When you live in a town that appears to be large, but is in reality much smaller, things can be very close to each other. Sometimes too close for your own good. Sometimes you wondered if you didn’t live in a snow globe, like the ones in your living room.

The hospital was only a five-minute walk from the school, so it wasn’t necessary to ride with Vicrul’s motorcycle that he left on the forbidden park place in front of the school.

Silently you sat in the waiting room of the emergency department.

The only thing you could think about was if you should text your mother and let her know about your injury. But after all those days, you didn’t feel like talking to her at all. She would only get worried, and you didn’t want her to stress out more than she already was with the trouble she got herself into.

“How come you knew I had to go to the hospital,” you asked Vicrul curiously.

He sat next to you with legs crossed, reading a magazine. When he lifted his head, his ocean eyes met your gaze, glancing at your swollen hand. He then burrowed his face back into the magazine.

“I had something similar,” he replied.

“Really? What happened?”

When he looked at you again, his eyes answered your question. You should have remembered it.

“I thought you already heard the rumors about me.”

The pain in his smile was probably more painful than your hand at that moment, as you remembered how Kaydel’s warned you.

Did this mean he got himself in a fight, and that’s what he meant by that? Was this the reason he got kicked out of his school? Kaydel didn’t tell you what he had done that gave him a bad reputation, so you weren’t aware of them. Asking him about it now would only ruin everything, so you just blindly played along.

“They are just rumors, Vicrul.”

“And even if they’re only rumors, you being friends with me will only give you nasty looks,” he muttered in a harsh tone.

“I really don’t care,” you reminded him.

“Probably just because of my eyes and my six-pack,” he smirked ridiculously.

“No, you’re a good guy.”

He gave you a distant look. “You know nothing about me.”

“Maybe. But I saw how you took care of me in the infirmary. You could have just dropped me off there and gone to choir rehearsal, but you kept arguing with the nurse, and you took me to the hospital… and you’re still here.”

It was only the second time you talked with Vicrul. Maybe existed behind his facade, a small boy who was hiding from his past and problems he had in the other school. And the gossips spreading around about his reputation made his debut in a new school only worse.

“And for your information, I’ve never seen you shirtless before, so I can’t confirm your six-pack!” you added in an annoyed tone.

You crossed your arms in front of your chest, letting out a heavy sigh as you looked forward. A beautiful three-year-old girl with hair encircled in cute Bantu knots and a teddy bear in her arm sat opposite you, next to her mother. With her big eyes, she smiled as she looked at you, and you returned the smile. Vicrul noticed her and gave her a little wink. Her cheeks turned pink, and she broke the eye contact.

“Poor thing, you scared her,” you bantered, nudging him with your right elbow playfully.

Vicrul shot you a glimpse as his head sunk in his magazine. “I’m sure I made her nervous. Just like you.”

He put his magazine away, placed his elbow on the armrest, and whispered to you in a seductive tone. “Would you like to see me, shirtless?”

You swallowed, turning slowly your face to him. His sparkling blue eyes blinked in amusement. You rubbed your palm against your leg, feeling the sweat building up. The thought of him asking you this so directly made you heavily blush.

“Are you — flirting with me?”

He smirked as he tilted his head. “Why? Is it working?”

“No!” you stated in a mocked tone.

As he chuckled, still looking at you, he got disrupted by the loud ringtone that came from his pocket. When he answered it, his facial expression hardened and made him wildly ran outside.

You looked around the room, observing the other patients. You hoped Vicrul hadn’t left without saying goodbye like last time.

By the sound of the sliding door from the emergency department, you turned your head to look at who was about to be the next. When an attractive woman with eye-catching red lips walked out of the door, you recognized it was the same woman who only moved in with you.

“Qi’ra!” you called.

Startled in terror, she turned around to follow the voice she had known. When she realized who it belonged to, she came towards you with a furious look, ready to slaughter you.

You sank into the chair, feeling a small tingle in your arms when she came closer.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” she hissed in a whisper.

“I — I’m sorry I just recognized you — and I thought—“

“That it would be a great idea to scream my name, so everybody knows I’m here?”

You raised your chin, clenching your jaw. With a bowed head, she looked you straight in the eyes. Besides Vicrul, she had no spark in them. However, they weren’t completely empty. Something else was in them. A secret mystery.

You regretted your dumb action. Your eyes moved to the girl who sat across from you. She had switched to her sitting position and held her teddy bear closer to her mother’s body. She sought protection, just in case the angry woman would do anything to her.

Qi’ra noticed it and followed your gaze. It brought her to the sight of a small girl in fear, whose mother had wrapped her arm around her shoulders. Qi’ra grinned and straightened herself.

“What are you doing here?” she asked coolly.

Slowly, you tried to lift your injured hand. At your movement, Qi’ra knitted her big brows.

“Bloody hell! Your hand is slowly turning into a Smurf. What happened?”

“At school… I fell from the stairs,” you replied, short and defeated.

