Do not swallow
„Joly, stop sanitizing my laptop!" Courfeyrac yelled at his friend who started to clean the keys of Courfeyrac's laptop on the table in front of him.
„But Courf, do you know how many germs are on this keys? I read that those keypads are one of the most unhealthy things that exist. They are possible sources for nearly each kind of disease!"Joly's voice was panic-stricken. Why was it so hard for his friend to understand.
„And?" Courfeyrac asked.
„You could get every kind of serious disease simply by touching those keys!" Joly nearly screamed. „It could kill you!" Why was nobody concerned that they might die by touching contaminated surfaces just like those keypads? Why had he to be the only one who felt this way, the only one who cared of his health? He almost could feel the germs, trying to get into his body, trying to kill him from the inside. But nobody of his friends was able to understand his fears considering his health.
Courfeyrac just sighed at the rant of his friend. „Joly that's ridiculous. Nothing is going to kill me. Besides you sanitized my laptop not even an hour ago."
„But you couldn't be careful enough. For example you doesn't know who has touched the glass you are drinking from and what kind of germs are now on your laptop after you touched it the whole time without washing your hands after touching your glass." Joly tried to convince his friend.
Courfeyrac rolled his eyes at his friends rant. He knew that Joly couldn't simply stop behaving the way he did. He was a hypochondriac, afraid to die from every kind of disease. As a result he had the unhealthy habit to sanitize everything which wasn't able to move or run away from him. Normally his amis where used to his strange behaviour but sometimes it was really annoying and hard to stand.
„But you know that those sanitizers aren't really healthy?"Courfeyrac asked his friend.
„Of course they are healthy! They sanitize! They kill germs!"
„It's the same with them than with all the other cleansers or for example dish-washing liquid." After seeing Joly's confused expression, Courfeyrac asked his friend „ Have you never read the warning signs on the packagings?"
„No ..." Joly admitted slowly. He looked nearly shocked realizing that he probably missed something important.
„Oh...never mind" Courfeyrac replied quickly. He knew he made a mistake by mentioning the warning signs. Joly would probably freak out when he realizes that his sanitizers weren't as healthy as he thought them to be.
„Eh...I have a lot to do at home so I think I leave now" Courfeyrac stated before Joly got the opportunity to ask further questions regarding Courfeyrac's previous words.
„Ah... good, I think I should go home, too. I think Bossuet and Musichetta will probably already be waiting for me. Or at least arrive at home in a short time." Joly put his sanitizers in his bag and left the Musain.
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By the time he arrived at home, Joly had gone nervous. What was it that Courfeyrac had tried to tell him at the Musain? What was wrong with his sanitizers or his cleansers? Or his dish-washing liquid?
He went into the kitchen and opened the cupboard he stored his cleansers in. He took one of the bottles and turned it carefully around until he found the warning sign. He read what was written on it and immediately felt nauseous. He took the next bottle and read the sign on it. After studying all his boxes and bottles his feelings had shifted from nervous to frightened and shocked. On every box was the same or at least similar sign, which told you not to swallow any of the contents and if you did by accident to call a doctor immediately. Joly started to panic and had difficulties to breathe. He had used all of this cleansers. And they were dangerous. They were toxic. What if he had poisoned himself. Even the dish-washing liquid was dangerous. What if he had swallowed traces of it. What if it was still on his dishes after washing them?
He stumbled into the bathroom and observed himself on the mirror. He tried to figure out if something was wrong with him. Was his skin the same colour as ever or did he look pale? Were his eyes yellow, which would indicate a disease of his liver? Were there any signs that he could have poisoned himself? He opened his mouth and surveyed his oral cavity and his tongue. He wasn't quite sure if everything was fine. What if his throat was going to swell? What if he wasn't able to breathe properly? What if he was going to choke?
Deep in his thoughts of his possible and inevitable death he dropped to the floor, where he remained until Bossuet and Musichetta finally arrived at home.