* * * [The next morning] * * *

The first thing Drake noticed when his alarm clock rang was that he was awfully cold.

Teeth chattering, he wrapped his blanket tighter around himself and sat up.

"J-J-Josh! D-Did you s-s-switch off the hea-heating? It's freezing in he-here!",

he managed to say and winced because speaking slightly hurt his throat.

At this point he noticed Josh changing into jeans and a t-shirt, not freezing nor shivering at all. "Freezing cold?", Josh asked dazedly, "The heating is running full force. Hurry up, we're late"

Still shivering Drake wrapped himself up warmly, muffling a cough into his hand.

Josh noticed him pulling on a sweater although he already was dressed like he wanted to make an expedition to the South Pole, and noted blankly, "Uh wait…You're seriously cold?".

"Shut up, Josh," his brother spit out before an unexpected cough caught him and left him gasping for air. "Whoaa, you alright?", Josh interrupted the silence which followed.

"Don't think so.", his stepbrother admitted and shrugged. Josh sighed.

"Alright, go back to bed.", he ordered and Drake followed with a sigh of relief.

* * * [Downstairs at breakfast] * * *

"Morning Josh. Is Drake still sleeping? You're pretty late!", his stepmother Audrey greeted him when he entered the living room. "He's sick in bed.", Josh answered and grabbed something to eat. Audrey poured him some juice and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure he is. Like every day you've got English class with Mrs. Hayver.", she responded sarcastically, "He should know, that that excuse is getting old."

Before Josh could react his stepmother rushed upstairs, mumbling "Argh, that truant!" and left him standing alone in the kitchen. Shrugging he emptied his glass of juice, shouldered his school bag and left the house.

* * * [Upstairs in the boy's room] * * *

A few loud knocks on the door startled Drake awake from his state of semi-consciousness and he sat up, moaning, "Come in." His voice sounded weaker than he expected it to be.

Vigorously his mother entered the room, an angry expression on her face.

"What do you think you're doing?", she barked and approached.

"Lying in my bed and feeling like crap…?", Drake offered but flinched when his mother pulled his blanket away and grunted, "Drake Parker, I'm tired of you skipping school, so get out of your bed and go to school!"

"But Mum! I'm really not feeling well! Why don't you believe me?", he exclaimed whiny and immediately started shivering.

"Tell that your teachers. So, out you go!", Audrey stayed pitiless.

Reluctantly Drake crawled out of bed and now his headache was on full force again.

"What are you waiting for, young man?", she asked and turned around.

"But…", Drake started, but his mother already left the room when he was hit by a sudden, harsh coughing fit which left him swaying on his feet, feeling pretty dizzy.

"Fuck", he moaned and stumbled downstairs.

A liar will not be believed even when he speaks the truth.