Coincidences

Act XXII

I woke up in a bed that I somewhat recognize, feeling sore. The clock marked one o'clock; it has been, I guess, a full hour since I was knocked out. I sat up with my arms trembling and soon found myself face to face with Dr. Reed.

Bewildered, I exclaimed, "Am I in the hospital?!"

"No, you're in the nurse's office," said Dr. Reed, as if I asked a stupid question.

"Then, what the heck are you doing here?"

He exhaled in disbelief. He cried out loud, "I'm the principal here!"

That's a surprise. I didn't know he was the principal of the school. I thought that he was simply just a doctor from the other day. "But, aren't you a doctor? You said you worked shifts there."

"I said that? By shift, I meant a meeting with the local doctors. I'm one of the only qualified doctors that can attend to an emergency surgeries around this area. I am originally the head of this school; this is my main job," he revealed.

That's one more thing to add to my notebook. The worn book rested on top of the clipboard. Its pages flapped to the wind caused by the electric fan.

The doctor, principal, headmaster, whatever you may call him, slumped onto the chair besides the bed. He applied pressure to his temples with his fingers. Then, he sat with a proper posture you'd expect from a professional and began to mumble, "So, Zoey and the teacher told me the whole story, but I'd like to hear everything from you. Why did you decide to meddle with this Rocky Rimson?"

"It's a long story," I warned, but, knowing from his eyes, he was willing to listen to all of it. "Rocky, Tyrone, and I know each other from our old town. Before, we were all good friends, and we always hang out whenever possible. But, since the day when the car accident happened, he changed."

He interrupted, "Woah, woah, what car accident?"

I took a deep breath, and pronuonced slowly, "The one where my mother died."

"What does that have to do with his change of character?" he instigated.

I shrugged, "I don't know. I was my loss, and yet, he turned into some kind of demon."

Mr. Reed rubbed his chin, pondering in meditation. After two minutes, he concluded, "Well, do you remember what happened back then? We might gather up some clues to see the real reason."

"Mr. Jonathan, I denied it from my head. I forced those memories out. It hurts to think about that everyday. With all due respect."

He shut his eyes, articulating, "Ok, ok. I understand. I won't push you anymore." He rose and picked the clipboard, jotted a few undistinguishable words and headed to the desk. He shuffled through the files and placed a sheet of paper onto the clipboard.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

"Here I have all of your medical information. I see you have a couple of 'conditions' to take note of." He displayed the form in front of me. "The heart, huh. You should be taking in too many hits."

"It's not like I want to."

Five minutes have passed since I woke up, and the bell screamed through the metal door. A ruckus can be heard outside: students' footsteps echoing across the marble tiles, hollers exhaled from the teachers, and the fuss of buddies laughing at one another.

Jonathan shuffled his way to the exit. While he grabbed the handle, he put his hand to his forehead and saluted like a military soldier, saying, "Gotta go. Matters to attend to. Don't worry; I'll see what I can do to help." He left, and I stared at the ceiling, alone.

At least, just for a while. Zoey came in, forty-five seconds after. She dove right into bed, landing above me. I let out a small groan. It was evident that she was crying, for some kind of reason. My eyes were still moist, looking up to me in her usual demeanor.

I wiped her eyes. "Why are you crying?" I asked.

She hid her face under the blanket when I said that. Her body pressed against mine. I found it hard to breathe, either because my chest was closing in tighter, or because she was lying on top of me. She was uncontrolably shaking, her knees were trembling, her arms caving in to her chest.

"Was it Rocky?"

Zoey's head bobbed up and down from the sheets. She babbled, in a laggy voice, "He...he...that monster...kissed me...on the lips!"

"He did?" I blurted.

"And... he tried to...," Zoey forced to say, cringing.

Wrath flowed through my veins. This was no different from the Rocky I knew, but he has gone too far. He has tried to harass the girl I loved, flirted with her, and do the things he pleases to do against her will. I wrapped my arms around Zoey, giving her as much comfort as she needs.

She calmed down a bit. Her pupils were still dillating, but they seemed to settle down. She sat upright on the bed and faced me. The sleeves on her light blue blouse were stained with teardrops.

"That excuse of a human being is really getting on my nerves. It was all thanks to Tyrone, who stopped him from crossing the line," Zoey sniffed.

"Ty?" I said.

"Yes, Ty. He came over and scolded him, and he set me free. So I ran over to the principal's office. Did you know the principal was the doctor who bumped into us?"

I nodded, only to feel a sharp sting on the back of my neck. I rubbed my hand to ease the pain, but that suplex from before was deadly. It propagated through my brain, and I got myself a heck of a headache.

"Are you okay?" she worryingly questioned. Zoey laid her fingers on my forehead. She massaged me, with the intent of relieving the pain. She expertly did so; it was mostly inexistent by the time she concluded. I guess pressing against your head sometimes works. Her face was directly above my own. Her strands of hair blocked the lights from time to time, making them flicker repeatedly. I couldn't help myself. I reached out to touch her hair, hair so smooth it was like legit silk. After a short while, she came to understand, and her face, blushing, changed to a bright red. Zoey moved to the edge of the bed, back curled and diverting eyesight.

My mouth spat out an immediate apology, "Uhm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Now, I, too, couldn't make a straight, serious face.

"I'll...go now," Zoey unsurely said. She silently went out, and, although it was nice while it lasted, at this very moment, now I was truly alone.