The Transfer Student

Chapter 32: Definitely Not the Hiccups

"A week?!" I cried out in anguish before I could slap a hand over my mouth.

I held my breath for a few moments. Liz sure was a deep sleeper.

I turned my eyes back on the screen, "Two weeks tops?!" I hissed.

I rubbed my face with my hand tiredly. There was no way that I could keep my hickeys hidden for that long. Someone other than Liz was bound to find out soon and I would be a goner. I patted my cheeks and hardened my expression. I wouldn't let this get to me so easily. I scrolled down and noticed several entries on how to remove hickeys. I grabbed a piece of paper from the printer and a pen and began to scrawl the several remedies. Twenty minutes later, I had myself a list of ways to get rid of a hickey.

I read the first one on the list, "Makeup".

I snorted. As if I had any of that...if I really needed it, I'd have to get it from someone like Sakura or Ino and doing that was sure going to bring up a few unwanted questions. I put a question mark next to that one. I decided it was going to be a last resort.

"Lipstick tube" I read quietly.

Take the cap off of a tube of lipstick, place over the hickey and twist. Will cause the skin to redden but effects do not last for more than an hour. The suggestion had a few pretty good ratings but unfortunately, I didn't have lipstick either. At least it'd be easier to borrow than cover up.

"Next" I sighed.

Coat area of hickey with lotion. Rub with the back of a cold spoon vigorously for as long as you can. Change out spoon for a new, cold one every ten minutes. Recommended time for this treatment is forty-five to sixty minutes. Finally, a remedy that I can actually use without needing makeup. I got up and tiptoed into the kitchen. Pulling open a drawer, I took out all of our spoons and placed them in the freezer to speed things up. Next, I found a tube of hand lotion to use. Taking a generous glob of lotion, I spread it over my skin where the hickeys were and wiped away some of the excess lotion. A few minutes later, I grabbed a spoon from the freezer and pressed the extremely cold metal to my skin with a barely suppressed gasp of surprise. I began to rub in soothing circles, making sure to stay within the area of the lotion. After a while, the spoon warmed in my hands and I checked the clock.

I sighed, "At least forty minutes to go" and I stood up to get another spoon.

I jolted awake as my head slid forward again and the cold spoon hit my face.

"Crap!" I hissed as I tried to shake my drowsiness away and replaced the spoon on my neck.

I checked the clock for the tenth time in the last hour and my impatience got the better of me. I leaped out of my seat and raced for the bathroom. Wiping away the lotion with a tissue, I could immediately see the effects of the treatment. There were hardly any. But I was going to stay hopeful, it looked a shade lighter than before...maybe, just maybe. I threw my head back, frustrated as I screamed silently. I washed my face and plopped back into my seat in front of my laptop.

"Next" I croaked, I was out of clean spoons anyways.

Scrolling quickly past the unhelpful suggestions, I came by an interesting one.

"Toothpaste?" I said out loud in a small voice.

Rub white toothpaste over the hickey, then allow it to dry, and later, wipe it off with a warm facecloth. After a few applications, the hickey will be faded.

I nodded as I read and before I knew it, I was already back in the washroom fumbling with the cap of our toothpaste tube. As soon as I managed to get the ridiculously small cap off, I put a blob on my finger and slapped it to my neck, rubbing like a madman. I had to force myself to calm down and let the toothpaste dry. I paced around impatiently in the bathroom, unusually twitchy and irritated. As soon as I began to feel the crustiness of the dry toothpaste, I threw my facecloth under the hot water and removed the uncomfortable, scab-like substance on my neck.