Feeling Fishy

I walked to lunch with Bree and Irina and we waited for Lauren before we sat down. I nibbled on an apple and was relieved I could sit with my friends. Hopefully, he was just being polite, and that he wasn't gonna make me sit with him again. If I could just eat my apple in peace... My thoughts were interrupted by 2 taps on my shoulder. My hopes all deflated at once, except for one tiny hope that I hadn't even realized was there. Maybe the smallest part of me wanted to sit with him, and talk to him. I turned around and smiled at Zach, and he grinned back.

"Come sit with me again." We passed the table where all of his friends sat, and I saw some of them give him a look, which he ignored and confidently walked to the same table we sat at yesterday. On the other side, I stumbled and almost fell on the way to the table. For a second I wondered why I could run miles without falling once but couldn't walk across a room. We sat down and we made eye contact. He challenged me with his eyes to maintain our stares. I was going to win. I had to. I was naturally competitive, which was weird because I was so shy, but why did that matter? I stared intensely and he narrowed his eyes, so I did the same. It was like he was staring at my soul, and I was doing the same thing. His eyes started watering, and he looked away blinking. I smiled and said softly "I win." blushing the slightest bit. He laughed. Then he stared at me with his head tilted to the side. It made me more self conscience, this was completely different from 2 seconds ago. I looked down and blushed, hoping he didn't see. I blush way too much. "Why are you staring at me?" I complained.

"I'm trying to figure out why your so shy." He said. That made me blush harder.

I didn't answer and instead looked down.

He stopped looking at me, and I relaxed. I continued nibbling on my apple, and watched his hands.

"Hey it's your turn to tell me about your family." He said.

"Fine." I sighed. "My mom is a nurse, my dad is a lawyer, my sister is in Elementary, and my brother is over there." I pointed to my brother.

"That's your brother? He's like the opposite of you! He's not shy at all!"

"I know. We are opposites." I mumbled.

He chuckled. "That's for sure. Tell me more about yourself."

***

I finished my homework, went on a run, and cooked dinner for my family. I had a headache, which was weird because I never usually had one. I decided to shrug it off and read, and suddenly my stomach hurt like crazy. I gagged, and sprinted to the bathroom, slamming the door and was violently sick. I luckily had only threw up in the toilet, so I didn't have much to clean. I gagged again and was sick for the second time. Weird. I brushed my teeth, and staggered off to my room. I was exhausted, and I felt a fever starting to appear. What was going on? I had already had a headache. And now I was throwing up, had a fever, and my stomach still hurt. This was weird. It was probably just a little bug. Nothing that I had to worry my parents about. I went back to the bathroom and took a shower. Maybe I could sleep this off and feel better in the morning. I checked my temperature, and I had a fever of 102.6. What?? I lied on my bed and fell asleep.

***