backstreet boys story (some of them) - (5 Parts)

[aggedy_ann]

This was the first sneeze story I ever wrote. It's pretty long, so here's the first part. As usual, more as I type it

Brigidmn

“So you guys got everything?” asked Kevin Richardson.

“I think so,” answered his aunt, Jackie Littrell. “You and Harold are in charge now, so y’all better act responsible.”

“Well, we’re ready to leave.” said Kevin’s mom, Ann, walking over and giving him a hug, as Jackie and Harold took turns hugging their own kids and their niece, Hannah, who was living with them.

“We’ll see you in a couple days.” said Harold, waving goodbye to his parents and his aunt.

“Bye Aunt Jackie, bye Uncle Harold, bye Aunt Ann.” 11 year old Hannah called.

“Have fun.” said Kevin.

“Bye, Mom and (huhehshoo) dad. Bye Aunt Ann. (huheshhhoo, hueshoo)” said Brian, sneezing and blowing his nose.

“Bless you, Brian. You’re not getting sick, are you?”

“No, mom. It’s just allergies.” he responded, sniffling.

“Okay. Well, y’all be good and behave yourselves.” she said as she got into the car, and the three of them drove away. 18 year old Kevin Richardson and his 19 year old cousin Harold Littrell turned and walked into the house. Hannah and 16 year old Brian Littrell both remained outside, Hannah looking as if she was going to cry. Brian turned to his younger cousin and picked her up in a hug.

“It’s okay, Hannah. They’ll be back before you (huheckshoo) know it. Let’s go in, ok, hon? The (hetcheoo) The pollen’s starting to get to me. (Hetchoo, hehechoo)”

“Bless you, Brian. Are you sure you aren’t getting sick?”

“Yes, I’m sure. The pollen must be really high today.” he answered.

“But nobody else is sneezing.” Brian didn’t answer; he just picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and carried her into the house where Harold and Kevin were waiting for them.

“Okay you guys, Kev and I are going out with some friends tonight. We should be back around 10 or 11.”

“Okay.” Answered Hannah. Harold and Kevin grabbed their stuff and headed out for the evening. “Brian, I’m going to go practice now.”

“Ok, Hannah. I’m going to read for a bit.” Brian said, sniffling. He reached for a tissue and blew his nose. At 5:30, Hannah came back downstairs. She heard the sound of muffled sneezing coming from the living room.

“Brian, are you alright?” she asked.

“(Hushoo, eshoo, huhehshoo) yes, Hannah. (Huheckshoo) I’b fide.” Brian said between sneezes. “Hueshoo, esheoo, uhchoo, heshoo” Brian sneezed a few more times, then grabbed some more tissues and blew his nose loudly. “I’m fine, Hannah.” he said. “The pollen count must be really high today.”

“So what do you want for dinner?” she asked him.

“I don’t know. I’m not really hungry.”

“How about macaroni and cheese?” she suggested, knowing it was Brian’s favorite food.

“Whatever.”

“I’ll cook, okay. I don’t like the idea of you sneezing all over the food.” she said and walked into the kitchen. She began preparing dinner. While she waited for the water to boil, she turned on the kitchen TV to watch the weather. The announcer went to the allergy forecast.

“Today’s levels are on the low side and will rise tomorrow and then start dropping after the next couple days.” the weatherman said. Hannah sighed as she poured the noodles into the water. Brian was obviously getting sick. The pollen levels were pretty low, but she had figured that anyway. Harold and Kevin both had allergies, and they weren’t bothered. If the allergy forecast was really as high as Brian claimed, they’d be miserable, especially Kevin, who wasn’t really bothered by allergies in the fall, but had the worst allergies in the spring and early summer. So did Harold, but his weren’t as bad as Kevin’s. She finished the macaroni and put it on the table with dishes for the two of them. She got a carton of juice out of the fridge and called Brian for dinner. Brian walked into the kitchen and plopped down in a chair. Hannah handed him a bowl of macaroni while he poured himself a glass of juice. She sat down across from him and took his hands for prayer.

“Do you want to pray?” she asked him.

“Why don’t you do it?” he said coughing.

“Okay. Bless us o Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.” Hannah and Brian ate their dinner in silence broken occasionally by Brian coughing and sniffling. Hannah finished her dinner and looked over at Brian who had barely eaten anything.

“Huhershoo, Eckshoo” Brian sneezed loudly. “Huh-ishoo, huesh, eshoo.”

“Bless you. You didn’t eat much. Are you sure you aren’t getting sick?”

“Hannah, I’b..” he paused. “Huhehshoo” he sneezed and blew his nose a couple times on a napkin. “I’m fine, alright. Just leave me alone.” he snapped.” Hannah looked at him, shocked. The only times he ever got crabby was when he was really tired…or sick. Brian noticed the expression on her face. “I’m sorry, Hannah. I didn’t mean to snap like that. It’s just, these allergies, you know, and I’ve got a headache. I’m really sorry, princess. I think I’m going to lay down and maybe take a nap. (huhishoo) Is it alright if I don’t help clean up?”

“That’s fine. You should probably take some advil or tylonel and get some rest. I’ll check on you later.”

“Thanks.” he sniffed and headed upstairs to his room, pausing occasionally to sneeze. Brian went into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet for some advil. He took the advil out and searched for some cold medicine. There wasn’t any. He took two advil and decided to check in his parents’ bathroom. There was none there either. He went back into the other bathroom and figured he’d try taking some benedryl. It might help, he thought, and it would help him sleep. He was getting sick but didn’t want to admit it yet. His parents were gone for a couple days, and he wasn’t sure how much Harold and Kevin were going to be around. He wanted to be able to take care of things and take care of Hannah, not have her take care of him. He started sneezing again and headed for his room.

