Assistance Required

Getting Sick

Tues Jan 26

Virgil hated being awake early, but it was even worse now than it was last week. His head was pounding, his throat was sore, and he couldn't breathe through his nose. He hated absolutely everything right now. It sucked.

Virgil wanted nothing more than to stay curled up in bed with a mountain of pillows and blankets and sleep all day, but life had others plans. Instead, he had to get up early and exercise. He groaned as he left the building with Patton and Thomas. Thomas was listening to Patton excitedly relay a dream he had or something. Virgil was only half paying attention.

He had forgotten how busy Tuesdays were until he actually went through them. He started the day running around in an athletic class which wore out his already tired body before he moved on to sitting in geology just trying to stay awake. At least his painting class was interesting. Although they just went over gray scales and talked about the homework assignment. It didn't seem too difficult, he just had to go online and write a 100-word paragraph about three different paintings he liked. He could do that.

He was beat by the time he entered Spanish. Roman was sitting in the room already when he arrived. Virgil groaned as he flopped down next to him and laid his head on the desk.

"Are you okay? You seem a little paler than usual."

"I'm dying," Virgil said his voice a little raspy from his sore throat.

"Oh, you don't sound too good either. Are you sick?" Roman asked reaching a hand out.

"Don't touch me!" Virgil snapped smacking Roman's hand away.

"You sound sick."

"I feel disgusting."

"Do you have another class after this one?" Roman asked. Virgil shook his head. "Why don't we get you a hot tea and you can go lie down in your room for a bit?"

"I have homework," Virgil grumped.

"I know, but you need to take care of yourself. You can do some homework in your room. Then maybe take a nap?"

"I'll be fine."

"You don't sound fine."

"I know I sound gross."

"As long as you're aware of it."

Virgil chuckled a little before turning his attention to the professor who had just walked in. After class, Roman walked with him to the student center and got him a tea before walking him to his room. Roman said he'd talk to the others. Virgil sat down at his desk and stared at his bed. As much as he wanted to lay in bed right now, he had some work he needed to do. He opened his geology textbook and started taking notes while sipping on his tea. He hated reading for school, especially textbooks. It took forever and it made his headache worse. He kept losing focus and having to start the paragraph over.

He sighed and opened his laptop. He started going through the paintings on the website for class. The assignment ended up being a little more difficult than he had originally thought. He couldn't write about the art itself, he had to write about how it was painted. The assignment would probably be easier if he wasn't so tired. Right now he couldn't focus on color schemes and brush strokes too well. He felt his nose dripping and looked around the room for a tissue. He groaned when he didn't find any.

He walked downstairs with his empty cup. He didn't even remember drinking all of it, but apparently he finished it. He went to the bathroom to blow his nose and wash his hands before going downstairs to order another tea and steal a bunch of napkins to keep in his room.

"Virgil!" Patton said as he passed by. "How are you feeling?"

"Gross," Virgil said.

"Yeah? Being sick sucks."

"What are you doing down here? I thought you were going to take a nap!" Roman said.

"No, I was doing homework and I ran out of tea. I also need napkins."

"I can pick up some tissues if you want, Virgil," Logan said.

"Thanks."

Virgil went to get another tea and grab the napkins before heading back to his room. He didn't want to get the others sick too. Plus, his room was nice and quiet and it made him feel more comfortable. He sat down at his desk and tried geology again. It was just reading and taking notes. He could do it.

After what felt like two hours, Virgil checked his phone. It had been thirty minutes. Why was reading so boring? He needed this class. He had to take a lab for his gen-eds. Thomas was lucky, he was a chemistry major. His lab counted towards his major and his gen-eds. But Virgil? No. None of this would go towards an art major. Why was he even doing art as a major? It's not like he actually declared it yet. But what else was he going to do?

He had thought about history at one point in high school after his dad told him art was a joke. It was the reason he took that AP class. History was kind of cool. He thought wars and such were pretty cool and everything, but he couldn't see himself in a museum or teaching a bunch of children about history. It just wasn't his thing. He hated dealing with people. At least with a career in art the communication would only pertain to his art. He didn't think he could handle much more than that.

He yawned before continuing with his reading. He had already run out of tea again, but he was too lazy to walk all the way downstairs for more. He had thought about texting Roman for another one, but he didn't want to make him walk all the way up here just for a stupid tea. It did make his throat feel better though, but he'd survive without it.

His dad would always freak out when Virgil was sick. He'd yell at him to cover his mouth when he coughed or sneezed. His dad also made sure he isolated himself in his room. Virgil kind of felt bad for Logan. He didn't want to get him sick too. He wasn't used to sharing a room with someone. Virgil closed his eyes for a few seconds while he thought. It felt really good to close his eyes. He shook himself a little which made his whole head spin. Gosh it sucked being sick.

He pulled himself back to his reading but his mind kept wondering. His gaze turned to the bed. It looked so inviting but he needed to get his reading done for the lab tomorrow. He let out a small whine which died a little in his throat before pulling himself back to his work.

Virgil woke up to someone shaking his shoulder gently. He didn't remember falling asleep. He slowly peeled his face out of the textbook and turned to find the source. Patton was smiling softly at him.

"What time is it?" Virgil choked out.

"I'm not sure, but we just got back from dinner. I brought you some soup and a water bottle. You need to stay hydrated."

"Oh, thanks," Virgil said.

"Mhm. You're welcome. Make sure you eat before you go back to sleep. And sleep in your bed, not your desk."

"Whatever you say, Dad."

Patton flashed him another smile before leaving the room. Virgil rubbed the sleep from his face before looking over the steaming soup. How Patton managed to walk out with a bowl of soup, he'll never know. He took a sip and melted with the warmth. Almost immediately his nose starting running. (Does this happen to anyone else or am I the only one who gets a runny nose when I eat warm soup?) He opened the water bottle and took a few sips before turning back to the soup. Once he finished the bowl he left it in the corner of his desk and looked over his textbook. He should probably continue his reading but he was tired and his belly was full of warmth. It was hard to care about school when all he wanted was to sleep. He took another sip of water before moving to his bed.

He could get his work done later. Sleep was more important.