Chapter 9: A Minor Cold

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Hey guys! No long rant today! Stay home, stay alert, stay safe, stay happy! Happy reading! (As of 2024: I actually started this chapter in 2019, intended to publish it in 2020. I refused to change any of what I had written and have simply just added a scene in.)
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Chapter 9
A Minor Cold

)_____________________________________________________Chapter 9A Minor Cold

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The next day, Shyra woke up with a cold. Mentally berating herself, she took a hot shower and dressed herself cozily. Only to realise that it was super early.

She reached school almost an hour before classes started and was surprised to see Madeline, Alessia and Simon.

"You're early." Alessia commented, receiving a sneeze in response. "Okay..."

"S'cuse me." Shyra murmered, Folding her handkerchief. "Good morning." She piped up, her voice missing it normal chirpy tone.

"You not chirping doesn't feel right!" Simon said. "What happened?"

They walked towards the ground as Shyra recounted her little adventure, editing out the entire Jasper part.

"You shouldn't wander too deep into the woods!" Simon said. "There are animals in there!"

It was then that they found Tuney with another girl.

"How much did you pay them for your face though?" The girl asked Tuney. "You know, you should sue. The nose job has done you zero favours."

"Hey you! Aria-Maria whatever your name is, don't you have any business of your own to attend to?" Alessia

"I am not talking to you." The girl rolled her eyes. "And this doesn't concern you.

"But she was talking to you." Madeline sided with her girlfriend. "And when people speak at the volume you were using, it's called making a scene. Consider us spectators."

"Go on, don't be shy of the audience." Alessia prompted mockingly. "You seem well-rehearsed."

The girl gave the couple a glare before walking away without a word, giving Tuney a final look.

"Uh, thank you." Tuney said, looking down at the grass, before walking away herself.

"Wow. I thought you guys resented her." Shyra said.

"We do." Alessia confirmed. "But hello, boundaries. Her nose job was a choice she probably had a reason for and is nobody's business but hers."

"Yeah, and for all it's worth, no matter how annoying she is, she has a moral compass."

"I very much agree about her choice and reasoning being hers alone and am actually quite weirdly proud you guys stood up for her....but what moral compass? She insults everything about everyone."

"If you want to check someone's ethics and moral values, see how they treat those who are considered by the general society to be different or below them." Alessia told Shyra.

"You don't think everyone just accepted a lesbian couple with flowers and rainbows, do you?" Madeline asked.

"Madeline's dad was supportive from day one. And my grandparents." Alessia told her. "I actually stayed with my grandparents for almost two months after I came out because my parents just couldn't digest it."

"My grandmother still prays for me everyday." Madeline said. "Every time we see each other, it's the same question, 'Madeline dear, have you found a nice young man for yourself?'" Quoting the last part in an old woman's voice.

"We came out around the end of freshman year. There were mean jokes, pranks, insults... Even from those who claim to be open minded. And so many of our old so called best friends suddenly felt uncomfortable even being around us because you know, they were girls and we like girls."

"But, say what you will about how greedy and attention seeking Tuney is...she never ever made fun of our homosexuality." Madeline said. "That's not to say that she's an angel. She definitely is a bully and many lists can be made of all that is wrong with her but she drew her line at some point and so have we."

"As messed up a person she is, I don't think I've seen her actually pick at people's real insecurities." Sia added
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The Cullens arrived about 15 minutes before classes started. Shyra resisted the urge to run up to Jasper the second he stepped out of the jeep lest he realise that she had been staring at the gate, waiting for him, like a creep.

She thanked her stars when Jasper waved at her, finally spotting her in the parking lot.

She greeted him with a sneeze, making him look at her with concern.

"I'm okay." *sneeze* "I just have the worst cold on planet earth."

"Should you even be in school? You were soaked yesterday. Are you sure you're not running a fever?" Jasper asked.

"Our dad's a doctor, he could write you a note." Rosalie offered.

"No, I think I should be fine. Thank you for offering" Shyra said. "It's more annoying than anything else, to be honest." A sneeze punctuated her response.

"Well, if you change your mind at any point, the offer stands." Caleb smiled, grabbing his bag from the car and shutting the door, ready to walk to class.

"I'll walk you to Calculus." Edward reached out for her bag, an eyebrow raised in response to the exasperated look he received.

"Thank you." She conceded.

"Are you sure you don't want Carlisle to write you an excuse?" Edward asked warily after her second sneezy fit in five minutes. "That might develop into a headache. Plus, you really shouldn't be overexerting yourself especially in a new environment."

"Carlisle?"

"Oh. Our father. You're avoiding the question."

"I just got here, Edward. I don't want to be taking time off already, I'll be so behind. Besides, it's just a cold. The most it does is make you regret not being thankful when you didn't have one."

Luckily, their arrival to her classroom saved Shyra any conversations.

"Well," she started, reaching for her bag. "Thank you. But if I do feel any worse, I promise I'll not suffer in silence. I'm not the type to."

"Shy!" Jacinda's voice interrupted Edward before he could respond. "I bullied your desk mate into letting us be partners!" She said, waving from beside Shyra's usual seat as of to prove her words.

"Take care of yourself." Edward half-smiled, more focused on Alice's vision featuring a half unconscious, rather sick looking Shyra being tended to by Carlisle.
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It has been a minute since I lasted updated! I have no idea if anyone is in any way still interested in this book. But either way, I plan to update it. At least for a while. This is a chapter I've had half written since 2019.

The bullying scene that I wrote back then had not been changed or edited. Everything after that, I just wrote. I'm not entirely sure how much my writing style has changed over the years but if you do notice major changes...it has been 5 years.

I still remember bits of what I wanted out of this book so I plan to continue without changing anything from the previous chapters.

I would really appreciate a little comment from anyone still around. And yes, the next chapter will be, hopefully, a longer one for all the waiting I might've forced any of you to do.

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