Zac woke up the next morning feeling sick. His stomach hurt and his nose was stuffed, making it hard to breathe, and to top it all off, he definitely had a fever. He didn't have to be his dad to diagnose himself.
Grumbling, he sat up in bed, pressing the palm of his hand to his head, his headache making it hard to concentrate.
A soft knock came from his door making him look up from his bed.
"Come in," Zac choked out.
His mum opened his door with a creak. She seems surprised to see him still in bed.
"Why are you still in bed? It's almost noon. I thought you went to meet Evie for lunch over an hour ago, but here you are, still in bed. Come on…Get up," she walked over and pulled the covers off of her son.
Zac moans and flopped back down on his bed.
"Can't… Sick," Zac mumbled into his pillow. He turned back over to face his mother when he hearing his mother sigh. Lauren placed her hand over his forehead, frowning from the warmth.
"Huh, I guess you are really sick. Okay, stay in bed. Your dad is at work, but I'll call him and ask him to bring home some cold medicine on his way home. I'll bring you some soup in a little bit. Just try and get some sleep," Lauren said, kissing Zac's warm forehead.
Zac snuggled back in his blankets and tried to go back to sleep. His phone chimed once he finally got comfortable.
Groaning, Zac pushed back his blankets and grabbed his phone from his nightstand. He had five texts from Evie. Chuckling to himself, he unlocked his phone.
Evie: Hey. You up yet? :)
Evie: Hello?
Evie: Are we still on for lunch at the café?
Evie: Zac? Are you okay?
Evie: nm. Your mum just called me. Feel better. We will have lunch when you are up for it. xoxo
Zac smiled. His girlfriend was such a worrier. But he did love her. He decided to text her back.
Zac: Thanks. I must have caught something at school. Bet I will feel better tomorrow. IOU lunch.
He placed his phone back down on his nightstand and looked out of his window. The sea looked calm, but the sky was grey. It looked like it was going to rain. Perfect day to stay inside.
His phone chimed again. Zac picked it back up, preparing to talk to his girlfriend. But it wasn't Evie. It was Welian.
Weilan: Are you feeling okay?
Zac sent a quick response back to her.
Zac: Sick. Why do you ask?
Weilan texted back almost immediately.
Weilan: It's Mimmi. She's also sick.
Zac nodded his head. She did seem sick last night at dinner and she did have a fever when he went to go and check on her.
Weilan: What are your symptoms?
Zac: Umm… Headache, stomachache, stuffy nose, dizziness and a fever. Why?
Weilan: That is exactly like Mimmi…
Zac: There is a bug going around school. We both must have caught something.
Weilan: No, what's going around school is strep throat and pink eye. No one I know has your symptoms. Except Mimmi.
Zac sighed and shook his head.
Zac: So? I'm sure it's nothing.
Weilan: Yeah, but I read something last night…
This interested Zac.
Zac: What did you read?
Weilan paused. The three dots showed that she was typing, but then they disappeared. Then they reappeared, than quickly disappeared again.
Zac groaned.
Zac: Weilan? What did you find?
Weilan: I'm sure it's nothing. Get some rest. Come to Rita's when you feel better.
That girl! She couldn't just get Zac hyped up about something and then just completely disappear!
Zac: Weilan?
Zac: You can't just leave me hanging!
Zac: Hello?!
Nothing.
"Ladies and gentleman, Weilan has left the building," Zac mumbled under his breath.
Zac slumped back under his blankets and looked at his ceiling. What on earth was Weilan talking about? What was wrong with him and Mimmi? What was going on with the water dragon?
All of these thoughts blurred together and put Zac to sleep.
Meanwhile, Mimmi was just now waking up. After having a fitful night sleep, (the land beds tended to do that) Mimmi was tired of staying in bed and doing nothing.
Ondina was worried sick about her. Mermaids were not known to get sick. But after spending so much time on land, they started to adapt more human like qualities. So getting sick was a price she was willing to pay.
Groaning, she sat up and pushed off of her bed. She grabbed the mattress once more, steadying herself before walking out the door.
"Morning sleepyhead," A chipper voice greeted her. Ondina was standing behind the counter, attempting to make some food. She was doing better than normal though. Nothing was on fire this time.
Mimmi groaned her response before flopping down onto the couch.
"Oh no you don't. You can't sleep all day," Ondina replied. Mimmi heard her shoes tapping against the tile floor as she walked over to the couch. A sharp poke in her Mimmi's side was enough to make her sit up.
