Welcome to My World

Chapter 5 Callum's POV {The Nurse is Traumatized}

I gulp nervously. Beside me, I can practically hear Rayla grinning. She loves stuff like this. She's insanely good at jumping, running, and whatnot. Me? I'm super flexible... Mentally. Physical? Oops. I think the only physical thing I'm better at is swimming, and only because Rayla fears water.

The coach stops in front of Genelyn. "Why don't you go first?" He says.

Genelyn throws me a flirty smile on her way to the start, and I honestly swear that Rayla caught it, then threw it back, hitting Genelyn in the face. The smile breaks.

Genelyn strikes a pose at the start, obviously eager to show off. Rayla leans closer to me. "This should be good." She whispers. I try not to laugh. I fail.

The coach blows his whistle, and Genelyn takes off. She's surprisingly good, but when it comes to jumping from platform to platform, she falls. Not surprising. The platforms are all different heights.

The coach grunts. "Next." He says. One by one, the whole class tried. No one gets as far as Genelyn. Then it's my turn. I run across the planks without falling, but I flunk the swinging ropes. As I head back, my rear end stinging from its introduction to the floor, Genelyn shoots me a sympathetic look.

Then it's Rayla's turn. She starts, acing the ropes, then finishing the platforms. She's on the last obstacle, when she flinches suddenly, losing her balance on the net. She falls, and I gasp. But she falls over the side of the finish line. She finished it.

Then I berate myself for thinking she's the only one to finish it because holy crap what am I doing just standing here because she's literally unconscious on the floor?!?!?!

I run over. Everyone is just staring, even the coach. "Well?!?!?! Get the nurse or something!!!" I scream. It looks like she hit her head on something on the way down. There's a gash on her head, staining her white hair red.

The nurse and another teacher run in, and they take her to the infirmary. I'm excused from the rest of P.E., and I use the time to think. Rayla never loses her balance unless pushed. It looks like she just... Flinched and freaked out. What would have caused that?

I'm startled out of my thoughts by a tap on my shoulder. I flinch and spin around. The teacher who helped the nurse stands there, his face emotionless. "Ms. Lunarson is... requesting your presence." He says formally.

I jump to my feet immediately. "Is she ok?" I demand.

The teacher, whose name tag reads Mr. Henderson, winces. "Ah, well-"

I don't give him time to finish. I zoom down the hallway, looking for the infirmary. I burst in. Rayla... Is perfectly fine. Apparently the reason why they called me is because they have no idea what she's like. She's up and about, arguing with the nurse about the bandages on her head. The nurse looks frazzled. Rayla looks like she's just getting started.

The nurse smiled faintly at the sight of me. "Oh look, your brother Callum is here!" She says quickly.

"She's not my sister!" I say at the same moment when Rayla says, "He's not my brother!"

The nurse looks confuzzled. "Um, well, Callum. You've known Rayla for most of your life. Is she ok?"

Rayla gives me the you-better-say-I'm-good look, and I smile. "She's fine." I say in amusement.

The nurse sighs in relief. "Well, then. Math has already started, so you're free to go."

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"What the heck happened to you?" I ask, panting. Rayla is currently dragging me through the halls to Math.

"Nothing. It's no big deal." Rayla replies dismissively. "I just... Slipped up. Lost my balance."

I stop her immediately. "Are you sure you don't have a concussion?"

She nods, confused, so I continue. "Because I know you, and I know that Rayla Lunarson never slips. Ever."

Rayla sighs. "If I told you, you'd drag me straight back to the infirmary. No. This bandage itches." She says, tugging on it. I slap her hand away from it. "I'm serious. If you take that off, I'm telling Runaan." I threaten.

"Hey, no fair." She complains. "That's cheating. Besides, you wouldn't believe me anyways." She adds, looking down at her black sneakers.

If I wanted to live, I probably shouldn't have done this. But I gently tilt her chin up, my green eyes meeting her violet ones, and all of a sudden I realize I'm taller than her now. Her eyes stare into mine, and I can see that inside, she's confused.

"Fine." She says quietly. "It was this crazy memory, triggered by the obstacle course. I was jumping. Like, from tree to tree jumping. I had these weird swords, and there was a red dragon."

For a moment, doubt clouds my face, and her eyes harden. "I knew it! I knew you wouldn't believe me!" She says, breaking away angrily and storming away from me.

"Rayla! Rayla, wait!" I call after her, but she's already gone.