Chapter 44: A Strange Feeling

“Where am I?”

Avegaille slowly opened her eyes, lifted up her head and looked around the room. The first thing she realized was that she was on a bed with a blanket covering half of her body. Everything around her was blurry, since the glasses on her face were missing. The only thing she could hear was some constant beeping from a machine. She felt something was strapped on her left arm and tried touching it. It was very hard for her to see what it really was but it felt like some plastic tubes injected on her.

“W-What’s going on here?”

Avegaille started sweating uneasily and breathing heavily. Then, she heard the door opening. She turned her head to the direction of where the sound came from. A person who she couldn’t properly see entered the room and stood next to the bed she was on.

“Who’s t-there?!” Avegaille asked nervously and tried squinting her eyes, thinking she might get a better view of the person.

The person put the glasses that were on the small table onto Avegaille’s face. Now, Avegaille could see everything clearly and saw Nicole May standing besides her. Then, she glanced to her left. The thing that was strapped to her all along was an IV drip. She turned back to Nicole May, yet she still looked uneasy.

“Nicole May! What… where am l? What’s going on here?” Avegaille asked nervously.

Nicole May gripped her left arm with her right hand and turned her head away slightly from Avegaille. Her eyes started swelling and tears were coming out. It was hard for her to say anything or even respond properly to Avegaille. Even if she tried to talk, nothing was coming out of her mouth.

“Oh? Looks like the shrimp is finally awake!”

The two girls quickly turned to the direction of the voice and saw Jane standing by the doorway, carrying a box of cookies. She stepped inside and stood next to Nicole May. Then, she put down the box on the small table and took out some tissues from the tissue box. After that, she started wiping Nicole May’s face with the tissues, until the tears were gone.

“Jane! Please tell me, what’s going on?” Avegaille pleaded. She was getting more nervous the more the time passed by, without anyone responding to her.

“Calm down, shrimp,” Jane said as she sat down on one of the stools next to the bed. Nicole May, on the other hand, sat down on one of the sofas in the room and hugged one of the pillows on it. “Anyway, let’s start with how long you’ve been out cold. I would say at least… almost two weeks.”

“Almost two weeks?!”

“Yeah, that much…” Jane nodded a bit and then, turned to Nicole May. “Also, Nicole May here was really worried about you. She refused to leave this room until I was able to convince her we’d take turns in watching over you.”

“Wait… the last thing I could somehow recall was… I was at school… and I saw a cat…” Avegaille muttered and tapped her forehead with her right pointer finger. “But then…”

“You… you touched the cat, didn’t you?” Jane’s left eye twitched as she cringed at her little sister. Then, she pinched one of Avegaille’s cheeks and started pulling it. “You could have died there, you know? You were lucky Miss Harrington noticed you were unconscious on the floor. You were brought here to the hospital fast after that.”

“Whaaa, stop! It hurts! I’m sorry, it won’t happen again!” Avegaille cried while trying to endure the pain from the pinching.

Jane sighed exasperatedly as she let go of Avegaille’s cheek and stood up from her seat. She glanced at Nicole May, who was quietly observing them while she was hugging a pillow. Meanwhile, Avegaille rubbed her swollen cheek with her hand, trying to ease the pain from earlier.

“Oh yeah, where’s Mom?” Avegaille asked curiously.

“Mom’s just sorting out the paperwork for your discharge, she’ll come by later,” Jane replied as she turned back to Avegaille. Then, she took the box of cookies on the table and placed them on Avegaille’s lap. “Here, these are for you.”

“You baked these, didn’t ya?” Avegaille lifted up the cover of the box and her eyes lit up as she stared at the huge chocolate chip cookies inside. She took one out and started munching on it. It only took her less than a minute to finish one cookie. “Mm, these are really tasty! Thanks, Jane!”

“Just don’t eat everything in one sitting,” Jane said as she placed her hands into the pockets of her cardigan. “Anyway, I’ll leave you two alone. I’ve got other things to do as well.”

