by C. L. Stone
She turned pale. “Why would I do that?”
“Just trust me,” he said. “He’ll start to say a lot of things, and it’ll sound really scary. He may even threaten your job and reputation. Stand there and take it, but don’t give in. Tell them there’s nothing to look at. We’ll be nearby, so don’t worry. Make him believe you have investigated every detail, and that part of your jobs is done, and that you should go back to your regular duties. That’s the goal. No matter what is said, just stand your ground. Understood?”
She nodded, standing upright, her shoulders back. “I used to teach the drama students, until they canceled the classes due to budget cuts. I can do this.”
“Excellent,” he said. “Don’t tell him I was here guiding you in any way. Please don’t mention Miss Sorenson here, or Dr. Green or Mr. Blackbourne. I need you to focus only on him, no matter who he tries to throw under the bus. Mr. Blackbourne will stand by and interrupt if things get to be too heated.”
Even through the fuzz in my brain, something stuck out: The mayor knew my name?
“I should do this now?”
“Absolutely.”
At that moment, there was a small knock at the door. Kota opened it and peeked in, his eyes growing wide when he saw all of us here. He seemed genuinely surprised. “Mr. Blackbourne...” he said with a careful tone.
“Everything’s okay,” Mr. Blackbourne said, his tone steady and strong, without the sharpness from before. “Or it will be.”
“You need to leave,” Dr. Green said to me.
Ms. Wright and the mayor parted to give me room. I slipped from the cot and with Dr. Green’s hand on my arm, steadying me, headed for the door as quietly as I could. I was embarrassed to be sick, and worried that I’d caused this.
“Get better,” Mayor Hertz said. “Don’t worry. We’ve got it from here.”
He made it sound like I’d been in the know about it all the whole time.
Had I just been a puppet for the last week or two? Was this something they’d planned? How could they have predicted I’d get sick? Or that Ms. Wright would react the way she had? And what had he meant about me being on special assignment. And on loan. From where?
Kota opened the door so Dr. Green could help me out. The three of us went out into the hall and the door to the office closed behind us.
“What’s going on?” Kota asked in a hushed tone.
“I’ll explain later,” Dr. Green said. “Last straw was thrown for Mr. Blackbourne, and luckily Mr. Hertz was here. Plan’s been changed. Just get her home. Give her something for her fever, and I’ll be by later today to swab and test for strep.”
Kota sighed and took my elbow. “I’ve got her. Go do what you need to do.”
Dr. Green released me, but I wasn’t able to turn back to look at him as Kota escorted me. I only hoped he would be okay.
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
The drive home seemed to take forever, especially as I sat upright the entire time, forcing myself to stay awake. I swallowed a lot, testing my throat, finding it to still be tight and swollen. I was worried Dr. Green might be right about the strep throat.
When we got to Sunnyvale, I breathed a great big sigh of relief. I was surprised Kota didn’t bug me for details on what happened, but he seemed to be completely focused on the road.
He pulled the car into his own drive. I thought he’d walk me across the street to Nathan’s house, but instead, he helped me out of the car and guided me to his house and up to his bedroom.
“Hold on,” he said, leaving me by the door. He shrugged out of the faux school uniform jacket, dropping it on the window seat, and then went to the freshly-made bed, ripped away the blanket and sheet and then came back for me, guiding me to it.
I sat, and without me asking, he bent down, taking off my shoes. “You don’t want to sleep in the skirt, do you?” he asked.
I shook my head. I really meant that I didn’t care, but I my energy was zapped. My throat hurt and I was shivering.
Kota went to the closet, pulling out a fresh pair of pajama pants.
I closed my eyes, listening to him shuffle in his closet. When his footsteps sounded like he was coming back, I opened my eyes again.
He had a T-shirt and the pants. He dropped the shirt on the bed, and brought the pants over and put my feet into the legs. “Pull them up and then take the skirt off,” he said. He stood and turned toward the bathroom. “You’re on your own for the shirt. I’ll get you some medicine.”
