Helloooo all you wonderful readers!

Man, I wanted to update much earlier than this. I was done the first draft days ago! I just wasn't in the right head space for polishing it off or writing in general for a while. But I'm done now, so read on, and hope you enjoy!

Today's topic was suggested by Cosmo light!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!

The Flu

Grade Two

May (7), Misty (7), Gary (7), Ash (7), Drew (7), Paul (7), Leaf (7)

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come to school today, May thought.

She was sitting in class, attempting to pay attention to the teacher, Ms. Beatrix, but it wasn't very easy. Namely because she wasn't feeling very well. She wasn't sure it was a cold - she wasn't sneezing or anything - but she was just... a little woozy. And sluggish. And her stomach hurt. It was making it hard to concentrate.

She managed to make it through her first classes until it was recess time. She slouched in her desk, groaning. Her friends came over when they saw she wasn't joining them.

"What's wrong, May?" Ash asked.

"I think I'm getting sick or something," said May. "I couldn't concentrate on any of the classes!"

"That's not good," said Misty. "I hear there's a stomach flu or something going around."

"Yeah, there is," said Gary. "Leaf caught it too. I went to her house two days ago to see, and she looked terrible!"

"Wait, why did you go to her house?" said Ash, looking horrified. "You could have caught it! My mom told me I could only talk to her on the phone because the flu spreads really fast."

"You must have spread it to May!" said Misty, rounding on Gary.

Gary looked indignant. "But I didn't catch it! How could I have spread it to May?"

"Well, no one else here is sick," said Misty. "But you went to Leaf's house when she was and brought the germs here!"

Gary stuck his nose in the air. "No I didn't! I would've gotten sick first! Right Paul?" He looked to where Paul had been just a moment ago, and was surprised to find him a good distance away from the group. "Paul?"

"I was just sick," Paul said, irritated. "I don't want to get sick again. Stay away from me until you're not sick anymore."

"But I'm not sick," said Gary, equally irritated.

"Maybe it's nothing," said Drew. He smirked a little and flipped his hair. "Maybe you just didn't sleep enough last night, April. What time did you go to bed?"

"That's... that's none of your business!" May said, heating up. "And my name's May!" In truth, she had slept pretty late. Drew knew about the computer game she'd discovered recently (she'd rambled about it to everyone at this point), and she was sure he suspected she'd stayed up playing it. Which was true. Maybe that's why she felt this way: she wasn't sick, she was tired. She would try getting enough sleep tonight, she decided.

Even though it was a relief to know it was probably tiredness instead of the flu, May still didn't feel up to playing with her friends. They ended up hanging around at her desk instead (besides Paul, who kept his distance).

But when class started again, May realized really quickly that she wasn't feeling any better. The room had become uncomfortably warm, and her head was spinning, and...

"May, are you feeling all right?"

May blinked as she focused on Ms. Beatrix. The board behind the teacher was covered in notes - when had she written all those? May must have lost focus again. If her concentration was that bad, maybe she wasn't all right.

"I think I'm feeling a little sick," said May.

"Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

"Um..." May looked around. Everyone in the class was looking at her, and she didn't want to make a scene. But then her stomach sent her a wave of nausea and she stood. "Yes please."

Without waiting for Ms. Beatrix to say she could leave, she hurried out.

As it turned out, May did have the stomach flu after all.

Nurse Joy figured that out very soon after she threw up.

Her mother picked her up early, Drew helping her get May's stuff from the classroom as she left. May, miserable and her flu symptoms getting worse, lay on a sofa at home, groaning, a wastebasket next to her in case she got sick again. By the next day, May was certain she was stuck at home for the rest of the week. She was even too sick to talk to her friends when they called on the phone.

Meanwhile, May wasn't the only one who'd caught the flu at school. As a result, Ms. Beatrix decided it was best to take measures to stop the spread in her class. She invited the school's Nurse Joy to give her students a little talk on avoiding getting sick and staying healthy.

"Always make sure you wash your hands well after you use the washroom and after you've been outside," said Nurse Joy. "And that doesn't mean just running water over your hands: you have to use soap and water and make sure you reach every part of your hand. It should take at least twenty seconds."

"And don't forget to clean under your nails too," said Drew, who was very well-rehearsed in proper hand-washing. "People always forget that part." (Including him, but he knew he should.)

"That's right," said Nurse Joy, nodding. "Nails too, everyone. Also, when you have to cough or sneeze, make sure you do it into your elbow, not your hand." She positioned her face into the crook of her elbow to demonstrate. "Like this."

