Sick Day

A YA short story

As promised in my previous post, I’m posting the original prose version of Sick Day, which formed the original basis for the comic. I made a few revisions to bring it more in line with the comic, but for the most part it’s unchanged. This version has never appeared anywhere else, so consider this a world premiere!

Next week I’m planning something a little more experimental—at least for me, since I don’t have as much practice with flash fiction.

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Just sitting upright made Zeke want to puke again. Last time it had poured out like a river from a floodgate. His head ached. Dad had thankfully called him out from school, and since he worked from home, was always just a shout away. Zeke basically had the couch in the den to himself, with a thick blanket and a fluffy pillow and dozens of episodes of MST3K on YouTube to keep him comfy.

Dad brought him a glass of water--the only thing Zeke could keep down. "Let me know if you need anything," he said.

"Will do," Zeke said, and stuck the headphone back into his ear. Dad went back to his office in the next room. Zeke propped his phone on his stomach and watched a robot sing a love song to a turtle.

He supposed he could count this as a mixed blessing. Today was a Friday, and Monday was Labor Day--his stomach had given him a four-day weekend. He had also done his homework already before he started throwing up. That was going to save him some make-up work before Tuesday. He just had to hope that this was just a twenty-four hour bug, and not the kind that was going to keep him laid up the whole time.

The school didn't allow texting during class, but of course that didn't stop anybody. Zeke and his friends were no exception. Every once in a while, a message from Bonnie or Lucius would pop in wishing him well, providing him updates on the school day he was missing. So far he hadn't missed much. One kid got caught with a porn gif on his phone, and another brought birthday cupcakes--Bonnie was saving one for Zeke, not that he could handle it today. First period had passed, and Mr. Fulgur didn't assign homework. But then, he never did over the weekend. Zeke was more concerned with what Mrs. Barrett was going to assign for English.

"BTW," Bonnie said in a text, "r u done with that book I lent you?"

Zeke replied that he was. It was a sci-fi novel that Bonnie had read a while back. The two of them were thinking of basing a science project on a scene in the book. Truth was, he'd never cracked the book open. He'd meant to, but other things just kept coming up. The book would still be lying on his nightstand in his room.

"Sweet!" Bonnie texted. "Mind if I pick it up after school? I'll bring over ur makeup work."

"Thanks," Zeke texted back. So he'd still be able to see Bonnie's pretty face later on. They'd been friends all through middle school, and she'd always more or less been treated like one of the guys, so to speak. But lately Zeke found himself thinking about her a lot more, wishing they could hang out together, without Lucius around. And now she was coming to his apartment. She'd never visited by herself before. This day wasn't going to be so bad after all.

So he reclined and watched MST3K episodes and sipped his water and waited for his lovely friend to arrive.

Eventually he did have to get up. He couldn't exactly take a whiz from here on the couch. He had to take it slow and walk hunched over. It felt like the slightest false move would make his stomach give him an uppercut from the inside. But he managed to get in and out of the bathroom without trouble. So far so good. Zeke figured if he could get through that experience okay, he could stand to go grab that book so it'd be ready when Bonnie came to get it.

He entered his room and dropped himself into his bed to keep his stomach happy, and scanned the room from there. Where did he even put that book?

There. On top of the desk in the corner, lying on its side. It had a Starbucks cup on top of it. His stomach lurched, and not from sickness. He must have set the cup there without thinking. It must have been weeks ago. Now the seams of that cup were lined with brown stains. Old coffee gunk had leaked out. But surely Bonnie wouldn't mind a slight—no, what was he thinking, of course she'd mind!

He inched himself off his bed and crept toward the bookshelf. When he looked at the book, he found not only stains of brown, but splotches of fuzzy green. Mold and old coffee had spread to the edge of the book. Pages crumpled in the moisture. The book was ruined.

Maybe it was the smell of the moldy coffee. Maybe it was the disgust he'd definitely see in Bonnie's face when she saw it. Or maybe it was being vertical too long. Or all of the above.

But he vomited.

Not as much as last time, but enough to completely smother this book and the mug and the top of the bookshelf. All he could smell now was stomach acid.

Now he could count himself lucky if Bonnie would even speak to him, much less do a science project with him. This was a new book, which she'd bought with her own money! How could Zeke let this happen? They'd have to have Lucius around everywhere they went!

"DAD."

His dad ran into the room, saw Zeke standing over the desk, and saw the mess. "Oh dear."

"Bonnie wanted her book back." Puke was clinging to Zeke's chin. "But there was a coffee cup... and..."

"All right, all right." Dad patted Zeke's shoulders. "I'll take care of it."

Zeke staggered to the door. "But the book..."

"I said I'll take care of it." Dad slipped around him to grab a towel from the bathroom. "Go and lie down."

Zeke made it to the couch and buried himself under the comforter. Not that he could get much comfort. Bonnie would never forgive him for this. How could he ever make it up to her?

Maybe...

He opened Amazon on his phone and searched the title of the book. Standard price was about $17. Amazon had it on discount, but he needed it today, not two days from now. Surely someone in town had it.

Dad brought a filthy towel and a filthy book and a moldy coffee cup through the living room. He tossed the cup in the trash and the towel through the kitchen into the laundry room. "What do you want me to do with the book? You said it was Bonnie's?"

"Uh huh." Zeke pulled his blanket up further. "Just throw it out. I can't give it back like that."

Dad gritted his teeth. "Too bad. Was it a good book?"

"Wouldn't know. Never read it."

