Chapter 22

22. A favor?

I was told to stay in the hospital for a week, I really could not answer the questions the doctors asked me about my health. It is true that I have not been to the hospital much, at least not as much as a person my age should’ve. It was only because I never got sick enough for the hospital. The handful of times I visited the hospital was for some kind of broken arm or leg or a vaccination shot. Whenever I got sick, I would be healed before it got serious. A cold would only last a day in my body, and a stomach ache from eating something off-putting would last only a few hours. It was a blessing, in a way, because my mother and I were not that well off as my mother refused any kind of financial help from my father. I considered myself extremely lucky to have such a good immunity system.

Which was why it was such a surprise when I was told I had an allergy to silver of all things. Because this isn’t the first time I have ingested silver, and never before have I gone to anaphylactic shock because of it.

A sudden onset allergy is the last thing I needed.

My days in the hospital are so boring. I’m forbidden to do any sort of schoolwork as the doctors think it will affect my healing ability by tiring me out, so I spend my days watching movies or doing some light. reading. When they are also taken from me in the guise of ‘providing me enough rest to recuperate,’ I spend the time daydreaming, thinking about my father, Stone and his bullies, Coraline, Gerald, and everyone else who had turned up in my life to make it seem different from what it was just a year before. I think about my mother who had the misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I wonder how it would’ve been if she was still alive.

One thing is for sure, she would’ve never let me put up with the bullying for so long.

Coraline visits me on the second day when the doctor deems me adequate to have visitors. As soon as she enters the hospital room and lays her eyes on my still-bandaged being, her hand goes to her mouth to hide her gasp, “Oh, my god, Jace, what did they do to you?! Did they stab you?”

I realize that Coraline is not aware of the incident that took place. So, I tell her about the silver allergy, hoping to placate her worries, but it makes things worse because her eyes start to get shiny.

“You could’ve died!” she shrieks, “if the doctors had been the tiniest bit late...”

“But they weren’t,” I remind her, “nothing bad happened. They managed to patch me up just fine. And apparently, I got a really good immunity system, so I’m healing just fine and really fast.”

She still looks shell-shocked. After some contemplation, I hesitantly take her hand, which is lying next to me on the hospital bed, and give it a reassuring squeeze. She turns her teary eyes at me, “I’m okay now, Coraline. I’m getting better. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Oh, Jace,” she squeezes my hand back, and shoots me a wobbly smile, “you’re my friend. I won’t stop worrying until you’re out of the hospital and all the bandages are gone.”

Her words bring me such warmth that I can’t help but smile back.

She visits me almost every day afterward. Coraline had been assimilated into her position as my assistant quite well, and during my absence, she takes care of my work. I wonder out loud if she feels the workload is too much, but she is enthusiastic about it, gushing about the sheer experience she is accumulating.

It also helps that she genuinely loved the work.

My next visitor comes in the form of Gerald, who goes pale when I mention my allergy to silver.

“Silver, you say?” he asks in a strange sort of voice, “how interesting.”

This peaks my attention. “Why is it so interesting, Gerald?”

“Your father used to have one,” he informs me, “when he was younger. Not anymore.”

“Oh.” Suddenly a puzzle piece falls into place, “so I inherited it from him. Figures.”

“Indeed,” Gerald’s expression changes into one of relief and determination. “Get better soon, young master. Because we have to teach your attackers a lesson, and I’m not going to let them go scot-free this time. By the looks of it, neither will the university.”

“The university is concerned? What exactly is happening anyway? Also, I told you to just call me, Jace.”

He ignores that. “The university’s reputation is on the line, as they pride themselves in being a prestigious but anti-bully, non-

discriminatory establishment with a zero-tolerance policy. The fight got leaked to the internet because of course the students videotaped it and released it on social media. The university had been getting a lot of backlash for letting a student be attacked like that.”

I groan, “Oh, god, seriously?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Does that mean everyone is aware of who my father is?”

“No, no one had made the connection yet. This is why the discrimination charges have been brought up, according to the university records you’re still a student from a lower-class background, who is also on a scholarship. Even if your identity is revealed, there will be a hearing because you were assaulted.”

“When is this hearing scheduled for?”

“It hadn’t been scheduled yet. They’re waiting until you’re released,” he reminds me.

Gerald leaves after giving me all the information and bringing me up to date with the proceedings.

The very next day, my father comes to visit me. He looks stoic as he takes in my condition, which is way better than when Coraline visited me at first. At first, our conversation is awkward, but slowly we warm up to each other. He does not talk about Zelt Tech or the argument we had before. Rather, he asks me all about my life at the university, especially about the bullies. After protesting reluctantly, I finally open up and reveal to him everything that’s happened from then to now.

After listening to my story, my father watches me with a contemplative gleam in his eyes.

“They aren’t going to come after you again,” he promises, “Believe me, I’ll go and talk to the Dean myself if I have to.”

I blanch at that. “Please don’t. I can handle this on my own.”

“You always say that,” he observes, “Jace, it’s not a weakness to ask for help, especially from your parents.”

“And I will ask when I need it, just like I did before when I returned home,” I reply, wanting him to stop talking about this subject.

My father sighs. “You’re as stubborn as your mother. Alright, I won’t stick my nose into the hearing.” He murmurs, “but at least do me a favor.”

“What favor, father?”

“Learn to defend yourself,” he advises. “Enroll in a class or a club, learn to fight. Something tells me that this won’t be the last fight you’re going to face, so better be ready. Besides, no one would willingly pick a fight with someone who they know would kick their ass. I’m not saying you can’t already, but when you learn how to do it effectively, you would be able to gain power over those who wish to attack you.

it will do you good to have self-confidence as well. Learn to fight after you get released,” he smiles mysteriously, “you won’t regret it.”

I think