Cold Morning

For as long as I could remember, as long as I’d been in school I’d wanted to get sick so that I could stay home and watch tv and play video games. And as my luck would have it, I always seemed to get sick on the weekends. The only time I didn’t want to get sick and miss school was when we were going to have a recess all day. Finally, a school day I could enjoy!
When the day arrived I had wanted to get up especially early, but I loved sleep too much to do that, so I woke up later than usual and went through my normal routine. Here it is in fast forward.
After I had run around in circles screaming that the sun was gone and we were all doomed, and after my mother had come in to remind me that I had eyes and a brain, and I should try and use them more, I ate my Sugar-O’s and Adrenaline drink in silence only to be reminded that the bus was again leaving without me. I completed my quarter-mile sprint and I got on the bus where I greeted my friend Harry, and fainted. Massive amounts of sugar, and that sprint really put a lot of stress on me. I once again woke in the nurse’s office, who I’ll remind you I am afraid of because she likes to give people shots, but I digress. I woke up and quickly tried to leave before she saw me.
“Oh good, Shane you’re awake.” She said. Darn, I thought, so close.
“You weren’t thinking of leaving were you?”
“Actually, I have to get to class.” I said while rubbing my nose. Normally I hated class, but I was a little sick today and she would send me home in a heartbeat if she thought I was contagious.
“How long have you had that cold?” she asked. I scolded myself for not being able to restrain myself.
“What cold?” I replied quickly, inching toward the door, I wasn’t going to miss all day recess.
“Come here, let me take your temperature to make sure it is just a cold. How long has it been since you had your influenza shot?”
“Oh that thing, I got a shot in it last month.” I said quickly lying.
“Do you know what influenza is?” she asked.
“Yeah, its an organ you don’t use near your stomach, duh.”
“Shane, that is your appendix.”
“Why are you making up words?” I said, trying to put her on the defense, I just wanted out.
“Shane, I’m afraid if you don’t let me check you for the flu, I’m going to have to send you home.”
I was stuck. I could let her take my temperature and if I was okay, I could stay. If I had the flu (how did she go from talking about my influenza to the flu?), she’d send me home and I’d miss out on the best day of school ever. I cursed my fainting, and then thought deeply and long about my decision.
Half a second after she had asked the question I bolted for the door, made it out and was sprinting down the hall. That energy drink was kicking in. I cackled as I ran down the hallway, amazed at my own brilliance. I’d turn the whole day into hide and seek.
I made it to my classroom where I sat down to see my teacher on the phone. He nodded a couple of times and said a few words, I wasn’t really paying attention because I was still marveling at my genius.
He hung up the phone as I leaned over to talk to Harry. “Shane, do you have something you’d like to tell me?” asked Mr. Dalton, my first period teacher.
“Is this a quiz?” I asked, sweat breaking out on my skin at the mere thought. We were supposed to have recess.
“No, but you are here-”He looked at the clock, “fourty minutes sooner than usual.”
“Well, I just, it’s just that, I was eager to make it to your class because I actually want to learn today?” I said, hoping he’d believe me.
“Oh so while your fellow students are out all day at recess you’d like to stay here and learn.”
“Well, no. I mean, there’s always tomorrow for learning,” Fat chance, I thought, “I mean if we’re going to have recess all day might as well let me go too.” At that moment the worst possible thing happened, I sneezed. Mr. Dalton raised his eyebrow as the nurse came walking in.
“Shane, if you’re sick with the flu, you need to be sent home so the rest of the students don’t get sick also.” I was ashamed. I didn’t like Mr. Dalton, but I thought he’d have been more understanding that I wanted to play at recess all day. But luckily I knew my fellow students would understand and back me up.
I stood up, “We’ll leave it up to my classmates then, they understand how important recess is. Anyone who thinks I should stay, stand up.” I said.
“Before you do, realize that if Shane doesn’t go home, IF he has the flu, then we will all be staying inside doing math homework.”
Even Harry didn’t stand up. “Fine.” I said. The nurse headed over to me holding out a thermometer to check my temperature.
“Shane, you’re burning up. You need to go home.” She said. I did the only thing a man would do trapped in such a corner. I jumped up on Harry’s desk (accidentally standing on one of his fingers) jumped off and sprinted out the door. I’d barely made it a hundred yards before the room got dizzy and I fell over. I woke up on the nurses cot to the sound of my mother’s voice.
“Shane, wake up. I’m taking you home.”
“But I wanted all day recess.” I said.
She nodded knowingly and took me home.
On the trip home I normally imagined we were in a space ship in space and the yellow lines on the road were light beams we were passing by at light speed, but today they made me dizzy; so instead I turned on the radio and imagined I was a rockstar banging my head up and down. That made me even more sick. “Shane, if you throw up in my car I’ll ground you for so long you’ll be an old man when you go back to school!” mom said. When we got home my mom tried to give me some medicine. I decided, like with everything else, to be a man about it.
“Shane! GET DOWN OFF THE TABLE AND TAKE YOUR MEDICINE!”
“No, that stuff’s gross!” I argued.
“This isn’t up for argument!” she yelled. I don’t quite remember how, but she somehow got behind me and had me pinned. She wouldn’t let go until I had taken the medicine.
“Yuck!” I yelled, “That stuff’s gross.” I hated being sick. I never wanted to be sick again for as long as I lived. Over the next several days I had to recover I watched tv and played video games. The next week I was to go back to school.
“Shane time to wake up!” my mother said from downstairs.
“I’m still sick!” I yelled back. My mother walked into the room and pulled me out of the bed. Her strength scared me, but I’d never let her know that.
“Mom, sometimes you scare me with how strong you are.” Oops, that wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Get Ready.” She said.
The normal routine followed from that point on (minus the morning herald and the circles, and my having to be told to open my eyes). And I made it to school.
After I had left the nurses office, I went outside and started playing. I was supposed to be in first period, but I wanted my all day recess. I figured Mr. Dalton and the nurse owed me for sending me home that day. Mr. Dalton came out after class was over holding a grocery bag. I was on the swings and started going really high.
“Hi-”
“Mr-”
“Dalton!” I said as I made a pass by him each time on the swing. I decided to show him how skilled I was and do my quadruple spinning triple flipping backside front flip off the swing. The trick however went quite differently and ended with me and my face in the dirt. Mr. Dalton, after making sure I was okay, handed me the bag.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“That’s the homework you missed last week and today.” He said.
I wish I was sick again.