It had been a little over a week since that hiking trip with the cross country team. Most everyone was settled back into their normal, somewhat lazy lives, free from poison ivy and scraped knees. Len was especially happy to be back; that last trip was really rough on him. He enjoyed nature, but with all the mosquitos and sweat and rashes, well...It makes nature a little less enjoyable.
Len stretched out on his bed that morning, having just woken up for school. He was earlier than he expected. Normally his mom had to drag him out of bed after three attempts to get him up. That morning, it was completely silent. No one else was awake.
Len felt a peculiar rumble in his stomach. He placed his hand on top of it and closed his eyes. Was it really worth it to get out of bed for food? He lied there for a while before finally deciding yes and standing up. Upon standing, he became dizzy. He had to steady himself for a moment by grabbing the edge of his bed and hunching over until the dizziness cleared.
"Weird…" he mumbled. He stood and made his way down the dark stairs of the house, carefully avoiding all of the creaky floorboards so that he wouldn't wake his sister, whom slept in the bed above his. Bunk beds, in case you were wondering. They were brother and sister, twins. Their parents felt that if they separated them by giving them separate rooms, they wouldn't be as happy. They needed each other to function. Which, in a way, was absolutely true. The twins relied on each other for everything; from answers to homework to cooking when their parents weren't home to a shoulder to cry on when things weren't going well. They were closer than ever. Len smiled at the thought of it and continued on down the dimly lit stairwell.
Upon reaching the bottom, he felt his stomach grumble again. Though this time, it was a bit more aggressive. He paused and put his hand on top of it again, unsettled for a moment.
"Alright, alright, I'll feed you," he mumbled under his breath. "Just chill out for two minutes, okay?" He carried on walking, but another uncomfortable gurgle slowed him down considerably. He walked with his arms around his abdomen and his head down. He wasn't so hungry anymore.
Len changed his route from the kitchen to the living room where he proceeded to lie down and curl up on the dark leather couch beside the large windows. He whimpered as another gurgle sent a shockwave of pain throughout his entire body. What was wrong?
He craned his neck to look at the clock and then let his head fall back down to rest on the couch with a plop. He groaned and closed his eyes. No wonder nobody was awake. And no wonder he woke up before someone came and got him. It was 2 am and his stomach forced him awake. It took his body a little while to process the discomfort it was in, but when he started feeling it, it immediately took its effects on him. Len wondered if he would tell anyone. He had used up one and a half days of his allowed two missed school days. He couldn't miss another day, or else he couldn't exempt an exam. He groaned loudly, verbally expressing his pain. He wanted to go back to sleep and not have to worry about school, but he just couldn't…
Len decided it was best to try and treat it with home remedies and hope it was gone by the time he needed to get up for school. He slowly moved his pale legs off the edge of the couch. The action of sitting up felt like knives piercing his abdomen. He grunted and held his stomach protectively. He felt truly awful…
He stood carefully and trudged into the kitchen where he heated up a bottle of water and made some green tea. He decided it was better to not add milk or sweetener to the tea this time and carried both back to his room. He reached the door, then froze. He inwardly groaned and set the cup down on the floor and carried the bottle with him back down the stairs and into the bathroom. He painfully rid his intestines of any partially digested food, all of which smelled wretched. It took him quite a while before he felt comfortable leaving. He glanced at the clock. Thirty minutes had passed. He sighed and gathered up the little strength he had to go back to the couch and lie down. Screw the tea...He wasn't thirsty anyway. Eating and drinking sounded like a terrible idea.
Len held the warm bottle of water over top of his distended abdomen, curling his body around it. He felt relaxed by the heat and closed his eyes. His stomach loosened up a bit and he was able to belch up some of the gas that plagued his intestines, though it was never enough to relieve him. Eventually, he fell asleep on the couch.