13 Makai - Hospital Part 2

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Kai

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I hurried into the locker room so that I could get changed. I had to get away from the people out there. I needed to calm down before I got angry at someone and started to blow up on them.

I could tell that that whole group out there was more interested in the wow factor of what had just happened than in Ocean himself. Every single one of them looked like they wanted to have their phones in their hands so they could be recording the whole scene rather than help. That's what I hate most about people. All they care about is themselves and the excitement they could find in other people's lives.

Yeah, OK, there were a few people out there that I knew were friends with Ocean and actually cared about him. They had looked upset and worried about him and they definitely were the first to have become unfrozen when the shock wore off.

I know that the whole scene only took a couple minutes. It wasn't like they had stood there from start to finish and didn't do anything. Though I am glad I was the one there to save him. I am not certain if anyone else would have jumped in after him.

Once I was dressed I noticed that everyone else was finally coming into the locker room. They were talking excitedly and gossiping. What were they, a group of girls? Geez!

"Man, did you see his head?"

"Yeah, I bet you he was drunk or something."

"He's probably going to get kicked off the team."

"Did you see that he passed back out? How high was he?"

"You don't know that's what it was. He could be sick."

"Yeah, right!"

The conversations all sounded the same and they were pissing me off. They didn't know what they were talking about. Ocean didn't smell like alcohol so I could tell that he hadn't been drinking and he didn't look like he was high.

He just looked tired and sick. Didn't they notice? Couldn't they tell? All they had to do was look at him.

Maybe I only noticed because I had been watching him since last week. I had watched him every day at school and I noticed that he was getting weaker and weaker as time went on. I honestly couldn't believe that the coach had let him compete. It was amazing that he didn't pass out while swimming. It showed how strong he was that he made it through the whole meet.

I watched as Ocean's friends came in last. They probably stayed out there until he was taken outside to the ambulance. They were the only ones that looked worried right now.

"Ben?" I called out to one of them as I walked over. "What hospital are they taking him to?" I hoped they would know. I didn't know the area but I could use the map app on my phone to find it. "I want to go check on him."

"Kai, I can't believe what you did." Ryan looked to be in a state of awe as he stared at me.

"I just did what anyone would have done." I shrugged it off in hopes they would just answer my question.

"But if you hadn't stayed out there then he would have died. How did you know something was wrong? Why didn't you come with us back to the locker room?"

"None of you noticed how tired he looked? None of you saw that he looked like he was about to fall over with exhaustion?" I saw the looks of dismay that settled over their eyes. They hadn't paid any attention to their friend at all.

"No, I didn't. I didn't look at him that much at all." Ben hung his head in shame.

"Yeah, well, I am going to go check on him. Where is he?"

"They took him to Trinity's. It's the closest hospital to here." Finally I got the information that I needed.

"Thank you. I'll see you all later." I waved and ran out of the locker room as fast as I could.

Whether Ocean wanted to see me or not I had to know if he was OK. It had sounded like Ocean had lost consciousness again before the paramedics had left with him. I had hoped that he would be alright. I had hoped that being in the water, even unconscious, wouldn't have been that hard for him. I had hoped that maybe he was a little more like me.

I rushed out to my car and put the name of the hospital into my phone's GPS. I had it pulled up and it was giving me a turn by turn in less than twenty seconds. I just felt this pull toward him that was telling me to check up on him.

I parked at the back of the lot when I got to the hospital. I knew that I was probably in the wrong part of the hospital and didn't want to inconvenience anyone else. Still, I ran inside and straight to the information desk.

"Can I help you Sir?" The slightly older lady at the desk asked me as soon as I stopped in front of her.

"Yes Ma'am, I am here to check on my friend. His name is Ocean and he was just brought in."

"Hmm, let me check."

She started to check the system to see where he was. It took forever and I was getting impatient but I kept still with my mouth closed. It wasn't her fault after all.

"I see they just took him in through the emergency department. That's down the hall and to the right. The connector is right there. The nurses at the station will be able to help you."

"Thank you." I nodded at her and took off running.

It would be best if I could find out that he was fine. There would be nothing better at this moment.