I fell asleep. For how long? What time is it? I'm feeling a little lightheaded, and I keep blinking compulsively. Pushing the curtain aside, I squint my eyes against the unfiltered light pouring in from the window. The texture of the canvas feels nothing like the wind did before.
What was the last thing I was doing? I remember falling, a stumble as the result of my heart fluttering faster than it should have been. Running with Emi. Pushing myself to go faster, to match her speed. The stupidity of it all, and ending up here in the head nurse's office.
A quiet voice pulls me away. “Hello.” Flipping my head around, I'm greeted by a girl sitting in one of the nearby chairs. Clad in the standard uniform, the white of her tunic blends in with her pale skin and silver hair. The most striking feature, her bright, blood-red eyes, catches me a bit off guard. “I was watching you sleep,” she continues. “You're the boy who likes watching girls sleep, right?”
Wait... what? “Um... I'm sorry, can I help you?”
She cocks her head in curiosity. “This is my regular appointment,” she claims. “The better question is: What are /you/ doing here? I'm not used to sleeping guys on the table during my appointment.”
“I uh...” Stammering. Wonderful. Guess I'm not over the whole 'anxious about my disability' thing yet. “I had a fall. And here I am.”
“Really?” A cheesy grin carves into her face. “You must be quite fragile, then.”
Is she making fun of me? “Hey, I have a very serious condition!”
“And that would be...” I turn my head, cheeks flushing with a hint of pink. “C'mon, you can tell me. I won't bite or something crazy like that.”
“Um... it's a...” Just say it, Hisao. She's not going to let up about it. “It's a heart defect.”
That seems to pique her interest. Her eyebrow arches. “So, what you're saying is, we are the same?” I look back at her, bewildered. She moves to explain. “I've had heart problems since I was really young.” She clutches at her chest. “Since about four years old or so.” Her eyes drift upward, meeting mine again. “I'm Rika, by the way. Katayama Rika, class 2-3.”
2-3? So she's a year younger than me. “Pleased to meet you, I guess. Nakai Hisao, just Hisao is fine.” She nods approvingly. “By the way,” I continue. “Where is Nurse?”
“He stepped out to take a phone call.” And left two teenagers in a room alone? Is he mad? “Why do you ask?”
“Just wanting to get out of here.” I rub the back of my head, followed by my chest. Both still feel a little bit sore. “Class to get back to and stuff, you know?”
She scoffs, waving a hand at me. “Class.”
I mimic her earlier action, raising my own eyebrow at her. “You some kind of delinquent?”
She taps her chin, pondering her response. “You could say that. I just like living my life the way I want to. Only have so long, yeah?”
“That's one way to look at it. Still, why not make the most of what we have? Get an education and all that?” I throw my arms in the air for emphasis.
She responds with only a snicker. “Sorry, but I don't know you well enough to talk philosophy. No offense. Maybe some other time.”
We sit in silence for a while. Just how long is Nurse going to take with that phone call? Till the end of the day? Watching the clock gets boring after a while, just listening to the ticks and tocks... Soothing, almost. Like I could just fall back asleep right here.
“Out of curiosity...” Rika's voice snaps me out of it again. “How did you have your accident?”
Hm, that. “I was running. Nurse's suggestion.”
“Oh? Running?” She sounds genuinely interested now. “He sends me running, too. With Miura. I think she's in your class, isn't she? 3-3, brown skin, missing a hand?”
“Yeah, I think I do know her.” She sounds familiar at least. I think she was daydreaming on my first day, so I didn't really get a chance to talk to her. Not to mention that Misha and Shizune dominated the majority of my time soon after. “I didn't realize that she ran.”
Rika nods. “Yeah. Track team. Second only to the Legless Wonder.”
The... Legless Wonder? “You mean Emi?”
“Yeah, her. Ibarazaki. Fastest thing on no legs or something like that.” Her tone carries a hint of disgust, as if there's some former animosity between them. “I ran with her for a while when I first got here. Didn't like how hard she drove me, so I switched with Miki when she came aboard.”
“Really? She didn't seem that bad.” She honestly didn't. A bit expecting, yeah, but not terrible, by any means. Nothing I couldn't handle.
“Ah, so you were with her. That explains why you're here.” A hearty laugh escapes her throat. “She ran me into the ground my first day, too. A real workaholic, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I'm not sure what else I can say. I kind of agree with her, I could use something a little slower-paced.
“Listen, you should come run at night with me and Miki. She'll go a lot easier on you.” An invitation already? “And hey, exercise is better than none, as far as Nurse goes, right?”
Can I really bail on Emi like that? I pushed it really hard today, and I felt proud of myself for trying to keep up with her. And she seemed so enthusiastic about having a morning run partner. I might feel like a huge jerk if I just swap to Miki. What to do...
[Stick with Emi.]
>[Run with Miki.]
“Sure, I'll go with you guys. When should I show up?” I could go with not waking up at 5am every morning, that's for sure.
“We run at 8pm sharp, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.” She holds up her index finger matter-of-factly. “I'll tell Miki sometime today, and you can start with us tomorrow.” Sounds like a plan I can get behind. I'll have to tell Emi about the change in plans over lunch later.
The front door clicks open. Nurse's explosive voice roars into the room. “Ooo-kay, Miss Katayama. Sorry about that, I...” He catches sight of me sitting up and smiles wide. “Ah, Mister Nakai. Good to see you up and moving, so to speak.”
“Yeah, just woke up.” Talking to Rika has thankfully pulled most of the grogginess out of my voice.
“And I assume you've already met Miss Katayama?”
Rika sighs, folding her arms across her chest. “For the last time, Nurse, just Rika.”
He chuckles. Their dynamic is almost similar to the one he shares with Emi, though she is undoubtedly more modest. “I only do it for the laughs.” She grumbles. “Well, Hisao, let me just do one last checkup and I'll send you on your way.”
He runs through the essentials: heart rate, blood pressure, breathing capacity... nothing I'm not used to from standard physicals. A few notes later, he nods approvingly at his clipboard. “Looks like everything is normal. You're good to go, Hisao. And try not to overdo it next time.”
“That reminds me,” I interrupt. He opens one curious squinted eye. “Rika was telling me about running with Miki. I wanted to try out her routine before settling down. That okay?”
He rubs his chin. “Miura? I suppose. She's much more laid back. Maybe that's what you need to start out with.” A smile returns to his face. “Sure, why not. I'll let Emi know.”
“Uh, don't worry about that,” I fret. “We have lunch scheduled later today. I'll tell her then.”
That trademark smile of his debuts, a toothy grin spreading from ear to ear. “Alright, your funeral. Now scoot, you have classes to get to.”
I nod, turning to Rika. “I'll see you tomorrow?” She smiles, and nods in turn. I make my way out of the Nurse's office, closing the door behind me.