She shook her head and exhaled from her nose. “What is it with you and the floor? You kissed the floor only yesterday. Wasn’t that enough for you?”

You seriously had no strength from all the pain that your hand gave you, so you ignored her remark.

“Why are you here?” you asked her smoothly.

She looked away from your eyes, rolling them upwards in thoughts as she observed the ceiling. She opened her mouth and paused for a second like she was rethinking what she’s going to say.

“I just had a check-up.”

Somehow you couldn’t believe her words. You knew she was the reason your mother did not want to tell any further information about the danger she had involved herself in. But talking about this now in any way would be foolish, and as tired as you were, you really had no desire to do so.

From a distance, you saw Vicrul returning to you in a hurry. “Hey, sorry, but I have to go. Are you gonna be okay if I leave you here?”

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” you responded with lips pressed together in a smile. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

A part of you wanted him to stay and ask him who called and why he had to go away.

He straightened his coat and gave you a wink. “You’re welcome, love. Take care of yourself.”

Vicrul only then noticed Qi’ra, who stood there next to him with arms crossed and widened eyes. He nodded in hello and goodbye at the same time as he left through the exit door.

Qi’ra smirked, observing you up and down. With her fingers that tapped in a rhythm on her arm, she waited for an explanation.

“Is he your cute lover?” she commented with a sly smile.

“He’s not cute and definitely not my lover. He’s just — Vicrul. My normal friend.”

She breathed, “Oh, to be a teenager again and have these kinds of problems.”

You rolled your eyes, and with a tight-lipped face, you crossed your legs.

“I planned to go home now, but if you want me to stay here with you, I’ll stay,” she proposed kindly.

You knew your mother would be happy and enjoy it if you were on good terms with Qi’ra. And that was one moment to take advantage of this opportunity.

“Yeah, I’d love to have a little company.”

It was unusual for you to hear from a stranger the word ‘home‘ because it was the same house you grew up in for eighteen years. The one that only you called home, since you spent the most time in it. Sharing it now with a total stranger, from which you know nothing about only that your mother trusts her, was a strange feeling that didn’t fulfill your trust in her.

Two minutes later, the nurse called your name. Qi’ra accompanied you to the x-ray, which showed a grade two torn ligaments in your wrist. The doctor compressed your left wrist with a bandage and prescribed you the essential anti-inflammatory painkillers. If Vicrul hadn’t taken you to the hospital, who knows if you would already look with Luke for a new prosthetic hand.

When you walked out of the entrance door from the hospital, you couldn’t believe your eyes who approached the door. You stopped in place as your mouth dropped open.

We do really live in a small world.

Guilt slowly brewed in your stomach. All you could think of was how wrong and stupid it was of you to joke this morning about death.

Professor Ren came towards you, dressed all black like in the morning, with a tired and not so pleasant face.

You remembered how only earlier he offered you his help that you brutally rejected. If only you knew. You had to agree that today, compared to all the other days; he was nice.

His gaze met yours, and he stopped in front of you.

“Professor, I apologize for my stupid remark I made in the morning about death. My deepest condolences for your loss.”

You could hardly believe it yourself when you spoke with such a friendly voice to the teacher you detested more than Mr. Hux.

Professor Ren scratched his head in confusion. Somehow, he seemed amused.

“Miss [Y/Surname], I appreciate your apology. Sadly, I must disappoint you, but I’m not here because someone died.”

“Oh well, then what are you doing here?” you asked, scratching the bridge of your nose.

“As much as I remember, this is not the first time I’m telling you that this is none of your business,” he responded in a low tone.

Both of you stood there for a solid minute, not knowing what to do or say. You felt slightly uncomfortable standing like this. How do you end a conversation with a professor when you see them outside after they offered you help that you stubbornly declined?

“See? I got you to apologize,” he mentioned with a warm smile.

“No, you didn’t.”

Professor Ren tilted his head, scrunching up his face. “Yes, I did.”

“No, that was a personal misunderstanding."

Qi’ra stepped suddenly forward between both of you on the side and interrupted your cat fight when she loudly cleared her throat.

“Oh, yes, Professor Ren, this is… eh, this is—“

“Her aunt,” she grinned, reaching out her hand.

Professor Ren shook her hand while you stood next to her with raised eyebrows.

“You look extremely familiar. Have we met before?” Qi’ra asked.

“No… I don’t think so,” he responded curiously as he paused for a vivid moment. “Excuse me, I have to move on.”

“Of course, we better go now anyway.”

He hummed with a nod and walked through the entrance door.

While you followed Qi’ra, you felt quite upset that Professor Ren said nothing about your injured hand. He didn’t even ask you what you were doing in the hospital.

The way he questioned you this morning if you got any sleep, and how he was the only one who remarked that you didn’t have your hat on, was — a delightful feeling to know that someone noticed. And yet, how naïve of you to think that he would ask about your hand after you rejected his help.