Some of the students tried it too, and she nodded in approval.

"And don't forget," she continued. "If you're feeling sick, stay at home! Don't come to school, or you could pass it on to someone else."

At this, Misty sent Gary a glare. But I'm not sick! Gary thought in frustration. He glared right back and raised his hand.

"Yes?" Nurse Joy said.

"What if you're not sick?" said Gary. "If you're not sick, you can't pass it on to anyone else, right?"

"Of course not."

Gary sent a triumphant smirk at Misty. "So if you just visited someone who's sick, but didn't get sick yourself, you can't get anyone else sick!"

"Well, actually," said Nurse Joy, and Gary's smirk faltered. "Sometimes someone who's sick can pass it on to you, but you don't get symptoms until days later."

"What if you don't get sick at all?" said Gary.

"It's still risky. Sometimes, people can catch the virus, but don't get a lot of symptoms - or sometimes no symptoms at all - and they can still pass it on to other people. It's a good idea to avoid visiting someone who's sick if you can."

Misty's glare became more pointed, and Gary scowled and slouched in his seat. She couldn't prove it, he told himself. Lots of people were getting sick - May wasn't the only one who was absent today. He wasn't necessarily the one who'd spread it.

Whatever the case, the fact of the matter was the stomach flu was raging through the school, and kids were getting sick left and right. Some of the teachers started bringing wet wipes to class so students could wipe their desks clean, or wipe their hands. Not everyone used them, but Paul did - his desk smelled of disinfectant all the time now.

"I don't like this," Ash said when he and his friends minus Paul met up at recess. "So many people are getting sick! I don't wanna get sick too."

Drew shrugged. "My butler said the flu season always comes and goes, so we just have to wait until it's over and try to stay healthy."

"Have you guys heard from May?" Misty asked. "I tried calling, but her mom says she's too sick to talk."

Ash and Drew looked worried, but Gary shrugged. "Leaf was that sick too, but she's getting better now. It's just extra-bad in the beginning."

"You haven't been going to Leaf's lately, have you?" Misty asked sternly.

"No!" Gary crossed his arms and gave her an indignant glare. "I've only talked to her on the phone! And our windows are sorta close-ish, so we open our windows and talk like that sometimes. Daisy says it's far enough that I won't catch her germs."

Misty gave a huff. "Well, you shouldn't have gone to her house the first time, or else May wouldn't be sick too," she grumbled.

"But none of you got sick, and you all hang out with me too. Maybe May caught if from somewhere else."

"That's a good point," said Drew.

"Yeah, " said Ash. "Besides, I can't see germs, so I don't know if Gary's went to May."

"Hah!" Gary gave Misty a triumphant look. "See? These two are on my side."

...And then the next day, Drew didn't show up to school.

"You think he got sick too?" said Ash.

"See?" Misty rounded on Gary. "You got Drew sick this time."

"Good thing I've been staying away from you guys," Paul commenting, standing a considerable distance away.

Gary threw up his arms. "He could have caught it from anyone! I saw some people who were coughing a bit, and they still came to school. Maybe Drew caught it from them!"

"I'll call him and ask when I get home," said Ash.

And call him he did. To Ash's relief, though Drew sounded a bit tired, he didn't sound too ill.

"I'm all right," Drew told him. "Just feeling a little sick. My butler says I should stay home in case I got the stomach flu too."

"Too bad. May's not back either," said Ash. "But some kids are feeling better, so they came back."

"Maybe I'll come back soon too," said Drew. "Besides, I don't feel that sick."

But Drew didn't come back the next day either. In fact, when Ash called to check in, he was informed by Drew's butler (who sounded like he was coming down with something himself) that Drew had caught the stomach flu too.

Ash didn't spend too much time worried, though, because then he got a call from May.

"Hi, Ash," May chirped on her side of the phone. He could tell she was still not fully better from her voice, but judging from how she couldn't talk at all before, she must have gotten better.

"Hi, May," said Ash happily. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yup! A lot better. I still can't come back to school, though. Maybe next week."

"Hey, at least it means you might not be sick much longer, right?"

"Yeah! What about you guys, though? I know Misty was trying to call me before, but I don't think she's home right now. I called and she won't answer! Is she sick too?"

"Well, she wasn't today. Maybe she's not home? Drew got sick, though."

"Oh no! Maybe I passed it onto him!"

"Nah, I don't think so. There were some people who were coughing and still came to school - I think Drew caught it from them."

"Hmph! If they're sick, they should stay home. It's not fair to everyone else."