I wanted to thank him for being sweet and helping, but my muscles could only focus on one task at a time. I managed to stand up, slip the skirt away and pull up the pants. I removed my bra and blouse, replacing it with the shirt, and then finally collapsed into the bed. I thought for a moment about the bra on the floor, but couldn’t bring myself to sit up and move it.
Kota came back with a small cup of water and three pills. “Two of these are fever reducers,” he said. “The other will put you to sleep and ease nausea, if you have any. It’s a just in case; mostly I just want you to sleep.”
With Kota’s hand on my back, helping, I sat up, eager to take something to help make me feel better. I took pills even though swallowing them was painful. I took in more water behind them to make sure they got down my throat.
Kota took the cup from me when I was done and then reached out, brushing his cool fingertips across my forehead. “I wish I could stay,” he said. “I don’t want to leave you alone. I should get back, though.”
“I’ll be fine,” I managed in a whisper. I settled back on the bed, closing my eyes. I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “Send Max. He’ll watch out for me.”
Kota chuckled. “He won’t be much help if you need medicine, or if your fever gets any higher. In fact...” I felt the bed move as he disappeared and made noise in the bathroom. Then he was back, the mattress dipping as he sat down. “I should track it myself. Open up.”
I opened my eyes to see him holding the thermometer near my mouth. His was the old sort, the mercury type with the red line. I wanted to tell him that the nurse had done it, and yet I opened my mouth anyway.
He placed it under my tongue gently and then smiled at me, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. He checked his watch, tracking my pulse. I had the feeling he was giving himself an excuse to stay—delaying going back to school.
“I’ll be fine,” I mumbled against the thermometer. “You should go back for Mr. Blackbourne.” I was worried about him and Dr. Green and the others, including Ms. Wright now.
“You’re sick. It’s okay to say you’re not fine.” He retrieved the thermometer and checked it. “One-oh-three, or four, maybe?” He frowned, concern reflecting in his eyes. He touched the corner of his glasses. “I’m going to get you some more water or maybe some juice. Do you want anything to read? Or your DS thing?”
I just wanted sleep, but I nodded, meaning the water just to have it close. My throat felt funny and enough water might help it.
I stared at the ceiling, not sleeping, just in a daze.
Kota returned with the 3DS and water. He placed them both on the side table, and then rolled his computer chair away from his desk, toward the window seat.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice sounding slurred even to my own ears.
“I’ll just wait here for a little while,” he said.
I felt like I should argue, but I couldn’t formulate anything. Talking became difficult, and I was hot, uncomfortable. I didn’t really care if he stayed, did I?
I rolled onto my side, facing the wall. The movement caused the shirt to bunch all the way up above my stomach and the legs of the pants were up above my knees. I wanted shorts and...actually I wanted to wear nothing. My skin was roasting and sensitive.
When I cooled, I slept. When I got too cold, I woke up and covered up. When that got too hot, I kicked off the covers and started the process over.
After a while of this, a door downstairs opened and I forced my eyes open, surprised. Kot
a raced to the top of the steps and stopped, looking back at me.
Was it his mother? She’d for sure wonder why I was here and not at my own house and why he wasn’t at school. Kota should have brought me to Nathan’s.
“Kota?” North’s voice boomed. “You here?”
“Up here,” he said, his shoulders dropping and his fists unclenching in relief. “Thought you were my mom. I was getting ready to talk to explain why Sang was…What’s wrong?”
Footsteps sounded on the stairs and then Luke appeared first, followed by North.
Luke looked terrible: pale with droopy eyes. He saw me in the bed, and headed toward it, taking off his shirt.
“Sang...” he moaned.
Oh no, he looked like I felt; he was sick, too. I reached out for him, and then reconsidered and scooted over on the bed to give him room.
He started to take off his pants when North started barking at him. “You can’t get in there naked.”
Luke froze with his pants hanging at his hips and unbuttoned.
