As I knock on the door, I quickly put my arms back around myself, trying to prevent myself from shivering. Luckily for me, everyone is in the middle of their lessons, so I meet literally no one. Not a single soul.
Once the door opens, the nurse’s face darkens at sight of me. She already means to close it in my face, but I reach out weakly, with a pleading gaze. She stops, checking me from head to toe. As she notices the mud on my boots, she raises her eyebrows, then steps aside to let me in.
“What happened to you?” she asks, but I don’t respond for a long time. I’m too busy trying to prevent my teeth from chattering. Those few yards of walking outside in these low temperatures clearly finished me. I’m sick.
She feels my head, wraps me into a warm blanket, then measures my temperature. A