“Okay then, see ya later!” Avegaille waved her hand as Jane stepped out of the room and closed the door.

Nicole May stood up from her seat while still hugging the pillow and went closer to Avegaille. She sat down on the stool next to the bed and stared at Avegaille, waiting for her to say something.

“Uh… Nicole May? Is there anything wrong?” Avegaille asked and smiled sheepishly. She frowned a bit and looked really worried. “Since I woke up, I never heard you say anything…”

“…It’s… no, it’s nothing. I’ll be fine…” Nicole May muttered as she rested her chin on the pillow she was hugging and looked away from her.

“Eeh?” Avegaille raised her eyebrow and scratched her head. “You’re making me more worried, ya know…”

“I’m just glad… you’re okay now…”

Avegaille was stunned upon hearing that. She could see how Nicole May was trying to stop herself from crying again. Somehow, deep inside her, she couldn’t stand seeing Nicole May like that and wanted to see her smiling again. She reached out her hand and held on Nicole May’s wrist, surprising her.

“Let’s hang out together once I’m finally out of this place, all right?” Avegaille grinned and chuckled a bit.

Nicole May nodded firmly while still trying to hold back her tears. She couldn’t help herself anymore and started whimpering. She didn’t want to lose her best friend ever again and would do anything… just so they could be together.

.-.-.-.-.-

“Oh hey, welcome back!” Naz exclaimed happily as she quickly approached Avegaille and held her hands tightly. “You feeling better now?”

Avegaille nodded slowly as she sweat-dropped. She was overwhelmed by Naz's energetic greeting as she entered the newspaper room. After being discharged from the hospital, she only had one night to rest at home before returning to school. She had difficulty walking at first, since she was in bed for almost two weeks. She had to fight and endure the numbness from her legs, which eventually got her back on track.

A new week had already started, in which a very cold Monday morning greeted everyone. It was still too early before their first class though. Avegaille looked around the room and saw Elizabeth going through some books and her notes. Next to her was Emily, who was writing on her notebook. Both of them stopped as soon as they saw Avegaille standing close to them. Naz released Avegaille from her grip and returned to her seat.

Elizabeth noticed the uneasiness on Avegaille’s face while she was looking around the room. She chuckled a bit and put down the book she was holding as she stood up, smiling at Avegaille.

“Are you looking for Nicole May? She’s currently at the faculty room, talking to the teachers,” Elizabeth said, which surprised Avegaille. “I mean, both of you were gone from school for almost two weeks, so, there’s a lot of lessons to catch up to. And let’s not forget the final exams before this semester ends. You guys already missed it… that means you’ll have to take it somewhere during classes or after school.”

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“Wait… I don’t get it…” Avegaille was more confused at the fact that Nicole May also had to catch up on missed classes and had to take the final exam as well.

“What’s not there to get? Rustford has been watching over you while you passed out for almost two weeks at the hospital,” Emily explained and sneered at her.

“We tried convincing Nikki that she didn’t have to do all of that,” Naz added. “She was very persistent and refused to leave your side. I think Jane was somehow able to convince her… at least, for her to return home for a bit so she could get some change of clothes and stuff.”

“So that’s what Jane really meant…” Avegaille muttered to herself as she shook her head slowly.

Then, the door behind Avegaille opened, which made everyone turn to them. Nicole May saw everyone staring at her wearily while she walked inside and sweat-dropped at them. She was carrying some notebooks and placed them down on the table.

“Why are you guys looking at me like you’ve seen a ghost or something?” Nicole May asked skeptically as she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, we were just telling Avegaille about what happened around here while she was gone,” Emily replied and grinned mischievously. “And also how you couldn’t leave her side…”

“Hey now!” Nicole May's cheeks started turning red and her hands were getting numb. “You stay out of this, Hayward!”

