Something Awful Happened

After getting his class schedule for the semester, Aiden stepped out of the biochemistry department building and went past the many white stalls again.

The seniors were still waving their hands enthusiastically to the freshmen.

They even started to perform small dances and songs to entice the shy juniors into joining their clubs.

Aiden spotted James in the middle of the crowd. He was engrossed in a passionate chat with a senior who undoubtedly belonged to a math club. He could not help but smile at the sight.

Aiden went systematically from stall to stall. He introduced himself and asked for information about the specific clubs.

He arrived at the gardening stall after going through about five stalls, but Jerry was not in sight. Another senior had replaced him to man the stall. Disappointment crept into the young man's heart as he listened to the perks and joy of joining the gardening club. 

Never mind. 

He still had to pick some extracurricular activities to supplement his studies. Aiden continued browsing the clubs one by one.

He stole glances at the gardening club a few more times even after distancing himself farther and farther from the gardening club stall.

After Aiden was done with all clubs, he still did not see the shadow of the man he was looking for. 

A visit to each stall was equal to a handful of pamphlets. Aiden stuffed a stack of reading material into his satchel.

There was no hurry in joining a club on the first day, so  Aiden decided to go through all the club pamphlets at home before making his decision.

Additionally, he wanted to join a student union to enhance his resume.

He also needed a part-time job to earn some pocket money, preferably at the university. He had to somehow make sure that all the extra activities fit into the semester's schedule.

Aiden and James ate their packed lunch together before going home by bus. While Aiden headed straight home, James went to pick up his youngest sibling from a daycare center.

"Grandma, I am home~!"

Aiden opened the door and was surprised that he received no enthusiastic response in return. The house was clean with a slight tang of lemon. His grandmother must have just finished wiping the floor. So where was she? Why was the house empty?

"Grandma?"

Aiden went through all the rooms downstairs before going upstairs to look for his grandmother to no avail. It was peculiar because his grandmother never went out without first informing Aiden about her plans.

Aiden rummaged through his satchel and took out his android.

The phone was dead.

He had forgotten to charge his phone the previous night and did not bother checking his phone in the morning either.

Maybe his grandmother left him some messages on the phone.

Aiden stalked into his room to grab his phone charger and connected the device in the living room. The screen lit up.

After a while, it showed Aiden ten missed calls and three chat messages from their next-door neighbor, a retired military man who went by the address Mr. Boyd.

Mr. Boyd was always direct with his messages.

"Aiden, your grandmother collapsed this morning."

"Aiden, we took her to Saint Johanna's hospital. Please come as soon as you can."

The second message was sent an hour ago.

Aiden's heart almost stopped beating. He still could see his grandmother's smiling face this morning. How did she suddenly collapse? What exactly happened?

There was no third message.

With trembling hands, Aiden dialed Mr. Boyd's phone number.

The line connected after ringing three times.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Boyd, how is... how is my grandmother?" Aiden asked, afraid to hear the answer.

The elderly man on the other side of the phone line heaved a sigh out of relief as soon as he heard Aiden's voice.

"Aiden," his tone changed into a stern one. "I have been waiting for you to call back. Sure took you long enough."

"I am sorry, my phone..."

Mr. Boyd didn't let Aiden finish what he wanted to say. Impatiently, he interrupted the young man.

"Your grandmother already woke up. The hospital would like to conduct further tests so she is still at the hospital right now. Please go over there as soon as you can. The doctor would like to talk to you."

Click.