Bullied

Where was she? It was so much like the infirmary, and so very different at the same time. The numbness she felt was familiar. As was the quiet throbbing in her head. She closed her eyes, and thought back.

She remembered waking in the infirmary. She was walking to class when something crashed onto her. Before blacking out, she heard the laughter faintly and felt wet. When she opened her eyes in the infirmary, her head hurt. And although she wasn't wet, her shirt was stained. Drenching her must have gotten boring. To up the excitement, they must have dropped the bucket as well. At least, they were kind enough to bring her to the infirmary. After a year of it, she was used to the bullying. More accurately, she had become unfeeling of it.

Yes, she told herself. She was in her bed, the furthest bed in the infirmary. Feeling satisfied with solving the mystery, she tried sitting up. When she couldn't, she remembered that she had been to class.

The water was dirty, but thankfully not smelly. She didn't need to shower. But she was sure to earn the teachers' admonishing for tardiness. Preparing herself, she walked into class. And it was exactly as she predicted. Her classmates welcomed her in with loud jeers. The teacher scolded her soundly, to the delight of her classmates. And that was what the rest of the day was. The students bullied her. The teachers acted blind to it. As if that wasn't bad enough, a lot of the teachers joined the students many times, even if limited to hurling verbal taunts at her. It sure was The Noble Academy, school for children of the extremely wealthy. She, an outsider, had no place there.

She felt dragged back to the current reality. She wasn't able to move. She couldn't feel her limbs. It wasn't fear she felt though, but confusion. She was all too familiar with painkillers. It wasn't hard to imagine how high a dosage she was given to feel so numb. It was more effort than she thought possible turning her head. She saw her hands in casts. Her legs felt the same. It only served to double the confusion.

It had been a longer day than most, but it did end. She was walking back to the dorm, by herself, through the school grounds. And that was the last thing she remembered. As she concentrated harder, she remembered hearing a low rumble before blacking out.

What could that have been? Where was she? This clearly wasn't the infirmary. Must be a hospital, which would explain the familiarity. Why was she here? What happened? Her neck was sore after just that little bit of turning. She had always been small and weak, but not that weak. What was wrong with her?

She wasn't alone with her confusion for long. The door slid open quietly and a handsome man in a white coat walked in. He was tall, had curly brown hair, light brown eyes behind round glasses, a stethoscope around his shoulders, long hands and tall legs. He was definitely in the thirties, but he looked so much younger.

"I'm Javi. I'll be your doctor while you're here. And it'll be my responsibility to make sure you're all better. When you leave, it will be on your two feet, I promise."

He had a wonderful smile, bright as the full moon in a dark sky, and genuine as well. The last year had smartened her up at least about people's feelings toward her. Such genuineness felt alien and also very nice.

"I'm MenMen," she answered.

"I know." He winked. His smile deepened. "To start off, can you tell me what is the last thing you remember?"

She answered with silence. His lips pressed into a thin line, for a moment, before curling back into the smile.

"That's okay. Nothing to be afraid of. It's actually quite common. The shock causes you to forget. Messes with the memories. You were in an accident. A car accident, to be more precise. You were hurt quite bad, but not too serious. It'll be a while before you're you again, but you will be you. It's just that, recovery is going to be a little long, and a little painful. You'll need to put in some effort. But I promise you, I'll be alongside you all through. You've got broken bones in your hands and legs. That's not too worrying though. You'll be able to do things with your hands, and walk just fine. Maybe not run as fast, if you were a fast runner. The more troubling is your back. To put it simply, your spine is hurt as well. That's going to need the most effort and time to heal. That's enough with the dreariness. You're a pretty young woman, with smart eyes. I can see the smart brain hiding underneath. I hope you can make space for me in there. Think we can be friends?"

She was quiet. He waited a while, then shook his head slowly.

"Too early? Yeah. I think so too. Back in school, my teachers used to say that to me too. I'm too impatient. If I had just some more patience, I would be so much better a student."

He laughed, for the both of them. And made her smile. That seemed to be enough for him.

"Ah! You smiled. That's as good as a yes. We're friends then. Let's make great memories."