-aid will come in handy in some situations. Situation number one: You have accidentally injured yourself.

Situation number two: Someone is injured and no one else is around to take care of the problem.

Situation number three: If someone's life is at stake and there are many people around, but only you know first-aid emergencies.

"But before all these, we will first go through the basic rules so you would know how to act in an emergency situation. Then we will go through the different kinds of intruments, medicines, protocols, and procedures. This morning, we will learn how to act in an emergency. It is normal to be nervous and unsure for the first time but it could be harmful."

"Harmful, how?" Elise asked.

"First aid can make a difference between life and death for the accident victim. That is why it is important to know the proper procedures and protocols. Shall we start?"

Everyone nodded and Silvia smiled in satisfaction that our attention is still with her. "First, you have to keep calm." Keep calm, keep calm. I repeated to words to myself so I would remember them. "Why do you think you have to keep calm?"

Kriss's hand shot up. Silvia nodded at her direction and she answered, "Because if we can keep calm, the victim can stay calm, and cooperate with us."

"Exactly," Silvia smiled gratefully because she doesn't have to explain anymore. "Second: Plan quickly what you need to do. Once we go through the minor and major injuries and what to do on a specific situation, we will be able to assess the situation, and know which first aid to apply. Third rule is to seek for help. Seeking for help quickly may save a life and therefore, it is important to know how to get in contact with proper authorities during an emergency. In our case, the head authority of the hospital wing of the Illéan palace is Doctor Idy Blue." Silvia looked at something behind us and we turn to look at it, too. There, walking through the doors, is a woman about the age in between thirty and forty. She has thin light brown hair and gray eyes. She walked with grace and care as if she did not want to embarass herself by tripping.

"And she is just in time to join our meeting. Come in, Doctor Blue," Silvia said. The woman gave us a warm smile and started to proceed to the front and tell about first aid, as if she had been here before she was acknowledged. Or maybe she had.

"And fourth rule is to be an encouragement to the victim. He or she would really appreciate the encouragement and reassurance that you would possess because as his or her corpsman, they would trust you."

***

After going through the basic rules and tools and instruments, our mentor finally dismissed us.

I went out to the gardens... again. But the odds are not in my favor right now. Because my eyes landed on a figure I knew all too well. No, let me rephrase that. My eyes landed on two figures I knew all too well.

Aspen and Maxon.

And they were talking to each other, laughing. Aspen's back was towards me and Maxon was standing in front of him. Maxon's eyes then looked around and found me. He started to step towards me, the grin still on his lips. He patted Aspen's shoulder in goodbye as the guard suddenly became confused why the conversation had suddenly ended. He turned towards the direction where Maxon was heading; towards my direction. And then, that was when he saw me. The confused emotion was now replaced by recognition and... jealousy? No, I must be seeing things because after I glanced at Maxon who was fast approaching, then look at Aspen, he was gone.

"Hi," Maxon said, stopping in front of me.

"Hello," I replied, starting to smile, too. His arm snaked around my waist and led which way to walk. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Did you get a good night sleep?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you for last night." I glanced up to look at him. "And for everything you have done for me."

He looked back at me and kissed my forehead. "You are always welcome, America. And it is my pleasure to do so."

A few minutes later, we stepped out of the palace. His arm around me loosened and he gripped my left hand. I gaped at the view in front of me. It was a wide green landscape of grasses and there were columns of tress. Some trees were just plain leaves and branches, others were flowered, others had fruits. I looked up at the thick white clouds and the light blue sky in between them. Birds fly freely; chirp and sing joyfully. On my left, I saw different kinds of flowers. The stables were on my right.

A slow grin appeared on both our lips. I exhaled and ran toward the stables, past the man who was brushing on a black horse. "Hello, little pony!" I smiled and waved at the white horse in its stable. Maxon chuckled at my actions.

I turned around to face him, beaming. Our hands were still intertwined. "Do you want to go and see Carter or Marlee?" he whispered, making sure only I could hear. But before a second could pass, I hugged him tightly.

"Of course, I would love to. Would you really risk that for me?" I asked. He pulled away from the hug to looked at me in the eyes.

"Yes, America. I would risk anything and everything for you."