Hannah finished washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Then she grabbed her cross-stitch and settled down in the living room to watch TV. At 7:30, she decided to go see how Brian was doing. His door was slightly open and she peeked in; he was curled up, sound asleep and snoring slightly louder than usual because of his congested sinuses. She pushed the door open and looked around. Several crumpled tissues were lying on the floor by the wastebasket. Hannah walked in and picked them up and threw them away. She, then, walked over to Brian and gently placed her hand on his forehead. It was warmer than usual, probably not a fever, but his temp was definitely elevated. She knew he wouldn’t let her do anything about it, so she decided to let him sleep and mention it to Harold when he got home. She went back downstairs and curled up with the cat, Missy. She put in her favorite movie, Jaws, and spaced out watching that. When the movie was over, she decided to get ready for bed. She took a shower and washed her hair, then changed into her pajamas and braided her long blonde hair. She took her meds and then brushed her teeth and went back downstairs to wait for Harold and Kevin. At 10:30, they came home.

“Hannah, what are you still doing up?” Harold asked; she was usually asleep by now.

“I think Brian’s sick.” she said. “He’s been sneezing a lot since you guys left.”

“It’s allergy season, Hannah. Brian’s always sneezing. He says that the pollen counts are probably high.”

“He’s sneezing more than normal. Plus, you guys have worse allergies and you’re not sneezing as much as he is. Besides, the pollen count is lower today. According to the weather, it won’t rise until tomorrow”

“Brian’s got a big nose.” said Harold. “He probably breathes in more pollen than the rests of us.”

“He’s coughing.”

“Sinus drainage.” said Kevin.

“Headache.”

“Allergies” Harold told her.

“He’s really grouchy.”

“His allergies are probably making him feel pretty miserable.” responded Kevin.

“He feels kinda warm too. I don’t think it’s a fever, and no, I don’t know how high it is. I checked his forehead while he was sleeping.”

“He probably felt warm because he was sleeping and under his blankets.” said Harold.

“He wasn’t hungry for dinner. I made macaroni and cheese, and he hardly even ate that. Now, I know I’m not the greatest cook in the world, but I have never screwed up macaroni.”

“Brian hardly ate his favorite food” Kevin said in disbelief. “He must be sick.”

“I’ll go check on him.” decided Harold.

She and Kevin sat on the couch and started watching the simpson’s while Harold went upstairs to see Brian. “Hueshoo, eshoo, huesh, ershoo” Harold heard Brian sneezing as he approached his room.

“Hey, Brian. What’s up?” He asked. Brian looked up and motioned for him to come in. He sneezed a few more times and then grabbed a fresh tissue and blew his nose, which was starting to turn slightly pink around the edges. “Bless you.”

“Thanks.”

“So, how you doing?” Harold asked. “Hannah thinks you’ve got a cold. I have to admit, I’m starting to agree. I’m going to check your temp ok.” Harold handed him a tissue and told him to blow his nose first. Brian blew his nose again and placed the thermometer under is tongue. A few minutes later, it beeped.. Harold took it out and looked at it as Brian hastily grabbed a tissue and began sneezing into it.

“Huheckshoo”

“99.8. You’re sick.”

“Heshoo, ushoo”

“Have you taken anything?”

“Advil ad bededryl. (heck-shoo)”

“Benedryl?” asked Harold.

Brian clamped a tissue over his nose. “I thought it bight help wid the sdeezig ad help be sleep. We dod’t habe ady cold bedicide. (huh-ershoo)”

“Okay. I’ll go out and pick up some cold medicine and some more Kleenex.” Harold said, noticing that the box Brian had was barely a quarter full. With the way Brian was sneezing, it wouldn’t last longer than tomorrow morning. “Still got a headache?”

“Yeah.” Brian responded, sniffling.

“When did you take advil?”

“Aroud 6:30”

“Ok. Why don’t you…” Harold broke off suddenly, snatched a tissue and sneezed into it. “(Hashoo) take some more okay. (hashoo)” he sneezed once more, blew his nose and tossed the tissue in the garbage.

“Bless you.” Brian said, raising an eyebrow.

“Allergies. Mine are worse than yours, you know.” explained Harold. Brian went to go take some more advil. Harold waited until he was left before taking a couple tissues and heading downstairs. Despite what he had told Brian, he was getting sick, too. He better pick up a couple boxes of Kleenex and some cold medicine for himself too.

“Well?” asked Kevin when Harold entered the living room.

“He’s sick. I’m going to run to the store and pick up some stuff for him. (hashoo)”

“Maybe you should take your allergy pill before you go.” suggested Kevin.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be back soon.” Harold headed out to the car.

“Now that I think about it, he’s been sneezing a lot tonight.” said Kevin. “I hope he’s not getting sick too.” The two of them continued watching TV. “Han, could you please hand me a tissue?” Kevin asked a few minutes later, pressing his hand against his nose. Hanna reached over and grabbed him a tissue. “Thanks.” he said quickly before bringing it to his nose. “hatschoo, hatisch, hah-umph, hatsch, hetschoo, atschoo” Kevin sneezed rapidly six times.

“Bless you.”

“Thanks,” he said, blowing his nose. “Don’t worry; I’m not sick. It’s just allergies this time.”

“I know. 2 sneezes is normal. 4 means you’re sick, and 6 is allergies.” She told him. “Why don’t we head to bed?”

