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Leo was walking home from school. The teachers noticed he wasn't feeling well and sent him to the nurse, to which the nurse told him to go home. Despite being warm out today, Leo felt cold, so he wore a jacket and a scarf around his neck. His throat felt like it was on fire, and he felt tired. He lost his voice too. He would never understand why his parents sent him to school today when he wasn't feeling his best.
He felt another coughing fit coming. He hunched over and covered his mouth with his fist as he coughed. It felt like he was getting punched in the gut every time he coughed. When the coughing fit was over, he pulled out a packet of tissues he brought with him. He pulled one out and spat out the phlegm he coughed up into the material. There were no trashcans nearby, so he had no choice but to stuff the tissue into his other pocket. He just wanted to go home and go to sleep in his warm comfy bed at this point. He didn't want to do anything else.
His stomach was growling. He didn't eat breakfast and he refused to eat his lunch. Every time he swallowed, it felt prickly going down his throat. He would rather go hungry than have to endure the pain again. Just a couple blocks away from his home now, he noticed one of the tims were wandering the streets. Which meant that Balan was nearby. Curiosity took over, and he turned a corner to see. Sure enough, the theater was just across the way. The fuzzball turned around to see if Leo was still following it. But he stopped in place. "I would like to say hello, but I don't feel well... Maybe I'll drop by another time." He said in his head. His throat hurt too much for him to say anything out loud. He started walking away until his stomach gurgled again. The door to the theater opened, and Leo heard a warm and inviting voice. "I heard that." It said.
Balan was at the door, smiling as usual. "I thought you'd be out here. Why don't you come inside, Leo? You sound awfully hungry." He gestured for the boy to come inside. What he really wanted was to just go home and lie down. But the maestro's look of generosity was too much for him. So he decided to walk inside.
The warmth of the theater felt refreshing, even though it was warm outside anyway. Leo took off his jacket but kept the scarf on. He still felt mildly chilled. "I can tell you've had a rough day. Long day at school, I assume?" Balan tried striking up a conversation with the boy. Leo shrugged his shoulders, not knowing how to respond as his throat hurt too much. "You're out relatively early. Is there a special occasion going on? If it is, is it that special for you to skip lunch?" He continued to ask questions only to have no answer. At that point, Balan was starting to get confused and concerned. He turned around and knelt down to his level. "Leo? What's the matter? Why aren't you talking to me?" Leo opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue while pointing at his gaping maw. He also rubbed his throat in discomfort, trying to tell Balan what was wrong.
It finally hit him. "Oh! I get it now! Your throat hurts." He exclaimed. Leo nodded in response. "Well, it's no wonder you haven't eaten anything. It's painful going down, isn't it? That would also explain why you're out of school early." Leo nodded again. Balan pulled him closer as he held him under his arm. "Aw, I'm sorry, Leo. I know how much sore throat sucks. Have you tried gargling warm saltwater?" He recommended. Leo stuck out his tongue and shook his face in disgust. "Oh, it's not that bad. It's very helpful, in fact! Have you ever even tried?" Leo looked away from Balan's gaze and just barely shrugged his shoulders. He guessed the boy never tried.
"I'm sure it will make you feel a bit better, Leo. Come on, let's give it a try." He guided Leo to the bathroom, where he grabbed a small cup and filled it with warm water. With a snap of his fingers, a salt shaker appeared in his hand and sprinkled it into the water while grabbing a little stirrer to mix up the solution. "Here you go, Leo. Try it." Said Balan as he offered the glass to him. Leo covered his mouth and shook his head while holding out his hand. He didn't want to drink it. "Come on now, my boy. It's not like you're swallowing it. You just gargle with it and spit it back out when you're done. Sure, it might not taste great, but it'll help relieve some of the pain. I promise." Leo still refused to do it.
Looks like Leo was one of those picky patients that refused to take their medicine. Balan tried to think of a way to get him to take the solution. "Tell you what, Leo." He started. "If you take this solution just this once, I'll give you a treat in the end. Be it a popsicle or hot chocolate. How does that sound?" Balan found Leo's weakness when he mentioned hot chocolate. He remembered his mom saying something about how warm liquids often soothed a sore throat. Plus, how could he turn down hot chocolate? Leo sighed heavily and took the glass. "Very good," Balan said. "I'll go see if there's anything in the kitchen for you to eat. Preferably something warm and soft. Does that sound good to you?" Leo nodded his head. He forgot he was starving as he hasn't eaten anything recently.
One of the tims hopped up on the table, chirping. "Make sure he actually takes it, alright?" Balan told the critter. It nodded in response and started looking at Leo. "Meet me in the dining room when you're done. Ok? You just have to do it once." Leo rolled his eyes but gave a thumbs up anyway. With that, Balan disappeared.
Leo looked at the glass of warm saltwater. The thought of him drinking saltwater disgusted him. But he wanted this sore throat to go away. Besides, Balan never steered him wrong, right? He took a deep breath a took a large slurp from the glass. He gargled as he was supposed to and spat it out into the sink at the end. He admitted it wasn't as bad as he thought it was. The warm water felt lubricating almost, despite it being salty. Oddly enough, it did help. Leo cleared his throat as he was trying to get his voice back. "One... Two... One... Two." He counted. The closest he could get to speaking was at a whisper. Not much progress, but at least he could talk somewhat again.
