Amid everything, Janet had decided that she would confess to Rudy if she scored in the top three. She was in the seventh spot, so it was a risky gamble for her. Still, she didn't give up and tried her best to run as fast as she could.
She had held the flower tightly in her hand as it was the first thing Rudy had ever given her without asking.
She went ahead of number six and five to become number four.
'Now I only need one! If I beat number three, I will become number three, and then I will…"
Janet successfully managed to beat number three and became number three. All she had to do was to maintain the third spot and pass through the finish line.
'Only a few meters more, and I will win!'
Janet took a deep breath and passed through the finish line. However… the number four got ahead of her, and she came in the fourth spot.
"..."
Before Janet would even catch her breath and process what had happened, she fell to her knees and passed out.
When she woke up, she found herself in the infirmary on a bed surrounded by curtains from all sides.
She glanced around with a confused look on her face and sat up.
"Argh."
She looked at her knees and saw they were bandaged.
"What happened?" she wondered.
She looked at her pillow and saw the flower Rudy had given her.
SIGH!
She sighed in relief and muttered, "I thought it was a dream."
She picked up the flower and sniffed it. The flower was black as an abyss, but it had three colors in it. Green, purple, and red, but it wasn't spread out to the entire flower. Only the bud and the petals around it were colored.
"The smell is so sweet and mesmerizing. I can smell it all day." She looked at the flower closely and wondered, "What type of flower is this? I have never seen anything like this. I mean… school doesn't have a flower like this. The boys must have gotten the flowers from the plants in the school.
The boys didn't know that they would need flowers. So why did Rudy have this flower? Unless he knew about it beforehand or had he brought this flower with him for a different reason?
I want to ask him, but I am too scared to know the answer. Not to mention…" She sighed wryly. "I had decided that I would confess to him if I scored into three, but I couldn't make it.
Should I take it as a sign that I shouldn't confess to him? Rudy and Alice are close, and even if they are not currently dating, I am sure they plan to. It's clear as day that they love each other.
So even if I confess to him… I am going to get rejected. In that case… do I even need to confess and purposely get hurt? Only an idiot would hurt themselves knowingly. Argh! This is stupid!"
Janet placed her feet on the floor and glanced around to look for her shoes.
"Where are my shoes?" she muttered.
She looked under the bed to her side but only found a table.
Regardless, she got up and moved the curtains to walk out.
"The sleeping beauty is awake," a young woman with glasses said. She was wearing a white coat.
"Miss Judy…"
"I am not a teacher anymore," Judy said.
"Yes, sorry. Nurse Judy, have you seen my shoes?"
"I am not a nurse anymore, either."
"Uhh… what?"
"Guess what?" Judy asked with a smug face.
"Did you…" Janet raised her brow and asked, "Did you perhaps pass your exams?"
"Yup! I am a full-fledged doctor now."
"Wow! That's great!" Janet hugged her and said with a wide smile on her face. "Congratulations! You finally did it!"
"Relax now, it's not confirmed yet. I just calculated my score according to my answers and made an estimate. And passing the exam is not enough. I have to score at the top, or I wouldn't get recommended anywhere."
"You will make it! I am sure!"
"If that happens, then my days here are almost coming to an end."
"Please keep me contacted. I will visit your clinic whenever I am sick."
"Why would you even want to be sick?" Judy sighed. "And as for your shoes…"
She pointed past Janet's shoulder and said, "They were on the other side of the bed."
"Geez! I don't even know how I got here and now this… today was a bad day…"
Janet wore her shoes and tied the laces.
"Rudy brought you here."
"Huh?"
"Yes. He carried you in his arms and placed you on the bed. I wasn't here, but he took care of everything. Even those bandages."
"Where is he? Wait, how long have I been out?"
"Err…" Judy looked at the wristwatch and answered, "About twenty-five minutes."
"Did he leave after you came?"
"No, he was here. He just left when his friend… umm… What was his name… Eren… Eric! Yes. Eric came here and called him out. Like… a few minutes before you woke up. He looked panicked for some reason."
"Should I go after him?"
"Why are you asking me? I am sure he will return eventually. His bag is here, and you are here. Why would he leave you or his bag behind? And you are injured, so I think you should stay and wait for him to return.
And if you feel bored, you can watch sports activities from the window. Though, I am sure you would rather prefer to use your phone instead."
"Well…"
"Alright, then. I need to go back to the playground. I came here to check up on you. And if I see Rudy on my way, I will let him know that you have woken up."
"Thanks."
Judy fixed the curtain and walked towards the door to leave the infirmary.
"Wait, Miss Judy!" Janet called her out.
"It's not Miss anymore."
Janet showed the flower to Judy and asked, "Have you seen a flower like this in this school?"
Judy inspected the flower from all sides with a confused look on her face.
"Forget about school… I have never seen a flower like this, even in an encyclopedia."
"..."
"I will leave now."
"Okay…"
Janet sniffed the flower while using her phone. She was scrolling through social media until she saw a hashtag trending.
"#AirplaneCrash…"
