"Tommy got sick because he kept sleeping outside and Annika got sick because, um, Tommy coughed in Annika's mouth."
This was the excuse behind Pippi's two best friends not going to school. It's not incorrect, as Pippi's stories tend to be, but it's not the full story, either.
Tommy did, in fact, get sick because he slept outside. He slept outside so he could have his own space, away from his numerous siblings. It was usually very crowded in his house, to the point where he often bumped into his siblings, or had to squeeze his way through rooms. Even in his bed he wasn't alone! He and his siblings usually squeezed together uncomfortably on their- admittedly fairly large- bed, but for this particular week, he decided to sleep outside. He figured it would get him some personal space; plus, it's not like he'd never slept outside before. It would be just like camping!
Annika, being the germaphobe he is, made sure Tommy knew the ramifications of sleeping outside.
"You know there are all kinds of disgusting bugs outside, don't you?!" Said Annika, upon hearing Tommy's plan.
"Yeah, I know. I'm fine with 'em, unless they keep bothering me. Then I'll catch 'em and put 'em in your house." He snickered.
Annika shuddered at the idea of disgusting bugs in his lovely, pristine home. "Tommy, that's disgusting," he scolded, "plus breaking and entering is illegal." Tommy rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't break anything," He said in a matter-of-fact tone, "I'd just get ol' Pippi here to plant 'em in your room next time you invite him over. Isn't that right, Pippi?" He looked over at his other friend, who was busy playing with a wad of gum he had been chewing all day.
"Huh? Oh- yeah, sure." He said distractedly.
"...Whatcha doin' there?" Inquired Tommy as Annika pulled a grossed-out face.
"I'm tryin' to make George Washington's face outta this gum." He stated, brows furrowed in concentration.
Tommy laughed, "That's awesome! We should make a whole bunch of 'em and sell 'em to the other kids!"
"I like the way you think!" Said Pippi excitedly. He paused for a moment. "We're gonna need-" he rubbed his chin in thought- "about a thousand of these by the end of the day. Think we can handle it?" He asked.
Tommy nodded enthusiastically.
"I don't think-"
Annika was interrupted by Pippi shoving a wad of obviously pre-chewed, dry gum into his mouth. Annika screamed out of disgust in a highly-pitched tone and fell out of his chair, horrified.
"Pippi, that's disgusting!" "No," replied Pippi thoughtfully, "It's art."
Annika stared at him for a moment. "No, it's- you know what, never mind." He shook his head.
"I'm leaving. Tommy, don't sleep outside. It's cold at night, there are bugs, there are germs, there are wild animals, and it's supposed to rain." Said Annika, standing up and brushing himself off.
Tommy nodded, obviously not having heard what Annika said (or at least not caring about it).
Annika huffed and carefully re-packed his lunch before leaving the table.
Two days later, Tommy was missing from school.
Annika and Pippi were both worried about his wellbeing, but Pippi's theories as to where their friend was only furthered his anxiety.
"What if he's been abducted by aliens?!" Came Pippi's worried cry.
"No, Pippi, I think he's si-"
"What if- what if his parents moved and left him at his house, and, and-" he sniffled, eyes tearing up at the idea of Tommy having to go through anything bad, "and he's trying to find them!"
Annika hesitantly patted Pippi's head, wiping his hand off on his shirt immediately after. "That's not very likely. I mean, he doesn't have the best parents, but i don't think they'd just leave him."
Pippi sobbed, blubbering about how maybe he was kidnapped, or maybe he was attacked by wolves, or maybe he was eaten alive by a couch demon.
Annika couldn't stand to see Pippi so torn up about their friend.
"I'll tell you what," Annika began, "tomorrow I'll take you to visit him." He cringed internally at the idea of going to such a gross place for so long to see their (sick, snot-covered, probably contagious) friend, but he hated seeing Pippi like this. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind as Pippi threw his arms around him and sobbed gratefully into his once clean cyan shirt.
He tried to move away from the hug, but Pippi clung to him tightly. Too tightly.
"Thank you Annika!" Cried Pippi, but Annika didn't respond. He was starting to hyperventilate due to all the disgusting germs coming into contact with him at the moment.
Pippi, thankfully, eventually, let go after Annika had flailed hard enough for him to understand that his friend wanted out of his grasp.
Pippi seemed to stop worrying so badly after that, but he went on and on about how he was eager to see Tommy, and all the things he was gonna do for him.
Annika didn't try to point out that Tommy wouldn't be able to play due to his illness; he just let Pippi be happy. A happy Pippi is better than a clinging, sobbing, snotting Pippi.
The next day, after school had been dealt with and precautions had been taken, Annika and Pippi made their way toward Tommy's more-than-humble abode.
Annika donned a flu mask and rubber gloves. Pippi wore his normal clothes, despite pleads from Annika to get him to change.
Annika, of course, warned him about the possibility of catching an illness the day before a field trip as a way to convince him, but the shorter boy cared not.
"If I miss the field trip," said Pippi, "I get to stay at home and watch about zoos on T.V! It's the same thing, duh."
Annika opened his mouth to correct Pippi on his wrong opinion, but was immediately interrupted by Pippi's alert that they were at the gate of Tommy's home.
They hurried, Pippi excited and Annika nervous, to the rickety front gate, which Pippi climbed over. Annika, however, carefully opened the gate then closed it behind him.
Pippi scattered to the front door, waving at Tommy's siblings as he darted past. Annika politely waved and asked all of them how their days were, to which he mostly got blank stares as replies.
Annika knocked on the door of the run-down Tommyzski residence, but received no answer other than the ruckus already occurring inside. Pippi took this as an invitation to enter.
