PART 5

“I… the accident made me lose my memory,” the young woman said, looking at the ground. “I… I’m sorry… I don’t remember anything…”

“It’s okay. The important thing is that I remember it for you.”

“So you liked me?”

“Yes. And I must say, a lot.” He joked with a mocking and seductive smile.

“I knew I wasn’t seeing the flirtatious Andrew.” Diana complained, laughing, puffing out her lips, but quickly becoming serious again. “And did I like you? No, never mind, you’re gay. It’s impossible…”

“…Very much,” Andrew replied, making the girl look at him in surprise. “I liked you a lot. You were the only girl who made me feel like a person and not an object created by and for my family.”

“Andrew, are you gay?”

“I…”

“Diana!” A voice came from behind them just as he was about to answer. It was Emily with Anna.

“Where have you been? We were worried about you.”

“I’m sorry. I needed to talk to Andrew,” Diana said as she stood up while the girls approached them.

“We’ll talk another time,” Andrew whispered, and Diana nodded, moving away, but not before giving Emily a slight smile, which Emily returned.

“What did you want?” Diana asked.

“We have gym class, and if I remember correctly, I lent my tracksuit to a certain rascal who was missing for several weeks,” Emily said with a playful expression as she tackled her friend.

“It’s true, I’d forgotten.”

“Fool.” Emily lightly tapped Diana’s head before grabbing her arm. “Come on, let’s go. It’s our turn for volleyball.”

Atlanta was a university known for leaving no stone unturned in its students' education. Its philosophy, “Orandum est ut sit mens sāna in corpore sānō,” also known as “Mens sana in corpore sano,” was one of the academy’s foundations. In every program, one hour of physical education was mandatory. It was not just the mind that needed cultivation, but the body as well.

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The class was divided into two: the women played volleyball on one side of the gym, while the men played basketball on the other side. In basketball, Andrew, Mike, and Johnny were in the same team against Oscar's team.

Mike was known throughout the faculty as the “ace of the ball.” In fact, he had turned down a formal invitation to join one of the most recognized national teams. Even so, the young man’s mind wasn’t in the game; he was missing both assists and the simplest shots.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you? That’s the fifth pass you’ve missed,” Andrew yelled as he passed by.

“Focus, Mike. Oscar’s team is beating us, and that’s a crime,” Johnny shook his teammate to wake him up.

“Sorry, guys,” Mike apologized, trying to concentrate on the game.

The same was happening to Diana, who couldn’t get Andrew’s story out of her head during the volleyball game. This distraction allowed Anna to deliver a direct hit to the back of her neck.

The dark-skinned girl felt a sharp pain on the side of her head, causing her legs to wobble and making her fall, catching the attention of the boys’ group, especially Andrew and Mike.

“I’m sorry!” Anna apologized innocently. “I didn’t mean to hit you. Sometimes I’m terrible at sports…”

“You could be more careful,” Emily scolded, approaching her friend to help her up. “Are you okay? That was quite a hit.”

“It’s my fault for being distracted,” Diana tried to reassure her friend as she got up from the floor.

“Really? You don’t look too good,” Emily said, worried, seeing how pale Diana was.

“Really…” Diana felt sharp pains on the sides of her head as she stood up.

A sudden warmth spread throughout her body, and beads of sweat became prominent on her glowing skin. As she clutched her head in agony, countless images began to flash through her mind—memories rising from the depths and surfacing like a dance of fireworks.

However, the impression was so intense that her body suddenly collapsed onto the floor. The last scenes her eyes saw, fading with exhaustion, were the silhouettes of Andrew, Mike, and Emily above her, speaking with worried expressions.

She didn’t know how many hours had passed, but Diana began to regain consciousness. She was lying on one of the infirmary beds, with Andrew sitting beside her, his brow furrowed.

“Did you bring me to the infirmary?” Diana asked as her eyes adjusted to the light.

“Well, more like Mike and I. He had to go clean up the gym. It took quite a while to get him to leave. Johnny and Oscar had to drag him away while he was literally clawing at the wall, complaining that he didn’t want to leave until you woke up,” Andrew said, sitting in a chair with a half-smile.

“I see.” Diana replied, sitting up on the bed with difficulty, looking down, and remaining in complete silence.

“…Is something wrong?”

“…”

“Don’t worry, you can tell me anything…”

“I remember now,” Diana interrupted him.

“Remember what?”

“I finally remember you… and what I felt,” Diana said, blushing.

However, Andrew’s reaction was not what she had expected.

“I’m glad,” he replied, completely impassive.

Getting up and without saying goodbye, Andrew left through the door, leaving Diana with her words unspoken. Once he was at a reasonable distance from the infirmary entrance, the young man, troubled by his emotions, leaned against the wall, unable to lift his gaze from the floor.