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Minghao headed into school on Tuesday feeling great. He didn’t know why, he just felt like he was having a good week.
Firstly, his favourite singer had released some cool new music, his b-boy group won an inter-state competition, and he was getting especially good at his English now that he had been in LA for over two years.
As he walked into school, Minghao noticed his best friend heading toward him.
“Hey, Shua.” Minghao smiled, greeting his best friend of five years with a warm hug.
Joshua gave Minghao one of his warmest smiles. “Hey, Minghao. I have a question for you.”
Minghao nodded. “Go on.”
Joshua hesitated for a moment. “I know it’s short notice but… you know my family is Catholic?”
Minghao nodded.
“Okay. Well, in Christianity we have this thing called Ash Wednesday. It’s tomorrow and Catholics take up a fast on Ash Wednesday. We don’t eat for the whole day. I was wondering if you would be happy to join me. Y’know, as a bit of moral support. I was going to ask Jeonghan but you know what he’s like with food.”
Minghao smiled. “Of course, I’ll join you. As long as it helps you. It must be pretty hard not eating while everyone else is eating.”
Joshua let out a small laugh. “Yeah. It can be.”
“Okay. I’ll join you tomorrow. No food. Are you going to any services? I’d like to learn more about Christianity. I was brought up mainly surrounded by Buddhism and Taoism. Can I join you?”
Joshua smiled. “Of course, you can, Hao. I’m not going to stop you if you want to learn. I’ll be heading to a service straight out of school tomorrow. I’ll bring you with me.”
“Thanks, Shua. This is a great learning opportunity.”
Minghao was interrupted by the bell ringing, signalling the beginning of classes.
The two boys shared another hug before running off to their classes.
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Minghao woke up the next day feeling hungry, stomach grumbling for food. He let out a long groan as his phone reminded him that he had promised Joshua to join him in his Ash Wednesday fast.
Damn promises. He’d just have to make the day work.
Minghao quickly threw on his school uniform and grabbed his school bag, checking he had all his textbooks and his laptop before heading down to say goodbye to his mom.
“I’m off to school,” Minghao called as he grabbed his coat and threw it on.
Minghao’s mom quickly came through to the hallway. “Have you had breakfast? I’ve set out a box of cereal.”
Minghao shook his head. “I promised Joshua I’d be moral support today. Catholics have this thing called Ash Wednesday when they don’t eat for a day. I’m joining him as moral support.”
Minghao’s mom rolled her eyes. “Alright, but if you can’t do it, don’t force yourself.”
Minghao smiled. “Of course not, mom. Love you. I’m joining Joshua for an Ash Wednesday service after school so I’ll be back late. I’ll call you when it’s finished.” Minghao quickly rushed out the door, not wanting his mom to worry even more.
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It was an hour after what would usually be lunchtime when Minghao realised he’d made a mistake.
Over the day he had been becoming weaker and weaker until he was struggling to walk without holding a wall.
At one point Junhui only just managed to catch him as he fell. Junhui thought he had tripped. Minghao was sure he had blacked out for a moment.
Once lessons were over, Joshua met him just in front of the school and they headed to the Ash Wednesday service.
Minghao sat down on one of the pews beside Joshua and his family, holding one of the service books in his lap.
Just before the service was about to begin, Minghao’s head started throbbing, vision blurring and everything started spinning slightly. Just as the service began, his lips started tingling, like a thousand needles were pricking him over and over again.
It was when they stood up that everyone realised how he was feeling.
As Minghao stood up, the floor tilted under him. Minghao felt an arm wrap around his bicep, but it didn’t break his fall before he felt a sharp pain in his head and everything faded to black.
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Joshua gasped as he saw Minghao stand up and fall to the side. He reached out and grabbed Minghao’s arm but he wasn’t quick enough to stop Minghao’s head from hitting the pew in front.
The moment Minghao’s head hit the pew, his eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp in Joshua’s hold.
Joshua’s father was quick to grab Minghao and carry his limp body outside without getting too much attention. Joshua’s father just lay Minghao down on the floor in the empty entrance hall to the church when the small boy started seizing, eyes rolling in his head and whole body jerking with force.
Joshua let out a sob, holding Minghao’s hand while his father stuffed a coat under Minghao’s head and called an ambulance.
Blood was running down Minghao’s face from a large cut at his hairline. Joshua sat at Minghao’s side the whole time, holding Minghao’s hand tight, scared for his best friend.
The ambulance soon arrived outside the church, bringing in a gurney and giving Minghao an injection to stop the seizure. Once he was lying still, the paramedics got Minghao strapped to the gurney and into the ambulance.
Joshua’s father was understanding and allowed his son to miss the service to stay with Minghao at the hospital.
Joshua stayed beside him in the ambulance, watching as the paramedics placed an oxygen mask over his pale face and took his blood pressure.
“His blood pressure is a little too low for my liking. When was the last time he ate?”
Joshua sniffles slightly. “Yesterday. It’s Ash Wednesday.”
The paramedic took Minghao’s blood sugar and found the cause of all their problems.
“His blood sugar is 30mg/dL. That’s extremely low.”
