Chapter XI

Weeks passed, October came and went.

It was Friday, the final day before Halloween break commenced. It was also a non-uniform day, so all the students and teachers could have dressed up in any costume they liked.

A sneeze woke Briella up. She sniffled her runny nose.

Briella has been sick for a few days and last night was when her sickness got a tight grip upon her, consequently, leading her to the decision of staying at home.

"It's because of the cold weather..." she scoffed under her breath.

A sigh is heard from her as she turned around and onto her side, pulling the duvet over her shoulders.

She sniffled a few more times before being forced to breathe through her mouth.

Her eyes closed as she desperately tried to catch back her sleep.

Just as she felt herself drift back into her world of dreams, her phone chimes, causing her to open her eyes back up. She received a message.

'Who could that be at this time?...'.

Rolling to her other shoulder, she fetched her phone from her bedside table. Turning it on, her eyes widened in slight surprise when she saw the message was from Ryan.

Tapping onto the notification, it brought her to view his message.

"Hey, Briella. I just wanted to thank you for last night. Your drawings were amazing. The helped me a lot. Btw, going for anything fancy for Halloween today? Or will you keep it as a surprise for when you come in?" she read his message out through her blocked nose and croaky voice.

She kept her eyes on the message, a sympathetic look grew in her gaze.

Seconds later, she began typing in a reply.

'Sadly, I am not coming in today. I don't really feel the best.'.

Not even a full minute passed when she saw Ryan constructing a reply.

'Oh? Is everything okay? Are you okay?'. A small smile grew on her lips as a result of his concern.

'I'm fine. Just have a small cold or something like that. But it's nothing to be worried about.'. Just as she sent the message, a cough erupted right out of her and straight into her elbow.

Seen. Ryan has seen her message.

A minute passed and seeing that Ryan wasn't typing, she turned off her phone before placing it down onto her bedside table. With that, she laid back down prior to tucking herself to bed.

Closing her eyes once more, she tried to chase her sleep.

Breathing through her mouth, a small sniffle or two would have been heard from time to time, before...

ACHOO!

Grumbling under her breath, she rose herself back up. 'Looks like there'll be no more sleep, for now at least...'.

Uncovering herself from her duvet, she stood up onto her feet. Slipping her feet into her slippers, she made her way into the kitchen.

Filling up a kettle, see turned it on.

While waiting for the water to boil for her tea, she got herself a napkin before blowing her nose into it. Immediately, she tossed it into the bin. Walking over to her dining table, she took a seat on one of the chairs available, straight away beginning to massage her forehead. Keeping her hand on her forehead, she noticed how her fever is back.

She couldn't remember the last time a sickness has gotten such a tight hold upon her.

It was at that thought that her breathing quickened right before taking in a deep breath and letting it all out in another powerful sneeze. ACHOO!

A sniffle.

Then. Knock knock!

'Hmm?...'. Briella looked towards the main door. 'Who could that be?'.

With another sniffle, she stood back up before walking over and unlocking the door. Upon opening, the door revealed Ryan. Ryan with a big bag in his hand.

"Ryan?". Ryan noticed how croaky her voice is, he furrowed his brows at her.

"Are you sure you only have a cold?... Here, let's get you to bed..." he said, walking into Briella's apartment before closing the door behind him.

He helped her by taking her arm over his shoulder as if she was injured.

"Erm, Ryan? I am only sick, I can walk just fine.".

"Still... I don't want to take the risk..." he replied.

"You know, you are really close to me. You'll end up getting sick too. By the way, shouldn't you be on your way to school right now?? You'll be late...".

"And?..."

"W-what do you mean 'and'. You'll be late for school!" Briella exclaimed.

"I honestly couldn't care less. You are sick. Besides, it's the final day before the Halloween midterm...". A small break. "Bed or couch?".

"The couch will do just fine..." she told him.

"You sure?".

"Yah...".

With that, Ryan laid Briella onto the couch before grabbing a blanket and tucking her in.

"I bought you some warm pastries, I'll leave them here for you...". He left the bag on the table, adjacent to Briella.

From there, Ryan ended up gazing at Briella. Suddenly, he took a step towards her before leaning in. To Briella's surprise, he pressed his hand against her forehead.

Once more, he widened his eyes. "Just a small cold you said? You are burning up...".

"But it's nothing to worry about... I'm sure it will come down soon or something..." Briella responded.

"Nothing to worry about? Now, that right there is the 'understatement of the week'," Ryan spoke. "Do you have a thermometer?".

"Yeah...". Briella reached over and pulled a drawer out from her coffee table. She navigated her hand though the chest before finding the box that held the thermometer. Grabbing it, she pulled it out and placed it on the table.

"Alright...". Ryan took the box into his hands before unboxing the thermometer. Turning it on, he placed it against one of her two temples. With a beep, he checked the reading. "39.2 Degrees Celsius. A fever, a high one. Just as expected.".

Suddenly, Briella widened her eyes. 'My tea!! I forgot about my tea' she thought to herself, before she sat up.

"Hey! You are not going anywhere..." Ryan warned her. "Whatever you need, tell me and I'll get it for you.".

"My tea. I boiled the water for it.".

"Alrighty...". Ryan packed up the thermometer before leaving it on the table. "I'll brew the tea for you. What type of tea?".

"Please, I can do it. Besides, go, you are gonna be late for school...".

"I have never heard of that tea type before...". A small, teasing smirk took its place on his lips. "Now, all jokes aside, I insist on making you some tea, it's the least I can do.".

'As if he hasn't done enough already. He took time out of his morning to come and see me, on top of that, he bought me some food. Just now, he felt my head before going off to make me tea. Looks like I can't get the upper hand in this conversation, can I?'. With a gentle sigh, she gave in. "Peppermint...".

"Peppermint? Good choice.".

"Do you have any medications for fevers? Like Nurofen for an instance?" Ryan asked.

Briella stopped to think for a moment. "I think I ran out...".

Ryan, once again, crossed his brows in surprise when hearing Briella's words.

"But... I don't think I'd need it... either way, some tea and sleep will do me well," Briella added.

Ryan doesn't reply.

"Where is your tea assortment?" he went onto ask.

"The cupboard right above the microwave...". Following her words, he managed to find what he was looking for. Peppermint tea.

Placing a tea bag into a mug, he drowned it with hot water, allowing it to diffuse. "Alright, the tea should be ready in about five minutes...". He took a breath before continuing. "Excuse me for a quick moment...".

Briella watched him as he approached the door.

But, before she got a chance to ask him where he was off to, he already walked out of Briella's flat, closing the door behind him.