When Kai observed Hillary walk away, he decided to follow her. This might just as well as go for a waste. Maybe a part of him being his paranoid self, but he did not want to ignore this hunch of his. Anyway, he had to pay Hillary back for being as nosey as she has been in their business.
******
"What do you think? Do they really have feelings for each other?" Max asked Ray, curious to know his thoughts on the matter at hand.
He furrowed his eyebrows in thought and finally said "Maybe.... But you can never be too sure of Tyson. Maybe he was too excited to have won an argument against Kai to even remember Hillary is of the opposite gender... And showed affection like that. I mean, he does that to us all the time!" he skeptically said, before continuing.
"But that is not what I'm worried about. Something is surely wrong with Hillary. She has rarely been with us during the last few battles in the tournament... And I'm sure she was not with us during the winning celebration. I know she avoids the media like hell and all that, but she usually at least sits with the audience to cheer us. The last I properly remember seeing her with us was when she went in search of Kai to scold him not to quit beyblading."
But Max wasn't really buying Ray's theory at present, for he was sure that Hillary would have told them if something wasn't right. He steered the conversation to the previous topic. "Speaking of which, Kai surely acts a bit soft with Hillary around, haven't you noticed? For TWO YEARS we have been with Kai and even My 'Perfect-Puppy-Eyes' could not make him reduce our training and today, all of a sudden he makes such a big compromise!! That to because she DEMANDED!! I really do think something is up with them...(gasps) What if both Kai and Tyson have a crush on Hillary?!!"
Unlike Max, Ray looked more amused than worried. "Whao, Whao slow down Max... that really is far fetched!!! You don't have to be in love with someone to have a soft spot for them. Besides......"
"Hey guys. Are you free? Could I join you?" Tyson asked hesitantly.
"Of course Tyson."
"Thanks..." He hesitantly made his way to join us.
"So...What help do you want? Let me guess.... Girl advice?!!" Ray asked teasingly.
This made Tyson turn a hundred shades redder "I um-uh!! Huhh!! Was it that obvious?!!!" he asked a bit flustered. I and Rai could no longer stop ourselves as we started laughing uncontrollably.
"What's there to laugh about?! Guys!! I'm serious. Guys, come on!! Fine, I'll just leave then"
"Hey! wait up buddy." Max elbowed Ray to stop him from laughing.
"Of course it was obvious, have you seen your face? You barely had anything for breakfast, you weren't HUNGRY and skipped lunch and FROM WHEN DID TYSON NEED A PERMISSION TO JOIN HIS BEST FRIENDS, huh?"
Tyson smiled sheepishly and asked "If you are done laughing could I know what I should do now?"
They both thought about it for a while and then Max asked "Do you really like her?"
"Well I, I don't know... We do fight a lot and I might have hurt her feelings the most among us, but I couldn't help but feel guilty for her being kidnapped just because she was spotted by those with me. I was able to release dragoon in the Third Match that day only because of my desperation to save her. And believe me or not, we were best friends for a few years before I fell in love with my beyblade and she with swimming tracks and books... "
"What?" we asked in unison for this unheard revelation.
"You still did not answer the question, Tyson... " Ray pointed.
"Fine... She has always been an important part in my life.... As I best friend or as an enemy. I just don't want to lose her in a silly pursuit of making her my love...." he sighed.
"Then just tell her the exact same sentence you told us." Ray concluded.
"But still.... Do you think she likes me or not ?" he pressed
"That is a difficult question to answer Ty..... Coz she has stuck with us even after you hurting her feelings for a year now...."
"When you kissed her... She blushed and said she didn't mind it." Ray added.
"But, she was nearly in tears when she left which confuses the whole thing " Max concluded with a sigh.
"Girls are such a big mess. Can't they just be like 'like someone =give them a high-five, hate someone = glare at them'?? Well... Should I contact her now?" Tyson asked with some hope.
"NO" Max and Ray said together making him even more confused than before.
"But you just said me to tell the same line." he pouted.
"Tyson, there is a word named 'perfect timing'. Just like you cannot win a bey-battle without correct aim or using the correct strategy at the correct time, you cannot rush into things here as well. She said she'll meet you after The Show. It means you have to wait." Ray explained.
