Life at the Academy

Chapter 12

Jim heard a bloodcurdling scream, followed by the sound of breaking glass. It came from the direction that Raphaelle had stormed off.

Despite the huge fight they had just had, Jim's protective instincts kicked in immediately. He ran down the hall towards where the noise had come from and came to a stop at the scene of the crash.

A longboat had crashed through the window into the second-floor corridor. A first year student with bright orange hair and one eye was climbing out of the boat, trying to avoid the glass that was scattered everywhere. The boy had a few cuts, but seemed otherwise intact. Jim glanced out the window and saw that there was a class of first years on the flying field. The professor and a few students were already rushing towards the school to makes sure that everyone was alright.

"What happened?" Jim asked the boy as he exited the boat.

"I lost control of the boat," he replied sheepishly.

That's when Jim noticed something shiny on the ground. He bent over to pick it up and examine it. It was Raphaelle's silver locket.

His eyes widened and he began frantically searching for her. She would never take this off and just leave it on the ground, even if they had just had a fight.

He saw a flash of gold hair glinting in the sunlight. He followed it and found her body halfway under the boat.

"Help me lift the boat!" Jim ordered the first year boy.

"Why?" he asked.

"There's someone under it!" Jim explained.

The boy immediately rushed over to the other side where Jim was. His eye widened when he saw Raphaelle's body trapped under the boat. Then he quickly aided Jim in lifting the surprisingly heavy longboat. It took both of them to keep the boat off of her body, so Jim couldn't release it to drag her out of the way. By that point, more people had gathered around, having heard the crash and come to investigate. Another student helped hold the boat up while Jim pulled Raphaelle out from underneath it. Once she was out of harms' way, the students set the boat back down on the ground. Then they turned their attention to Jim and Raphaelle, huddling around them in a circle.

Jim sat on the floor and cradled Raphaelle in his arms. She was unconscious, and she had a lot of scratches where the glass from the shattered window had sliced her skin. He noticed a few pieces of glass still embedded in her skin. But nothing looked too serious. That is, until Jim put his hand under her head. He noticed straightaway that it became wet. When he pulled it away, it was covered in bright red blood. The students around him gasped and started murmuring amongst themselves. Jim looked to them for help, but quickly realized that no one was going to take action.

He stood up, lifting her in his arms and making sure to place her head against his shoulder. Then he started sprinting towards the infirmary. People jumped out of his way as he ran by, some of them staring after him curiously while others mumbled annoyingly that he needed to slow down. Jim ignored them all.

He burst through the swinging doors of the infirmary. "I need help!" he shouted.

The nurses and doctors in the waiting room entrance rushed to his aid, immediately noticing the blood soaking his uniform from Raphaelle's head injury. They started asking him questions all at once; "Are you alright? Are you injured? Is she alright? What happened?"

"I'm fine. The blood's not mine. Someone lost control of a boat and it crashed through a window and into her. Her head's bleeding," Jim explained, immediately quieting the onslaught of questions.

Once reassured that he wasn't injured, the nurses instructed him to put Raphaelle onto one of the hospital beds. He followed them through the door that led to the actual infirmary part of the wing. He gently set her down on the nearest bed, making sure to cradle her head before carefully laying it on the pillow. As soon as he did, the doctors and nurses swarmed around her. Jim was pushed back as they started to examine her. He tried to wiggle his way in between them to be beside her, but a doctor pulled him aside.

"Let us take care of her. It will be easier for us to do our job if you stay out in the waiting area. You can see her when we're done," the doctor said.

Jim reluctantly nodded, and a nurse escorted him back to the waiting area before rushing back to join the rest of the staff by Raphaelle's side.

Jim waited for several hours before one of the nurses came back and informed him that Raphaelle should be waking up soon. He stood up when the grey-skinned woman approached him.

"She definitely has a concussion. We won't be able to determine the severity of it until she's fully awake. So she'll need to stay here for a few days, maybe a week. But other than that and a few scratches and bruises, she's fine. She'll be waking up in a few minutes. You can go see her now," the nurse said.

Jim nodded and followed the nurse to a different hospital bed than the one he had placed her in earlier. The nurse drew the dull blue curtain aside and let Jim enter before closing it again, allowing them some privacy. Jim couldn't help but stare at Raphaelle. There was an IV in her arm, and something clasped on her finger that hooked up to a screen that kept track of her pulse and heartbeat. Her head was bandaged, and the various cuts and bruises stood out against her light skin. She was dressed in a hospital gown. She hadn't woken up yet.

Jim plopped down into a chair next to the bed, burying his face in his hands.

She wouldn't have been there if we hadn't had that stupid fight, he berated himself.

After a few minutes of self-bereavement, he heard the springs of the bed creak and the faint rustling of sheets. He lifted his face from his hands.

Raphaelle was sitting up, looking around with a dazed look on her face. Her eyes fell on him for a moment before continuing to take in her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in the infirmary. A boat crashed through the window and hit you," Jim explained.

Her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion.

"Things might be a little confusing right now. The doctors said you have a concussion and that you'll have to stay here for a while. You might have a hard time thinking straight at first, but I'm sure the symptoms of the concussion will wear off soon," he continued, placing his hand over hers to help comfort her.

She looked down at his hand on top of hers, then up at his face. Her own expression was completely unreadable.

"I'm sorry about the fight we had earlier. I didn't mean what I said. Gabriel came in here earlier and told me everything that Roxanne has done to Angela. I believe you now. I should have believed you before and taken you more seriously. I'm sorry," Jim apologized.

Raphaelle blinked at him, but didn't say anything. He couldn't tell if she understood what he was saying. He sighed.

"I have to go now. I have a lot of homework to do, and you need to get some rest," Jim said. He didn't want to leave, but now that she was alright, he knew he had to focus on everything else that was going on in his life, which meant school and homework. He reluctantly stood up and gave her hand one last squeeze before releasing it and turning to leave.

"Wait," Raphaelle said.

Jim let go of the curtain that he was about to open and looked at her hopefully. Her lips were turned down in a frown and her eyes were serious, but there was so much confusion swirling within them as well. After what seemed like forever, she finally spoke.

"Who are you? And who am I?"