Chapter Text
Langa sneezed. He sniffled and shook his head.
Seasonal allergies were the worst and it was the beginning of October, meaning autumn had begun.
It was bad enough that Langa would fall sick at least once every winter, but in the past few years, he had developed seasonal allergies too.
Runny nose, scratchy throat, and watery eyes were the result of pollen Langa accumulated everyday when he walked to school with Reki.
The two of them were in their third year of high school and it was split up into 4 quarters. After each quarter, they were required to take exams.
“So, what’s the plan for Friday? Are we meeting up with Cherry, Joe, and Miya?” Langa asked as they began their usual journey from school to home.
Reki hopped on his skateboard and began to ride, Langa following close behind.
“Yeah, sounds good,” Reki replied loud enough for him to hear.
Friday was the final day of their first quarter at school, which meant they got to leave a few hours earlier.
“I can’t wait to be done with homework for a few days,” Langa said, thinking about how much fun they would have on Friday.
“Dude, same. I’ve been so loaded with homework that I barely get time to practice new moves,” Reki said with a hint of annoyance.
Langa couldn’t blame him. Third year was way more rigorous than second year. He had to work much harder to maintain good grades at school. There was hardly any time to skate except for the ride to and from school.
He sneezed again, this time with more intensity than the last time. It made his eyes water and he swerved slightly on his skateboard, but quickly regained control.
“You good, bro?” Reki asked, briefly glancing back at him.
“Yeah yeah. I think it’s just allergies.”
“They suck ass.”
Langa chuckled at that comment. Reki was lucky that he didn’t get allergies. Some rare breed of human he must be.
“Are you even human?” Langa blurted randomly without thinking.
“What?” Reki stopped. They had reached the spot where they went opposite ways to their homes.
“You don’t ever seem to have allergies or get sick.” Langa halted as well, putting one foot on the ground.
Reki laughed, turning to face Langa. “Jealous that my body’s strong?”
Langa blushed. “Yes! I’d give anything to not deal with allergies.”
“Sucks to suck I guess.”
“That’s what I’ll tell you when you’re sick.”
“If I get sick.” Reki grinned, his fluffy dark red hair dancing with the slight breeze.
They were silent for a few seconds.
Langa’s sneeze broke the silence.
“I should probably get home, before this gets worse,” Langa said.
“Take care of yourself, ‘kay?” Reki said, beginning to look concerned.
Langa nodded. The two of them did their handshake and went their separate ways.
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The bell rang, signaling that school was in session.
“Alright class, I hope you’re ready to take your exams,” the English teacher announced, passing out the test.
Langa yawned and rubbed his eyes. His throat bothered him all night and he only got five hours of sleep.
Reki showed up five minutes late to class, huffing and puffing. They didn’t skate to school together this morning because Langa wanted to avoid the trees as much as possible.
“Ah, glad you could finally join us,” the teacher said, handing Reki the exam packet.
Reki groaned, walking over to his desk next to Langa. He raised his eyebrows upon seeing the mess that was Langa’s face.
“Wow, you look..terrible,” he whispered, setting his backpack down.
“Thanks,” Langa replied, running a hand through his sky blue hair.
They couldn’t say much after that because the teacher started the timer for their exam.
Langa’s sneezes gradually worsened in intensity as the time went on. He tried his best to keep the noises to a minimum to not disturb the others, but it wasn’t working.
His sneezes came in waves, rattling his entire body and making his eyes water. A few times, Reki looked at Langa with an expression that resembled concern.
Somehow, Langa finished his exam and, with shaking hands, placed it on the teacher’s desk. As he turned around, he found what he was looking for.
Tissues.
Grabbing a few, he blew his nose, not caring that the sound was echoing throughout the classroom.
“Your nose is red,” Reki whispered after Langa sat down.
Langa’s cheeks flushed out of embarrassment. One of the disadvantages of having a pale face was that you couldn’t hide blushes.
Throughout the rest of the day, Langa’s sneezing got worse and his sore throat made it hard to swallow.
“You sure you’re up to skate home today?” Reki asked, eyebrows drawn with genuine concern for him.
“Yeah,” Langa replied, eyes widening at the congested sound of his voice.
Reki didn’t look convinced, but he still got on his skateboard. However, he slowed his pace so that he rode right next to Langa.
“I’m worried about you man,” Reki explained.
“This is normal though. You know that,” Langa pointed out, sniffling.
“Yeah, but-,” He was interrupted by a loud AAACHHHOOOOO from Langa, causing him to lose balance and hurtle towards the ground.
Reki grabbed Langa’s arm and slung his arm around his waist to keep him from making contact with the ground.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I just- ACHOO- it’s getting - ACHOO- worse.” A sudden chill went through Langa’s whole body, making him shiver.
Reki put his hands on Langa’s shoulder to steady him. “You need to go home and rest.”
“I can’t. I still have to study for another exam tomorrow,” Langa explained, shaking his head.
“But you’re not feeling well. I’m worried about you.”
“I’ll be fine, really.” Langa sneezed again, turning his whole body away from Reki, forcing him to drop his hands in the process. “I don’t want anything to stop me from hanging with Cherry, Joe, and Miya tomorrow.”
“Your health comes first though, Langa.”
Langa sighed. He knew Reki was right. It was important to take care of himself, especially during allergy season.
“All right, I’ll go home and take a nap. Then we’ll see about studying,” he said.
Reki smiled at him. “Good. Let me know if you need anything. Oh, and Langa? Let’s walk today.”