"She herself may be in a dilemma over this and may also need time to think about it, Tyson." Max added.
Tyson thought about it for a few minutes and said "Fine... I'll talk to her after The Talk Show. Thanks guys.... It means a lot for me." he said with his usual goofy grin.
"No problem Tyson, that's what we are here for. To help each other." Ray smiled .
******
On the very next day, a young brunette walked into the hospital. Hillary directly went to the receptionist asking about the details of her appointment with the doctor. The receptionist asked her to wait in the lobby. Soon her mind was filled with nightmares of the past week. Things had happened so fast that it is all a blur now...
On the day of the Beyblade Semi-Finals, she had received a call stating that her mother had met with an accident. She had repeatedly tried contacting her father but could not reach him. She had also tried calling his company, but it all went in vain.
Mrs Natasha Tachibana, Hillary's mother, was in a coma when she first got there. Her health had suffered numerous fluctuations since then and had to be operated once.
Hillary was very glad that she hadn't used up the prize money she had received on qualifying to the National Swimming Championship. She had been able to pay the fees for the Operations on time. Till then, she had somehow managed to keep up with the expenses, using the money present in her mom's bank account too, though it wasn't much after being utilised for the house's monthly expenses.
But even then, Hillary knew that she couldn't manage the expenses forever. She barely had enough to cover the week's expenses and her mother's condition wasn't improving. She had to find a way to connect with her father as soon as possible. She had no idea of what she should do if the latter idea doesn't work.
She had of course thought of informing Tyson and the others, but then had decided otherwise. They had gone through many hardships in the last few weeks, a new problem arising just as the previous one would be sorted out. She did not want to throw at them another problem. They surely deserve a break. Moreover, she barely felt like a team member. Always an extra with no much use when among the beybladers.
But she was running out of options now. The prospect of losing her mother scared her to death. She couldn't remember any other time she had felt so alone, lonely and helpless. She had no recollection of how many hours she had spent on the very bench she was now sitting, crying herself to sleep many times the first few days.
"Ms Tachibana, the doctor is free and can talk to you now. Please come in."
"Sure"
******
Dr. Anderson was an elderly doctor, a neurologist at St Luke's International Hospital. He had been working at the hospital for fifteen years now, yet he had never been so attached to a case emotionally as he was to this. It wasn't due to the patient in question, but her daughter. He gave a sympathetic smile to the young girl in front of him. "Hello Hillary, hope you are doing fine."
The girl smiles weakly before shrugging. She took the seat in front of me. She might have hesitated for a microsecond before plunging into her stream of questions. "How is my mother doing doctor? When will she wake up? It has already been a week now. I heard the previous operation was a success, so why isn't she awake? And why-"
He might have laughed if the situation had not been this serious, and if he didn't know how emotionally shaken the girl in front of him was. "Please Ms Tachibana, breath. Hear me out first. Your mother faced a severe head injury in the accident. That led her into a coma. Her brain stopped responding two days ago which compelled us to operate her."
The girl nodded, he continued.
"Yes, you had heard it right, yesterday's operation was a success and she is out of danger now. But we have to make sure that such an emergency does not arise again, so we will have to operate her once."
She nodded again, biting her lips too hard. She asked, "What are the chances of this operation's success, doctor? Her life isn't in danger, is it?"
"The chances of this operation's success is a bit low... It usually depends upon the patient's age. Your mother is quite young so the success could be around eighty percent, but if not done soon, her condition may start fluctuating like before and she may not be lucky again and again..."
Dr. Anderson sat in silence for the girl to take in the information, waiting for a very important question to be posed by the girl. "How much will it cost, doctor?"
On removing his spectacles and placing them on the table, he started, "It usually costs around 85,000 yen.... "
The girl who barely spoke to him, started, "So much!! I Think I mentioned it before that I don't have much money SIR!! Please understand that situation sir... help me with it. I've told you that I'm unable to contact my father either. And-" He was surprised by the angry burst out. Of course, he had understood the unusualness of the situation. Of course, he had wanted to help the girl in her plight. Otherwise, he wouldn't have pulled in so many favours within the hospital and gone through so many troubles.