Avegaille smiled sheepishly while she watched Emily teased Nicole May more. Then, Naz also joined in and the room got more livelier. Elizabeth kept quiet and sat down on her seat while the rest were still talking. She noticed that Avegaille’s expression changed a bit but didn’t want to bring it up for now.

“Ah, I’m sorry… I need to go to the faculty room and talk to the teachers,” Avegaille interrupted and stepped back until she was close to the door. Although, in her mind, something was bothering her the more she was next to Nicole May, and couldn’t exactly figure out why. Somehow, she couldn’t stand hearing Emily and Naz tease Nicole May with her. She never felt like this, until today. Getting out of the room now might help her, at least for a short time.

“Okay, we’ll see you later then!” Naz exclaimed as she waved her hand and Avegaille rushed out of the room.

“Avegaille, wait!” Nicole May tried to stop Avegaille but she was already out of sight. She looked down at the notebooks on the table and picked them up, carrying them around her arms.

“What… don’t tell me you also took in her share of extra homework from the teachers earlier,” Naz guessed as she pointed to the notebooks.

“I was about to tell her that until you guys interrupted. I’ll just have to go back there again, I suppose…” Nicole May sighed and got out of the room quickly.

“Man, those two are no fun,” Emily remarked and sighed loudly as she placed her hands behind her head. Then, she turned to Elizabeth, who was now back at reading the book she was holding earlier. “What do you think, Lizzie? Are we getting there?”

“I’m not sure why you are asking that but you guys are not even getting them there, definitely,” Elizabeth replied while cringing at Emily. “Who knows if they will even end up getting together…”

.-.-.-.-.-

Nicole May finally got to the area where the faculty room was after some running. She was almost out of breath and looked around the area while trying to regain her composure. Then, she spotted Avegaille standing in front of the faculty room door, staring at the door knob and slowly reaching it with her hand. She quickly ran closer to her and grabbed her hand.

“Ah!” Avegaille quickly turned to the person grabbing her arm and looked somewhat weary and confused. “Nicole May? Why are you…”

“I was supposed to tell you that I already got your extra homework and lessons to give to you but you just left so fast,” Nicole May explained as she let go of Avegaille’s hand. Then, she handed over to Avegaille some of the notebooks she was carrying and put the rest in her bag.

“That’s really too much… but thank you…” Avegaille smiled softly and placed the notebooks in her bag. Then, she looked at Nicole May again and laughed nervously. “If you’re not doing anything after school, let’s hang out a bit before going home… like I told you before.”

“Sure… also there’s a bit more time before our first class, let’s walk together if that’s okay with you,” Nicole May muttered and took Avegaille’s hand, holding it tightly.

“I don’t mind…” Avegaille looked down and could feel how nervous Nicole May was, by her grip alone.

Both of them started walking, somewhat in a slow pace. Avegaille looked around and some of the students they passed by were looking at them curiously, which made her flustered. Then, they reached a hallway that wasn’t crowded and was somehow eerily quiet. There were some benches next to the door they were standing close by.

“Is there something wrong?” Nicole May asked as she stopped walking and released Avegaille’s hand from her grip.

“It’s nothing…” Avegaille shook her head and looked down, staring at her hand that Nicole May just held earlier. She felt a weird sensation inside her and still couldn’t understand why. She looked up and gazed at Nicole May for a bit, calming her down. “Somehow, just being with you right now makes me really happy.”

“Eh… really now?” Nicole May was surprised from what she just heard. She also thought it was unusual for Avegaille to say something like that. “Are you sure you’re really okay?”

“Yeah… I’m totally fine!” Avegaille replied firmly and clenched her fists. She looked around the area again and finally realized where they were. “Wait, why are we standing in front of the clinic?”

“Huh, I guess I missed that intersection. Anyway, I think we should just get to our first class,” Nicole May muttered and started walking again.

“Wait up!” Avegaille exclaimed and quickly ran until she was walking next to her.

.-.-.-.-.-

“Is there really no other way for us to do this?”

