Falling For The Nerd

Home Again

            The next morning, I woke to Melissa softly calling my name. My head was throbbing and I felt like my skin was on fire. "Morning, sleepy head." Melissa smiled and I smiled back in greeting. She put her palm to my forehead. "You're burning. Look, I've got you some soup for breakfast. You need to have it whether you like it or not." she said as I began to protest. "Remy's left some pills for you to take after breakfast. You should be fine till we get home." I nodded and sat up in bed. This small act caused the world to spin a bit and the pain in my head grew worse for a moment. "Dizzy." I said when Melissa held my arm. She helped me to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth and showered (barely). Melissa had laid out my 'going home' clothes on the bed.
               Melissa faced the wall while I changed. She was on the phone with mom. "He's really ill. He's getting bouts of nausea and gets dizzy if he moves too fast. We're pretty sure it's the flu, but I think we should consult a doctor as soon as we get home." Melissa said and mom said something in reply. "Yeah. You're right. I'll call when we leave, Emily. Sure. Bye, see you soon." Melissa said and ended the call. "You need to eat." Melissa said to me and I sat on the edge of the bed.
It was a mixed vegetable soup. I generally loved this soup, but today it tasted bland. I ate as much as could and pushed the bowl away from me. I could already feel the soup rising up again. Melissa handed me a pill and a glass of water, which I gulped in a hurry. After that, I lay in bed till Melissa showered and changed.
           Melissa came out of the shower wearing a purple tank top and her skinny jeans. She was pulling on a white shirt when someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Melissa called. The reply came in Leo's voice- "Two of the three musketeers coming to check on health of their third comrade."
                I couldn't help but smile and Melissa went to open the door for them. Jake jumped onto the bed and helped me sit up. Leo sat on the other side and said, "Derek. You are an unhealthy shade of pink." "Thanks. That really makes me feel better." I grumbled and Jake punched my shoulder. Hard. "You are so funny!" he grinned. "Dude! Take it easy. We're already transporting him with a label that says 'fragile cargo'." Leo said and gave Jake a high five. "You boys have a weird way of cheering each other up." Melissa said with a doubtful expression. "Ah. This is them being gentle." I said to her and she smiled.
            "So where are your girlfriends?" Jake asked to change the subject. "They should be here now. We go to Remy's place for breakfast in ten minutes." Melissa said, checking her phone. "How do you expect Amber to get ready on time? Have you seen the amount of make up she puts on?" Leo asked with an incredulous face. "It's simple really. She wakes up early." Melissa answered as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.
              Leo and Jake told me how the party didn't last long once I had gone to bed. The rest of them had had dinner and stayed up talking for a while. They wanted to take a group photo, but since I was missing, they had improvised. "We were positive that you would wake up with all the noise we were making, but you were out cold. You slept through Gwen knocking down that lamp over there." Jake said pointing to the lamp beside my bed. "So we figured we could switch the lights on. And we were right." he shrugged. "Check out the picture we clicked." Leo said handing me his phone. The first picture was of them, presumably clicked after they had dinner. Leo swiped the screen. The next picture was taken in my room. I was fast asleep with my mouth slightly open. Melissa, Jake and Leo were surrounding me on the bed. Remy, Amber, Mike and Gwen were sitting on the floor- all of them pulling weird faces and pointing at my face.
I began to laugh and there was a knock at the door. Melissa answered it and sure enough, it was the girls.
              Gwen looked comfortable in a large t-shirt and jeans. Amber, on the other hand, was dressed like a model. Her normally wavy hair was poker straight with a streak of pink. She wore a white top with a pink jacket and skin-tight blue jeans with boots that were as high as her knee. Her brown cat eye sunglasses were perched upon her head like a makeshift head band.
               "What are you all staring at?" Amber said, looking confused. "Nothing. It's just unusual to see you dressed so humbly." Leo answered in an amused tone. Amber threw him a weird look and said, "Aren't we supposed to leave now Liz?" "Yeah. Yeah we should. Mike's already downstairs." Melissa said reading a text that she just received.
              We went downstairs, checked out of the hotel and began to pile our luggage into the car while Mike settled costs with the receptionist. This time, Amber sat in the passenger seat and Jake and Gwen sat at the back so that Leo and Melissa sat with me in the back row. We stopped at Remy's flat for breakfast where everyone feasted on baked beans and sausages and I managed to eat a sausage without throwing up. Then Mike drove us to the airport and Remy followed in a cab.
