He didn't even care anymore. He sneezed and then he coughed and then he sneezed again and again and yet again. Each one sounding more pitiful then the prayed for sleep just to have a temporary relief from all this misery! And at last when he felt he could bare it no longer he fell into a fitful slumber.
The next thing Riot knew he was being shaken awake. Only this time it wasn't by Rapture it was by Minx.
"Riot" she said with urgency " You've got to get up, the concert is in one hour!"
One hour??
"But today's only Wednesday. The concert isn't until this weekend." He protested. Woah! Hold on a sec!! He opened his mouth and sound came out! He could talk!??! His laryngitis was gone!
" You were kind out of it for 've been delirious with fever for the last day or so .It finally broke last night thank goodness. I was so worried about you!"
Riot had absolutely no recollection of anything. How odd.
At least he was feeling better. A little woozy but no worse for the wear.
Wow! Was he glad to be better.
Suddenly they were at the concert. How,,,,,,,,in the world,,,,? Maybe he was more unsteady then he thought. I mean he was still recovering, right?.
He was backstage in the dressing area when he looked down and realized he was still wearing his pyjamas. He went to look for his costume to change but the next thing he knew he was being pushed on stage. He walked on and looked around. He was alone. Where were Rapture and Minx? This was getting stranger all the time.
He could hear the crowd faintly calling his name
"Riot" "Riot" "Riot"
It became louder : "Riot!" "Riot!" "Riot!"
and then louder still..."RIOT!" "RIOT!" "RIOT!"
From somewhere off stage music started and he heard the opening cords of "Let me be"
He got ready to serenade the audience but when he opened his mouth nothing came out.
Until,,,,,,,, "AhhSHeew!!" "Hehchooo!!" "Ahh...hehhh Kchooo!!!!!" Oh no! Not here! Not now! "HHehUpChooo!!!" The tickle was maddening. "Heehhh,,,,,, HHaaahhh" He tried to hold them back but it was no use they were far too strong. "Heekahtchoo!!!, HehhhIIIshOO!!!, Hahchow!!, Heiii...HHeehhiiiii....IiiTISHOOooo....." and it just went on and on. He tried to pinch his nose shut. That was no help. He tried to run off stage but he was frozen to the spot. And he just kept right on sneezing. His nose showed no signs of stopping. In between feeling the need to sneeze , sneezing and getting ready to sneeze again he heard laughing. The crowd was laughing....AT HIM!!!!! He heard them chuckling and guffawing, giggling and snickering. And through eyes now watery he saw they were pointing as well!!
He wanted to yell at them to stop but he was sneezing far too much to utter a word..
Ohhhhh what a nightmare! And then he saw Jem. She appeared on stage and in the middle of this horrendous sneezing fit she started singing to him "This must be a night mare!" And all at once the holograms were there and joined in " Nightmare , nightmare" They chanted in unison.
It was only when Jem started laughing at him that Riot suddenly awoke. He found himself tangled, the sheets holding him hostage. He wrestled free. His heart was beating fast , he was covered in a cold sweat and as if reality was mocking him to his absolute horror he sneezed.
The sound was boisterous and crude against the silence and it echoed off the walls of Riot's over sized master bedroom.
Riot sat motionless in the darkness. His breathing still laboured, he closed his eyes. His ears rang with a high pitched intensity that only comes paired with a nasty fever.
His head felt like it was stuffed with a million pounds of feathers. Which was the only analogy he could come up with as he was oddly lightheaded and yet at the same time felt like his head was filled with thick cement.
And the worst the absolute worst was that he was now,,,,,,,,,,,,,, AWAKE! He didn't remember falling asleep but he did remember what it was like trying. Not fun! l He lay back down and tried his very best to get back to bed. Miraculously this time he had no trouble.
Minx was awakend by the bright sun streaming though the window by her bed. She had slept soundly and woke up feeling rejuvenated, refreshed and ravenous. The last time she had sat down to eat was when Rapture and her had discussed their plan of attack for Riot over lunch. She got up and stretched. Then she headed for the kitchen. She opened the fridge and found nothing. The cupboards were no better. There was still Rapture's soup on the stove. Who ever heard of soup for breakfast? Oh well it would have to do. After all beggar's cant be choosers. She warmed it up in the microwave. When it was done she took it out and poured it in a bowl. It smelled totally Delicious and tasted even better. When she finished she washed that bowl and the other items from last night. She remarked to herself that if she was going to stay for the next couple of days she was going to have to go shopping to fill Riot's completely sparse pantry.
She wondered how he was doing and walked by his door. She was startled to hear him snoring loudly. Up until now she had never heard Riot snore 'God! He must have it bad' she thought to herself. Knowing he wouldn't be up for awhile she went into the living room and turned on the TV. This time she made sure the volume was very low. She stretched out on the luxurious white leather couch. It's surface felt cold and smooth against her bare legs and she propped them up on the buttery soft fabric. She began idly flipping through TV stations, not really caring what she watched. It seemed there was nothing Minx soon grew bored. she stood up and turned off the television. She went to the bookshelf. and looked through some of the titles: 50 prefect pasta dishes, sex and the perfect lover, The prefect choice, Be a perfect person in just three days, Perfect harmony,Teach your horse perfect manors ' .what? Riot doesn't even own a horse.'., The perfect drink for every occasion, Dead perfect,The perfect witness, The perfect potato: 100 fabulous recipes,Dinner with a perfect stranger, practise makes perfect,. and the list just went on and on. It was all she could do not to laugh. Sometimes Riot seemed so ridiculous it was unreal. She was sure that he had no idea how funny he really was and she was certain if she tried to tell him he wouldn't appreciate it one bit. It wasn't a bad thing really. But she knew he wouldn't see it that way. Riot took himself very seriously.
Minx decided on a mystery book called " The prefect crime" and settled back down on the couch. It wasn't too often that she had the time to just sit back and read and by the time she was into the 3rd chapter she found she was really enjoying herself. She scarcely noticed when it was already the afternoon. She closed her book and went to check on Riot. She figured he would be up by now but when she entered his bedroom all she found was a mass of blond curls atop his pillow. The rest of Riot was hidden somewhere deep inside a labyrinth of blankets and sheets. She tiptoed quietly out of the room not wishing to disturb him.
She went back to her room and got dressed. She put on a pair of extremely form fitting black pants. And a yellow tight fitting off the shoulder blouse that was tapered at the waist. Lastly her outfit just wouldn't be complete without her wide brim hat , indicative of some 40's film star. She set it on her head and stood back to admire the effect in the full length mirror. Ahh, she looked stunning. ' Well obviously.' Minx thought to herself.
