The first time I realised just how much I hated headaches was the first time I realised I never had any medical situations worse than the common cold. Spending your entire childhood being free from some of the more 'serious' medical conditions, you figure that that would mean your body is just built in such a way that it is immune to any sort of affliction, including perhaps pain. But you'd be mistaken. As if to balance out this not neccessarily permanent fact of mine, my body instead grew to become more sensitive to any kind of pain that would otherwise be pretty tame for most people. This was particularly true when it came to the internal sorts. Headaches, stomachaches, you name it, I'd been plagued by them for pretty much my entire life. And though it wasn't like they were spiked to a level that would give me a life-disrupting amount of discomfort, it surely did not make things any easier as I dreaded the moments when I could feel these sensations crawling up my skin.
Nonetheless, I had learnt to become more or less at peace with this little disposition of mine, so I managed to find ways throughout the years to reduce the likeliness of myself being affected.
Unfortunately, the changes that had occured to my sleep schedule these past couple of months had really thrown quite the monkey wrench into everything. From the headaches that came from sleeping too little to my eating schedule getting messed up due to staying up too late, things really hadn't been the best for me nowadays. Tonight just so happened to be one of those days where the result of all of these things was finally ready to blow.
You sure you made the right choice earlier before? Hazel's voice came from the usual corner of my room. You really don't have keep it to yourself, you know.
"Nah, I'm good. It's nothing I can't handle with some sleep."
Are you sure? It doesn't look like you're trying to get some shut-eye to me.
"Well yeah. Not now. I still need to do some more work first to clear my head before that."
Hmmm, Hazel's concern reverberated inside my head. Don't push yourself too much, Noel. It's always better to be safe than sorry, remember?
"I know. Don't worry, Hazel. I got this."
Knock-knock-knock. My sister's head peeked in from the now slightly ajar bedroom door, her face a mix of concern and fatigue. "Hey. I know you said earlier that you were okay, but I done and made you some hot tea while I went downstairs. You better drink it while it's still warm, okay." She placed the big tumbler at the foot of my door, and quickly glared at me to go and grab the thing immediately. She didn't need to tell me twice, as I was already on my way to grab the drink before she was even done getting back up.
"You really didn't need to," I said, as the rain outside started picking up even more. Just before I could turn to head back towards my desk, my sister's hand flew towards my forehead, seizing the opportunity that had been presented to her to check for my temperature.
"Umm, are we safe?" I asked.
"For now," my sister replied, pulling her hand away from my face. "Better get some sleep soon. Don't want you getting sick now, do we?"
"No, we do not." I shook my head slightly.
See. I'm not the only one who thinks you should start counting sheeps.
Yeah. Soon. Not now.
"Well, that's all I have to say, I guess," my sister said, her body gesture signifying that she was preparing herself to bid me adieu. "If anything's up, just give me a call alright." She locked eyes with me once more as if to ensure that I had one-hundred percent understood these words of hers. "Once again, I know I've told you this a hundred of times by now, but I feel like you keep on making me have to say this to you. Don't hide things, okay. You don't need to face everything alone, you know. So don't go about saying you're okay while I can clearly see that you're not feeling well. Capiche?" I nodded. "Okay, good."
YOU ARE READING
Sleep Deprived
Novela Juvenil"A rewrite of a story that I had once written, and a story that has continuously been playing in my head ever since." Noel, a tired yet somewhat still trying high schooler, is plagued by a problem that has made it even harder for him to overcome his...