              At the airport, Remy hugged everyone, me in the end. Remy hugged me and then held my shoulders. "Take care Feilds. I need you to take care of my sister. I'll see you soon." She said. "Yeah. See you Remy." I hugged her once more and then hugged Mike. "See ya!" I called and held Melissa by the waist. She looked up at me and smiled. "How're you feeling now?" Melissa asked me. "Much better. Listen, I love you Lizzie." I whispered to her. "I love you too, D." Melissa said and kissed my cheek. We checked in our luggage and Melissa and I shared a coffee. Once we boarded the flight, I stayed awake long enough to witness the take off. I felt the familiar drop in my stomach as we flew into the air and felt scared that I would vomit again. So I told Melissa to wake me before we landed and fell asleep.
             My dreams were weird. I dreamt of fairytales and weird kaleidoscopes of all the colours of the rainbow. I woke up when Melissa touched my face. "We're about to land now." Melissa said. I sat up and put on my belt. I looked out of the window and I could see small buildings and water bodies. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We shall be landing in a few minutes. Please remain seated. Thank you for flying by Jet." The intercom crackled and fell silent.
              Half an hour later, we had collected our luggage and I was being hugged by mom. "Look at you! You're all warm and you look so pale! Melissa, has he been eating properly!" Mom worried. "Mom. It's okay." I sighed. "No you're not fine, Derek. It's the flu. He's been puking almost everything he's eaten. Thankfully, everything he's eaten since this morning has stayed in his stomach. Maybe the medicine is working." Melissa said as she held my hand. "Well, let's get you home and we can call Dr . Watson. See what he has to say. But did you all enjoy?" Mom asked the rest. There was a chorus of "Yeah" and "Yes!" from the others.
Everyone's parents had come to pick them up, so we all said goodbye and everyone went home.
             During the car ride, I told mom all about how we spent our holiday. When I told her about me and Melissa sharing a room, she was aghast. "Derek Fields! Please tell me you both did not get into any trouble!" Mom said glaring at me. "No mom, we were very well behaved! Watch the road!" I screamed and pulled the steering wheel. We managed to avoid being crushed by a cargo truck. "Geez mom! Watch out!" I said as I buried my face in my palm. "Sorry, sorry. So what else did you do?" Mom asked.
              This time I used tact. I told her about everything except us drinking last night. And that didn't even classify as drinking. At least not for me. You could sell my bottle for a brand new one, that's how little I had. We reached home after a few minutes and I was immediately made to lie down on the couch. "Mom do I have to lie down?" I asked a bit wearily. "Yes. Now rest until Dr.Watson comes over." Mom said and began to talk to someone on the phone.
                I was on the verge of falling asleep when I heard the familiar voice of Dr.Watson. "Well, how are you today, Derek?" He asked me as he sat down on the stool next to the couch. "Ill." I answered and the doctor chuckled. "I know that. I meant, do you feel an different from yesterday?" "Umm, I haven't vomited since today morning." I offered. "Did you have any medication while you were in New York?" He asked. "Yeah. Remy gave me this pill to reduce the nausea." I replied.
              He asked me a few more questions and handed mom a slip of paper. "It's a case of the flu. Common. Give him these pills according to the schedule I've written down and he will be back in his feet in two days." Dr.Watson smiled and I shook his hand. "Thank you doctor." Mom said and she walked him to the door. She came back and dialled the chemist to order my pills. After that, she sat next to me and we watched some TV till it was dinner time.
                I had soup for dinner. Again. "I'm sick of having soup mom." I grumbled. "Well, after your first dose of medicine you can slowly go back to your regular diet." Mom smiled. "So I can have bacon tomorrow?" I said hopefully. "No! Maybe porridge. But I'll get you bacon the day after." Mom promised.
                 After dinner, I borrowed mom's laptop and looked up the courses offered by Chicago University. I wanted to stay close to Melissa, even if it meant giving up an offer from NYU. Mom sat with me and we made a list of all the possibilities I had of entering there. After going through the courses they offered, I had to admit that Melissa was extremely lucky to have gotten a scholarship there. "Mom, I'm sure. I want to go to Chicago." I said. "You're sure you want to give up NYU? It's so much closer to home." Mom said as she rubbed my back soothingly. "Yeah I'm sure. I love you, but I don't want to lose Lizzie. Not now." I said and mom smiled and understanding smile. "Yeah I get it." she said finally. "I think you should go to bed now. We'll apply first thing tomorrow morning, okay? Good night love." Mom kissed my head and I headed to my room to retire for the night.