Illusions Mean Dawn

Chapter 3

        

        My eyelids flickered slowly as small bits of light began to shine through the slits of my line of view. As the darkness began to dispel from my vision, the bright light pricked at my eyes, the colors and shapes of the room eventually forming actual objects. I attempted to rise up from my current position of laying, only to be pulled back down by the sudden jabbing pain in my head. I sucked in the air sharply through my gritted teeth as I mustered as much strength as I possibly could to place my hand on my head, attempting to keep my body upright and steady. I suddenly felt a strong hand on my back and slowly turned to the side in an attempt to make out the stranger.

        "Wesley?" I slurred quietly, limited strength in my voice as I attempted to readjust my vision into focus. "What are you doing here?"

        Wesley reached over and shushed me hurriedly. "Lay back down immediately, you'll over work your body." The tall, Italian boy reached over to the small nurses table and grabbed a bottle of water and what looked to be powdery drink mix. He unscrewed the cap and poured in the mix, proceeding to shake up the drink quickly. The liquid eventually looked to be an even color. "Here," he said quietly, the word rolling off of his tongue, "Drink this. It'll help with the pain and give you strength."

        I snatched up the bottle without hesitation, not even caring what was in it. My throat felt so dry I could barely even breath. My hands rushed to unscrew the cap, throwing my head back as I chugged the liquid. It tasted of raspberries and freshly squeezed lemonade, not exactly extravagant but pleasing to the taste buds. Especially the taste buds of a girl who had been passed out for...how long had it been?

        "Where am I and how long have I been here?" I asked quickly, my voice stern and face serious. Wesley chuckled, shaking his head as he stood up from his seat next to the bed. "You're in the school nurse's office. It's only been about an hour and a half or so," he shrugged nonchalantly.

        "An hour and a half!?" I said rather loudly. I could feel my eyes widening and eyebrows raising much farther above their normal rate. "What about Marin? And the nurse? I doubt your even CPR certified!" My already jumbled mind was going a million miles a minute, a hundred thousand million questions being conjured in my head.

        Wesley placed his hand against my forehead. I jerked back from the sudden touch at first, but eventually gave in, not strong enough to put up a fight. He then held a thermometer directly in front of my mouth, waiting for me to open it. I reluctantly let him slide the device beneath my tongue, and waited for it to beep and be removed. "Marin's fine." He said as he waited for the small beep of the device hanging out of my mouth. "The nurse told him he could go back to class. As for the nurse, I tricked her into going to get more supplies on the other side of the school. And considering how old (and bad at directions) she is, we've got a solid five hours before she gets back safe and sound." The thermometer began to go off as he reached and gently pulled it out of my mouth. He glanced down at it, reading the small, digital numbers. "Perfectly healthy. You're all good, just as planned."

        "What do you mean 'as planned'?" I asked, swinging my legs off the bed to face Wesley. My smallish face was scrunched up in a fuss, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What is going on here, Tretelli? One minute I'm fine, and the next minute I'm lying on the dirty hallway floor and in the nurse's office passed out for an hour and a half!"

        "Well for starters, you didn't pass out."

        "What!?" I yelled with a bit of an unintentional argumentative growl in my voice. "What else could have happened? Did I enter a coma or some shit?" My nails dug into the hard material of the patient bed, leaving small little claw marks in their place.