None of the Tommyzskis seemed to notice or care about the two as they walked to Tommy's bedroom; they were all fixated on the small television screen, which was showing some kind of football game. It was hard to tell due to the fuzzy image and static-y audio.
Upon reaching the presumably sick boy's room, Pippi quickly yelled, "Tommy we're comin' in don't be surprised or naked or dead!" before he flung the door open.
He immediately pounced onto Tommy's bed, earning a surprised yell from the bald child.
Upon realizing that it was just Pippi, he sniffled and laughed, which turned into a rasping cough.
Pippi gasped. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah, whatever." Replied Tommy, his voice more raspy and nasally than usual.
Pippi gasped again, more excitedly this time. "Your voice is changing!" He said, "You're becoming a real man now."
Annika rolled his eyes and advanced closer to Tommy. "We came to make sure you're being properly taken care of."
"Oh yeah, thanks mom." Tommy replied, sniffling again.
"Woah, Annika's your mom?!"
"No, Pippi, he means- never mind. Look," said Annika, "if you don't want us to take care of you, we'll just leave." It was an empty threat, of course, as he could never think of leaving his friend when he's so sick (even though he did warn him about sleeping outside).
"Whatever," Tommy said, "you're just here to rub it in my face that I was wrong." he huffed.
Annika smirked a bit underneath his flu mask. "Well," Annika began. Tommy groaned.
"I could tell you I was right, because I was," he heard Tommy growl, "but I won't. Because I'm the bigger person. And I'm here to help."
Tommy made a 'tch' sound and rolled over.
"I didn't ask for you to help, I'll be- I'll be-" Tommy sneezed loudly.
"Don't you say a single thing." Snapped Tommy before Annika could speak.
Pippi suddenly sat up with a gasp.
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot!" He yelled, hurriedly grabbing his backpack and unzipping it.
As Tommy and Annika stared inquisitively, Pippi fished around in the bag, searching excitedly.
"Here!" He said, chunking a big wad of something at Tommy.
It hit him in the face.
"Pippi, what the-" Tommy picked the thing up and realized it was a huge wad of gum.
"I brought it so we could work on our lil' Georgies while you were sick!" He explained.
Tommy groaned and slapped a hand to his head. "No one's gonna buy something that's been in a sick guy's mouth!" He said, exasperated. Annika, on the other hand, looked queasy at the sight of moist, pre-chewed gum.
"I wouldn't buy something that's been in another person's mouth in general." Stated Annika.
Tommy snickered. "That's because you're a nerd who's afraid of a little germs." Annika, taken aback, glared at his bed-ridden friend.
"Well of course I am," Said Annika angrily, "because I'm not a dirty weirdo who likes to sleep outside."
Tommy growled at Annika, knitting his eyebrows together. "Oh yeah? Well at least-"
Pippi suddenly came between the two, who had unknowingly been inching towards eachother more with each word. "Guys, guys," he said, chuckling nervously, "don't fight! Let's just agree that Tommy shouldn't have slept outside and Annika shouldn't be so uptight!"
The two boys huffed in unison. "Whatever," said Annika, "I just came to see if you needed anything."
"Yeah," said Tommy sarcastically, "I need your maaaagical health powers to heal me."
Pippi gasped, slapping his hands to his face. "What?! Annika has healing powers?!" Tommy nodded. "Ee-yup," he said, still being sarcastic, "if he gives me a kiss I'll be healed right up."
"Don't say that, he'll belie- AAGH!"
Annika was suddenly interrupted by Pippi ripping of his flu mask. "What are you doing?! I don't have-"
"Do it for Tommy!" Cried Pippi, moving behind Annika and pushing him forward. Annika screamed.
"No, nonononono! He was joking!" He yelled, but it was to no avail. Pippi kept pushing him forward.
Tommy scattered away from the two of them, laughing. Sure, it was funny, but he didn't want to kiss Annika!
Pippi continued to force Annika forward, yelling, "It's for your own good! Just help him!," as Annika struggled.
Tommy fell off of his bed, on the opposite side of his two best friends, still laughing and coughing.
"Cl-Pippi, stop!" Yelled Annika, "I don't wanna get sick!"
Pippi and Annika tumbled onto the bed, a pile of grunts, horrified screams, and flailing limbs.
Pippi wrapped his arms around Annika and rolled the both of them to the other side of the bed.
"Stoooooop! Stopstop STOP, Pippi!" Annika cried, inches away from falling off the edge of the bed.
"It's- for- Tommy!"
At the final word of his sentence, he and Annika tumbled off the side of the bed and onto their sick friend.
Annika all but screeched.
Tommy's laughter was completely gone, replaced now by a face of horror at the increasingly real probability that he would have to kiss Annika.
Tommy started to call out in protest, telling Pippi he was just kidding, but Pippi kept forcing Annika's face closer to his.
The germaphobe and the sick boy both cried out, their faces inches away from touching-
then suddenly, Tommy's cry turned into a lung-wrenching, deep, wet cough.
Annika's mouth was open.
The loudest, most piercing scream to have ever occurred in the Tommyzski residence came from Annika's mouth at that very moment.
His scream startled Pippi, making him release his grip on Annika, who immediately ran out the door and across the hall to the bathroom.
Tommy and Pippi sat in silence as they heard Annika's mixture of sobbing and vomiting in the bathroom.
Annika and Tommy were both bed-ridden for the next week, causing them to not only miss their field trip, but also two tests and a pop quiz.
On the other hand, Pippi's gum-George Washingtons were a huge hit with the other kids.
At least someone was happy.