Jay really wasn't surprised when he woke up feeling someone had shaved his throat and make a huge dent in his skull. For one he had started feeling out of it the night before starting when he broke into a coughing fit when he laughed at the spring snakes Lloyd had booby-trapped the fridge with to prank Cole. For two he had been exposed to an icy blast from Zane's vehicle for quite some time the day before.
None the less he felt awful. He turned to see the others making their beds.
"You'd better hurry Jay, or you'll be late," Cole told him.
"Sorry…I…Ah-tchoo! AH-TCHOO!...Excuse me…" Jay kept his hands firmly cupped over his face.
"You don't look so good," said Kai frowning.
"I sense he has a fever," Zane added.
"I'm not feeling so good, guys. I think getting blasted by Zane's vehicle yesterday gave me a cold," said Jay putting his hands down.
"If you have a fever you should probably take the day off and get some rest," said Cole.
"We'll let Sensei know that you're too sick to train. He'll understand," Kai promised.
"Thanks, you guys….AH-TCHOO!...excuse me" Jay sneezed again.
The others got dressed and left quietly. Jay laid back but didn't feel like falling asleep just yet. What he felt like was eating some hot soup.
Jay's eyes flashed open. A soup dispenser! What an awesome idea! They already had them for coffee and soda. Why not soup?
Jay sat up and took out the graph paper note pad under his pillow as well as writing tools. He began to sketch out the basic principles of any liquid dispenser.
The hard part would be dispensing it hot, he thought, and having the items that are in the soups such as noodles and seafood, and…
"AH-TCHOO!" Jay sneezed violently.
"Excuse you," said a voice from the door way.
Jay turned at the unexpected visitor. Zane stood at the door holding a tray of steaming rice and miso soup.
"Zane! Sorry. I didn't see you come in," Jay apologized putting down the paper.
"There's no need to apologize. You seemed deep in thought," said Zane.
"Yeah," Jay smiled sheepishly, "I guess I tend to get into the zone when I think of an…idea….AH-TCHOO!"
He sneezed again but before he could excuse himself Zane said, "I truly am sorry, Jay."
Jay looked up, "What for?" he asked.
"For making you sick," Zane replied, "I should have been more careful with my vehicle,"
Jay coughed before saying, "It's not your fault. Besides, this is better than being captured by the serpentine,"
Zane smiled back, "I guess that's true," he said.
"We'll all have to be more careful with our vehicles next time, for sure," said Jay, eating some rice, "but we'll cross that bridge then we get to it."
"We have to use our vehicles to get across a bridge?" Zane asked, obviously very confused.
Jay shook his head, "No Zane I mean…ah forget it."
He began to cough again as Kai and Cole walked into the room then.
"Zane, come on. Sensei is waiting," said Cole, "Jay, you going to be alright on your own for a few hours?"
"Yeah," Jay assured him, "I…ah-tchoo! AH-TCHOO!...excuse me. I'll just continue my invention sketch for a bit and probably fall asleep before you 3 get back for lunch."
"What are you working on?" Kai asked.
"A soup dispenser, like we already have for soda or coffee. Thought it would be good for times like this," Jay answered showing them the sketch.
"Look great but you already have a soup dispenser. It's called 'Cole, Kai, and Zane'," Cole said.
The four laughed, Jay's breaking into a cough.
"I'll -koff- keep that in mind," he said once he regained his breath, "Anyway, you 3 go and train. I'll be fine."