Taking Care of The Sick Lad

"What are you two doing?" asked the mother, to wish I had no response as I was beneath the bed, trying to hide all the plain and folded papers. "Why were you on top of him, Asmah? Were you two fighting?"

"I was just checking his temperature," I said quickly as I tucked away the papers in some corner where the pup wouldn't tear them apart and get me into more trouble for the hard work we had put in. I also needed to do that to not raise any suspicions about the surprise we were making for her.

"But I think the thermometer rolled away in some corner here," I added the lie in a rapping voice. If that went out, then we were finished for life for the immense hard work we were trying to put in. I slapped myself under the bed lightly for lying but I didn't have any other choice.

"Let me help you with it," she said in a grim yet soft voice. "It must be around here and not hidden in some forsaken corner. I tried to keep enough gaps to let in any dust enter and give my son a severe sickness."

"No!" we both said in unison, taking the lady by surprise.

"I mean, you don't have to do that, Mother," said Sam for me as I had completely lost my tongue.

"Yes, Aunty," I put it to appease her. "I think you need to find the medicines for him quickly. I don't think I found one for reducing his fever. Could you fetch it as I try to take this stubborn person's temperature again before he makes me do it with more power?"

The lady just gave a short nod, giving us a suspicious eye like we were up to no good. I hoped that she didn't get any wrong ideas as it wasn't what it looked like. But there was no way I could tell the truth about that either for it was going to just land me out in the rain.

"Damn that pup of yours," cursed Sam as I quickly tiptoed on the wooden floor to fetch the thermometer that was in the cabinet with the medical supplies. "Where did you find that mug?"

"You need to worry about me getting caught with the lie that I created," I said in a grim voice. "If she finds that there were actually fever-reducing medicines here, I would be doomed and so would you."

"Good thing that she doesn't keep the medicines as she's afraid that I would overdose myself."

The way he rolled his eyes showed that he had a slight amount of annoyance about that part of his mother though he had a lot of love for her.

"Also, you deserve to get in trouble," he said in a stern and annoyed voice. "That pup got me sick and even injured me with its teeth. I never knew that you were allowed to keep pets. What's the breed of this bratty creature?"

"You very well that it's your fault for sneaking up on me like a kidnapper," I snapped at him as I thrust the thermometer into his mouth. "What were you expecting from a loyal creature that was trying to protect me?"

"Even then, you should have kept it away."

"I did but I didn't know that the wolf-pup would follow me."

"Wait, are-"

"Shut your mouth before your mum catches us."

The door flew open and in came the mother with the meds for him. We had to keep the thermometer in his mouth for another minute as we conversed with our eyes to keep the secret between us instead of getting me caught and thrown out of the house. That was one intense battle of stares that led to me being victorious as I had the threat of the pup biting him again with me.

His mum finally left and I decided to tail her to get some lukewarm water and a cloth for the boy who was burning up. I looked around for getting the items, keeping an eye for the freezer as I didn't want his other finding out the surprise that we were trying so hard to keep away from her eyes.

Although I felt the slight pang of her being disappointed that her cakes must have gone to waste, I was glad that I couldn't put in a small effort in making a perfect gift for her as I hadn't brought any gift for her and neither was her son able to. I hoped that this would brighten up her day on her day although her son had fallen ill most unexpectedly and certainly very quickly.

I returned to the room with a tray carrying the required items for getting the sick boy cured soon. The boy laid with his head on his pillow, staring up at the ceiling and listening to heavy pitter-patter that fell on his wooden roof. He appeared to be in deep thought, the sadness evident in his eyes. The demotivation had affected him cruelly, given that he was sick.

I placed the tray on the bedside table with a sigh, gazing at the quiet Sam who never looked so sad as he did now. I dipped the dry towel in the lukewarm water, squeezed it and put it on his forehead, wondering all along what was the easiest for him to make so that he would feel better.

I searched through my phone for the easiest ones that would not stress him out so much. Then, I brought out the papers, dusted them off and placed them on the bed beside him.

"Let's try the diamond and ninja star," I said in a sweet, encouraging voice.

"What's the point of doing those when the others are prettier and better suited for the occasion?" he rasped out in an impatient tone.

"It could be used for the decorations. What's wrong with doing those two? They suit the hangings very well. Otherwise, we could go for a simpler version of a flower which has multiple steps."

"That would be much better. How do you do it then?"

I taught him slowly, with enough patience to get him to make the perfect one. He was more than capable of doing it by himself but with the fever messing with his head, his headache made him stop thinking properly and he could only do what was asked of him. He got over it quickly and eventually, he got so excited to try out newer and tougher ones.

Amusingly, he became so well that he ended up surpassing my speed in making them though sometimes they would end up uncurling. When that happened, I would immediately remove them from his sight and fix them myself.

We talked little as we concentrated on making the perfect origamis. But when we did, the room would be filled with laughter as he had always been the funny type, despite being a bully in the past when he was younger.

There was a knock on the door and his mum entered the room. I didn't get enough time to hide the things we had made with our hands from her sight. To stop me from panicking and overthinking, Sam held my relax to ask me to relax.

"What are the two of you doing?" she asked as she leaned on the door frame watching Sam's hand moving in the dim light of the room to see the little flower he had made.

"Making origami for fun," came the boy's plain response.

"He's enjoying it very much despite his ailing health," I added with glee marked on my face though internally I wanted her to leave soon, but not for the kitchen.

"You two should be having lunch now, but if you want to make them for a little while longer, you can do so, son. I won't be forcing you to eat right away, although you might be hungry after all that work."

"No, I think we're fine."

"I would rather eat now," said Sam, sitting upright on the bed and letting the soft, wet cloth fall on his lap. "I feel rather hungry."

"That's a difference in opinion," she said with a smile. "But you might as well eat now than later. Or else it could affect your health adversely."

"I suppose that is the better idea," I inserted my word, fidgeting with my fingers. "But let me help you with it, Aunty. I hope we don't need to open the freezer."

"No, we don't need to. But why do you ask?"

"I get cold fingers and feet very easily. Basically, I have hypothermia symptoms which is why I keep away from cold most of the time."

"Oh, really? But wouldn't the Winter Academy be having their adventures in the snow?"

"That they will, but with the right clothes and equipment, I would be fine."

'How many lies are you going to tell, you idiot?!' my mind chided me. 'You're going to land yourself in immense trouble!'

'I will try to dissolve them once the day is over,' I told it to calm the nervous energy that it was inducing in me.

A bark resonated in the room as I turned to look at the window to see how much longer it would be raining so heavily before we could make the preps and before I could reach home.

I held my hand over my mouth and stared at the little corner where the pup stood with its doleful eyes at me. Then I looked at Sam, his slightly wide eyes looking at me. I then remembered that the pup needed to eat something, even though it didn't deserve any.

"What was that?" asked the mother with such seriousness that I lost my tongue.

After a minute of gulping down my fear, I said with a radiant beam, "It was just my hiccups."