A talk in a hospital

On Tuesday morning, right after the café incident the previous day, I was even more tired than before.

I really have to fix my sleep schedule, this sleepiness is unbearable. Plus, my head hurts so much. Will I even be able to make it to school today?

It was 7 am, and school started at 8 am. Although my school wasn’t far from where I lived, since my building was designed for students living away from home, I felt so tired and lazy that I just wanted to stay in bed so badly.

Despite everything going wrong, I decided to just bear with it. The attendance at my school was strict, and I could only use so many sick days.

So, I took a pill for the headache mixed with caffeine, ate breakfast, and left the apartment. While going down the stairs, I had to be careful not to fall on my face, which almost happened twice. Then, as I was crossing the street, I almost got hit by a biker and ended up tripping, falling face-first onto the ground.

“Damn it!”

The people walking by slowed down and looked at me as I struggled to get up, but no one offered a helping hand.

“Ah... My face. Is blood running down my nose? That sucks.”

I just got a paper tissue from my bag and plugged my bleeding nose. Any effect from the headache pill I took instantly vanished, but I definitely wasn’t tired anymore. My head hurt even more, and now my ears started ringing.

*

When I finally got to school, I noticed the people around me staring in my direction.

Are they looking at me?

One of them, my classmate, David, walked up to me and asked with concern.

“Hey man, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just fell on the street and my nose started bleeding a little.”

“Your nose? Dude, your whole face is practically covered in blood. I don’t think you’re bleeding from just the nose.”

Nah, it can’t be that bad, I thought, but when I touched my forehead with my right index and middle finger, I felt something sticky. When I looked at my hand, sure enough, it was covered in blood.

“Uhh, David, could you call a teacher for me? Or maybe an ambulance... I’m starting to feel a little... dizzy.”

I started to lose my balance. The last thing I remembered was David running towards me, trying to catch me.

*

When I woke up, I was lying in bed in what looked like a hospital room. I could feel the bandages wrapped around my head.

So much for it being just a nosebleed.

When I looked around, I saw David, sitting in a chair by my bed, facing the window, reading our literature book.

“What time is it?” I asked him, wondering how long I’ve been asleep.

David quickly turned around and looked at me with concern written all over his face.

“Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

“I feel fine. Just tell me what time it is.”

“Are you sure you’re fine? You were out cold for some time.”

“Man, just tell me the damn time, okay?

He looked at his phone and finally answered my question.

“It’s 15:49 right now.”

“You’re saying I was asleep for almost 8 hours? Great, now my sleep schedule is even more ruined.”

“What? You’re worried about your sleep schedule right now? You had a minor concussion.”

“Huh?! A concussion? But I feel fine now... What did the doctor say?”

“He said you’ll most likely be alright after some rest, and that you’ll have to take it easy for the next couple of days. Things like running or any intense exercise are out of the question.”

“That’s fine by me. I don’t even work out that much.”

Not that I ever worked out anyway.

“The doctor also mentioned having you stay here overnight, in case something were to happen.”

"What? No way, that’s not necessary. I’m not missing school two days in a row for nothing."

“A concussion isn’t nothing.”

“I know, I know. Now that I think about it, what are you even doing here? Didn’t you miss the whole school day?”

David gave a small smile and explained.

“Actually, no. Before the ambulance arrived, the principal went to see what was going on and instructed me to accompany you. She also mentioned that both me and you won’t be marked as absent, since this was clearly an emergency.”

I looked at him in bewilderment.

Our school, which was always so strict with attendance, has done something like that?

“Are you sure you heard that right?” I asked him, skeptical.

“That really doesn’t sound like something our principal would say.”

David laughed a little at that comment.

"Well, maybe she was in a really good mood. Or perhaps it’s because I asked her. Oh, but please don’t tell that to anyone.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Why? Well, it wouldn’t be a good look for her. It would make it seem like she was giving me special privileges.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, why would she agree to something you asked of her just like that?”

“Oh, you don’t know? The principal is my aunt.”

“Wait, principal Kantoku is your aunt?!”

“Are you telling me you didn’t know that?”

“Well, we didn’t really talk much before, so no, I didn’t. But since she’s your aunt, you don’t share the same last name, right?”

“We do actually. When my parents divorced, my mom got full custody of me and changed both our last names back to Kantoku.”

David paused for a second, then asked.

“Wait, are you saying you didn’t know my last name?”

“...No. Do you know my last name?”

To that question, David smirked and answered with confidence.

“It’s Saido, right?”

“...Yes. But why do you know that?”

“What do you mean why? I know all the first and last names of our classmates. Isn’t that normal?”

“I don’t think so, but maybe?”

This is weird. I haven’t really talked with David before, but the conversation is flowing so smoothly. In fact, I never talk much to my classmates. My thought process was that school was for learning, not for making friends, but maybe I was wrong? This feels nice though, having someone to talk to during school. Well, we’re not really in school right now but whatever.

We talked for about 30 minutes, when the topic of the conversation suddenly shifted.

“By the way, Jinko, do you have a girlfriend?”

Even though that question caught me off guard a little, I didn’t really see a reason to lie.

“No, I don’t. She broke up with me last Friday.”

“Oh... sorry to hear that. How long did you guys date?”

“We dated for 6 months. But it’s fine, I got over it.”

Hearing that, David looked a bit surprised.

“You got over it? Didn’t she break up with you really recently though?”

“And?”

David now looked even more bewildered.

“What do you mean 'and'? You guys dated for 6 months, and you got over it in 4 days? Just like that? Didn’t you love her?”

“Uhhh...”

I didn’t know how to answer. I always thought I loved her. We both said it to each other after about 2 months of dating. But I was beginning to doubt it.

Did I really love her? I thought I did. We said it to each other and all. But if I got over it this fast… was it ever real? I wasn't even that upset in the first place. How do I even know what ‘loving someone’ feels like? Is it the same as loving your parents? Is it any different from liking your friends? How can you tell when you love someone romantically?

Seeing me hesitate, David stayed silent, showing an expression that I could not decipher. 

We both sat there for a while, neither of us knowing what to say next.