“Okay.” Hannah went into her bedroom and Kevin went into Harold’s. He was sleeping in the spare bed in there while he stayed there. Both of them fell asleep rather quickly and were sleeping when Harold returned from the store.

[Kleeny]

I think you might like this. I am informed he is from the very same group, Howie?

[SusieQusie]

“I know. 2 sneezes is normal. 4 means you’re sick, and 6 is allergies.”

I like that

Nice story.

[aggedy_ann]

I think you might like this. I am informed he is from the very same group, Howie?

Thanks. You are up on your pop culture.

[Guest sneezgrrl]

Great story so far! Hope you'll continue it! Thanx for sharing!!!

sneezgrrl

[aggedy_ann]

“Hashoo. Ashoo, atschoo, hatshoo.” Kevin awoke to the sound of Harold sneezing,

“Caught Brian’s cold.” he stated.

“Do…(ishoo)” Harold began to protest.

“I wasn’t asking you. You were sneezing a lot yesterday, too. Go back to bed while I get the thermometer.” Kevin told his cousin.

Harold coughed and crawled back into bed, Kevin went into the bathroom, took his allergy pill, got the thermometer, some cold medicine, and a glass of water, as well as Harold’s allergy pill. “Just a bidute.” sniffled Harold. He grabbed another tissue. “Heshoo, hushoo, shoo” he sneezed and blew his nose. He put the thermometer in his mouth. When it beeped, he took it out and looked at it. “99.7.” he said. Kevin gave him the water and cold medicine. “Thanks, Kev.”

“Just get some rest ok. I’ll go check on Brian.”

“Okay.” groaned Harold. He rolled over and went back to sleep. On his way out, he bumped into Hannah, also carrying water and some pills.

“Morning, Kev.”

“Morning. You’re not sick, too, are you?”

“No. This is for Brian. Harold sleeping in?”

“He’s sick too.”

“Great. Wonder who’ll be next?”

“Huheshoo, hahahshoo, hurshoo.” Brian sneezed from the bedroom.

“I better get him this stuff.” She went into Brian’s room. “Here you go, Bri. This should help you feel better.” Brian took the pills and water and hastily swallowed them before sneezing again.

“(Huheckshoo) Thags.”

“Bless you. You want breakfast?” Brian shook his head. “Ok. Well, get some rest then, and Kev or I’ll check on you later.”

“Where’s Harold?”

“Sick. Go to sleep, Brian.”

Brian rolled over and went back to sleep. Hannah went downstairs and heard Kevin sneezing in the kitchen. “Hitschoo, tschoo, atschoo, hutschoo, tschoo, hatsch, etschoo, itschoo, huehtschoo, tschoo, tschoo, hatschoo, emptschoo, hitschoo, ahitschoo, hatsch, hertschoo, tschoo.”

“Bless you. You alright?”

“Yeah. Beds hadn’t kicked id yet, ad I wedt outside to get the paper ad the guy dext door was bowig the lawd.” he answered.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” she asked, getting out some cat food and filling Missy’s dish.

“(Hitschoo, tschoo, atschoo, hutschoo, tschoo, hatsch, etschoo, itschoo, huehtschoo, tschoo, tschoo, hatschoo, emptschoo, hitschoo, ahitschoo, hatsch, hertschoo, tschoo.) I’b sorry. Whad did you say?” He asked. “Hode od, led be blow by dose firsd.”

“Bless you again, a lot.” she said while he blew his nose. “I asked what you wanted for breakfast.”

“Hold od, ode bore set cobig.” He grabbed another napkin and sneezed into it six final times. (Hitsch, hitschoo, tschoo, tsschoo, hetschoo, huh-ettschoo)” He blew his nose again. “Whew, am I glad that’s over with. You just want to go with cereal. I don’t think Harold’s real hungry. How about Brian?”

“He says he’s not hungry. Cereal’s fine.” Hannah grabbed a bowl out of the cupboard and poured some granola, while Kevin got himself a bowl of Cheerios. Hannah poured Kevin the coffee that he had started before his allergy attack, and then carried her bowl over to the sink and ran some water over her granola.

“How can you eat cereal with water on it?” he asked making a face.

“It’s good, Kevin, and better for you than milk, especially when your allergies are bad. Milk creates more mucous.” She informed him. They finished eating breakfast. “I’m going to go to my lesson now. Do you want to do the dishes and clean Missy’s box?”

“Sure, whatever.”

“I’ll see you in about an hour then.” Hannah ran upstairs to get her flute and lesson books, and then headed out to her lesson. Kevin got another cup of coffee and read the paper. After he had finished the paper, he washed the dishes and changed the litterbox. He gently massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. His early morning allergy attack had begun to give him a sinus headache. The dust and cat hair from the litterbox had caused his nose to start running again. He reached for a napkin to blow his nose and wound up sneezing twice in the process.

“Hatschoo, Hatschoo” He blew his nose and headed upstairs to get some allergy sinus pills. After doing that he went to lay on the couch. He got a wet washcloth from the bathroom and decided to rest until his headache went away. A little bit later, Hannah came home and walked into the living room. Kevin was half asleep on the couch with the washcloth over his eyes and the cat on the floor next to him.

“You ok, Kev?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. Sinus headache,” he answered. “This morning’s allergy attack set it off and since my nose was already irritated, the litterbox didn’t help.”

“I’m sorry. I should have changed it.”

“It’s ok. Normally it doesn’t bother me too much. I didn’t think it would and you had no way of knowing. If I hadn’t had the attack this morning, I would have been fine.”\

“How are Brian and Harold?”

