Love is a Language

Sick

It must have been from playing outside in the snow so much. Maybe it was making sure that Henry was always toasty warm while neglecting to get himself warm. Whatever the reason, Pierre started to get sick during the first part of January. He did his best to hide the fact that he was ill, which just made the matter even worse. Miss Trelawny finally called him on it when Pierre wouldn't stop coughing in the middle of their morning lessons. She rested the back of her hand on Pierre's forehead for a moment or two before heaving a worried sigh. "Everyone," she said, motioning for Pierre to get out of his chair, "please finish the worksheet we started yesterday while I help Pierre."

"Wait for me!" Henry squeaked in alarm, starting to climb out of his chair as well. "I wanna come! I wanna help Pierre too!" Miss Trelawny shook her head and quietly told Henry to stay in the classroom so she could get Pierre some medicine. Henry shook his head and latched on to Pierre's arm. "I wanna help Pierre feel better," he murmured, his bottom lip quivering just a little bit. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt very scared about letting Pierre out of his sight.

"Ça va, 'Enry," Pierre whispered, and it was only then that Henry noticed how tired Pierre sounded. "Madame will take care of me." He gently and patiently pried Henry's fingers from his arm, though his own hands were trembling a little bit. He lightly kissed Henry's forehead and squeezed his hands before slowly letting go of him. "I'll see you, oui?" She gently rested a hand on the boy's back and steered him out of the room while the other children quietly did as they were asked.

Henry, however, was unable to concentrate. He kept worrying about Pierre and wondering just how sick he was. Would he have to go to the hospital? Would Miss Trelawny separate them? Would Pierre...die? He tried very hard not to think about that. Instead, he tried thinking about the worksheet. And for a little bit, he did good not thinking about Pierre being sick. But then he turned to ask Pierre what he had gotten as the answer for one of the questions and saw an empty chair instead. Then he started worrying all over again. I'll just sneak out when no one's looking, he thought to himself. Then I'll go find Pierre and see how he's feeling! I'll be a super sneaky ninja!

After glancing both ways and making sure no one was looking, he slid out of his chair under his desk and crawled towards the classroom door, which was still slightly open. Without glancing back at his peers, he jumped to his feet and slipped out the door into the hallway. It didn't bother him that he didn't know where Miss Trelawny had taken Pierre. He guessed that he was in the hospital room (where kids went if they needed bandaids or when they were sick) or in their room. Since Pierre was sick, Miss Trelawny would probably want him there first. That was where all her medicine and her bandages and stuff were, so it made sense. He snuck along the hallway on his tiptoes, making sure to make as little noise as possible.

As he crept closer to the hospital room, he realized that he could hear voices coming from inside. When he reached the door, he strained his ears so that he could hear better. He recognized Miss Trelawny's voice after a minute, and if he listened harder he could hear Pierre's voice responding very faintly. He couldn't really make out what they were saying, though he thought he heard some French words here and there. At one point he thought he heard Pierre say his name, which made his stomach jump just a little bit. Then he heard Miss Trelawny laugh gently and say something back in response. There was a moment of silence, and then suddenly the door opened and Henry tumbled forward onto his hands and knees into the hospital room.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in the classroom?" Miss Trelawny asked, and Henry winced slightly at the sternness in her voice. He slowly looked up from her shoes to meet her gaze, though to his surprise he saw a small smile starting to form where her frown used to be. She chuckled a little and offered her hand to help him to his feet. "Ah well," she said as Henry stood up, "Pierre was asking to see you anyway." Henry's eyes lit up and he peeked around her to see the French boy lying in one of the beds. The blue-eyed patient smiled tiredly and gave him a small little wave as Henry darted around Miss Trelawny and hurried to Pierre's side.