"How are you feeling?" Ondina asked, sitting next to Mimmi on the couch. She placed her hand on her forehead, which Mimmi quickly slapped away.
Ondina raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing like some rotten snails huh?"
Mimmi snorted at her best friend. Though Ondina could be as stubborn as a clam and as spiky as a sea urchin at times, she really did care about her friends.
"I'm fine. I just feel off today," Mimmi admitted, looking down at her bare feet. There was no use trying to lie to Ondina. Her best friend knew her inside and out, and she knew when Mimmi was lying. In all honesty, she felt like a dead fish. Everything hurt. And she had a headache that made her wince.
"I'm sorry Mim. We can go and visit the pod and see if they had any recipes that could make you feel better," Ondina said, rubbing Mimmi's arm.
Mimmi huffed. "I'm sure I'll get over it soon. Don't worry about me."
The blond smiled. "I'll always worry about you."
"I think that you should leave Mimmi alone and worry about whatever concoction is on the stove right now," A voice said.
Weilan walked up the stairs and pointed to the stove. Whatever Ondina was trying to make for Mimmi was frothing over the sides.
"My soup!" Ondina screeched and ran over to the stove, trying her best to turn down the heat.
Weilan and Mimmi both laughed, but Mimmi's laugh soon turned into a cough. That cough soon escalated into a coughing fit with Mimmi struggling to catch her breath.
Weilan jumped off the couch that Ondina had abandoned and ran into the kitchen, quickly grabbing a glass of water. Careful not to spill it on her or her friends, she brought it to Mimmi who accepted it gratefully, gulping down the cool liquid.
Ondina abandoned the now unsalvageable "soup" she was making and came to Mimmi's side. Weilan carefully patted her back as Mimmi tried to regain her breathing.
Once the fit had ended, Mimmi looked at her friends. Her face was flushed and her eyes watered from the pressure.
"What just happened?" Ondina asked hesitantly.
Mimmi shrugged, while breathing slowly. Weilan looked over at Ondina. Mimmi could see the worry written all over her face.
"I don't know. I just started coughing and I couldn't stop no matter how hard I tried," Mimmi rasped, her voice rough from the recent attack.
The doorbell rang, scaring the three girls. Weilan took the liberty of leaving the couch and going to answer it. Ondina looked at Mimmi. She rubbed small circles on her back just like Weilan did moments before.
Weilan entered again a few moments later with Chris on her trail.
Mimmi instantly sat up straighter and brushed a lock of hair away from her face
"Hey," She greeted her co-worker and her crush.
Chris smiled, but when he saw the state that Mimmi was in, his smile turned into a frown.
"I guess this is why you weren't at work today. Dr. Ross never told me you were sick. I came over to see if you wanted to go out to lunch again, but I guess…" he motioned to Mimmi with his hand. "I'll take a raincheck."
Mimmi smiled weakly. "Thanks. I caught a cold last night. I would love to go out for lunch with you, but I don't want to spread any germs. Next time though."
Ondina leaned onto Mimmi's lap. "And besides, I already made her lunch," Ondina said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Chris sniffed the air. "Is that what that burnt smell is?"
Ondina frowned and huffed, getting off of Mimmi's lap. She instead sat back down next to her and crossed her arms, trying to look upset.
Weilan walked over and punched Ondina's arm playfully. "Relax Ondina. Nothing blew up… this time."
Ondina had the nerve to look offended. "I'll have you know that my cooking has improved drastically."
Mimmi looked over at Chris. "It's true. Now Poseidon can stomach it without throwing it back up. But we humans have a long way to go."
Chris smiled. The atmosphere in the room was peaceful. No water dragon. No suspecting parents. Just a group of mermaids and a land boy just hanging out on the weekend. Life was good. For now…
Yeah. I'm back. What? I get bored in some classes and I like writing.
So how was this chapter? I liked throwing Chris in there just for an element of fun. But what is going on with Zac and Mimmi? Why are they sick? What is Weilan hiding? And what will happen in the next chapter that made me want to add a cliffhanger? (In all honesty, I just really like cliffhangers.)
I want to give a special shout-out to a girl on my bus who had no clue what I was writing about, but fixed some of my mistakes. Thanks for being so brutally honest! I think you really improved my story. So thanks C!
Anywayyyysss… Hoped you enjoyed it. Thanks for all of the support!
~Moonlight Mermaids
