Jasmine waited almost an hour before the hospital food service worker came. The hospital food service worker led her to a tray with the foods she ordered on top and organized the over-bed table, and waited for Jasmine until she finished gnawing the food, then cleaned up her mess. Afterward, she left Jasmine sitting on her bed eyeing towards the window as she watched the clouds float in the morning sky.
She was in the middle of tickling and playing with her toes to relieve the boredness she was in when she heard three knocks from the door, and it crunched. She glimpsed into the clock dangled on the barren white wall. Its long leg was pointed at 00 while the short tail on number 10— 10:00 AM. She ignored the sound.
Later on, a couple of tic tacs were coming in her direction. Jasmine looked back to see the image of the man she'd been desiring to see the moment she arose from bed. A ubiquitous composure was standing in front of her. She examined him head to toe— from the black leather shoes that shone on the floor to the clean crew-cut hair of him. Her saliva dried to what her keen eyes beheld. She looked at him in full amusement. He's wearing a light blue long-sleeved dress shirt and navy-blue suit pants, cloaked in a white coat with a dark bow tie in the upper chest near to the neck, paired with black leather shoes. He's handsome, her mind jotted. Red stains sprinkled on her cheeks. His placid composure hushed the atmosphere between them.
"Are you ready?"
He pocketed both hands on the pockets of the white coat worn.
Jasmine averted the adoration in her eyes. Her rendering thoughts gloom. She was disrupted. She met his eyes once more. His stares were telling her something— muted words, but of meaning.
"Let me accompany you."
He withdrew his right hand from the pocket of his jeans offering it to her.
Jasmine stared at it in chaos. She wanted to ask him, but her tongue just backed out. She put her eyes on her garments realizing she was still in N an overall nightgown— a pair of blue PJ's and its Terno top. Austin moved his hand closed on her. She paced back, almost leaning her body on the bed.
"But—" her voice crapped.
"It'll be fine."
He gestured his hand away.
Jasmine heard Austin's words like a lullaby. She failed to understand, but she knew that her trust was gradually building on him.
She followed him out of the chamber. Jasmine recognized that the corridor they went through last night was the same as today. The hospital was still— no flashes of red lights and sharp wails, mourning delegates, and no fast-rolling stretchers with bloody patients on top. Every time they bumped across nurses, physicians, advocates, and other med crews, she caught him signaling a smile for greeting. Without minding anything, her consciousness awakened when she realized that they were striving towards the exit. She began to open her mouth in search of an answer to her question but dulled when the strokes of the sun blinded her eyes.
"Welcome home, Ms. Jasmine," a voice faded in her ears.
She rubbed her itching eyes caught by the rounded ball of the lantern from the sky. She thought it was already past 10:00 AM, but why did the sun contour a ray of new sunshine? She examined herself.
"Woah, this is no joke," she sharply yelled inside.
"It couldn't be. How? What's going on?"
She felt lost in an unfamiliar environment. She felt strange.
"How is she?" A sweet voice went into her ears.
"Average."
"She looks normal."
"Every normal has an anomaly. We all know that."
Jasmine failed to discern what she was hearing. She overheard a conversation from her head. Something's going on. She knew it. But, what? She felt a sudden flood of horrific and confinement of something unknown and familiar.
"She's too naive."
"I know. We have no choice."
"We can still save her."
"This is the best way."
"I pity her."
"It is still an obligation and responsibility."
"You know that I am already doing a service for someone here."
"Not the big man?"
"Nay, I only want to work in peace."
The voice slowly faded— then gone. She paused for a while, waiting for either a part two or a marathon. None. Paused. None. Paused. She failed. No more voices. A safe and sound ambiance remained.
"Aww!"
It happened as fast as a second. Before she could regain composure, the ground cradled her thin body. Papers took their float away from her leather satchel. No slow motion of time. She fell on the manicured green Bermudas of the ground. Aches started to dominate over her entire body.
"Oh man, we've got to help her."
"Let's go."
She slightly gripped her hands on her waist to get back her balance.
"Are you okay? Let me help you."
Jasmine eyed on the flat hand pleading assisting her damage.
"I'm Jessica."
Jessica's open-flattened right hand hastily drew into a shake. She glued speechlessly. She moved her eyes on her. Slender nude hands with long-pointed fingers manicured rose pink nails offered Jasmine a handshake. She stopped, thinking at her next pace.
