Chapter 29

I woke when my alarm went off feeling incredibly better. Dad stuck his head in almost immediately.

“Hey bud, you’re looking better. Awake enough for me to get your temperature?”

“Yeah, come in. I feel so much better today.”

He stepped in and ran the thermometer across my head. “Normal again. Joan said you were better when you went to bed last night.”

“Yeah, she’s fun to hang out with. She told me about what’s happening at work.”

“Don’t get me started. I’ve got a single today, so I’ll be home right after you get in from school, but only if you feel like you are up to it. You were really sick yesterday.”

“I think I’m good, let me get up and ready, and I’ll decide for sure after breakfast.”

“Ok, I’ll get the coffee going, I already made pancakes.”

I did my morning routine, and was downstairs getting breakfast, watching Dad smugly pour coffee he had made all on his own. In that moment I was back with my Mom again, as she softly said, “Thank God for Keurig!”

“Why is that?” I asked her, as we both watched Dad smugly pour a cup of coffee.

“Your Dad is the only person I know that made coffee so bad the coffee maker killed itself in shame.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. If you forget water, they aren’t supposed to turn on,” Dad defended.

“Certainly, sweetheart, that is why I thank God for Keurig,” Mom said in reply. The smile never left her lips or her eyes.

I just smiled at him and said, “Thank God for Keurig,” He blushed, but didn’t say anything in reply.

I ate the last pancake, “I’m feeling great, so I’m going to head to school.”

“Only if you are sure. I could have Joan come stay with you again.”

“She just wants me to cook for her. I’m fine, Dad. If I get sick again, I’ll just come home, ok?”

“Alright, but only if you are sure,” he said again, a hint of the fear he had experienced knowing I was sick, but couldn’t be there to care for me leaking thru.

I grabbed my delightfully light weight bag, and headed to school. Mike saw me near the entrance and waved, “Where were you yesterday?” he asked as I got closer.

“I was sick.”

“Really? What with?”

“Livarrhea. It’s like diarrhea but you aren’t sure you will survive.”

“TMI dude,” but he snorted in laughter.

Homeroom was a lively discussion as we had begun the first book pair in our series, ‘My Life’ by President Clinton, and ‘The Gentleman from Georgia’ about his biggest political opponent, Newt Gingrich. The whole thing was ancient history to all of us. Presidents slept around, and lied about it. We all mostly agreed that was the way it had probably always been.

Miss Allen tried to convince us that it had been a pivotal shift in American morality, and that every President after had been worse because of it. As a class I think we rejected that, taking the stand that out in the open and hidden away were no different morally. Still I was finding it an exciting and engaging class.

Physics was interesting, especially with my new perspective on the nature of reality. Journalism had quieted down from the initial excitement of assigning jobs, and I had applied for two spots, a restaurant review and a recipe and cooking article.

“Mr Atwood, do you think you could do a fair and unbiased review of the local restaurants?” Mr Poole asked.

“Certainly sir, I’m only aware of how to give my personal opinion when it comes to food.”

“You won’t be extra kind to restaurants that a family member might be an owner of?”

“I’ve tried the Subway, if that’s what you mean. It’s as good as any other Subway I’ve been to.”

“Hmm, Subway too. Alright, I’ll want a new restaurant review every week, and I want a sample of a recipe article as well. I don’t think we’ve had one of those before.”

“Do you prefer super easy recipes, or complicated stuff? I regularly cook both.”

“Just wow me, Mr Atwood, give me an article that makes me want to shop and cook.”

“One wow coming up,” I said with a smile.

He turned to the rest of the class, “First articles are due Monday, if you want to be sure of a good grade, get them in by Thursday, so you can take my notes and rewrite over the weekend.”

Wednesdays are weight room day at PE, and because this was our first time using the gym, we were all encouraged to set a max. I was pleased to be able to be in the top five of the class both for total weight and reps at 80% of max. There were 15 machines, and 45 students, so we took turns spotting each other, before switching machines. I got to know the two other guys in my group, as we did the circuit as a threesome.

I was sweaty after working out, so I used the school showers for the first time before lunch. I got to my usual table after everyone else, to good natured greetings. It’s nice to know you were missed. I didn’t have to explain much about my weekend other than I had been down sick.

Economics after lunch was becoming more math based as we used equations to try to balance growth and debt for a company. It was easy stuff mostly, though I noticed a few struggled with it.