Chapter Two: Reaching Out

I was always the quiet one. The one who went unnoticed in the middle of the crowd. I wanted to be. There was no need for me to stand out other than having the best grades in class. Making out and showing off were not on my ‘to do’ list. My ‘to do’ list had peculiar things for a 17-year-old.

1. Get the Oxford Scholarship.
2. Graduate in Medicine.
3. Get as far from this place as soon as possible.
4. Get as far from this place as soon as possible.

Simple.

Until a month before graduation... When Father Phillips' annoying voice came out of the orphanage school's speakers.

'Attention Senior students. Father Phillip speaking. Pack your best clothes, because we are taking a weeklong trip to Tuscany. We leave on June 18th. Be there or... what was it you kids say again? Oh! Be there, or be square.' He ended his announcement with a laugh. Asshole.

As I heard my class cheering, our Chemistry teacher Mrs. Gillian tried to calm them down. In case you are wondering, no, I'm definitely not excited for this. It meant airplane rides, strange places and strange people. I was fluent in 5 languages; Italian was one of them. But I was not hoping to be able to practice it on a trip with the people I hated the most in this world. Excitement was far from being my feeling right now. I felt... panic.

Everything went black.

Last thing I remember was sitting in front of my desk in Chemistry class. When I opened my eyes, Theo, short for Theodora, my roommate and the second person who made this orphanage less miserable was hovering over me with worrying eyes while I was laying on my room bed, not knowing how I got there.

'Bloody hell, Ky! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? What in God's name was that? If you didn't want to study Chemistry you could always have skipped it by pretending you were sick, not making a scene in front of the whole class. I have never seen Mrs. Gillian so scared.' Theo's loud voice annoyed my ears.

Mrs. Gillian was very young, not even thirty years old yet. One of those women who gives her life to do God's work but without celibacy. We all knew she liked to fool around with one or four of her Junior year students. But she was at St. Cadence less than a year, and I bet that I was the first one to pass out on one of her classes.

'Take a chill pill, Theo. I'm fine. Oh, wait.' Standing up, I felt the need to throw up and went running into our bathroom, hurling out today's lunch. I was not a lady throwing up, I sounded like a monster. I'm pretty sure if Shrek threw up, he'd sound just like me.

When I was done, while flushing the toilet and gasping for some air, something else came up to my throat that tastes like metal. Holy shit, was I tasting blood? As the thought came, I threw up the blood I was tasting, like a river, it came out of my mouth and darkness fell upon me again.

Suddenly I was in a white world.

Nothing surrounded me. I felt something solid beneath my feet, feeling like some kind of floor, and the only thing I could see was a mirror ten steps in front of me. As I walked towards it, I saw my own reflection, but at the same time, it was a much paler, but healthier and more beautiful version of me. She had our red hair, but darker, not the dirty red I was used to, long, well taken care of, and wavy, and her eyes were bright purple, not the dark green ones I actually had. She was wearing my magenta dress, the one Sister Ophelia made for me, but it was strapless, and she was on beautiful black stilettos. She... I... My bizarre reflection... Looked terrified.

'Kyla... You must go. Go to Italy, Kyla. You need to know. YOU NEED TO!'

She tried to get out of the mirror, pounding it with her open hand, and it startled me, making me take a long step back out of fear.

'I need to know what? Who the hell are you? Why are you...me?'

'PLEASE! Listen to me! You need to go! PLEASE! Find us!'

Us? Was she talking about someone else? Who else was with her?

As I tried to reply, I was sucked out of all the brightness of that weird dream, waking up from it. It wasn't a pleasant awakening, as I sat up with wide open eyes breathing heavily.

Sister Ophelia was sleeping on a chair by my side, as I heard the beeping sounds of the heart monitor connected to me, showing my normal heartbeat.

'Sister Ophelia... What happened? Oh my God, my mouth tastes like sewer. What the fuck happened to me?' As the F word came out of my mouth, I covered it, apprehending myself for saying it in front of a nun. 'Sorry. Could I have some water, please?' I made the best puppy face there was for the frowning nun not to slap me in the head for cursing.

'I will ignore the fact that a hideous word came out of your mouth, young Kyla, if you promise never to scare me like that again. Theo's screams were heard all the way to Father Phillips' office and it is ages away from your room! When I got to you... Dear... I have never seen so much blood, it was all over you, I thought...' She swallowed a sob, but a couple of tears came out of her eyes.

'I'm so sorry, Sister O. I didn't mean to scare you. I swear. What happened to me?' I held her hand as she grabbed it, as if I was going to run away or disappear from her sight.

'You had an ulcer, and it burst. When we did the ultrasound, it had already healed. How it happened, I do not know, as it usually needs emergency operation. It happens out of severe stress, Miss Black. You will need lots of rest. You need a few days away from the books, I know how senior year can be cruel to those who seek to excel in their studies. But you need to take a couple of weeks off. No discussion.'

Tall, blonde, handsome, on green scrubs and in a hurry. OK, that's a doctor. My head was spinning, too much information in too little time. But he barged in my room as if he had a hundred patients at a time and I was getting on his way. His face was blank, bored, even.

'You are to be discharged tomorrow. You will take a few more exams just to make sure the ulcera is indeed not a danger anymore and you are free to go by tomorrow morning. Until then, only water is allowed into your system, understood?'

Hmmm... Rude alert! I'm sick, for crying out loud!

'I'm sorry... Dr...?' I looked at him innocently, waiting for an answer for at least his name.

'Harley. I'm Dr. Austen Harley. I'm sorry I'm in such a hurry, ladies. There was a massive car crash and I'm expected at the ER. If there aren't any more questions, please excuse me.

'No, I'm... ok. Good luck to your other patients.' I made a small, but polite 'shoo' sign with my hands as in hurrying him to attend worse cases than mine.

'You are going to Italy. I cannot leave you alone. I will be your shadow, Kyla Black, even if it takes me to my grave early, do you understand? And no shenanigans like going to the city alone with Theodora. Until the trip you are to receive your classes' homework by some of your classmates, to keep up with your studies, but you will not leave your bed until we get on that damn airplane to go to Italy. And you WILL follow your doctor's orders. Is that understood?' When Sister O. used that tone, I had two choices... Either nod and accept her terms or die. And I was too young to die. I did not want my grave to have 'Death by Angry Nun' written on it.

Italy it is. Fuck my life.