Arachnoblast: I'm Fourteen This is Ridiculous

Chapter 2: Alexa, Play Radioactive By Imagine Dragons

Kelsey ended up snoozing her alarm several times the next morning, yawning and rubbing her eyes as she descended the stairs. Her father was sitting in his usual chair in the living room, reading a book. He was already dressed for the day, his short strawberry blond hair neatly combed, as opposed to Kelsey's wild bedhead as she staggered into the living room in her pajamas.

"Good morning, Kelsey," Justin greeted. "You sleep well?"

Kelsey yawned again. "Not really," she admitted. "I threw up last night and now I feel kinda wonky."

Justin set down his book, his brow furrowed with worry. "Wonky how? Are you sick? Have you got a fever?"

"I don't know," Kelsey replied. "My head just kinda hurts and my mouth tastes gross. My limbs are a little achy, too."

"Hmm. Try to eat something and have some water. Then, if you still feel wonky, maybe you should stay home from school. I can make you some breakfast if you want."

"That's okay, Dad. I'll just make a picky eater-friendly omelet. You keep reading your book and relaxing before you have to go to work."

Kelsey padded into the kitchen, the tiles cold on her bare feet. She grabbed eggs, cheese, and spinach from the fridge and scratched her head as she stirred the ingredients in a bowl. In the process of adding a handful of spinach, Kelsey sucked in a breath, grimacing and pulling her hand away as she touched the small bump on her head, activating the painful stinging it brought. Her entire head began a crescendo of pain as she recalled the events of the night before in a rush. She remembered the spider nightmare she had had, then waking up from that nightmare to find a freakish spider crawling in her hair shortly after throwing up and discovering the bump on her head.

Sweet glory, Kelsey realized. The little mutant bit me! It bit me and now I'm probably gonna die!

As Kelsey panicked, she realized that she hadn't yet let go of the handful of spinach leaves she was holding. She opened her hand to let them drop onto her plate, but only a couple fell. The rest remained stuck to her hand.

"What in tarnation?" Kelsey murmured. She shook her hand rapidly, but the leaves remained stuck. She pinched one leaf in her other hand and managed to pull it off of her sticky hand, but then it wouldn't detach itself from her other hand. She shook both of her hands again to no avail and groaned in frustration.

"Everything alright in there, Kelsey?" Justin asked from the living room.

Kelsey really didn't want to worry her father or force him to stay home from work, so, swallowing her fear and frustration, she took a deep breath. She would just have to work through this on her own. "Yeah, dad, everything's fine. Don't worry about it." As soon as she said this, the spinach leaves fell from Kelsey's hands.

Alright, Kelsey sighed gently. I can do this. I'm resourceful enough. I can handle it. Kelsey poured the bowl into a pan, cooked her omelet to perfection, and sat down to eat. By the time she had finished eating, the fork was sticking to her hand and she was struggling to keep her meal down, resisting her gag reflex with every swallow. Evidently, she was sicker than she had anticipated.

When Justin passed by the doorway of the kitchen to check on his daughter, he caught her gagging. "That's it," he announced. "You're staying home from school. Do you want me to stay with you?"

Kelsey didn't have it in her to argue about staying home, but she wasn't going to be the reason her dad had to skip work. "No, I can just get what I need here on my own. Besides, I don't want you catching what I've got and having to miss extra days." Additionally, Kelsey needed some time alone to figure out what was going on with her. She wouldn't be able to do that with her father doting on her all day.