"Ohh, oh..."
Jessica withdrew her hand and pouted her red sultry plump lips.
"Hey Jes, what's going on?"
Exhilarating footsteps headed towards the two girls. Jasmine turned around to face the person approaching them. Chilled sweats were dripping from the scalp of his forehead. When he anchored for a stop, the sun's rays kissed his deep-dimpled cheeks gleaming his oval tanned face with a rounded jaw.
"This, a transferee?"
He pointed his right gloved hand at Jasmine while his left hand shouldered the baseball bat.
He stood gallantly. Curious big-rounded black eyes resembled a shape of an egg that was pasted on mine. It bristled with the drizzle of the sun. Sweats were soaking in his sky-blue jersey. The sun was rising higher, like a clock that stretched its tail at 8:00 AM.
"Too early, isn't it?"
Jessica moved her feet backward and simpered meeting the glowing of the sun. Her slightly turned-up nose was highlighted along with her rosy cheeks as the sun's radiance explored her beauty. Heart-shaped face, single-folded eyelids, and almond-shaped eyes seemingly a Chinita, sparkling crinkly rough and curly blonde-dyed hair veiling her ears and inches above the neck. Her height is average— 5'4 ft, Jasmine guessed— a typical Asian woman, her mind commented.
"Anything wrong?" Jessica let out a precarious feminine scowl
She directly cupped both hands on both cheeks slowly turning scarlet. The well-shaped slender hands faultlessly matched in her face. Her mascara black lashes waved, eyeing discomfited on Jasmine.
"She's only examining your ugliness, HAHA."
The guy cracked a little baritone laughter before falling into a silent smirk. His full-dulled red lips returned on its angle.
"Excuse me? I'm a beauty," Jessica hissed in defiance, sipping her short blonde-dyed crinkly hair. A dangly ear with a pearl earring veered.
"Your nose is oozing fire. Seems like a nuclear weapon had bombed your nasal bridge."
The guy managed to sound normal, stopping his mouth to blow powerful mocking laughter. Jasmine could sense the sinking of his belly, almost blurt out.
"You're out of the scope."
"Am I?"
"Lah, lah, lah."
"Cause you're the great owl's remaining descendant."
"And you're--- of course, the caricatured feature of—"
Jasmine watched them argue like siblings— eyes rolling, halting laughter, and exchange of sarcastic tones.
"Hope you'll lose the game."
"Hey, hey, hey, are you cursing me?"
"Not totally, soon to be a loser delinquent."
"Here again the two fighting souls."
Sounds of foot shoes tread towards them. The three of them didn't notice the arrival of someone. He was geared the same as the guy who approached them firstly— sky-blue jersey, a raglan T-shirt having sleeves extending completely to the collar in one piece and the seam goes from the underarm collar, pasted with a logo in front "AMU" in gothic font, worn up high, near the knee down low around the ankle solid, no stripes, clean polyester white pants, black turf cleats, black glove on the left hand, and a black cap, except for the back of his sky blue jersey was numbered 4. He threw a small rounded white ball on him which he immediately captured using his right hand vested in leather mitt without them noticing.
"The what?" They both shrieked facing him, eyebrows crossed.
"I said, here again, the two fighting souls," he clearly said word for word.
"Well, shut up."
Jessica darted her eyes on him and strode distant from him, wiping her white blouse sideways towards her black blazer crested with AMU initials on her right chest, down to her inch-height above the knee black tartan culottes. Then, she fixed her hair, red tie, and collar.
"Here again the obsessive-compulsive asymmetrical allergic."
"I am not," she sharply said.
"Yes you are not for you're only the over sassy classy Jessy," he murmured sheepishly playing in hand the round cork-centered wrapped in yarn covered with white horsehide baseball equipment.
"Guys, you're being immature. Stop that," said the new arrived guy said.
He removed the soft black cap having a rounded crown and a stiff bill protecting in front using his gloveless right hand and stroked his right claw-like fingers on his messy black hair. He fanned the cap, absorbed air, and wore it back. Its brim pointed forward shielding his eyes from the sun. It fitted perfectly in his heavy skull and sloping, less rounded forehead where some strands of messy black hair prevailed.
"The mature's speaking."
Jessica rolled her eyes.
"Look what we got here. Who is she?"