The Tide - Completed

Part 4

Flu Blues

Ugh, I feel awful. I've woken up with a splitting headache. My throat is excruciatingly sore and my nose is partially blocked.

"Trust me to get a cold during the holidays," I grumble.

I force myself out of bed and head for the bathroom. Before I reach the bathroom, I decide to peek into Ami's room; just to see if she's still sleeping. I stick my head through the doorway quietly only to see that Ami's bed is already neatly made. I can hear the shower water running. Great, now I have to wait for 'O hygienic freak' to finish her two hour (literally) shower. I sit down against the wall and start to think. There's got to be a way for me to get Ami out of the shower. Suddenly, my imaginary light bulb lights up. Idea! I guess I'll just have to save the water bill by doing a little 'good deed'.

 I creep down the stairs and go to the garage. In there is a cabinet that contains all the switches for the lights, plugs, appliances and other dangerous items that require electricity. Ami and I are banned from this cabinet, but we still open and turn switches off occasionally. I look at the label under each switch. Bingo. I've found the switch. In big bold letters, the label says 'Geyser'.

 Our geyser is not like any normal geyser. With normal geysers, it takes almost twenty-four hours for the water to become cold. However, with our geyser, it only takes a few minutes for the water to become ice cold. I snigger as I flip the switch. I close the cabined door and return to my room. I settle myself in my bed and wait. Suddenly, a shriek comes from the bathroom. I smile smugly and close my eyes. I hear Demi run down the passage and burst into the bathroom.

"What? What is the matter?" Demi gasps as she tries to catch her breath.

"The hot water is gone! I still need to wash my hair!" Ami cries, exasperated.

"Oh, jeez not again!" Demi groans. "Let me go check the switches."

I can hear Demi going down the stairs, through the kitchen and to the garage.

"Here's the problem!" she shouts. "One of the switches must have tripped! I think I need to call the electrician again."

"This is unbelievable!" Ami whines.

I chuckle evilly, but my chuckle turns into a vicious cough. I groan as my coughing fit ends. My throat is on fire.

"Jamie?" Demi says. She sounds concerned.

"Yes, Demi?" I croak. My voice sounds worse than I thought it would be! I sigh. There's no way I can hide my illness from her.

She opens the door and walks in. She looks at me and sighs sympathetically.

"My poor Jamie," she coos.

She puts her hand on my forehead.

"You're on fire!" she exclaims. "I'm starting to get worried."

"Don't worry, Demi," I croak. "I'm fine. It's nothing serious."

Demi shakes head.

"No, Jamie," she says. "You're not going out today or tomorrow. You need to rest."

She's right; I do need to rest. All this commotion that's occurred lately is probably the reason for my fatigue and illness.

"I'll bring you some soup in an hour," she squeezes my arm. "I want you to rest now."

I nod my eyes and close. Demi lets go of my arm and exits, closing the door behind her. Just as I'm about to doze off, Ami walks in. I know this because only Ami uses deodorant that smells like toilet cleaner. I groan.