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The classroom was oddly quiet today. That was the first thing Albedo noticed when he walked into the door.
The second thing he noticed was that half the class was crowded around one table.
“What’s going on here?” Albedo called out as he approached the table, stopping suddenly when he saw what— or who— the class was crowded around.
Xingqiu had his head buried in his arms, folded over into himself. Chongyun sat beside him, rubbing slow circles on his back. Most of the other students were crowded around the table watching them.
“Xingqiu’s sick but he keeps refusing to go to the nurse. He says he’s fine,” Chongyun explained, not taking his eyes off the other boy.
“I already went,” Xingqiu said, his voice muffled. “I just- I-i can’t g-go home…” he said, his voice starting to crack. Chongyun pulled him into a hug.
“Okay,” Albedo said, his voice soft. “Everyone go back to their seats. Xingqiu, come with me.” Chongyun helped Xingqiu stand up. His face was pale, except for his flushed cheeks and watery eyes.
“I’ve got him. No need for you to worry.”
Chongyun nodded solemnly, giving Xingqiu one more hug before turning back around to sit down. Albedo placed a hand on his student’s lower back and led him into his office at the back of the room, guiding him to sit down on the floor against the wall.
“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” Albedo asked softly, kneeling down beside him.
“I-i’m really tired,” Xingqiu breathed. “My head hurts and my stomach feels weird, too. I’ve been awake all night studying for midterms a-and I called my parents but t-they wouldn’t let me go home- a-a-and…” Xingqiu buried his face in his arms. Albedo rubbed his shoulder gently, hesitant about touching him.
“Do you want me to call your parents and tell them you need to go home? It might help to have a teacher on your side.”
“N-no, they might get mad at me. I just… need a second,” the boy murmured, wiping his tears away. “I need to stay at school. I don’t want to have to make up the work.” He slumped his head down again, softly sniffling.
Albedo rubbed his back for a few moments before standing up and opening his supply cabinet. On the very bottom shelf was a pillow and blanket he kept in case of emergency. He took them out and set them down next to Xingqiu.
“Here. Lay down and sleep for the period. I’ll wake you up when it’s time to leave.”
“But what about my assignme-“
“I’ll exempt you from today’s work. You just focus on resting and getting better.”
“Oh…” A fresh set of tears leaked from Xingqiu’s eyes. “Thank you.”
“No problem. Now, I need to go back into the classroom before your peers all kill each other.” That earned him a tiny smile from the kid. Albedo got back up as Xingqiu wrapped himself in the blanket and laid down. “Sleep well, honey. Feel better soon.”