Feeling Dizzy, Getting A Sprain

That night as I lay in bed, I couldn't help smiling to myself.

I felt giddy all over knowing that Aaron would be bringing me to A University two weeks from now. I was excited. I hugged my pillow and replayed the events that happened beside the playground in my head.

Aaron was gorgeous in my eyes. From head to toe, he was physically perfect. Strong and muscular, tall and handsome...

I sighed just thinking about these. And those eyes. Ah, those deep brown eyes were just tantalizing. The way he looked at me made me feel so special. I couldn't help but bury my head on the pillow I was hugging as I felt embarrassment crept into my whole being for fantasizing about him.

I didn't realize how much time I have spent thinking about him. I already closed my eyes to sleep but all I could see was his face smiling at me. I kept tossing and turning on the bed, trying to find the best sleeping position. It must have been two o'clock in the morning when my mind got tired and it went blank and I doze off.

The following morning, I felt I hardly had a good night sleep. It was a thrill thinking about Aaron last night but my lack of sleep made me cranky.

Brenda, Lizzie and Molly couldn't understand my mood that day in school. They talked among themselves but I could still hear them. They thought that we all separated that Saturday with a happy note. What was the matter with me?

If only I could tell them that my crankiness was due to the fact that I barely slept last night thinking about Aaron. Won't that be shameless of me? I could only wince at my own stupidity.

That whole Monday I barely concentrated on the lessons because I was yawning the whole time. I could barely keep my eyes open.

During Math class I didn't realize I was already dozing. The teacher was writing equations on the blackboard for ten minutes. If Molly hadn't elbowed me just before the teacher turned around to ask the class to answer the problems he wrote, he would have called me. He didn't like students sleeping in class.

Halfway through lunch, I almost slammed my face on my lunchbox. My friends were really worried about me getting so sleepy that they suggested I pretend to be sick and just stay in the clinic until the end of class.

"What's going to be my alibi? I haven't done this before." I complained while my friends pushed me towards the door of the clinic.

"Just tell them you got dizzy and need to rest for a while," Brenda urged as she slowly opened the door. The truth was, I was already feeling dizzy.

As we stepped inside, we saw a boy whose injured leg was being treated by the nurse. His back was facing the door. The nurse felt our presence, looked up and saw us.

"Let me finish this one first," she said as she pointed her finger towards the row of chairs against the wall of the reception area. We understood what she meant and quietly took our seats as we watch the nursing wrap a bandage around the boy's leg.

After being treated, the boy stood up limping and turned around. It was Aaron! Surprised, I suddenly felt awake all of a sudden. My friends' expressions were the same as mine as we looked at each other.

"What happened to him?" Lizzie asked no one in particular.

"Wasn't he just playing basketball during our lunch break?" Brenda's brows furrowed. During lunch break everything was too hazy for me to see nor remember anything going on around me as I was very drowsy.

Having thanked the nurse, Aaron walked away with a limp and was going to proceed to the clinic bed on the other side of the treatment room. He would have to pass the reception area to get there. When he was two feet away, he paused and turned to us. He smiled sheepishly at us.

"What happened?" I asked in wonder.

"I sprained an ankle during basketball." Aaron answered casually as if getting injured was a natural thing. He waved at us and disappeared around the corner of the reception area.

At that moment, the nurse called to us. "Next."

I looked at my friends in confusion. That very minute I wasn't sleepy anymore so I didn't have a reason to stay. I saw them shake their heads and glare at me.

"This is your chance to be alone with Aaron," Brenda whispered in my ear as she nudged my elbow. Hearing that, I glared at her as well.

"This was not in the plan." I protested very softly so that only the four of us could hear my voice.

"Do you need something? Else you can just go back to your class," the nurse was getting impatient but remained calmed.

"Uhm...I'm a bit dizzy so, I just need to rest?," It wasn't a statement but a question. I was doubting myself if I could pull this off.

The nurse took a form from a drawer and turned to me again and asked. "Do you always feel dizzy? Do you have medication?" With a pen in hand, she waited for my answer.

"No, to all of the above," I answered. "I just feel dizzy and I think a headache is coming."

"Okay then. Just lie down on one of the beds inside. When you feel okay and ready to go back to class, just fill out this form." The nurse handed me the clipboard where she inserted the form. She seemed busy and didn't want to be bothered with students who wanted to use the clinic beds. She must have encountered enough students to recognized the real sick ones and those who make up illnesses just to skip class.

I slowly took the form, gave a faint smile at the nurse and waved goodbye to my friends. I walked towards the room where the clinic beds were.

The five beds were separated with curtains. One was occupied by Aaron at the far right of the room. I chose the one closest to the window, the leftmost one. After removing my shoes, I laid my head on the pillow and closed my eyes. The moment my head hit the pillow I felt the whole room was spinning. I tightly closed my eyes and my breathing became uneven. I felt cold sweat appear from my forehead and down my back. I swore to always have enough sleep from now on.

The curtain beside my bed were drawn so I couldn't see the occupant of the other bed. However, sensing my silence, he cleared his throat and opened his mouth.

"Are you alright, Julie?" Aaron asked with concern on his voice.

Trying to calm myself with my eyes closed, I answered him weakly. "Ugh...I feel kind of dizzy right now."

"Oh," was all he could say. Realizing I wasn't feeling well, he let me be and stayed quiet as well.

"How about you?" I felt I should reciprocate his concern so, I asked even though I tried to make the spinning in my head stop by not moving too much on the bed.

"It's nothing. It's just a sprain. It will heal in time. Don't worry about it," Aaron said nonchalantly.

"Uhm...okay,"I said. I felt my heart beating. Aaron was in the same room as me. I felt secure and happy.

Trying to calm myself, I was falling in deep slumber.

I hadn't realize I slept for an hour already until I felt Brenda shaking my arm gently to wake me up.

As I sat up, I held my head with one hand. The spinning was gone but I felt a little groggy.

"Brenda, can you wait for a few seconds? I want to make sure I won't feel dizzy anymore." I held on to Brenda's arm.

"Sure. I'll just get a glass of water for you." Brenda left after saying this.

In a moment she was back with a glass of water in her hand. She found me filling up the form the nurse gave me. I drank the water in one gulp.

As we passed by the bed Aaron had lain on, it was already empty. Brenda had all my things with her so I didn't need to go back to the classroom to get my things. I submitted the form to the nurse, thanked her and then left the clinic.