“I think they’re still sleeping. I didn’t hear anything when I was upstairs. We should probably let them sleep awhile longer.”

Hannah sat next to Kevin on the couch and they watched TV for awhile, before going upstairs and checking on Brian and Harold. Kevin went to look in on Harold, while Hannah went to Brian’s room. A few minutes later, Kevin appeared in the doorway. “Harold’s still sleeping. Do you need anything in here?”

“Do you wanna grab him some orange juice while I get him some more Kleenex?”

“Sure. Be right back.” Kevin went downstairs for the orange juice, and Hannah got him some more Kleenex from the bathroom.

“Can I take some more advil?” Brian asked when she came back.

“Mmm, not yet. It’s only been a couple hours. You need to wait awhile longer.”

“It’s a sinus headache.”

“Okay, you could probably take some tylonel sinus. I’ll go get it, okay.” Hannah returned with the sinus capsules as Kevin came back with the orange juice.

“You got everything under control?”

“Yup.”

“Okay. 3:00 is time for the next dose of cold medicine.” he said and went to finish his nap. Hannah gave Brian the pills and he swallowed them.

“Thanks.” he sniffled, reaching over to grab the almost empty box of tissues. “Will you stay for a bit?” he asked before blowing his nose.

“Sure. Actually, I should get your temp again. I’ll be right back.” Hannah went to the bathroom and got the thermometer. Brian put it in his mouth. A minute and a half later, he pressed his hand against his nose. “Just a little longer, Brian. Only about a minute more.” Brian looked at her pleadingly. She reached over and grabbed a tissue. She pulled the thermometer out of his mouth with one hand while covering his nose with the tissue with her other. Brian put his hand over the tissue and allowed her to slip her hand out and began sneezing.

“Huhehchoo, hetcheoo”

“99.7, but it wasn’t in there the whole three minutes.”

“(huhesha, esshuh, ashish, hitschssh, hashish, hehishah, ahesh, huhesh, eshoo, huheckshoo) Whad?”

“99.7.”

Brian groaned and blew his nose again, flopping back down on his pillows. “I hate beig sick.”

“Move over.” Brian moved against the wall and pulled the blankets aside. Hannah settled herself next to him, and Brian pulled the blankets over her. She reached over and grabbed the fresh box of Kleenex and put it between them.

Brian smiled. “Thanks. How’s Kevin? I heard him sneezing a lot earlier this morning before you left.”

“Allergy attack. One of the neighbors was mowing the lawn and his meds hadn’t kicked in yet, so when he went out to get the paper, he wound up having an allergy attack. He has a sinus headache too.”

“You ok?”

“Yeah, a little tired though; how ‘bout you?”

“Tired, sick. I’m sorry I got sick. I wanted to be able to take care of you, not have you take care of me.”

Hannah sighed. “Brian, I do not need taking care of. I’m a big girl, and it’s not your fault you got sick.”

“I know, but (haeshoo)” he started saying and then sneezed. “Ugh.” he groaned. “Uhshoo.”

“Bless you. Why don’t we take a nap, ok. We haven’t done that for awhile.”

“No we haven’t. Not since you first came down here and were having all those bad dreams. They’ve stopped, right?”

“For a while; they’ve started again.” she said softly.

“Let’s get you some sleep, then.” She lay down next to him, and within a few minutes, they were both asleep.

[aggedy_ann]

Kevin had just begun to fall asleep when he was woken by Harold sneezing. “You alright?” he asked.

“Yeah (hashoo heshoo, ahishoo,)”

“Bless you. You need anything?”

“Can you get me some water and some tylonel?” Harold asked after blowing his nose.

“Sure, I’ll be right back.” Kevin got out of bed and went to get Harold the water and drugs. He handed them to Harold and then crawled back into bed.

“You alright, Kevin?”

“I’m fine. Sinus headache. I’m going to take a nap for a bit and see if that helps. You can take more cold medicine at 3 if I’m not awake.” They both lay down and fell asleep.

2 hours later, Brian woke up. He looked over and saw Hannah, lying next to him, sound asleep. He rubbed his itching nose, trying to keep himself from sneezing, not wanting to wake her up. He reached for a tissue from the box on the bed and softly blew his nose, hoping that would help; it didn’t. He grabbed another tissue and tried to sneeze as softly as possible. “Huhesshoo, huessh, aessshoo, hisshoo.”

Hannah woke up and heard Brian next to her, trying to stifle his sneezing fit. “Brian, don’t stifle, okay. It’s not good for you.”

“(haheshoo, hetschoo) I didn’t wadt to wake you. (huhaeshoo, ushoo, haesh, itsshoo)”

“It’s okay.” She handed him another tissue.

“Haeshoo, hep-shoo, harashoo, hushoo, hakisshhoo, haesh, huheshhooo” Brian grabbed another tissue and blew his nose several times.

“Bless you.”

“Thaks. Cand I take some more cold medicinde?”

Hannah looked at her watch. “It’s 2:30. Kevin said 3. I’ll check the box to see if you can take some now.” Hannah got up and went to the bathroom to check on the cold medicine. The directions said 4-6 hours. She picked up the box, tore off a dose and took it back to Brian along with a glass of water. “4 to 6 hours.” she told him. “Here you go.” She handed him the pills and water.

Brian took the pills and then sneezed a few more times. “Haehshoo, huheckshoo, hatishoo, huershoo, hashoo.”

“Bless you. Get some more sleep, okay.” Brian sneezed once more and blew his nose before laying back down and closing his eyes.