"Maybe they didn't feel sick until after they came to school."

"Hm. Yeah, maybe." Ash could practically hear her frowning. "What about you, then? You still not sick?"

"Well, I don't feel sick right now," said Ash, touching his forehead. He didn't seem to be heating up, at least. "Gary doesn't look sick either, and Paul staying away from everyone so he doesn't get sick too."

"Well, I'm glad you guys are okay, at least."

"Hopefully you get better soon too!"

"Thanks!"

Ash hung up with a big smile on his face. Maybe May was getting better. That meant Drew would eventually get better too, and maybe no one else would get sick, and they'd all get to hang out again!

When he arrived at school the next day, however, Paul looked stricken.

"What's the matter, Paul?" Ash asked, making sure to keep his distance because Paul wouldn't like him coming too close.

"Reggie got sick," said Paul in horror.

"What?"

"Reggie got sick! I can stay away from all you guys, but my brother lives in the same house as me! How am I supposed to stay away from him?"

"Yeah, Lily got sick at my house too. You know, one of my sisters? Ugh!" Misty rolled her eyes. "Right now I'm just trying to make her stay in her room so she doesn't spread the germs all around the house."

"Reggie won't stay in his room," said Paul with a scowl. "He keeps going to the kitchen to get a snack and stuff. He's spreading germs all over!"

"Maybe you still won't get sick," said Ash hopefully. "Sometimes you don't get sick even if you're around someone who is."

Paul wasn't as optimistic. "I always get sick when someone around me's sick," he grumbled. "Sometimes even when no one else is."

"Well, at least I have good news," said Gary. "Leaf's gotten better! It's even okay to go to her house now."

"That's great!" said Ash. But Paul and Misty didn't seem too concerned with Leaf at the moment.

Sure enough, in the next couple of days, Paul stopped coming to school: he'd caught the stomach flu as well. But on the other hand, May was back.

"Hi guys!" May said excitedly to Ash, Gary and Misty when she arrived to school.

"You feeling better?" said Ash, eyes bright. "That's great!"

"Yeah," said May. "Though I'm still feeling a teeny, tiny bit sick, but not a lot. Mommy says I should eat light food, but I don't really feel like eating that much."

Ash gasped. May loved food! If getting sick made even her not want to eat, he really didn't want to get sick.

"Glad you're better, May," said Misty. "Let's see, only Drew and Paul left."

"At least you three didn't get sick," said May.

"Yeah," said Misty. Though she sounded a little tired. And when May looked closer, she could see Misty had slightly pinked.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked.

"Of course I am! It's just a little warm."

"No it isn't," said Gary. "Are you getting sick too? If you are, you should go home, or else you'll get everyone else sick." He said it a little smugly, making Misty glower at him.

"No, I'm not getting sick!"

Halfway through the day, Ms. Beatrix, noting how feverish Misty looked, suggested she go to the nurse's office. It wasn't long before she went home too.

Then, it was just May, Ash, and Gary.

"Oh no, everyone's getting sick," said May worriedly. "You guys don't get sick too, okay? Then I'll be at school alone, and I missed you guys when I couldn't come. I don't want you to be not-here when I finally get to come back."

"Don't worry!" said Ash, giving her a thumbs-up. "I'm not planning to get sick!"

Gary, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. "You know, I think we can still meet up if we're all sick."

"No!" said Ash in horror. "No we shouldn't!"

"I don't mean like that," said Gary, looking a bit annoyed.

"Then what do you mean?" asked May.

Gary smirked, his eyes glinting in that way they did when he had an idea. "Just wait until we get home. Me and Leafy can plan it out!"

May was curious as to what he was up to, but no matter how much she asked, he wouldn't tell her a thing. She wasn't sure what to expect when she came home, but, later in the evening, she got a call from Leaf.

"Hey, May!" she said. She didn't sound like she was still sick.

"Leaf!" said May, beaming. "Are you all better now?"

"Yup, mostly! Hey, Gary told me everyone else got sick, so we're thinking of doing a big video chat! Then we won't be going near each other, but we can still see each other!"

"That's a great idea!" May exclaimed. "Is everyone doing it?"

"I'm calling to tell some people, and Gary's calling everyone else. I hope everyone agrees, though."

"I hope they do! This'll be so exciting!"

They talked to their parents and managed to set up a date. It took a couple of days, and by this time, everyone who was stuck at home had at least gotten well enough to talk. With borrowed laptops, the seven of them started a video conference.

