Episode 4
Pretense
After hours of discussion between my parents and the Doctor, it was confirmed that my health condition is okay. I was discharged immediately. Susan and Emily helped me park some of my stuffs. Deep down, I Wanted to go see Gerry but I have to act naive just as Susan said in order not to raise suspicions. Not till my Mum gave me the greenlight;
âI heard one of your classmate was admitted in this same hospital too, donât you want to see him before we leaveâ she asked.
âYes, I doâ I replied as Susan and Emily escorted me to Gerryâs ward. If only my Mum knew the cause of what happened to Gerry, she wonât have given me this opportunity. The only thing the doctor told her was that the boy got into an accident trying to save me.
As we approached Gerryâs ward, my heart started pounding. I actually donât want to see Gerry in any bad condition because of me. I donât know if I would be able to handle the amount of guilt feelings that will befall me.
We arrived the rooms doorstep, then Emily gently opened the door.
âOh my God! Whatâs this idiot doing hereâ I said to myself on seeing Daniel. He has been there all day looking after Gerry. Looks like am not the only one feeling guilty after all.
âGood evening Mira, how is your health now?â Daniel inquired.
âAm fine, I heard you got into a fiâŚâ just before I could finish the last statement, Susan created a kind of distraction as Emily whispered to me.
âyou heard what?â Daniel asked knowing I have been updated by Emily.
âI heard you haâŚvâŚe bâŚeeâŚn taking care of Gerry ever since he saved my life from that accidentâ I stammered.
âOhhh! That accident?, yes, I have been here with Gerry since then, what are friends for? He replied
âYou are indeed a good friend. How is Gerry doing now?â I asked.
âheâs fine. Just a little sleep and one more drip remaining for his dischargeâ he said.
âOK. That sounds goodâ I said as I moved forward and held Gerryâs hand. He was already asleep and his head was not badly injured, just a slight cut on the skin, I had a slight relieve as I made my way to the door.
âcall me when he is discharged. I will be going now. my parents are waiting in the carâ I said
âok, that wonât be a problem. Take good care of yourselfâ he said.
âI willâ I replied as I turned to step out of the door.
âwait! Here is your result Mira, I have been holding it all dayâ
On hearing about the result, my guilt feelings were automatically transformed to anger. But I managed to control myself.
âthank you Dannyâ I said as I took the result and headed straight to the car.
We entered the car, on our way home, my Dad started;
âMira my sweet Angel, why would you faint on hearing that you came second this term?â he said.
I was quiet, trying to figure out what exactly he is driving at.
âLife comes with a lot of challenges. Failure is only there to prepare us for what we didnât expect. It is there to tell us that we need to struggle more. It is there to tell us that we need to put more effort so we should learn to stand strong in times of failure and be ready and prepared to strike back with more effort, strength and determination so we wonât have to fail again, and not faintingâ he said.
âDa⌠d, I just felt very weak and tired thatâs allâ I replied.
âI think you were too embarrassed to face failure. You were too nervous and the news came as a sudden shock to you and thatâs what caused your faintingâ he said.
âyes Dad, but âŚâ I tried to speak up but he cut me halfway.
âwhat am trying to say is that you should learn to face your fears. Thatâs the only way you would overcome itâ he said.
That was the last statement he made in the car till we reached home.
Proceed to episode 5
Get a Quick link to all episodic stories Click here