You got into the little grey golf car from your mother. She only drove it while she was at home. When she went on her work trips, she left the car with you.

“Please don’t tell me you’re my real aunt, and my mother always kept that a secret from me.”

“God, no, I wouldn’t want to be related to you,” she exclaimed.

“Ouch, thank you,” you said in an offended tone. “Then why did you tell my professor you were?”

“Until you thought about what to introduce me as, I spontaneously said, aunt. You can never go wrong with that.”

You agreed with her as Qi’ra started the engine and drove off.

You needed to drive to the pharmacy to get your pills for your hand. Qi’ra’s gaze was on the road while you tried not to cry every single time when the car drove over something on the ground.

“That boy of yours is nothing compared to your teacher. That man with that body needs to be on the cover of Vogue.”

Thinking about seeing your psychology professor in the most popular magazine naked made you nearly throw up.

“Are you aware that they’re both much younger than you?”

Her jaw went slack, and she made a full stop at the red light. With a wrinkled face and with the other hand, you held your injured hand so that it would not move too much.

“Are you calling me old?” she gurgled with laughter.

A soft laugh escaped your throat. It felt good to laugh after this tiring day.

“Age is just a number,” she counseled. “But of course, that only applies to legal adults!”

You nodded and turned your hand to look outside the window.

And jail is just a place, you thought.

Being in a relationship where you both have over five years of difference was impossible to imagine for you. There were so many things wrong with that.

During the ride, you got to know Qi’ra better. She told you she was born in England and met your mother eight years ago in Scotland.

After you went to the pharmacy, you begged Qi’ra to take you to McDonald’s. She rolled her NO a thousand times with her British accent, and after giving you a long speech about how McDonald’s is bad for your health, she finally gave up and did as you wished.

You exulted in a loud yes and pumped your right fist in the air, immediately regretting it when the sudden pain on the other wrist stung you.

You arrived in the heaven of all heavens when most people were having their dinner. And as always, it was loud and stuffy inside.

Qi’ra didn’t feel like sitting here, so she suggested taking the food to go. Then your mother could also have something from it.

You agreed, got in line, and looked at the menu of what to take for you and your mother. Even Qi’ra felt a craving for a juicy burger after not eating fast food for years.

Today was the place packed. Qi’ra looked around all the time as if she felt she was being followed. She tensed her eyes immediately at every sound that seemed different from what was usual in the restaurant.

You turned your body to face her as she stood behind you. “What were you really doing in the hospital?” you suddenly demanded of her.

Although you had, on one thing, a different view: Qi’ra was still fun to hang around with, and you wanted to know more about her since she would be for you like a real aunt living with you in the same house.

“I thought I told you. It was just for a check-up,” she said with a smile and continued to look around.

The way she had to think at the hospital before she delivered you an answer did not give you the impression of what she said was true. Especially not after she got so angry with you calling out her name. Who cares when people know she was in the hospital. It’s not like she’s a celebrity or something.

She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I was… visiting — a friend,” she stammered in a low tone.

“You have friends in Germany besides my mother?”

She narrowed her head and whispered in your ear. “Let’s not discuss this around other people.”

“No, tell me I want to know,” you urged her to continue.

Suddenly, somebody bumped you with their serving plate against your hand, to which you let out a cry.

Like a bolt of lightning, Qi’ra wrapped her hand around your chest, quickly shoved you behind her back, and stepped a foot forward. She clenched her hand into a fist and raised it high in the air, ready to knock someone down.

Every single person stopped eating and directed their eyes at her. Those who were next to you backed all away from you.

It didn’t really look like the old gentleman who stood next to you realized what just happened. His wide-eyed expression and his parted mouth made him nearly drop his plate when he looked up and saw Qi’ra’s fist.

“S—Sorry, Madame, for bumping into you with my plate. T—That was not my intention, I swear. I was just passing by.”

You nodded in understanding and looked at your injured hand that still hurt. Slowly and calmly, you put your other hand on Qi’ra’s shoulder and assured her that everything was fine.

She came back to her senses when she blinked. She relaxed her hand, realized what just happened, and immediately apologized.

The man nodded, still frightened, and walked away.

She bent for a second with her hands against her knees and let out a sigh while shaking her head.

“Is everything alright?” you asked her in a worried tone.

You started rubbing her back and looked around to see how people kept doing what they were doing.

Qi’ra straightened up and let out another small breath as she looked at you. Panic was visible in her eyes. She dropped it immediately and put a smile on her face.

Many questions floated to your brain. Maybe Qi’ra was paranoid or thought someone had hurt you.

“I appreciate your reaction, but it’s okay. You don’t need to be so overprotective of me,” you mentioned, turning around to order your meal.

Qi’ra narrowed her gaze at her hands. They were still shaking. She squeezed them into fists and loosened them. She had lost control and made everyone in this place know there was a woman in town who nearly kicked a man because he was just passing by.

“You will thank me for it later.”