"Hi everyone," May said when everyone's face turned up on the screen. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Yeah!" said Leaf.

"Of course you didn't, Leaf," said Misty, rolling her eyes. She was sitting on a sofa, wrapped in a blanket. "You don't even go to our school."

"That doesn't mean I can't miss you all!"

"Yeah, I missed you guys too," said Ash. "I'm glad I didn't get sick, but I sorta wish you all didn't have to be stuck at home either."

"It's not too bad," said Drew. He was snuggled comfortably in a large, plush bed. "Well, the first days were really bad because I was really sick, but then I got better, and now it's actually kind of relaxing."

"Oh no, it's really bad the whole time," Paul grumbled. "I'm sick, and not comfortable because Reggie's sick too and asleep in our room so I can't open the lights and I have to stay on the sofa and the sofa is really lumpy and I wanna sit somewhere else but I'm too sick to get up and find some place else and when Reggie is feeling okay he starts talking a lot and it gives me a headache and I tell him to stop and he stops but then he starts saying he's really sick over and over again and I don't like any of it!"

"Hey, I thought you and Reggie have your own rooms," said Gary.

Paul shrugged. "It's actually the same room, but we use a curtain so he has his side, and I have my side, and so we have our own room."

"I wanna see! Can I come to your house?"

"No."

"You never let me come to your house!"

"Gary, you shouldn't go to his house when he's sick," said Misty. "You'll get his germs too, and you'll get even more people sick!"

"I mean when he's better!"

"I hope you all get better soon," said May. "I was sick for so long and didn't get to see any of you, and now you guys are sick so I still can't see you!"

"Hey, at least me and Gary aren't sick too," said Ash.

"Not yet, anyways," Paul muttered.

"I'm almost better," said Drew. "I think I'll stay a couple days more, and then be back."

"Yeah, same with me," said Misty. "Though I think my sister Violet might be getting sick too. Ugh, I'm gonna have to stay away from her!"

"My house is too small to stay away from Reggie," said Paul.

"What d'ya say about me?" came Reggie's voice from Paul's side. Looked like he was awake now.

"Nothing!" Paul yelled back, irritated. "Just stop being sick so I don't get sick!"

"I'm almost better!" Reggie called back. "It's you who keeps staying sick, you know."

Paul started to shout back, but choked on a cough instead.

"My butler's better too," said Drew. "He got sick, but now he's okay."

"That's good," said May. "Or else if he wasn't better, how would you come to school?"

"Huh?" Drew looked confused. "Why wouldn't I come to school if my butler was sick?"

"Because he drives you," said May. "If he was too sick to drive you, who would do it instead?"

"There are lots of other servants and people who can drive me."

"Oh."

"When you all get better, let's all get together and do something," said Leaf. "I see you guys even less, 'cause I don't go to the same school. I miss everyone!"

"You see me and Ash and Misty 'cause we live nearby," Gary pointed out.

"Yeah, well I didn't see you guys much when I was sick. And I wanna see all of you this time."

"Good idea!" said May. "We can have a not-sick-anymore party!"

The seven friends went on talking, catching up on what interesting occurrences they missed in school, and discussing what kind of party they should have, and just having their usually banter. Finally, they began to run out of things to talk about, and Paul, Misty and Drew said they were going to take a break to rest some more, and one by one, they all left the video call. May shut her laptop (well, her father's), and exhaled slowly. Her friends all looked much better, but there would still be some time before they could return. She wished there was something she could do to make them get better, but it was just one of those things you had to wait out.

So wait she did.

And, with patience and a lot of effort to stay safe and healthy, May and her friends managed to wait out the exhausting flu season.

Aaand done! Hope you enjoyed!

I've already started working on the next chapter too, so no guarantees, but hoping I get it done quicker than I did this one.

Also, I hope you all are doing well. With everything going on in world - the pandemic, racial injustice, etc - it's hard to feel okay. Make sure you take some time for self-care too, and reach out to friends and family.

I've been debating on whether to put something like this here, but with everything going on, I need to say something.

Racial discrimination of any kind is never okay. Racism against Black people in particular has been pervasive in not only the United States and Canada, but all around the world. It is important that we stand up for those who are being hurt, and stand against those who are hurting others. Not everyone is able to do something big like join a protest, but there are smaller steps we can try to take, whether it's calling out someone you know on their discriminatory and hurtful behaviour, or promoting and supporting businesses owned by those being marginalized and oppressed. We have to stay aware; we have to stand firm against injustice.

So bye bye for now. Stand strong, everyone, and let's get through this together!