He sternly started. "I told you to have patience MISS TACHIBANA!! I have not completed my sentence yet. So please hear me out COMPLETELY, before you start RANTING!!" shock was evident on her face, so was embarrassment. Slowly, she sank back into the chair.
"It usually costs around 85,000 yen, but I DO UNDERSTAND YOUR SITUATION. I have talked about this with the management personally and they have agreed to lower your fees to 70,000 yen. They are also ready to accept the payment in installments. I myself am ready to contribute 10,000 yen personally. All you have to Do is pay 40,000 yen now. The rest can be paid after your father returns." and softly added, "Take your time dear, the operation can be delayed up-to a week from now without risking her recovery." unshed tears glistened in her crimson pupils, "This is all I can do Hillary.....Please forgive me. "
She staightened up in front of me, and keeping her eyes locked on the spectacles on the table she said, "No sir, I was the one being rude without even listening to you. I should be the one sorry for my actions. Thank you so much for helping me. I should leave now." she stands up, her leather purse in her hand.
Just as she reached the doorknob, I say, "One more thing dear... You don't have to stay here all the time. The mental stress by just being here is weighing you down. I'll place two nurses full-time to take care of your mother. Take some rest."
She nods as leaves.
******
A lean-built teenager, with two-toned hair and crimson eyes was bundled in a black hoodie. The visitor had introduced the extra attire to avoid recognition as he entered the hospital. He directly heads to the Receptionist's Desk.
"Good evening sir. How can I help you?"
"I'm here to know why the brown-haired, ruby-eyed girl was here?" he questioned, trying to be subtle.
"Sorry sir, I really didn't grasp who you were talking about..."
He sighs, "Why Was Miss Tachinbana here?"
"Oh...yes. (she scans the patient log and reads through it ) well ....her mother met with an accident a week ago incurring a serious head injury. Was in a coma. Her health is stable now.
She still has a balance of around 1,07,000 yen, 40,000 of it to be payed within this week, though the hospital had been highly supportive of her situation, being vouched by board members for assurance."
"What kind of situation?"
"Her father is unreachable, though I have no idea how that could be possible. She has been handling the finances alone. Such lump sum amount of money with such a young girl, though lucky for her, is a bit careless of her parents. Oh!! I'm so sorry sir!! I-I'm new to this job and just went on with my blabbering... how does this concern you Sir? Are you a friend of hers?" she eyed me curiously.
"Keep this."
"What is this..." she asks as she overturned the small slip. "A BLANK CHEQUE!!! But why...."
"Use this to pay the entire fee of Mrs Tachibana's hospital stay." the visitor says firmly.
"But the amount is too much, sir."
"You mentioned it earlier."
"Are you sure you can cover up the bill?"
"Hn." he says and turns to leave when the receptionist further asks. "But sir, at least tell me what should I tell Hillary when she gets to know of this? "
He didn't have to think much for the answer. "Hypocrite.."
The visitor leaves the hospital before the confused receptionist could continue harassing him with further queries.
******
It was on her way back that Hillary met him. A stranger. "Hey beautiful." he had called out. Hillary chose to ignore him. Street thugs were best avoided and ignored, they would leave you be after you went out a distance. But he persisted by following her.
Hillary's anxiety only grew. She started walking quickly. At the moment, she had no adults she could go to, she realised. The dojo was her safest option, she concluded before changing course. "Calm down, I only want to help. I could help you save your mother, you know." he added.
This froze Hillary in her place. "How do you know about it?" she questioned, her voice a pitch higher than usual. "Ohh, I have my ways, no need to worry your pretty little head about it." he dismissed her casually. "But I only want one thing from you, that tiny little piece of metal in your neck, and two hundred thousand yen, it's all yours."
Hillary's hands went to the necklace in her neck. "I never knew it was that costly." She said. He laughed at this, "You have absolutely no idea of how important it is. But I do believe I'm making a fare trade here. You know where to meet me." he said before tossing her a card.
Talking to strangers was a big no-no in her house during her childhood. Taking help from utter strangers was the last thing on her mind now, yet she found herself tucking the small bit of paper with, "Eastern port, seven-to-eight am, 756A." scrawld on it .
******
Words: 2636
******