Dazed, Claire got up from her seat, nearly stumbling on Jaz’s sports bag as she did so. A firm hand gripped her shoulder and steadied her, and Claire shifted her gaze from Yuna to look up into the principal’s non-existent chin. A man with fuzzy grey hair and watery grey eyes, Mr Moore patted Claire’s shoulder and chuckled, as Claire sat down sheepishly again. “You have better watch where you are going, young lady.” Mr Moore smiled, taking another sip of his ice Slurpee, which was staining the edges of his lips red and dampening his shirt cuffs with moisture.

With that he walked off, while Claire stared after him. Jaz snapped her fingers in Claire’s nose. “What was that for?” Claire only shook her head. She had glanced in Yuna’s direction when the principal caught her, and what she saw sent chills down her spine.

Yuna’s eyes were filled with pure hatred and rage, and the wind from the field seemed to strengthen into a gale as it howled in Claire’s direction, sending Claire’s essay flying, Jaz’s gum wrappers spinning into the air;

And Yuna, who dissipated to nothing, leaving nothing but the wailing flurry of air that whipped everywhere like ice-cold knives.

For the rest of her classes, Claire wasn’t in the mood for questions. In fact, her mind was only a white buzz of sound. Jaz had to snap her to reality with either her fingers or a sharp whisper, and Claire would then lift her head to face the front of the class. Her name was called twice in AP History before Jaz pinched her hastily, causing her to jump in her seat, and in Spanish, Kaveen had to pull a (barely believable )fib that Claire wasn’t feeling well, causing Miss Sanchez to peer down at Claire through her wire-frame glasses.

“Claire! Te ves tan pálida!” Miss Sanchez agreed, tutting over Claire’s white lips, as Kaveen helped sweep her things helter skelter into her bag. “Cuidado ,niño,” The teacher fretted, as Claire nearly tripped over her own feet. “Careful!”

“Estaré de vuelta en cinco minutos!” Kaveen told the rest of the class ( Only five minutes, Kaveen! Cinco! Miss Sanchez yelled back), as they watched Claire stagger drunkenly towards the stairs. Why were her knees so weak? Why was the hallway so cold? “Clai- you idiot, look, put your arm on me, OK? You are going to fall flat on your face.” She heard Kaveen’s worried voice ,and the squeak of his sneakers on the tiles in the hallway. The next minute she felt Kaveen loop a strong arm around her waist, and her left arm was left dangling over Kaveen’s neck. “Oh god you’re burning- Oi, I need a hand here!” Kaveen called out to someone else. The sound made Claire flinch.

“What the- Claire, you alright?” Jamie Callagham’s shocked voice drifted in somewhere from Claire’s right. Kaveen coughed drily. “Oh, right.” Claire felt a shift of weight over her arm, and heard the jingling of her keychains as Jamie took her things from Kaveen’s shoulders. “Damn, this is heavy.” Jamie mumbled, as he swung Claire’s bag over his back. His hallway pass swung wildly on his neck. “You OK?” he asked Kaveen.

“Yeah I’m fine, look, give me a boost…”

And just like that Claire was bundled into Kaveen’s arms like a ragdoll.

Jamie whistled in appreciation. “That’s settled then. Onward! To the nurse!” He said, jogging forward, the jingling noises on Claire’s bags attracting attention from the spare onlookers in the hallway.

Claire could only groan in support.

====================================================================================================================================================================

As soon as they reached the nurse’s office, Kaveen settled her in the nearest bed, while the nurse felt Claire’s forehead. Something hovered over her forehead, and it beeped loudly. “38.7, She’s burning!” The nurse fretted, hurrying to the battered refrigerator in the corner.

“Figured.” Kaveen muttered under his breath.

Claire felt something cool being placed onto her forehead, and someone was undoing the buttons on her shirt. (Out, you two! The nurse ordered.) Two more ice packs were slid into her neck, and one more being shoved into her shirt and onto her chest. “Come on dear, take a sip, there you go…”

Claire’s dry throat was briefly rehydrated, then a pillow was propped behind her back. “You need to finish this ; you are so pale.” Much to Claire’s embarrassment, and the amusement of the boys, she was given a sippy cup. The nurse shrugged, trying to hide a smile. “I just changed these sheets, and this is sweet-tasting.”

At least the stuff tasted good. Like melted peppermint. Kaveen was wheezing, his hands shaking as he tried to get a picture. Jamie shot them all a grin and strolled out of the doors to go back to class. (They’ll all think I’ve crapped my pants and decided to drown myself in the toilet if I stay here any longer.)

Kaveen waved him goodbye with one hand, the other no doubt uploading the photos of Claire and her sippy cup on his Instagram. At that moment, Claire’s vision cleared, and shot Kaveen a weak glare. Instantly a surge of pain hurled through her head, and forced her to lie down again. The chill was gone, at least.

Kaveen shoved his phone into his pocket. “You wanna go home?”

Claire shook her head to the ceiling. The bed creaked as Kaveen sat down, frowning. “You were OK before. What’s up?” He took the now empty (and insultingly bright yellow) sippy cup from her hands and looked down at her. He shoved his glasses back up onto his nose, and they slid off again. “Did you skip breakfast again?”

Claire was about to answer, but the nurse fussed over, interrupting their conversation. “Skip breakfast? That is simply wrong, young lady.”

Kaveen arched his lips like See? I told you. He checked his phone. “Drat, I’m way over 5 minutes. Gotta go. See ya.”

Claire simply gave up. “Bye.”

And for the first time in her life, Claire found herself skipping class. At least she wouldn’t have to face maths class today, though she really hoped that Mr Denver wouldn’t give the class too much homework,

She didn’t know if her brain could cope.

She wasn't Yuna freaking Sato.