Jim glanced at the clock. Crap, there wasn't time enough to take a shower. Oh well, being slightly unhygenic was better than being late...again. He grabbed his stuff and headed out the door, hopped in his car, put in a CD, and drove to school.
Jim and his parents lived in a nice little house in the suburbs, but his school was closer to the downtown area, so it took him somewhere around fifteen minutes to get there. Which was fine; it let him get a few songs in and gave him a chance to fully wake up before he got to school. He had gotten through "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "Clap" and was a little way into "Starship Trooper" when he pulled into the parking lot. Retrieving the CD and locking the car, he headed into the school.
Rick was waiting in the entryway for him. Rick and Jim had been best friends since as long as either of them could remember. Both were terrific geeks, and though Jim was more into computer science than Rick, who was interested in the physical sciences, they got along very well. "Hey, Jim!" Rick grinned. "Guess what I got this close to last night?"
Jim smirked. "Getting a girlfriend?"
Rick chuckled. "Nope. I almost had a miniature particle accelerator."
Jim laughed. "You did not. No freakin' way."
Rick grinned again. "Did too. I had it all put together, but I wasn't sure it was safe enough. And when you're smashing atoms in your own house, you want to be pretty sure it's safe."
Jim shook his head. "One of these days, Rick, you're going to make the news as the guy who had a reactor melt down in his parents' basement."
Rick shrugged. "Probably. But it'll be glorious."
Laughing, the two boys headed off to class. The morning passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was time for lunch. Waiting in the cafeteria was Sharon, Jim's girlfriend. People often wondered how a dork like Jim could get a girl like her, and Jim was the first to admit that he had no idea. Sharon wasn't a supermodel, but she was definitely attractive, and while she wasn't a nerd of Jim or Rick's caliber, she was no ditz, either. Sharon and Jim were still getting started in their relationship, but they enjoyed spending time with each other, and both had high hopes for their relationship. The three of them had a good time talking over lunch, and then went back to class.
At the end of the day, Jim and Sharon met up outside the school. "So," Sharon smiled, "where to? The park? The mall?"
Jim sighed. "I don't think so," he said. "Sorry, I'm just feeling pretty crappy, and I'd hate to accidentally throw up on you or something."
Sharon looked concerned. "That's too bad," she said. "Is it anything serious?"
Jim shook his head. "Nah, I'm just feeling kind of nauseous, that's all. I should be over it by tomorrow, but right now I kinda just need to rest a while."
Sharon nodded. "All right, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow, then."
Jim grinned. "Wouldn't miss it."
They parted, and Jim drove back home. By the time he walked in the door, he was seriously worried he was going to vomit. Propping the bathroom door and his bedroom door open, he stripped down to his underwear and laid down on his bed, covering up with a blanket and hoping he could get over this bug by tomorrow.
Fri Apr 18 20:48:38 2008