Kevin woke up a couple minutes before three. He got up and went and got Harold some cold medicine, then gently shook him awake. Harold woke up and took the pills. “Thanks, Kevin.” he told his cousin.

“You feel up to eating dinner in a couple hours?”

“Yeah. I’m starting to get hungry. I think I’m going to read for a bit.” Harold reached for a tissue and blew his nose. Kevin headed downstairs, where he heard Hannah tuning her flute in the music room. He knocked on the door and opened it.

“Hey, mind if I listen for awhile?” She agreed and Kevin spent the next hour listening to her. A little after 4, she put her flute away and she and Kevin went to watch TV before starting dinner. “So, how’s Brian?” He asked.

“Okay. He’s got a sinus headache. I don’t know if it’s from his allergies or not. Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah. Still got a bit of a headache, but the nap helped.”

“So what do you want for dinner?”

“How about soup. Harold’s gonna eat and Brian should too. Soup will be good for them.”

“Sounds good. Do you want to make it or do you want me to, so you can rest?”

“Um…if you don’t mind.”

“It’s ok. You look kinda tired.”

“I’m exhausted. You look pretty worn out yourself.”

“I’m fine. I didn’t have the best night last night, but today’s nap helped.”

“Bad dreams again?”

“Yeah…well, I should get dinner started.” Hannah got up and headed for the kitchen.

“Hannah..” Kevin called after her. She paused. “If you ever need to talk about anything, you know I’ll always be there.” he told her.

“I know, Kev.” she told him and headed for the kitchen.

Kevin sighed and lay back down on the couch. He was exhausted. He flipped through the TV channels until he found the weather report. He sniffled and blew his nose which still hadn’t stopped running. He focused on the forecast. The pollen levels were nearing the high range and still rising. “Hatschoo” he sneezed suddenly, followed immediately by three more. “Tschoo, ehtschoo. Hutschoo.” He waited for 2 more sneezes but they didn’t come. He was getting sick and did not want to admit it. He got up and went to the kitchen to see how Hannah was doing. As he stood up, he sneezed two more times. “itschoo, hitschsshh” Now he wasn’t really sure if he was getting sick or not. He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “How’s dinner coming?” he asked, entering the Kitchen.

“Fine, Kevin. I am capable of making soup.” she informed him.

“I know you are. I was just asking.” he said and began to set the table.

“Well, dinner’s ready,” she announced a few minutes later. “I’ll go get Brian and Harold.”

“Okay.” Kevin answered as he got the milk out of the fridge and set it on the table. Hannah returned a few minutes later with Brian and Harold. They ate dinner quietly and then the four of them decided to watch a movie. After some arguing, they decided on ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ Harold curled up in the chair and Hannah, Brian and Kevin settled on the couch. After the movie was over they decided to go to bed. About 2:30 in the morning, Brian woke up, hearing Hannah saying his name.

“Hey there. What tibe is it?” he asked stuffily. He blew his nose and looked at the clock. “2:30. What’s up?”

“I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?”

“Yeah. You’ll probably get sick though.”

“I’ll probably get sick anyway, since you and Harold are both are. Kev’ll probably get sick, too.” Brian pulled aside the covers and she crawled in next to him. Within minutes they were both sound asleep.

[aggedy_ann]

At 7, Kevin woke up and sneezed six times. “Ehhtschoo, ehtschoo, chshool, ehtschoo, etchish, ehtischoo.” He got out of bed and went to get his allergy pill and then decided to get some more sleep. As he passed Brian’s room, he heard coughing and looked in. Brian was awake coughing. “You okay, Brian?”

“Yeah, just woke up for a minute. I’m gonna get some more sleep. You’re up early.”

“Allergies woke up.” Kevin said, noticing Hannah next to Brian sound asleep. “She ok?”

“Yeah. I think so. Bad dream.”

“Well, I’m going to get some more sleep.”

“Sounds good to me.” Brian said, laying down and closing his eyes.

2 hours later, Kevin was woken by Harold’s sneezing. “Hatchoo, hashoo, haishhoo, ashoo, kashoo, ackshoo, hishoo, hatschoo, ashoo, ahisshoo.” Kevin got out of bed and got his cousin his allergy pill and some cold medicine. He handed it to Harold, who took it and sneezed a few more times before blowing his nose. “Thanks, Kev. How are you doing?”

“Allergies kicked in kinda early. Sounds like yours probably did too.”

“Yeah, I think I’m going to get some more sleep.”

“Okay. I’m going to get some meds into Brian and some food into Hannah. You hungry?” Harold shook his head, rolled over and went back to sleep. Kevin went back out into the hallway and heard Brian sneezing. He went and got Brian’s meds from the bathroom and entered Brian’s room.

“Huheshoo, huhesh, eshah, huh-ershoo, hekshooo, ipshoo, haeshah.”

Hannah noticed Kevin standing there. “Morning. I already got him his meds,” she said, noticing the pills in his hands, “but he hasn’t stopped sneezing long enough to take them.”

“Echshoo, etchoo, haeshoo, herashoo, huchoo, hurchoo, heptchoo, aheshoo, huesh, eshah, hershoo, huhesshoo.” Brian grabbed another tissue and blew his nose several times. He took the pills Hannah handed him and swallowed them.

“Bless you.” Hannah and Kevin said in unison.

“Thags.” sniffled Brian, blowing his nose again.

“Allergies starting to kick in for you too?” Kevin asked.

“Yeah. Pollid bust be high today. Haddah’s beed sdeezing a bit, too.”

