The forgotten watch

“So?” Doctor Katherine asked as she waited for an answer from Neo.

“Yes, I remember.” He answered awkwardly.

“Good, that's a good sign. Have you ever fainted before?”

“No!” His voice came out a little louder than usual because he was struggling to put the other shoe on his foot.

Katherine jotted down a few things on the form she was holding and prepared for the next question.

“Do you have any history of medical problems, such as previous fainting spells, seizures or heart conditions?”

“Not that I know of.”

“I understand, the people who brought you in told me about what happened, but I wanted to hear from you, can you remember what you were doing before you fainted?”

His head was confused, his thoughts scrambled, he couldn't remember exactly where he was before he blacked out, whether he was in the tree, in a room, on the court or talking to Karine. His certainty only began to increase as Neo thought more deeply.

“I remember talking to Erick, he kept asking me if I remembered who he was, which left my mind in a whirlwind of images and then I suddenly fainted.”

Katherine made several notes on her paper, took a deep breath and said:

“Fainting is serious, you're lucky you didn't hit your head because you were held. So I'm going to ask you not to do what you did again, if you don't remember someone or something, just let it go. You'll remember over time. You were lucky this time, but you might not be as lucky the next time.”

I paid attention to half of what she said, to be honest, when I heard the part where they 'held me' I started looking around for someone else. “I heard someone singing earlier, who was it?”

“Did you hear what I said?” Katherine asked with an angry tone as she sighed with disappointment, while Neo's expression hadn't changed since she'd asked the question. “The girl who brought you in with my sister and Erick, was singing. Speaking of my sister, she's worried about you, so she asked you to come to her room as soon as you woke up.”

“Now?” He asked annoyed.

“Yes, now.”

So he got up and went to the door.

“And Neo, you can go now, but I'll ask you to come back later so we can run some tests. I have to be absolutely sure that everything is fine with your body.”

The boy agreed and went out the door. The infirmary was close to the entrance and also to the sports courts, on the first floor, so once again he had to go up to the second floor and take the same route as the last time he was interrupted.

Neo knocked lightly on the Boardroom door.

“Come in.” It was Karine's voice.

He opened the door slowly.

Karine's room had a dark brown color, emanated a sense of seriousness, smelled of old things, had several pieces of wooden furniture, several gigantic books on a shelf against the wall, two black office chairs in front of her desk, which on top had a calendar, a computer and a vase of petrol blue flowers.

“How are you feeling?” Karine asked as soon as their eyes met.

“I'm better.” replied Neo, standing by the door.

Karine smiled with relief.

“Kathy told me you weren't hurt, but it still gave me quite a fright.”

That reminded me of when I fainted, which reminded me of what I was most curious about at that moment. “What was the name of the girl who held me?”

“Saya.” She answered on impulse, nodded and asked, “Why?”

Neo didn't know what to answer, looked away and placed his hand on his other arm, feeling her watch and widening his eyes in the process.

“I almost forgot to give you your watch back!”

He took it from her arm and approached her. He noticed several cute little figures scattered around her desk that completely broke up the seriousness of the room he had felt before.

“Oh right.” She smiled when she saw the state of the watch and opened a large drawer in the wooden table. “Because you've taken good care of it, I'll give you a new one, after all, you can't be late for your classes.”

Karine handed over a mostly blue watch, Neo liked this one better than the one she had lent him.

“Speaking of class.” She continued. “Your last class starts in 10 minutes. It's a shame you didn't enjoy your first day, but I can help you get through at least the last lesson. If you want, of course.”

The day had been so hectic that it was hard to think about having a lesson at the moment.

“I'm not sure. I don't want to cause any trouble.”

“It's okay, it'll just be a detour and if you want to meet Saya, she's in your class.” Again, she smiled in the same mischievous way she had the day before.

Neo's face turned red, his words barely coming out.

“All right then.”

The principal smiled like never before, bent down and picked up something from behind the desk that Neo could only see when she stood up and brought it close to him. It was a blue backpack decorated with a lot of golden stars, that seemed to be full.

“You'll need this. Stand with your back to me and hold out your arms.”

Neo did as she asked and felt her put the straps on his arms. When she let go, he had to hold on to keep from falling backwards.

“Is it heavy?”

“A little.” He decided to be honest.

“Sorry, it's just that there are several subjects and each teacher will ask for a different notebook. But you don't have to bring them all. Just the ones you're going to use on the day. Since I know your favorite color is blue, I got everything in the same color.”

Neo was already getting used to the weight, gave it a shake that seemed to improve it even more and was ready. She headed towards the doors of the room as she continued to explain.

“I thought I wouldn't get your materials until next week, but being the principal has its perks. Well, we can't waste any time, I'll take you there, as you're a 'new student', you have to introduce yourself to the class.”

The two of them climbed two more flights of stairs from where they were and finally reached room 3-G. The path was easier than Neo had imagined. Karine stopped before reaching the classroom door and looked at her watch.

“Let's wait for the class to finish.”

The boy's heart started racing and his hands were sweating. He could hear the voice of an old teacher talking about numbers and his nervousness only increased.

The bell rang so loudly that he jumped with fright.

Karine knocked on the door and asked to be excused. He could see the short, gray-haired teacher from a distance, wearing a faded gray suit and with a slightly bent back, writing some second-grade formulas next to a graph.

“Excuse me, professor, but could I ask for some of your time?” Karine asked.

He said yes, she approached him and they whispered a few words. Then the teacher nodded and Karine went back to where the two of them were waiting.

“Neo, he's going to introduce you to the class, I need to go now.” She put both hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. “It'll be fine, if you need anything just talk to me.”

The boy nodded and Karine smiled and walked away down the stairs. He felt as if he was calmer, perhaps she had done it because she had noticed his nervousness.

“Come on in, Neo.” The teacher asked in his calm, gentle voice.