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There is a phrase that says, “I feel like I’m going to catch cold from the change in temperature.”
I’m not sure if it’s a saying or just a line people say, but it’s basically an online thing: People say it when a story unfolds in such a way that makes it difficult to follow, or when they are confused and don’t know how to react to something. Like when gag comedy suddenly turns to serious drama—or vice versa—or horror turns to comedy, or a sad moment is interrupted by a dirty joke.
The bigger the shift in the mood, the more likely people are to say the phrase. I’ve actually said it before myself too.
But it’s a metaphor, though; you aren’t actually saying you’re going to catch a cold. You aren’t, but...
“I didn’t think I’d actually get sick,” I muttered right before letting out a cough.
It was a weekday, but I was lying alone on my bed. That’s right, just as I said, I’d caught a cold.
I wasn’t expecting to be the one to get sick, especially when Nanami had been the one sneezing at the airport.
It’s probably lunchtime right about now.
I glanced at my desk, at the tea and other things splayed on top. My mom had probably put them there before heading off to work.
When I’d gotten up this morning, my body had felt hot and sluggish. My parents told me that I looked sick, so I took my temp—only to find that it was a feverish thirty-eight degrees.
Given that I hadn’t been sick in years, my mom said that we should go to the hospital just to have me checked up, and so she drove me there before she went to work. It was embarrassing, and I told her that I wasn’t a child anymore, but honestly it was difficult for me to get around, and I was grateful for her help.
The doctor checked me out and told me that I at least didn’t have the flu. With that news, we returned home, and I got back into bed to get some more sleep.
My mom had offered to take the day off from work to take care of me, but I’d refused. Though it embarrassed me to be babied, having her miss work because of me would make me genuinely feel bad. She’d already driven me to the hospital, after all.
When I saw her off, my mom told me that she would lock the front door so that I wouldn’t need to get up, even if someone came by. Oh, come on. I’m not actually a child, you know...
It must have been so long since the last time I’d been sick that my mom had defaulted to treating me like I was still in elementary school. Staying home sick from school was a rare occasion for me. When was the last time I’d caught a cold, anyway?
In any case, that was how I’d ended up at home by myself.
I knew it had been a while since I’d last been sick, but it also felt like I was alone for the first time in a long time. The fact that I had come off of a lively class trip probably amplified that feeling even more. I couldn’t believe I’d caught a cold so soon after returning from Hawaii. I must have let my guard down—it’d been ages since I was last sick. The doctor had said that my body was probably exhausted from having been in an unfamiliar environment. I didn’t think that I lacked stamina, but maybe I did lack the energy to have fun. But just what in the world was energy specifically for having fun?
Nanami and my other classmates seemed to be doing just fine. The fact that I was the only one missing school did feel pretty lame.
The feeling of being in bed when the sun was still out—something one did only when one was sick—was hard to describe, though. I didn’t know what it was; it wasn’t quite guilt or exhilaration. Before, if I was stuck at home I would’ve just played games. It probably didn’t help with my recovery, but I didn’t much care. I would just spend time making the rounds in my game.
“I wonder what Nanami’s up to right now,” I couldn’t help murmuring.
I must have surprised her when I messaged her to let her know that I was missing school today. Though I was surprised myself soon after that—because immediately after I’d texted her, Nanami messaged me right back.