“Harold and I both woke up sneezing.”

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep until the meds kick in.” Hannah told him.

“Will you stay with me?”

“No.” Kevin answered for her. “Hannah needs to eat and go to band practice. Come on, girl.” He turned and headed out of the room.

Brian looked at Hannah and made a face. “What’s up with him today?”

“I have no idea.”

“HANNAH!” Kevin yelled for her from downstairs. Hannah got up from Brian’s bed and headed downstairs. She went into the kitchen where Kevin was cooking breakfast. Kevin turned around to yell for her again when he noticed her standing there. “It’s about time you got down here. Eggs’ll be ready in a minute.”

“Umm, Kevin, I don’t eat eggs.” she told him softly.

“Now’s a fine time to tell me.” He turned away from the stove and faced her. Why are you still in your pajamas. You should be dressed and ready to go to band.”

“I don’t want to go.” she said quietly.

Kevin didn’t hear her and continued his tirade. “You shouldn’t be spending so much time with Brian either. You’re going to get sick, so stay away from him. Now go upstairs and get dressed and get ready for band. Then come back down here and eat your eggs.”

“I told you I don’t eat eggs and you can’t tell me what to do.” Hannah yelled back, crying and she ran upstairs. Kevin shut the stove off and followed her.

Brian was standing in his doorway. “Hannah, what’s wrong?” he asked her. “I heard you two yelling, and, come in and sit down…”

Hannah went in and sat down on Brian’s bed. “I don’t know. Kevin’s -” she started before she was interrupted by Kevin who appeared in the doorway.

“I told you to stay away from Brian before you get sick.” he yelled. “Now go get dressed.”

“Go to your roob, hodey. Let be talk to Kevid.” Brian whispered stuffily. Brian blew his nose while Hannah left the room. “’Okay, Kevin. What is going on with you today?” Brian asked.

“Nothing is wrong.” Kevin snapped.

“Obviously something is bothering you.” Brian said, irritated. “You are in a really rotten mood. And Hannah can spend as much time with me as she wants.”

“She’s going to get sick if she hangs around you. She refused to eat breakfast. And all she does is go running to you whenever something happens she doesn’t like.”

“What did you make for breakfast?”

“Eggs.”

“She doesn’t eat eggs.”

“She’s too picky.”

“She can’t stand the smell of them. They make her sick.”

“So.”

“Kevin, (hatchoo) you are being awful this morning.”

“Am -” Kevin broke off suddenly and put his hand over his nose and sneezed 4 times. “Ihtschoo, hihtschoo, hatschoo, atschoo.”

“Kevin, you’re getting sick aren’t you?”

“(Ehtschoo, hahitschoo, tschoo, huptschoo) Do, I’b dot.”

Brian handed him a tissue. “Blow. Yes you are.” He got up and went into the bathroom. He came back with some cold capsules and a glass of water. “Here, Kevin.”

“I’m not sick. I don’t get sick.”

“You’re human, Kev. Everyone gets sick. That would explain why you’ve been such a grouch this morning.”

“Fine.” Kevin sniffled.

“Now what’s bugging you?”

“It’s just…she doesn’t need to get sick.”

“She doesn’t exactly have a choice in the matter. None of us needed to get sick, and we’re all three sick, so she’ll probably get it anyway. With all the sneezing we’ve been doing, whether it’s from allergies or this cold, there’s still germs floating around.”

“It’s just, she should leave you alone and let you rest.”

“She talks to Harold, too.”

“Well, what’s wrong with me?”

“Now I see what’s up. Your feelings are hurt. She’s closer to me and Harold because she lives with us; we’re around her more. Give her time, ok.”

“OK. I’ll go apologize to her.”

“Good, Kevin. Now I’m going to (Huheshoo-shoo) get sobe bore sleep.” Brian laid down and closed his eyes.

Kevin got up and headed for Hannah’s room where she lay crying on her bed. “May I come in?”

“Why? So you can yell at me again?”

“No. I’m sorry Hannah. I (hatschoo, hatsch, ehtschoo, hertschoo) I don’t feel well and it’s making me kind of crabby. What do you say you get ready for band and we’ll start over?”

“I don’t want to go to band.”

“Why not?”

“Because (ishoo) I don’t feel good.”

“You’re sick too, huh.”

“Guess so.” she sniffled.

“Okay. Well, how ‘bout you get dressed and then we’ll go to the store and get some stuff before we feel too rotten to go out.”

“Okay.” Hannah got up and got dressed, then went downstairs where Kevin was sitting in the kitchen eating the eggs he had started earlier.

“You want anything to eat?”

“No my throat hurts too much.”

“Sore throat?”

“Yeah. That’s the only part that really doesn’t feel good.”

Kevin walked over and felt the glands in her neck and put his hands on her forehead. “Sweetie, you have swollen glands and a fever. No wonder you didn’t want to go to band. I’m going to look at your throat ok.” Kevin got a flashlight out of the drawer and looked at her throat. “Your throat’s red, too. I’m going to get the thermometer and find out about taking you to the doctor.” He went upstairs and stopped in Brian’s room. “Brian, sorry to wake you, but what’s the name of the doctor that you and Hannah see?”

“Dr. Smith. Why?”

“She’s got a fever and a sore throat. Her throat looks really bad too.”

“She’s probably got strep. If the doctor doesn’t have any appointments open, one of the nurses will get a throat culture.”

“Great. Now you and Harold will probably get strep too.”

“No we both had our tonsils out when we were younger.”

“I did, too, so we’re safe.”

