Mysticscaler

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'Nina?'

The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.

I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.

I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.

She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.

Me? Not so lucky.

The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.

I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.

'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'

My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.

"Why did you do that?" she kept asking, over and over. "Why would you do that?"

I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.

She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.

"Kofi, stay with me, okay?" she was saying. "You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming."

My Romance Life System

I was about to head to my room when my phone buzzed on the coffee table.

> Nina: ooh, what did you have? another one of my five-star egg dishes?

The three little dots appeared instantly, then disappeared, then appeared again.

> Nina: no way. for real? what did you make?

I felt a stupid amount of pride typing that.

I laughed out loud. I took a picture of my clean bowl and the frying pan drying next to the sink and sent it to her.

> Nina: holy crap. you actually did it. was it good? be honest.

> Nina: i'm so proud of you. you're a real adult now.

> Me: don't push it. i still can't fold a fitted sheet.

> Nina: no one can. it's an ancient mystery.

I smiled, my head leaning back against the couch.

Why?