“You know, I’m more surprised that you’re really taking this a bit too seriously, Emily…” Naz grunted and shook her head. “I mean, I’m just doing it simply to get Nicole May out of her introvert shell.”

“Yeah, I mean come on. It’s too obvious. Those two really need to step it up faster until they’re officially together!” Emily whined and sighed. “I think our real problem here is Avegaille. Either she’s too oblivious to what’s really going on or she’s simply not the type of person who would want to have a relationship with the same gender.”

“I would say it’s the former… I mean we’re all at that age where we’re still discovering more about ourselves,” Naz said as she folded her arms across her chest.

“You guys really won’t stop this nonsense, huh?” Elizabeth asked as she closed the door behind her.

The three of them just got out of the newspaper room that was located next to the stairs and about to get to their first class. After Avegaille and Nicole May left, Emily was still insistent on discussing with Naz on how to get the two of them together. Elizabeth tried ignoring them earlier but now she couldn’t stand hearing their absurd suggestions and finally decided to join them.

“You got a better suggestion for this?” Emily asked and sneered.

“Avegaille is very naïve… that I can say with certainty. Now, if you guys are really insistent in doing this, you also need to be aware of the fact that Avegaille also likes Phil and the guy likes her too,” Elizabeth explained. “If whatever plan you guys have in mind actually succeeds, there’s going to be a day where she needs to decide on choosing between Nicole May and Phil.”

“Whoa, wait! Stop right there!” Emily interrupted as she frantically waved her hands. “How… like… why do you even know that?”

“I mean, we do know that you’ve been friends with Avegaille since elementary school days but still… that thing with Phil…” Naz muttered as she raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me… you also have a crush on that guy…”

“T-That’s none of your business, Naz!” Elizabeth exclaimed furiously and her face started turning red. She quickly turned away from them, hiding her flustered face. “I only knew about it since Phil’s mother is a very close friend of Avegaille’s mother and the two were always together… especially after school and on weekends.”

“Oh, this is getting more interesting…” Emily remarked and chuckled. “I’ll bet you want Avegaille to get together with Nicole May so you can have Phil for yourself…”

“I am not gonna say anything on that matter!” Elizabeth exclaimed irritably and quickly left the two of them until she was out of sight.

“I’ve never seen Lizzie like that… then again, I really don’t know much about her even though we’re classmates.” Naz chuckled and turned back to Emily. “Although, I think she’s indirectly challenging us.”

“Challenging us, how?”

“Think about it, why would she bring that part about Avegaille and Phil just like that? It’s because she already knew the reason as to why Avegaille would have problems accepting Nicole May's feelings romantically,” Naz explained and placed her hands on her hips. “The more I think about this, it’s likely that Lizzie actually knows a bit too much of what’s really going on but just refuses to meddle directly.”

“Okay… so now we know this won’t be easy but we should at least think of a new plan for this,” Emily muttered and placed her hands on the pockets of her skirt. “I think we should talk to Phil about this, see what he has to say on the matter…”

“That could help, yeah… problem is, where is he now?”

“Oh… well, he’s my classmate in Math so I’ll be able to talk to him there,” Emily replied.

“And what exactly are you going to ask him, huh?” Naz asked skeptically, raising one of her eyebrows.

“Well… it’s along the lines of asking him if he really likes Avegaille or probably telling him about how too close those two are,” Emily responded as she shrugged. “The latter might induce a bit of a jealousy feeling in him. Which I think would make this whole deal even more juicier.”

“Just don’t go overboard on this…” Naz muttered and sighed exasperatedly.

“There’s no such thing as going overboard,” Emily said and sneered. She recalled one of the novels she was reading just a couple of days ago. The novel was coincidentally too similar with what was going on around her. She never felt this enthralled until now. “If anything, just seeing this unfold alone makes me really excited. Enough to write it as a story of its own.”

“Okay, okay, I get it…” Naz groaned as she shook her head. “Just remember, don’t go way overboard on this. I’ll stop you if it gets too much.”