“Yeah, but now, she’s going to have to get her tonsils out, and she hates doctors. This is the third time (ehsoo) she’s had strep this year.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to take her to the doctor and then we’re going to pick some stuff up, so we’ll be gone for a while. If Harold wakes up, let him know.”

“Ok, and Kevin, be nice to her. She hates going to the doctor.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I mean it Kev, don’t lose your temper.”

“Brian, it’ll be fine. (hatschoo, itschoo, tschoo, huhetschoo) I’m going to get her temp and call the doctor. Get some sleep, okay.” Kevin left Brian and went and got the thermometer. He went downstairs, got the phone book, and called the doctor. A few minutes later, Hannah came over and handed him the thermometer. “Thanks.” he whispered. “Ok, her temp’s 101.9” he said into the phone. “Ok. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “Ok, hon, they said to bring you right in for a throat culture, and then we’ll go to the store. After that, we’ll (hiptschooo, epttschooo. Ihtschoo, hitstschoo) cobe back ad rest.” He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and blew his nose. They headed for the car and drove to the doctor.

[aggedy_ann]

15 minutes later, they arrived at the medical center and went in. “Hi, my name’s Kevin Richardson, and I called about having someone see Hannah Stevenson.”

“Yes. Of course. The nurse will give her a throat culture, and then Dr. Smith will see her. Have there been any changes in the insurance?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I’m her cousin and I’m just visiting.”

“Ok. Well, sign these forms and we’ll talk to your aunt and uncle when they get back.” Kevin signed the forms and he and Hannah went and sat down. A little bit later, the nurse called Hannah in.

“Come with me.” she told Kevin.

He got up and walked with her to the exam room. “Okay, so we’re here for a sore throat and a fever.” the nurse said. “I’m going to get your temp again, ok?” She put the thermometer in Hannah’s mouth and waited for it to beep. “102. Okay, now it’s time for a throat culture.” She took the throat culture and told them the doctor would be there in a minute. The doctor arrived and looked at Hannah and decided it was probably strep. He prescribed her some ceftin and said that someone would call with the results of the throat culture and that Hannah needed to make another appointment when her aunt and uncle got back. Kevin and Hannah left and headed to Shopko to pick up some more cold and allergy medicines, a lot of Kleenex, and some cough syrup and cough drops. They also filled Hannah’s prescription. Then they headed home.

While they were gone, Jackie called. Harold woke up when he heard the phone and talked to his mom for a while, then gave the phone to Brian, who said that they were all sick and that Kevin had taken Hannah to the doctor. He assured her that everything was fine and then they hung up. Harold decided to get some more sleep, and Brian went downstairs to get something to eat.

Kevin and Hannah came back a few minutes later. While they unpacked the shopping bags, Brian filled them in on the phone call. Kevin then decided to go upstairs and lay down. “You wanna watch a Jaws?” Brian asked. “We can fold out the couch in the living room and lay down.”

“Okay. I’ll go get pillows.”

While she went upstairs, Brian went and pulled out the couch. Hannah returned a few minutes later with pillows and a blanket. She made up the couch while Brian put in the movie. Then, they both lay down on the couch with a box of Kleenex between them.

“You doing ok? We didn’t get much of a chance to talk earlier. (ahshoo)”

“Yeah. I’m alright. Except for being sick. I have to go back to the doctor when Aunt Jackie and Uncle Harold get back.”

“They’re gonna take your tonsils out now, huh?”

“Guess so. Do I have to?”

“Do you want to keep getting strep?”

“No.”

“Well, then. You’re going to have to have them out. It’s not that big of deal. Harold, Kevin and I have all had ours out.”

“I hate doctors.”

“I know. Me too. (ehshoo) but it will be ok.”

“Let’s just watch the movie.”

“Ok. (huhhesshoo, eh-hashoo)” Brian sneezed again and blew his nose. Then they settled down to watch Jaws. 15 minutes later, Kevin came downstairs with his pillow and blanket.

“Hey, Kev. What’s up?” Hannah asked, pausing the movie.

“I was going to come down here to sleep cuz I can’t fall asleep upstairs. I’m tired, just not tired enough to sleep.”

“You wadda joid us?” Brian asked before blowing his nose.

“Sure, why not.” Kevin put his pillows on the couch next to Hannah and spread out his blanket. He laid down next to Hannah and they resumed watching the movie. After the movie, Kevin got up to get the mail while Hannah and Brian decided what to watch next, finally deciding on Far and Away. Kevin came back and laid next to Hannah again, furiously rubbing his nose. “What is up with your neighbors ad bowing the lawd?” he sniffled. “(Hat-tschoo, itschoo, tschoo, hertschoo, hit-tschoo, at-tschoo, iptschoo, kit-schoo, tschoo, itschoo, hatschoo, atschoo, tschoo, hertschoo, hatschoo, tschoo, hiptschoo, ert-tschoo) Cad you had be the kledex?”

Hannah handed him the box of tissues while Brian blessed him. Kevin blew his nose loudly several times. “I hate this.” he whined.

“I know, Kev. We all do.” Brian said before sneezing himself. “(Huh-eshoo, hhuh-ershoo, huh-eckkshoo, ah-ehshoo) Dow look what you did, Kebid. You started sdeezig ad dow I’b sdeezig.”

Hannah handed him a tissue. “Bless you. Kev, how ’bout I get the (ishoo) mail from now on.”

“Good plan. Bless you. And Brian, you made Hannah sneeze.”

“Well, you made me sneeze.”

“That’s silly. Just because I sneezed didn’t make you sneeze.”