“Get some pajama pants or something,” North said. “For fuck’s sake, think. I know you’re sick, but you can’t just lay around naked. And you should start wearing underwear.”
Luke turned and moved away from the bed. I hadn’t noticed, but I guessed North saw before Luke could completely drop his pants. Luke got some pajama pants and went into the bathroom to change.
“So, Luke, too, huh?” Kota said, shaking his head, and scratching at the side of his neck. “So it probably is the flu. Or strep.”
“We all had shots, didn’t we?”
“I had a flu shot,” Kota said.
“So did I,” North said. He put a palm toward his eye and held it there. “But I didn’t think of Sang. Shit.”
“We’ll probably get it now, anyway. You know how it goes. It doesn’t seem to matter if we get shots, someone gets the odd strain, or strep, and we all end up sick anyway.” Kota sighed. “Do you want first shift?”
North grunted something that sounded like a yes. Kota nodded and retrieved his coat.
“Your book bag’s in the back of the Jeep,” North said to Kota. “You want to take it and leave your car?”
Kota checked for his keys. “Sure, I’ll take the Jeep. Just use my car if one of them needs the hospital.”
“They won’t need a hospital,” North said. He moved Kota’s chair out of the way, choosing instead to sit on the window seat. He leaned his back to the side wall and rolled his head back. “I’ll watch them.”
Kota came to the bed, and he brushed a few strands of hair away from my forehead. He kissed my brow. “Get better,” he said. “Seems like everything’s about to change.”
I opened my mouth, trying to formulate a question to ask what he meant, when Luke came out of the bathroom. He dragged his feet across the floor, making a shuffling noise. He nudged Kota out of the way, and flopped down on the bed next to me, making me bounce on the mattress.
I groaned.
“Sang,” he said, his voice sounding small and gravelly. He reached for me, touching the material of Kota’s shirt on my body.
I wanted to hug him but I was hot and his skin was super warm. Had he sat through classes trying to fight it off? I stretched my arms out, pouting in sympathy and touched his arm and chest with my hands, trying to be comforting while keeping our bodies apart so we weren’t boiling.
He seemed to understand this and pouted too. “I don’t like sick,” he said in a sad tone. “Make it stop.”
Kota sighed and looked over at North. “Should they be together like this?”
North shrugged. “They probably have the same thing. I don’t know.”
“Hm,” Kota said, looking at us.
“Don’t make me move,” Luke said. He had his eyes closed. “Kota...it’s too hot. Turn on a fan? Or blow air on me? Use your hands, though, not your mouth.”
“Don’t be gross,” North said. He sighed and shook his head, then looked at Kota. “I’ll look after them. You go on. See what you can do.”
“I’ll be back later I guess.” Kota walked down the steps and moments later, I heard his car rumbling and rolling away.
It was quiet for a long moment and I tried to sleep.
Luke slept. Eventually, I dozed off, too, but not for long and then I spent a lot of time staring and feeling miserable—hot and cold, sensitive, achy.
When I lifted my head to check on North, he was staring out the big window, distracted. He had on his black T-shirt and gray pants, along with his black boots. He looked tired as he glared out the window, possibly keeping watch.
“North?” I called softly. Then I coughed, my throat tight and raw, worse than before.
North turned his head, an eyebrow raising. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Do you need something?”
I wanted something to help my throat. It was scratchy and hurt. “Marshmallows?” I asked.
He frowned, rolled his eyes and looked back out the window. “You don’t need junk right now.”
“My throat hurts,” I said.
Luke rolled over onto his stomach and stole most of the pillow. “My throat hurts, too. And my stomach.”
“Can I have some marshmallows?” I asked. “Please?” When I was younger and I got a sore throat, I used to eat a couple of marshmallows. I think initially it was because they were soft and could slide down my throat, but they helped to soothe my sore throat as well, as good as cough drops.
North grunted but got up, disappearing down the stairs.
He was gone for a long while and I wondered if there weren’t any marshmallows in the house.
