Instead of bringing Sierra to their next class, Josh carried her to the school clinic and got her hand treated.

“When did you start hurting girls, Josh?” Nurse Janice asked while cleaning Sierra’s wounded knuckles.

The school nurse was a nice, approachable, and reliable person. In not so many times that Sierra was sick, Nurse Janice cared for her like a mother would tend to her child. Aside from giving her medicine, the kind nurse would also prepare warm and healthy meals for her. The caring yet strict nurse would also forbid her to leave the clinic until her fever had gone down. She would sit near the door to make sure that Sierra stayed resting on the bed.

It was a good thing that Sierra could easily recover with only a few hours of undisturbed rest. She hated bothering people for a long time.

“She did that to herself,” Josh defensively stated.

“I needed to defend myself because you brought me to that dangerous place,” Sierra reminded him with a glare.

“Fortunately, you did not break any bone. But the swelling will still hurt. Rest your hand,” Nurse Janice instructed while wrapping bandages over her wounded knuckles. “Rest your hand, Sierra,” she strictly reminded her again. “Don’t overuse it.”

“Thank you, Nurse Janice,” Sierra gratefully uttered.

“Josh,” Nurse Janice shot a warning look at him. “Leave this young lady alone.”

Josh only shrugged his shoulders before leaving the clinic.

“Sierra, stay away from Josh,” Nurse Janice seriously told her after Josh left the room and closed the door. “I know he’s not a bad person but he can be dangerous for you.”

“Why?” Sierra curiously asked.

For a moment, it seemed that Nurse Janice knew Josh way better than Sierra did, but the school nurse only pointed at Sierra's wounded knuckles.

“You are the first woman he brought here. If he can put you in danger once, he can do it again. So, stay away from him," the kind nurse seriously warned her.

Sierra was touched at the concern Nurse Janice was showing whenever she was there at the clinic.

“I'll stay away from him," Sierra promised, not wanting to waste any concern people was giving to her. "Thank you for taking care of me, Nurse Janice."

^#####################################^

“We have a deal," Sierra reminded Josh who was waiting for her outside the clinic. "Why are you still here? And why are you following me?”

“We’re classmates,” Josh reminded her with a smile. “We'll be going to the same classroom. I will also explain to our professor why you skipped classes. That's why I waited for you. They will only believe my words if we go to our class together. Unless you can...”

"Shut up, Josh," Sierra snapped at him, rolled her eyes, and looked away from her annoying classmate, only to find another surprising sight. 

On the corridor ahead of them, she had seen her friend, Kate, peeking at the school laboratory.

Kate was an inch shorter than Sierra. Her long black hair was neatly braided. She was wearing a purple knee-length dress, a pair of purple sandals, and a purple shoulder bag. Despite having a good fashion sense and a beautiful young-looking face, Kate was lacking confidence. She was such a timid girl.

Kate was not only a best friend to Sierra. She was also like a sister to her. They came from the same orphanage. They grew up and dream together. Finishing college was one of their dreams. And they were only a year away from fulfilling it.

Sierra stood behind Kate and glanced at where she was peeking. There was only one man in that room.

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re stalking Dan?” she asked her friend that was so busy gazing inside the laboratory to notice her presence.

“I’m not!” Kate defensively denied as she quickly turned around with a face blushing with embarrassment. “I’m just…” her voice faded when Josh caught her attention. "No..." she whispered with great disbelief and took a step backwards. “NO!!!!” she shamefully bellowed and dashed as fast as she could away from Sierra, Josh, and the laboratory.

“Kate, wait!” Sierra was about to follow her friend when Josh opened the door of the laboratory and talked to his friend.

Sierra barely knew Josh but she was frequently seeing him with Dan and his other friend Renzo ever since their first year in that university. The three of them were inseparable like Sierra, Kate, and her other best friend Ella.

“Dan! What are you doing here?” Josh asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“What else will I do in this place?” Dan scornfully shot back at his friend without looking away from the smoking flasks in front of him.

He was taller than Josh by a few inches. His dark brown hair was always sleek and neat. His navy blue eyes were also sharp yet enchanting. He was always wearing white overcoat over his black shirt and pants. That must be because, as what she heard from Kate, Dan was a medicine student.

Plenty of girls wanted to get his attention, but he was ignoring all of them. The only thing that could interest him was his studies, experiments, and his only two friends, Josh and Renzo.

Feeling sad for her friend, Sierra looked away from Dan and checked her watch.

12: 15 PM.

Sierra sighed with dismay. Josh had lied to her.

It was already lunch time. She already skipped all her morning classes.

But, at least, she still had time to eat lunch and talk to Kate.

^#######################################^