Someone's In My Head (WATTYS AWARD WINNER 2015)

Chapter Three

Layla visited me at the hospital on the day I moved into the normal ward. She told me she'd rushed to the hospital once she heard the news of my accident, but I was still unconscious.

"Oh Jarod!" Layla gushed. With my permission, she patted the bandage on my head tentatively. "Does it hurt? Oh, of course it does, stupid me."

She bent down and looked at me right in the eye. Her eyes were blue but murky. "Jarod, you cannot imagine how sorry I am for you. You should've stayed over my place that night. Nothing would've happened to you."

"Yeah." I mumbled. I wondered if it was her acting talent that exaggerated her expression. It felt fake to me, almost like she'd been rehearsing these lines before entering my room.

I shook off the paranoia. Damn it, Jarod! She cares for you, or else she wouldn't be here at all.

Layla opened her mouth to speak. "You know, Jarod-"

Or maybe she's guilty. A voice inside me suggested abruptly. Without bothering to figure out how did the voice appear in my head, I snorted derisively. "Guilty? Guilty for what?"

It appeared that I'd said it aloud. Oops.

For a rare moment I enjoyed watching the to-be Oscar Best Actress stutter. "Wha...at? I beg your pardon?"

"No, it's nothing, Layla. It's just my head going a lil' bit haywire. Y'know, my body had been often malfunctioning since I woke up." I reassured her with a pained smile. "No worries."

Layla eyeballed me, suspicion in her eyes. But the look faded and was immediately replaced by sympathy. I was awed by her expression-swapping skills. It was as if she had a wardrobe with masks of different expressions, and that she only had to know when to switch masks.

Damn, I'm being paranoid again. I shook my head. What the hell is wrong with me?

Layla was already halfway into her speech. "...you must be extra careful next time. No more midnight journeys alone. Promise me, Jarod." she gazed at me expectantly. There was a worried expression on her face that I simply couldn't understand.

I decided to give her my word, just for the sake of placating her. "I promise."

Visibly relieved, Layla stooped and kissed me on the forehead. "I gotta go. Got some errands to run. Hope you have a speedy recovery." She paused. I thought she had more to say, but she apparently decided against it. "Bye, Jarod."

"Bye." I stared at her as she left.

Wow. Truth be told, I must say that Layla looked almost nervous throughout the conversation. It scared me. Layla, Best Actress of the Year in our college's annual play twice in a row, appearing uneasy when speaking to a lowly sophomore like me? Incredible. Did I just acquire Channing Tatum's looks overnight?

My head wasn't spinning so much as before. It was probably because of the sudden exertion when my body was playing Spidey, I reasoned, that caused the so-called 'deprivation of oxygen supply to my brain' as explained by Dr Gordon. After munching down the bowl of fruit salad prepared by my mom (I'd wasted the entire Epic Chicken Burrito), I started walking like a sober person again.

Mom decided to unofficially ground me for a week. Said she wanted me under probation until I could control myself. I could tell she still didn't believe me and my 'sudden acquisition of martial arts' horseshit.

I protested in the beginning, whining that this entire thing wasn't my fault and that if I'd not intervened, two things could've happened: either Del Taco would be missing one day's worth of revenue or the girl's throat would've been slit. Neither was worse than having me turn into a superhero.