Luke fell asleep again. I was quiet, wondering why I couldn’t sleep and wishing I could, because I thought if I could just get to sleep, maybe I wouldn’t care about being too hot or cold. Feeling miserable like this was the worst. I would rather have been at school, even sitting in new classes.
North returned, but instead of marshmallows, he had two mugs. Steam drifted from the tops.
He nudged Luke, who flipped over and looked at the mugs. “Hot chocolate?” he asked, his eyes hopeful. “With marshmallows?”
“Green tea,” North said. “And because I know you won’t drink it without anything sweet, I added a little honey.” He sat on the edge of the bed, putting the tray in his lap to stabilize it. “Sit up and drink some.”
The smell was drifting to me, but it was bitter and nothing I was used to. I wrinkled my nose.
“Ugh,” Luke said.
“It’s good for you,” North said.
Luke sat up, and took the mug. He brought it toward his face, but held it toward his nose, breathing in the vapors.
I sat up, too, taking the second mug. There was a light green liquid inside, with a smidgen of honey drizzle along the inside lip where it hadn’t been stirred all the way. I swirled the tea, trying to stir in all of that honey, hoping it would prove to help the taste. It still smelled bitter.
The mug got too hot in my hands, so I balanced it on the blanket so as not to burn my fingers. I did like Luke, bringing it to my face and breathing in slowly.
Luke took sips of his and his lips twisted as he winced. “I think I’d rather have hot chocolate.”
“You can have this or water. Chocolate’s not going to help your throat.” North got up, put the tray on Kota’s computer desk, and then went for the bathroom. “He might have some throat stuff in here. Did he give you anything, Sang?”
“Fever reducer and something for...not throwing up,” I said, although weakly.
“Huh,” he said. He kept the door open while he perused the medicine cabinet.
Luke leaned into me and whispered. “If you don’t like it, I’ll ask him to get us another blanket from downstairs and I’ll dump out the tea.”
I felt bad for wasting what North had prepared for us, but I really didn’t want to drink something so hot, and I wasn’t in the mood to experiment.
North brought Luke some medicine and Luke took it and then did ask for an
other blanket. When North disappeared downstairs, Luke jumped up and dumped out most of his and half of mine down the bathroom sink.
He brought our mugs back quietly and whispered. “Pretend to sip it occasionally. He’ll never believe we drank it all.”
I smiled weakly, unable to admit that I was grateful. I never would have thought of that.
I went ahead and placed mine on the side table. Luke arranged himself so he was lying down again and I relaxed, too, listening to him breathe.
SUGAR CURE
I nodded off, and didn’t wake up until later in the afternoon. My eyes fluttered open, noticing the shadows in the room had shifted. In that moment, I felt fine. Maybe the medicine had worked. Maybe it was just a bug.
I heard footsteps downstairs, but when I turned my head toward the window, I saw North in the window seat, his head bowed, his eyes closed.
“North,” I rasped, my throat thick. I whispered again for him.
He sat upright quickly, blinked and looked around, finding me looking at him. “What?”
“Someone’s downstairs,” I said.
He moved to put his feet on the floor when Kota’s door opened. “Shit,” he said. “Not him, too.”
Luke rolled over, his shoulder in the way of my view now. I had to lean on him to sit up.
“Ugh,” Luke said, but didn’t move.
Gabriel was in the doorway. His hair was all over the place and he was missing his shirt already. He stumbled toward the bed, wide-eyed and pouting. “I feel like shit.”
North went to the top of the stairs. “Kota,” he called down. “Don’t trip picking up after him. He shouldn’t have done that.”
“He’s sick,” Kota said, appearing at the top with a collection of clothes and Gabriel’s shoes in his arms.
“Sick, not stupid,” North said, shaking his head.
Gabriel removed his pants right there, but he was wearing boxer shorts. “Luke, move over, won’t you?”
Luke rolled closer to me, pushing me against the wall. “There,” he said.
“No, I want to be beside Sang.”
“I’m sick,” Luke cried. “I can’t move.”
