Ch.3

"Lin! Are you okay?" Will's voice is distant as he approaches me, I have no idea where I am.

"What?" I try to look around me ad see where I am but my mind is filled with confusion.

"Are you okay? Did it get worse?" He speaks directly and gently at the same time, his voice is clearer and I see his figure surrounding me.

"What do you mean? Worse?" I ask.

"You said you were feeling sick, and wanted to rest a little bit. So you did." He looks at me, worried.

"Oh- I don't remember. How long ago was that?"

"10 minutes-" His breath stops "Holy shit, you're pale." He whispered under his breath. "Do you want to go to the nurse?"

"Okay."

--

"I'm sorry." I look down to my shoes that step and echo in the empty halls.

"No don't do that. What do you mean?" He knows its unusual for me to apologise.

"I don't know, I got sick and now you're escorting an unhealthy dude to the nurse." I say.

He bursts out laughing. My brain gets lost, does he enjoy escorting sick people to the nurse?

"I get it now, you can be sorry for the nurse thing-" He lets out a chuckle "-but not the sick thing." He looks more serious now.

"Okay, I'm sorry for the sick--thing." I chuckle too.

Will and I touch hands as we both reach out for the door handle. And as if his hand was scalding, I jolt and remove it. He just chuckles. And I let out the fakest one.

"He's sick, alright." The nurse looks at me like I'm a wilting plant, all limp and pale, chipping off the healthy parts.

"Will he be able to make it through the day?" Will hackles and the nurse giggles. "Oh yes, he-"

She points at me. "Lin"

"-Lin will make it. You have the cold, dear." She hands me a pill with some water. "Thank you." Will says as I chug the warmness down my throat.

Her shoes clap against the floor as she struts into another room to get something.

"It must be the rain, don't you think? Ms. Nurse really knows her stuff." Will softly speaks and we giggle.

"Yes, I do know my 'stuff'. It's Ms. Sand for you, little guy." She jokingly eyes Will and her arm reaches out to me, "And do wear this, its for your sick--thing" Will and I look at each other immediately and she laughs.

"Have a good day, don't get too close or he could get the cold too." She shouts as we all walk away.

"Little guy. That's new." My lungs give out a laugh. He sighs. "That makes two of us." He scoffed. Will and I are just as tall, so that would make sense.

--

"Why'd you wake up like that?" Will's voice was curious and deep. Like a switch, my brain turned dark and afraid, My mouth couldn't find words to say.

"Uh, I don't really know." I reply.

"Can you at least tell me what it is?" Will said.

"No, it's nothing. You better go back to your seat." Lunch had just ended and the bell rang. Our English teacher had decided to separate us because we were so loud.

He repiled with a smile.

"Come on, let me sit at the vacant one beside you. Don't want to see you so gloomy."

He added.

Seconds later, Ms. Lee arrived. Everyone was frozen solid.

I keep on looking at Will, he looks back at me, then he made a face.

Ms. Lee has actually been working in our school for quite some time now, she's the strictest teacher you could ever have.

I still remember the day when we were in our second year in pre-school, she sat on a small wobbly wooden chair while telling us a story.

She had to move a bit but then the chair collapsed.

All of us laughed.

Now we Will and I are actually in the 3rd year of junior high. He hasn't changed a bit, i like his old attitude. He is always so sweet and so friendly. His smile is so bright, it just lights up my whole life.

As we both walk down the corridor to the gymnasium, I felt so light. To be honest, These feelings have started to appear when were in 5th Grade. Since then, I started to become much closer to him.

English was a war between sleep and my consciousness. Sleep won, Ms. Lee didn't budge, surprisingly.

"Are you really going to keep it to yourself?" Will scoots over to my seat.

"I don't think its something you'd like to hear." I reply.

"What do you mean? How can I not relate to the problems of my long childhood friend?"

Will said.

And my brain freezes until all I see is black again, except it's not a nightmare. It's right in front of my eyes.