Youth Unsupervised

Chapter 18-Bedside Manner

Just when the weather was really starting to turn and winter started to creep up on us, I started to feel a tickle in the back of my throat. My body started to feel sluggish at the end of the day. It was on a particular Sunday in late November, when I was scarcely able to keep my eyes open through one of the overly violent movies Saki decided to sneak us into, that I knew I was in trouble. I hardly ever got sick, so I often forgot how horrible it was until I got sick again.

I was headed up the stairs that night after returning home from the movie theater, when a wave of nausea with an accompanying dizzy spell made me grip the railing to steady myself.

"Crap," I muttered to no one in particular.

I made it to my room and crawled into my bed without bothering to get undressed.

When my alarm went off in the morning, I turned it off and immediately decided school was not a possibility. My whole body felt sore and heavy. I was sweaty as hell and I felt like I was going to vomit at any second, despite my stomach being totally empty. I let my eyes shut again. How pissed was Saki going to be when I didn't turn up?

I only got up a few times that day, usually just to stumble to the bathroom and throw up something fun, like stomach bile or my own toenails, and then go back to bed.

I drifted to that place between asleep and awake when the front door slammed loudly downstairs.

"Kaito, where the hell are you?" Saki yelled.

My eyes opened. She stomped quickly up the stairs. I was going to regret giving her that key. My bedroom door flew open and smacked off the wall. Saki stood in the doorway, her eyes blazing. Well, at least I had answered my question about how mad she was going to be. Very. As if that was any surprise.

"Saki, wait," Hiromasa panted behind her.

She had probably been pissed off enough to run all the way here. Poor Hiromasa. His day had probably been hell.

Saki marched across the room and jumped onto the bed, planting her knees on either side of my waist. She grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled my face up to meet hers.

"Saki," Hiromasa said, pleadingly.

"Where were you?" Saki growled, ignoring Hiromasa completely.

"Sorry," I said, my voice hoarse.

"Saki, please." Hiromasa tried once more. "I keep telling you, he only misses school when he's sick."

She studied my face and her gaze softened a little, then she released my shirt, which sent me into a coughing fit.

"Come on, Hiromasa." She got off the bed and walked out of the room.

"Do you need anything?" he asked with a worried expression.

I shook my head and settled back into bed.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Hiromasa!" Saki yelled from downstairs.

He cringed.

I smiled and waved him off. "You two have fun."

He gave me a final worried look before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. I fell back asleep for what must have been an hour or so and woke up to Saki shaking my shoulder.

"Hey," she said when I opened my eyes.

"Come to finish me off?" I asked wearily.

"Not quite," she said and smiled. "Did you eat anything today?"

The mere mention of food made my stomach turn. I shook my head. She held up a bowl of something steaming.

I turned my head away. "No thanks."