Leo looked for the dining room around the theater. The tim that was with him guided him through the hallways to find the right room. When Leo finally arrived, Balan brought in a jar with some golden, gooey, viscous liquid inside. "Ah, there you are, Leo. Did you gargle with the solution?" Leo tried to muster whatever words could come out. "Yeah. I did." He whispered. "Sure sounds like you did. Now before you get your treat, I want you to do one more thing for me." He opened the jar and scooped out the liquid with a spoon. "What's that? Cough syrup?" Leo asked, his voice still raspy and sore. Balan chuckled. "Somewhat, yes. It's just honey. It's perfect for sore throat. Just take a spoonful of this, and it will help make your throat less scratchy." He knelt down to Leo's level with the spoonful of honey in his hand. With no other choice, Leo opened his mouth and Balan spoonfed him the honey. After gargling the saltwater solution, it felt good to eat something sweet.
Eating the honey made his throat feel a little better. It felt a little less prickly when he swallowed, and he could raise his voice a tiny bit louder. "There now. How do you feel?' Balan asked. Leo cleared his throat. "That does help. Thanks." Before he could get another word in, Balan stuck a thermometer in Leo's mouth and grabbed a stethoscope to listen to his chest. "Tell me, Leo, when did you start feeling bad?" He asked. Although the sudden checkup caught him by surprise, he answered anyway. "Uh... This morning." He replied. "How do you think you caught this?" Balan took a magnifying glass and looked through his eyes. "I think I caught it from my parents. One of my dad's co-workers got him sick. And then my mom got sick, and now I'm sick. They sent me to school anyway. But the nurse told me to go home." "It didn't really hit you until later in the day, did it?" Leo cocked his head to the side, a sign of saying yes.
Balan took the thermometer out of Leo's mouth and examined it. "Well, the good news is you don't have a fever. Seems to me you've got a touch of laryngitis. But don't worry. It's easily treated." He assured. "Yeah, Balan. This brings me to the question." Leo spoke up. "How did you know saltwater and honey help a sore throat?" Balan chuckled again. "Oh, Leo, I'm no stranger to a sore throat. I've had it before." He paused. "... Uh... Grant it, I can't really remember the last time I've had it, but I know it's a pain in the rear. Plus, I have a friend who's an expert in home remedies. They told me that honey can work wonders for laryngitis." Leo smiled at him.
His stomach growled again, and Balan laughed in response. "Oh my, we can't forget about that, can we? Come, sit down at the table. Do you like macaroni and cheese?" He asked. Leo smiled and nodded his head. It was both warm and soft and wouldn't feel as prickly when going down his throat. He was about to sit at the table until his nose felt itchy. As if the sore throat wasn't bad enough, now he felt the sneezing coming back. He reached into his pocket for his packet of tissues only to find them empty. He used them all up after spitting up so much phlegm at school. Leo held a finger to his nose, trying to prevent the sneeze. Noticing this, Balan pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve and held it out in front of Leo. "Here, my boy. Sneeze into this." He said. Leo pulled his finger away from his nose and flung himself forward into the rag as he sneezed. "ACHOO!"
"Bless you." Balan said, wiping Leo's nose. Leo took the handkerchief from Balan to clean himself up. "Thanks. Sorry about that. I'll wash it when I get home." He said. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Leo. I have plenty more. You can keep that one if you like." Balan gently said. Leo shrugged and stuffed the handkerchief in his pocket. Finally, he sat at the table.
One of Balan's clones came in with the pot of mac and cheese. It ladled some into both bowls and handed Leo a mug that was topped with whipped cream. "This is your reward for gargling with the saltwater, Leo. I kept my end of the bargain, and now you get your treat. I know how much you like hot chocolate. Plus, this will help with your sore throat." Balan said. Leo licked his lips, practically salivating over the beverage. He took the mug and immediately began guzzling it down. Balan couldn't help but laugh as Leo chugged the drink. "Does that feel better?" He asked. Leo stopped chugging his drink and sighed in delight. "Much, thank you. I didn't know how much I needed that." Balan smiled. "That's good to hear. Now eat up before it gets cold. It's a good idea to eat a little when you're feeling sick." He advised. Leo nodded and started eating the pasta.
Balan was surprised by how fast the boy was eating, despite his throat hurting. He was practically shoveling the food in his gullet and not stopping while drinking his mug of hot chocolate as well. The maestro took it as a sign that he was starting to feel better now that his throat hurt a little less. The poor boy was starving because of his ailment. Leo finished his bowl of mac and cheese and his mug of hot chocolate in no time at all. He sighed in relief now that his belly was full. "My, my. You indeed WERE hungry. Need seconds?" Balan asked. Leo just pushed the bowl away from him. "I would love some more, but I really gotta get home. I just want to go to bed at this point." He cleared his throat to help his still raspy voice. Balan nodded and stood from the table. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll escort you to the door." He warmly said.
Leo grabbed his jacket from the coat rack as the maestro lead him to the door. He knelt down to his level and adjusted Leo's scarf. "You take care of yourself, Leo." He said. "Remember to drink plenty of fluids, take the medicine your parents give you, and get lots of rest. Gargle warm salt water and take a spoonful of honey if you need to. It'll help take away the pain for a little bit. I hope your laryngitis will go away and you get well soon." Leo smiled and hugged the maestro before walking out the door. "Thanks, Balan. Who would've thought you were the best doctor." He said. Balan hugged him back. "Not a doctor. Just experienced. Now you go home and relax, ok?" Leo nodded his head as he walked out the door of the theater.
As Leo was about to turn a corner, he stopped a moment to cough and felt his nose itch again. He groped around in his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief Balan gave him. "ACHOO!" He sneezed. "Bless you!" Balan called at the other end. Leo smiled and waved at him as a way of saying thank you as he headed back home to rest.