The paramedic hooked him up to a dextrose IV, sticking the needle into the back of his hand and hanging up the IV bag.
Minghao started to wake up just as they pulled into the hospital. Joshua first noticed his foot twitch, followed by his fingers flexing slowly.
“HaoHao? Can you hear me?” Joshua called out nice and clear.
Minghao moved his head slightly and his fingers twitched again in Joshua’s hand.
“Come on, Hao. Wake up for me.” Joshua whispered, bringing a hand up to ruffle Minghao’s hair slightly.
“He’s most likely concussed. He might be confused when he wakes up.” The paramedic explained, gently opening one of Minghao’s eyes and shining a torch into it.
Just as Joshua thought he was finally waking up, Minghao’s eyes rolled up and he started thrashing and jerking on the gurney, almost falling off had it not been for the straps across his shoulders, waist and legs and the blanket pinning him down.
“He’s seizing again.” The paramedic announced to no one in particular, grabbing a small vial and syringe, drawing the liquid into the syringe and giving it to Minghao through the IV catheter in his hand.
Just as Minghao’s second seizure was quickly stopped, they pulled into the hospital, a small team of doctors rushing forward as the gurney was lifted out of the back of the ambulance and into the emergency room.
Joshua followed closely behind, standing back as the doctors moved Minghao onto a bed, stuck a few electrodes to Minghao’s chest and head, attaching wires connected to machines to monitor his vitals and brain activity. He let out a quiet sob as the doctors fastened soft fabric restraints tightly around Minghao’s skinny wrists.
“He had two seizures, one during transit. He will need a head CT and stitches on his laceration.” One of the doctors announced to the other two as they prepared to move Minghao to get a CT.
Joshua took a deep breath as he was wheeled away, still unconscious, reminding himself that these were the professionals and Minghao was safe.
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Minghao woke up feeling like someone was trying to drill into his skull. The lights were too bright. The sounds were too loud.
Minghao turned his head, feeling a soft pillow pressed against his cheek. Opening his eyes, Minghao could see the familiar figure of his best friend sitting beside him.
“Shua…” Minghao whined, reaching out a hand. As he reached forward, Minghao caught sight of the IV stuck into the back of his hand and the soft fabric around his wrists keeping him strapped to the bed. “Wha… Where are we?”
“The hospital, Minghao. You fainted and had two seizures.” Joshua whispered, voice breaking at the end.
“S-Seizures?” Minghao said, voice low and frightened, pulling at the restraints in an attempt to rub at his eyes.
“Yes, Minghao. They drugged you for the CT so you’ll be pretty tired. The restraints are to stop you from pulling anything out, like an IV. They said you’d feel pretty bad after the seizures. You didn’t wake up between the seizures. I think that’s what really freaked out the doctors.” Joshua explained, not pausing for breath between sentences.
“Shua. Why did I have a seizure?” Minghao asked, cutting off his friends rambling.
Joshua took a deep breath. “The first one was hypoglycaemia. The second one was a concussion.”
Minghao sighed. That explained why he felt so weird. He was concussed.
“They’ve bandaged up the cut on your head. It was bad enough to need a few stitches but it was on your hairline so there will barely be a scar. Luckily the brain bleed was small enough to fix itself. It was just in a bad part of your brain. That’s why you seized. They’ve also been giving you something in the IV to treat the low blood sugar so you should be feeling better now.”
Minghao just whined, hoping it would stop Joshua from talking. His head was hurting too much and he was being given too much information at once.
“Sorry, Hao. I shouldn’t have asked you to fast with me. It wasn’t fair.” Joshua cried, tears slipped from his eyes.
Minghao grabbed Joshua’s hand, only just reaching with the short length of the restraints. “Shua, please stop blaming yourself. There was no way you could have known I would get hypoglycaemia. People’s bodies work in different ways. If mine burns sugar quickly, there was no way of knowing. If anything, this is a good thing. I can now stop it from happening again.”
Joshua sighed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before nodding. “I’m still sorry.”
“Joshua!” Minghao half yelled, voice still sore. “I told you to stop apologising.”
Joshua sighed again. “Okay. How about you get some sleep. I’m sure the restraints will be gone when you wake up.”
Minghao nodded, closing his eyes and staying quiet until he fell asleep.
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Minghao was back in school two days later with his bag feeling a little heavier from the addition of dextrose tablets and gel for if he had low blood sugar again and a glucagon injection kit in case of an emergency like the one a few days ago. Minghao had been told he could take part in Ash Wednesday again, as long as he took some dextrose tablets throughout the day to keep his blood sugar up.
According to Joshua, he definitely wasn’t doing Ash Wednesday again.
Joshua was beside him, the two walking hand-in-hand, swinging their arms back and forth.
They were greeted back by their boyfriends, Jeonghan and Junhui, who had no idea why Minghao had missed school the previous day.
After receiving hugs and kisses, Joshua and Minghao explained what happened. The two were slightly shocked but relieved that Minghao was alright.
When they heard the bell ringing, they all said goodbye to each other, Jeonghan and Joshua heading to their class, Junhui heading to his and Minghao following another boy from his class, Mingyu, into the building.