“Then why did you say I made Hannah sneeze?”

“Because you said I made you sneeze.”

“Well, you did.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not.”

“Did (ha-eh-shoo) too.”

“Did (atschoo, tschoo, hitschoo, itschoo) dot. Dow you bade be sdeeze.”

Hannah handed him a tissue. “Enough. Y’all are acting like babies.”

“Well, Brian got me sick.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Did not. It was probably Harold.”

“It was probably both of you.”

“Well, at least I can get the mail without sneezing.”

“It’s not my fault I have bad allergies. They came from your side of the family.”

“Did not.”

“Did too. My dad didn’t have allergies.”

“Well your lousy genes are not my fault.”

“Well you gave me this cold, which makes my allergies worse.”

“So quit whining about it. We all have allergies. And like I said, at least I can go outside without sneezing.” Brian finished and stuck his tongue out at Kevin. “And you probably got this cold from Harold.”

“Both of you.”

“Shut up!” interrupted Hannah. “And actually, Brian, you can’t go outside without sneezing. And leave Harold out of this since he can’t defend himself if he’s not here. And quit fighting; you both are giving me a headache.”

“Are not.” they said.

“I’m not doing this. My throat hurts too much. Brian, go to your room. Kevin, go to Harold’s. If he’s awake, send him down here, otherwise let him sleep. And both of you are to stay there and nap until you are ready to apologize, hug and say you love each other.”

“You can’t do that.” Brian protested. “I’m older than you are.”

“And Harold and I are in charge.” Kevin finished.

“I’m acting more mature than both of you, and if you really want to go with who’s older and in charge, I can go wake Harold.”

“Don’t bother. He’s awake.” said a voice from behind them. “I don’t know what the whole argument was about, but I definitely agree Hannah’s acting more mature, and you both are crabby. I feel too lousy to deal with this, so I’m enforcing whatever she just told you to do. Now do it.”

“Kevin, when do I get more cough syrup?” asked Hannah.

“Dinner time.”

“Oh, you two can take more cold medicine now. Do that and then do what she told you to do.”

“Brian and Kevin left grumbling. “Thanks, Harold.”

“No problem, by the way, what did you tell them to do?” he said, sitting down; missy jumped into his lap.

“They wouldn’t stop fighting and they were giving me a headache, so I told them to go to their rooms and nap until they were ready to apologize, hug and say they love each other.”

Harold chuckled. “Good plan. What were they fighting about?”

“Well, Kevin had a bit of an allergy attack, and then Brian had a sneezing fit, then Brian accused Kevin of making him sneeze, then I sneezed, and Kevin accused Brian of making me sneeze and then about how silly it was to believe that someone sneezing could make someone else sneeze and did not, did too -”

“Ah-shoo.” Harold sneezed. “Sorry, this conversation is making me (hashoo) sneeze.”

“Bless you. Then they both sneezed again. Then Kevin said Brian made him sick, and Brian said you made Kevin sick. Kevin said it was both. Then they started arguing over allergies and whose fault that was and blah, blah, blah, and then you came in. And my throat really hurts.”

“You sick, too?”

“Yeah. Strep. Kevin took me to the doctor.”

“That’s good.”

“They’re going to call with the results of the throat culture, but the doctor said he’s positive it’s strep.”

“What did he give you?”

“Ceftin.”

“Isn’t that the one that makes you really nauseous and throw up the first couple days you take it?”

“Don’t remember. I guess we’ll find out later.”

“Yup. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, it’ll make you miserable for a couple days, but it’ll really knock out the strep.”

“Yeah. You wanna watch the rest of the movie with me?”

“(Ashoo, hashoo, atchoo) sure. But, I’ll ward you, I’b pretty tired ad I bight fall asleep. (Hatchoo) cad you had be a ti- (ashoo) t- (atchoo, hashoo, kashoo, hitschoo, hishoo, ackshoo-)”

“Tissue,” finished Hannah, handing him a couple.

“ihshoo, ahshoo, hashoo, heshoo, kishoo, ishoo, hishoo, hashoo, ershoo, atchoo”

“Bless you.” Harold blew his nose before starting to sneeze again.

“Ahshoo, hashoo, ishoo, kashoo, hershoo, kachoo, ahihshoo, kershoo, hatchoo.” Hannah handed him the box of Kleenex. “Hatchoo, Katchoo, atchoo, hitchoo, hishoo, ahshoo, her-achoo.” Harold pulled some more Kleenex out of the box and blew his nose several times.

“Bless you again. Allergy attack?”

“Yeah. I just chadged the litterbox and it was probably the dust ad cat hair frob that ad Bissy. I love that cat, but whed I’b sick, she bakes be sdeeze by head off. Otherwise, she does’t bother be.”

“Yeah. I always forget that you’re slightly allergic to cats like me.”

“Yeah, but she only bothers me when I’m sick. And you’re fine as long as she stays out of your room and you remember your meds. I’m amazed Kevin isn’t sneezing more since he’s allergic too.”

“Well, she stays out of your room, too, and that’s where he is a lot. Plus he’s pretty drugged and he’s still sneezing a lot.”

“Yeah. I hope he’ll be alright, especially because the pollen counts are really high and his hay fever is so bad this time of year. At least missy doesn’t bother him all the time (hashoo)”

“Why don’t you lay down and (ishoo) rest? (ishoo, ashoo)”

“Bless you.”

“Thanks. Let’s watch the movie and rest.”

“Yeah. Good idea.” Hannah and Harold lay down and continued watching the movie.