Page 89 of To Love or to Lose
“You can’t be serious,” I slur, leaning my head against the wall, closing my eyes.
A nap sounds really ni—
“Hey!” I feel a light tap against my cheek. “You’re not allowed to sleep. Now answer my question, Genova.”
“Why are you quizzing me? I don’t want to play.” My eyes fight against me to close again; this time, I don’t abide.
“You need to stay awake. Prove to me how smart you are, even when you’re bleeding from the head. What are the main symptoms of a concussion?” He asks again.
I rack my brain. “Concussion, also known as MTBI—mild traumatic brain injury. A traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head." I list everything I can recall about concussions.
“Good.” Jameson is typing on his phone now.
“When I was younger, I had a picture book about the brain and a bunch of common injuries that happen to it. Concussions were one of them.” I had a book like this about every vital organ, but that’s not the point. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to visualize the brain book in my head.
“Okay, tell me all the symptoms you can think of. I know that you know, Genevieve. Don’t let me beat you.”
That sparks it. “Nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, dizziness.” My eyebrows furrow; I know there’s more. “I can’t think of anything else,” I groan.
“C’mon, you know more.”
“No, I don’t.” I sigh, trying to recollect my thoughts.
“Well, I know more, so I guess that means I win. Is that what you want? For me to win?”
Another spark of thought. “Memory loss of the event, confusion, headache, pressure in the head and neck, dazed.”
“Good, really good, Genevieve.” He brushes more hair out of my face. “How many of those are you experiencing?”
“About…” I look up at the ceiling tiles, doing the calculations. “Sixty percent.”
He looks worried, but still has a taunting smile on his face. “You did it.”
“Fuck!” I realize. “I just proved I probably have a concussion.”
“That you did.” He checks his phone again. “And I have a doctor coming up to check on you. I can take you back to your hotel room until she gets here.”
“How did you even find a doctor that quickly?” To be fair, I have absolutely no idea how long we’ve been sitting here.
“I messaged her twenty minutes ago. Wren gave me her number last night when Winnie and Logan needed antibiotics.”
“You had a doctor bring them antibiotics?” I didn't know that.
“Yeah, nobody knew because they thought that they would have to go home if the school found out they were sick.”
One of his arms falls under my armpit, wrapping around my torso so he can help me stand.
“Why are you being nice to me?” He keeps me upright as I attempt to hobble down the hallway. In reality, he’s doing most of the work.
“Well, I’m never intentionally mean to you.”
“Yes, you are,” I reply quickly, my voice laced with confusion. “We both are intentionally mean to each other.”
“That’s what you like to make it out to be.”
“Don’t pretend like I’m incapable of reading between the lines, Jameson.” I cross my arms over my chest, stopping in the middle of the hallway. “I’m just as smart as you, if not smarter.”
It’s a lie. In all honesty, I have no idea how I’m beating Jameson in this competition for Valedictorian. He is obviously much more level-headed than I ever have been.
