Jolene woke up with a yell at the Bettisonville Hospital ward. As soon as she was conscious, her mother jumped on her and squeezed the life out of her. She then shrieked in pain.

“Ms. Evans!” the Doctor chided her mom, who jumped off her and apologised. She then settled for a kiss on her forehead instead. The Doctor shook his head at her and removed a pen from his breast pocket. “Little Ms. Evans, I’m Dr Wesley, and I’ll be your Doctor throughout your recovery,” he said, holding the pen over a paper on a clipboard like he was awaiting answers.

“What happened?” Jolene asked, and memories of the previous night flashed violently in her head.

“Well, you were in a car accident,” Dr Wesley said, looking down at the file. “You suffered a mild concussion, a couple of abrasions on your hands, and a couple on your ribs. You also had a sprained wrist, so you’ll have to wear that cast for 6 weeks.” He then scribbled on the paper. “I’ll have to keep you overnight to monitor you. I’ll prescribe you some Paracetamol for the pain, and if all is well, then I’ll send you home soon.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Jacqueline, Jolene’s mother, said.

“Where’s my friend?” Jolene called out to the Doctor, who was halfway out of the door. He paused and thought about his answer for a second.

“Just focus on your recovery for now, Ms. Evans,” Dr Wesley said, and then slipped out.

“Mom, where’s Sive?” Jolene asked her mother quickly.

“I’ll tell you in the morning. For now, you have to sleep my darling,” Jacqueline said as she stood and tucked her in.

Jolene could not help but wonder where Sive was. She felt very guilty about what happened, and she wanted to beg for his forgiveness until she earned it. Knowing Sive, he probably had already forgiven her, but she would not accept callous forgiveness like that.

After a while, Jolene clutched the bed sheet and crawled into a fetal position. She squeezed her eyelids and started screening their memories, from when Sive brought her muffins, to when they went to the Bettisonville Spring Ball together. They could not find dates because they still were not accepted by society back then. She was the boyish strong girl, and he was the weakling safety hazard boy. She could still see them in her mind’s eye.

It was not until they started high school that they became a little popular because of their uncommon friendship. Instead of things getting better, Jolene felt that she suffocated Sive’s social as well as his love life. Now she almost caused his death, and tears flowed down the side of her face. She viewed Sive in full, smiling at her with his buck-teeth and his tall lanky muscular posture. She was the tallest girl around, but she was still a few inches short from matching Sive.

Jolene smiled at the lies that Sive had kept telling her. “Keep eating fruits and vegetables, you’ll grow up and match me one day,” he had said.

“Ding bat,” she said softly and started crying herself to sleep.

***

Tell us: Do you think Sive should forgive Jolene for what happened?