Chapter 3

In an instant, the ambulance pulled up, and the paramedics jumped out with a stretcher. "Where's the patient? Who's the student having the heart attack?"

"It's me!" Ella cried out, her expression twisting into a mask of agony as she rushed forward while clutching her chest. She pretended to faint as she leaned into a nurse, exclaiming, "I-I can't breathe—my chest hurts so much!"

"How could you, Ella!" I tried to bolt upright, my eyes wide with fury, but a wave of agonizing pain hit me, and I collapsed back to the ground.

Ella, seizing the moment, cried out urgently. "What the hell are you waiting for? Get me on the stretcher and save me!"

Joseph hurriedly supported Ella, positioning himself to block the nurse's line of sight. "Ella's the patient here, so get her on that stretcher immediately!"

Upon seeing the paramedics preparing to lift Ella onto the stretcher, I pointed frantically at Wanda on the ground and yelled, "You shouldn't listen to him! Wanda is the one who's actually ill here! Ella is just putting on an act!"

Joseph barked, "Have you had enough, Yvonne? You already lied about being sick with Wanda, and now you're trying to delay treatment for someone who actually needs it! You're beyond redemption, Yvonne!"

"Please get Ella into the ambulance!" Joseph instructed the nurse before turning to Wanda. "Wanda will get up on her own once she's done with her performance."

It was clear that the nurse, seeing that Joseph was the drill instructor, believed him and the crowd. "Get Ella on the stretcher first!"

I grew frantic when I noticed the medical staff preparing to leave. I lunged forward and grabbed the nurse's arm tightly. "You can't leave us! Please take a look at Wanda—she's not going to make it!"

The nurse, stunned by my grip, turned her gaze toward Wanda, noting that Wanda's face was cyanotic—a deep purple—and her lips were blanched. She lay there perfectly still, evidently unconscious.

She realized the gravity of the situation and hurriedly dropped to her knees to check on Wanda. She immediately turned pale and yelled, "Get the stretcher over here—we need to save this one first! Hurry!"

Ella shrieked, bolting upright on the stretcher. "I'm the only patient here! Wanda is the one faking it! You shouldn't let her fool you!"

Joseph stepped in front of the stretcher, his voice low and threatening while asking, "Isn't there a protocol for triage? Ella is in critical condition!

"How could you just ignore a living person crying for help to tend to someone playing dead, even more so in the presence of all these witnesses? What kind of behavior is that?"

"If word gets out about this, it won't look good for your hospital's reputation! Is this something you can really afford to take responsibility for?"

"Exactly! You have to save Ella first!"

"Wanda is already in that state—saving her would be a waste of time!"

In the meantime, the other students nearby began to chime in, adding to the commotion.

The nurse, seeing the situation spiraling out of control, struggled to make a decision. "How about Ella getting into the ambulance, and since Wanda's condition is more critical, she gets into the ambulance as well?

"In that case, we only have room for one companion in the back—the others will have to wait for the next ambulance or find their own way to the hospital!"

That was about as good a compromise as Wanda was going to get.

In that instant, a flicker of hope surged within me.

Ella shrieked again, glaring at me with eyes full of malice. "I won't allow it! What right does she have to be in the same ambulance as me?"

She looked around after saying that. She suddenly thought of something and pointed at the flat luggage rack on the ambulance roof with a wicked grin. "You can just put Yvonne and Wanda on the roof. After all, one is faking it, and the other is tough as nails—neither of them is going to die!"

"Great idea!" Joseph's eyes flashed as he turned and barked at the student athletes standing nearby. "You lot! Get over here—grab Wanda and Yvonne, lift them onto the roof of the ambulance, and strap them down! You'd better hurry up, and don't let them delay Ella's medical care!"

It was then that the nurse cried out in a panic, "You can't do that! It's far too dangerous!"

Joseph retorted, "What's so dangerous about it? I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong! If someone dies because of this delay, are you prepared to answer for it? Get to work!"

In that instant, a few hulking student athletes charged toward us. They grabbed Wanda and me onto the roof of the ambulance and strapped us down.