Zeke heard the book land inside the trash bag. When his dad headed back to the office, Zeke said, "Hey, Dad. Can you do me a big solid? Could you maybe buy another copy of that book?"

Dad stopped at the door to his office. "I don't know. Books like that cost money."

"Please? You can take it out of my allowance. I just have to make it up to Bonnie."

"You're not asking me to help cover this up, are you?"

"No. I dunno. But I looked it up. It's only about seventeen dollars." Zeke passed the phone to Dad with the Amazon listing up.

Dad scrolled through it. "You need it today?"

"Now."

Dad sighed and handed the phone back. "I'll call and see if any of the bookstores have it in stock. I can go out during my lunch break."

"Thank you."

Zeke watched more MST3K and waited. Dad usually took his lunch break right at noon, which gave him plenty of time before school got out.

Another message came in from Bonnie. "Can't wait to see you."

"Me either," he wrote back. For a moment he considered whether he should tell her about the book--the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. She knew he was sick; surely she'd understand if an accident happened. But she'd also trusted him with that book, hoped to build something out of it. He needed her to see he did care, that he took it seriously, even if he never did get around to reading it. And it was really hard to be serious on SMS.

On the other hand, if he could replace it completely, she never had to know anything was wrong.

At noon, right on schedule, Dad emerged from his office. "Okay, they've got it at the Barnes and Noble out at Burr Place. It's a half-hour drive to get there, so I'll be out a while. Think you can hold the fort while I'm gone?"

"I will not move from this spot," Zeke said.

Dad tied up the garbage bag and carried it to the front door. "Need anything else?"

"Ginger ale?"

"You got it," Dad said. "Have you told Bonnie what happened?"

"No, nothing."

"You should. It's good that you want to replace that book, but I don't think she'd like you hiding the truth from her."

Zeke didn't say anything.

"Just offering some fatherly advice," Dad said. "Call me if you need anything."

"Bye, Dad."

"Bye, Zeke." Dad went out the door, and Zeke listened to the lock turn. He took a sip of water, lay back, and turned on another episode of MST3K.

Despite the book situation, he wished Bonnie were already here.

Dad returned during the third host segment holding a case of ginger ale in one hand and a Barnes and Noble bag in the other. "Here it is. And that's your allowance for the next two weeks."

"Thanks, Dad, you're a lifesaver." Zeke stuck his hand out from under the blanket. "Here, let me see."

Dad passed along the bag. Zeke dug the book out, and looked at the red and black cover.

The book Bonnie had loaned her was blue. "Oh no..."

"Don't tell me," Dad said. "It's the wrong book?"

"No, it's the right book." Zeke let his arm, with the book still in his hand, fall to the floor. "But it's the wrong cover. She'll know it's different." There was no way to hide what happened anymore. He had no choice but to tell Bonnie when she arrived.

"It was the only copy they had, and you wanted it today." Dad stood over him with arms crossed. "I think she'll understand."

Zeke could only hope Dad was right. "Thanks, Dad."

Dad returned to work. The only person Zeke could blame for this was himself. If he'd thrown away the coffee instead of setting it on top of the book... If he'd actually read the book instead of leaving it untouched... If he'd even picked it up after bringing it home...

Bonnie wouldn't get that mad, would she?

She texted him when school let out to tell him she was on her way. John sat up to respond, and found that doing so didn't make him want to throw up. He was recovering. He might have a weekend after all.

She knocked on the door, and Dad let her in. Her hair ran loose and smooth over her shoulders. "Hey, Zeke." She adjusted the strap on her backpack. "How you holding up?"

"A little better." Zeke took a sip of ginger ale. "I think it's just a twenty-four hour bug. I might actually be okay by tomorrow."

"That's great. Here, I've got your homework assignments." Bonnie opened up her backpack. "Not that much, just a worksheet in Algebra, and Mrs. Barrett has a poem she wants us to read." She pulled out two papers and laid them on the coffee table. "And you said you were done with my book?"

Dad stood by the door to his office.

"Y-yeah," Zeke said. He reached behind him and took the book from the end table. "Here you go." He saw the quizzical look on her face, and felt his stomach clench up again. He'd hoped to put it off a little longer. "I threw up on the one you lent me, so me and my dad bought you a new one. I'm really, really sorry."

"Oh no," she said. "I didn't realize you were that sick. What'd you do with the other one?"

"Threw it out. Dad already took it to the dumpster."

"Well. Thanks for replacing it. I actually like this cover a little better."

Zeke was relieved to know he'd done something right.

Bonnie said, "What'd you think?"

"Think of what?"

"You know. The book."

"The book?" With everything that had happened, Zeke had kind of forgotten. "It was... um... you see..."

"You never read it."

He dropped onto his back. "I never got around to it."

Something in the way she sighed and shook her head suggested she wasn't exactly surprised. "Well... did you at least flip through it?"

Zeke shook his head.

"So you didn't find the note I--" She covered her mouth.

Zeke raised his head. "What note?"

"Nothing. Just--It's just a little thing I scribbled down." Bonnie stood up and lifted her backpack. "Don't worry about it."

"What did it say?"

"It didn't say anything." Bonnie's brows furrowed, and patches of red appeared on her face. "Look, my mom's out in the car, so I better get going. Text me or Lucius if you're free this weekend. He was talking about going to a movie. Just let us know, okay?"

And she ran out of the apartment in a real hurry.

Dad hadn't moved from the office door.

"What was that about?" Zeke said.

"I guess you're not the only one with something to hide," Dad said with a smirk. "Didn't I always say reading's good for you?" And he went back to finish his shift.

Bonus: Here are the two covers for Bonnie’s book: