Allergic Music Teacher (F) (7 Obs) (Updated December 18, 2019)

[I love Alan Rickman]

This happened a few days ago, but I've been debating since then how to type it out on here. I have finally decided and am going to share it with you all now!

I have a music teacher whom I take lessons with over Skype every week, and this week she was suffering from horrible allergies, though I didn't know until the lesson. It truly was a fun surprise, though. Before I get into the good stuff, I should probably describe what she looks like. She is quite young—in her early twenties—has long wavy brown hair, a medium-sized nose with narrow nostrils, and beautiful brown eyes. She's also quite tall, though I'm not sure how tall since I've only seen her through Skype. I would suppose she's around 5'8". Let's call her M.

M called me on Skype, and when she answered, I sat with my cello. "How are you today?" I asked. I watched as she blinked a little with an expression on her face kind of like, "I am miserable but am determined to do this."

She was silent for about two to three seconds as if her exhausted allergy-stricken mind was trying to process what I said before she replied in a tired tone, "Sneezy."

At this, my heart leapt into my throat, and I somehow successfully didn't scream in excitement. Immediately, I hoped hard for a sneeze or so. "Ah, that's not fun," I replied, despite that in my head I knew it would be quite rewarding for my-fetishy-self.

Probably around three minutes into the lesson, M grabbed a tissue from just off/camera and turned to her right to blow her nose wetly. Another five minutes later, she sneezed a delicate "h'schh!" into her tissue, but I was in the middle of writing a note for the lesson and thus acted as if I didn't notice.

Yet another five minutes later, it sounded like she'd sneezed again, but it was with her head turned to the side, and it was difficult to tell if she'd sneezed or blew her nose, though within approximately another six minutes, I was playing a song and heard an unmistakable double from her, "Ht'chh! Hih...hih'schh!" It made me stumble slightly, though it was at a difficult spot anyway, so I was able to get away with that. However, I did happen to struggle for a few minutes from then on from the surprise, and I made up a half-true excuse that I was nervous since I hadn't yet completely gotten that part down yet. I planned to bless her after I'd finished playing the song, but I couldn't get the nerve to bring it up after since it had been about a whole minute already.

Within another ten minutes, I was writing notes for the lesson and could just barely see M over the notebook. I saw her grab another tissue as her nostrils begin to flare slightly, her eyes closing halfway. "S'chh!" She snapped forward violently, her long hair falling in front of her face as she sneezed wetly and a bit forcefully with both her hands holding onto the tissue cupped around her nose. It was straight-on with the camera. I looked up.

"Bless you," I said with surprise. She looked up at me, and I could see the underside of her nostrils were pink with irritation.

"Thank you," she replied in a congested voice and sniffled before blowing her nose and apologizing.

All throughout the lesson, she continued to sneeze and blow her nose every few minutes, eventually saying as I finished a piece, "I'm so sorry I keep needing to blow my nose."

"It's okay," I replied. "Now what?"

"Huh?" She asked in confusion as she rubbed her eyes with the sides of her hands and yawned.

"What do I do now?"

"Oh!" She replied, as if she'd thought I was asking "Now what?" in regards to blowing her nose. She then said what to do next.

Near the end of the lesson, M rubbed her nose with another tissue, and at the very end, she sneezed delicately into the tissue once more and said she was going to end the call and get some allergy medicine. 

"Okay, I hope you get better," I said.

"Thanks, and I hope so too. Have a good week," she replied and hung up.

Throughout the whole lesson, she had changed tissues probably around five times and had a tissue with her at all times except when she played me an example for the song. Sure I feel bad for her and hate to see her miserable, but I really enjoyed observing. Tell me what you think in a reply, and maybe I'll share more if she has some more bad allergy days.

Edited December 18, 2019 by I love Alan Rickman
Mentioned seventh observation

[ALSF]

wow, that must've been amazing. Something about sneezing over video is almost more exciting than in real life

[I love Alan Rickman]

Ahhhh, why didn't I think of this now when I can't edit? There was one more thing that I really enjoyed about this ob as it was going on. A few seconds before the time where I wasn't sure if it was a sneeze and/or a nose blow, she said, "I really need to sneeze" in a wonderfully congested tone. I suppose it was a sneeze, then, but I'm not completely sure. Oh how I wish I'd said, "Bless you?" and seen if she replied, "Thank you" or "That wasn't a sneeze, but thanks." The second would make me be thinking, "Dang it. Why couldn't that be a sneeze?" and be annoyed with it even still now, so I think it's better like this. I probably wouldn't have even gotten the nerve to use "Bless you" as a question in the first place, anyway, because it would be too much like asking, "Bless you. Was that a sneeze?" I actually am half-hoping that she will be sneezy again for these next few upcoming lessons since I kind of now know what to expect and would be able to fully enjoy it instead of being all jittery and messing up a lot (even though I probably would still be a bit like that)

Edited March 10, 2017 by I love Alan Rickman

[I love Alan Rickman]

Update: In our previous lesson, M mentioned she wasn't feeling very well and was sniffling a lot. Her voice was slightly hoarse as well, and she seems to be getting ill. I'll keep you updated if she sneezes, which I really hope will happen! *crosses fingers for some sneezes in the next lesson, which will be in a few days*

[I love Alan Rickman]

@Avril Lavigne Sneezing Fit I thought you'd like to know after these several months, M has finally sneezed again, and guess what! I've also gotten a bit better at imagery, so hopefully this makes it even better to read.

 

Even before the lesson started, I knew something was going on. M had gone a few minutes over the time to start the Skype call, and she typed out, "Give me a second" without any punctuation (she always puts punctuation in her messages) or explanation (she usually will say, "Give me a second. I need to get some water." if she goes over). Sure enough, when she eventually called a bit later, she said hello and sounded very congested. She sipped a glass of water.

"I'm so sorry about that," M said with that vast congestion as she placed her glass down, her voice also sounding slightly hoarse.

 

She was coughing, rubbing her nose, and sniffling a lot in the lesson, which was very promising for me as I waited in my mind for a sneeze. There had to be one lingering there in her nose. It just had to be waiting. There was no way her nose wasn't ticklish with her congestion and since she was rubbing her nose and sniffling so much.

Finally, about halfway through the lesson, my brain got what it wanted. I had just so happened to look at her right when it started since we were chatting, and her breath hitched audibly. She turned to her right (my left) and held her right hand in a loosely clenched fist beneath her nose. Her head tilted back very slightly as she took one more deep breath, and...

"KTS'chh!" A decent volume, slightly violent-sounding congested sneeze sent M pitching forward violently, her entire body convulsing a little with the force of the sneeze...And I had the perfect side view of it: her nose wrinkled against her fist, her eyes closed quite tightly as she sneezed, her fist seeming to tighten slightly with her involuntary action. It was an amazing sight which of course only happened for a second, but with my brain, it caught every little detail in that second, and yet still permitted me to say instantly...

"Bless you," I said as she turned back to me and looked slightly dazed.

"Thank you," she said, that congestion in her tone once more. She sniffled wetly and rubbed her nose again before continuing the lesson, no tissue nearby for her to blow her nose this time, therefore she had to continue to deal with that congestion and runny nose.

I was really nervous afterward once again and was messing up, but I fixed it in about a minute by letting myself feel the music a bit more, though I still was amazed by her wonderful sneeze.

 

Sadly, there was only that one sneeze, but it was so great along with all her sniffling and congestion that I'm totally fine with only one. She obviously does have pretty bad allergies, and I'm glad I was able to experience those two observations from her. I think this means she also has summer allergies, which may even mean she has allergies in other seasons, too. This makes me hopeful that I will be able to see her sneeze more often than I thought, even if it is only spring and summer, because that's still half a year. 

I hope you enjoyed this observation, and please tell me your thoughts. I hope she will sneeze some more for me in the future, which I guarantee since I see her almost every week and will continue to take lessons with her for as long as possible, which is hopefully many years. I will make sure to keep you updated and tell you if I see or hear her sneeze again. Thanks so much for reading this observation, and have a great day.

Edited August 8, 2017 by I love Alan Rickman

[I love Alan Rickman]

@Avril Lavigne Sneezing Fit So yesterday I found several obs I made about M from since this last update which I forgot to post, some with her being sick and one with her allergies. I will share the one with her allergies now. At least I’m not too late! Well, honestly, I am still pretty late, but I’ll make sure I remember to post them next time!

06/05/2018

Today, M was having a bit of some allergy trouble. It wasn’t so bad, but it was enough that she was congested almost the whole lesson, coughing, clearing her throat, sniffling, and also really tired and yawning a bit. We did still have fun and share some laughs, though. M even made a few jokes as she likes to do occasionally.

At one point near the end of the lesson and after one of her jokes, I was about to start playing a piece. Her breath hitched as I adjusted everything and again as I was about to place my bow on the string. I looked at her. She held her right hand in a loose fist over her mouth, coughed harshly, and then suddenly sneezed, “*Cough* Ah’shh!” Her eyelids fluttered, and she shook her head in surprise. “‘Scuse me!” She sniffled.

”Bless you. You okay?” I asked with slight concern.

”Yes,” she said quickly and rubbed her nose. “Allergies.”

At the very end, she said, “Okay, I’ve got to go, but I’m very, very, very happy with your progress. And also, my face may not be communicating well enough because I’m so tired, but I really am happy.” We both laughed.

”I don’t blame you that you’re so tired with all that you’ve been working on recently and your recent wedding,” I stated.

”But now, oh my goodness, [my name],” M continued and gave a big smile, wrapping her hands together at her heart happily and looking around at the room around her like it was a dream. “I can work and practice and stay in this room all by myself all day. My dream has come true.”

”Well, you got to do some stuff with your husband,” I stated,  we both laughed.

”Oh, well, yeah,” M replied and chuckled.

“I’ve seen him dabble with the guitar, maybe you can teach him that,” I said.

”Oh, I don’t know anything about the guitar,” she responded.

”Ah, no, yes you do!” I said. “Yes you do!” She laughed. “I’ve seen you play guitar, don’t say you don’t know anything about it!”

”No, I’m serious, he’s better than I am!” She replied. I shook my head with a laugh. Then she said she had to let me go and said our little outro and that she’d see me next week. 

[ThePokeFan599]

That's a great obs, and I hope for another sneeze during the next lesson. Unrelated, what chair are you as a cellist, or are you only a solo performer?

[I love Alan Rickman]

13 hours ago, ThePokeFan599 said:

That's a great obs, and I hope for another sneeze during the next lesson. Unrelated, what chair are you as a cellist, or are you only a solo performer?

I hope so, too! She had some more  allergy issues last week, but no sneezing. She was just coughing and tired, which is why I didn’t post it. Hopefully we get more soon, though.

Also, I’m first chair in my little school orchestra.  But I do plan to be a solo performer in the future but do some small collaborations

Edited August 6, 2018 by I love Alan Rickman
Words are hard

[I love Alan Rickman]

@ThePokeFan599 @Avril Lavigne Sneezing Fit We got quite a nice observation today. I hope you like it.

Today, M was noticeably a bit tired. Her allergies always make her tired, so I kind of assumed from the beginning that they were acting up. Indeed, they were a little. It was also a bit of a hot day there, so she was wearing a braid to her right side instead of her long hair being down like it usually is. She was also in a tank top.

At one point in the lesson, I had finished up playing through a piece, and we were discussing, so we were looking at each other. However, M’s nostrils turned a bit red, and she looked down to her right (my left). “Okay,” she said softly in response to what we were just talking about. 

M lifted her head and looked up a bit. I watched as her nose twitched noticeably. “Hold on,” she stated quickly and breathlessly, tilting her head back. Her mouth parted, and her thin nostrils flared. She brought her right hand up slightly, into view of the camera. Her eyes shut, and she pitched forward. “Heh, iss’sheww!” She sneezed femininely into her palm, her eyes shutting tightly as she pitched far forward. It seemed her entire body engaged in the sneeze as she almost clutched her cupped right hand over her nose and mouth. The beginning “Heh” was voiced, and the end was quite high pitched, yet you should still slightly hear her voice in it. Right after, her eyes fluttered in surprise. “Oh my goodness!” She said quickly with shock.

“Bless you!” I answered in surprise too.

“Thank you!” She responded and then shook her head swiftly in surprise and to clear her head after her sneeze. Then we continued discussing the piece.

Edited August 22, 2018 by I love Alan Rickman

[ThePokeFan599]

A terrific observation. A great reaction by the teacher too, shocked by the sneeze. Sounds like her sneeze caught her off guard with how strong it was. Here's to more obs like this one.

[I love Alan Rickman]

@Avril Lavigne Sneezing Fit @ThePokeFan599 After a long time of waiting, M finally delivered once again. 

M was exhausted yesterday during the lesson. She yawned at least 10 times from her exhaustion and tried to fight most of them (but still ended up yawning widely a few times). Nonetheless, despite her exhaustion, she still was very happy and joyful. She had her hair up in a low bun and had on a nice warm sweater. She was clearing her throat and sniffling a lot near the start of the lesson.

We were preparing me for regional orchestra, and about four or five minutes into the lesson, M’s nose and cheeks had turned slightly red, and I was explaining what I had in case she wanted to work on anything else too. I looked at her as I explained. Her nose twitched as she grabbed her notebook and began to write things down, looking to her left (my right) since she had a desk there to put her notebook on. She pushed the button on her pen by swiftly hitting it against her notebook and then spun it around skillfully to write. She held her mouth open slightly, obviously breathing through her mouth instead of her nose.

Just shortly after she had begun to write, she closed her mouth for a second, and I could barely heard her sniffle lightly. The sniffle must’ve bothered her nose more, because immediately, her nose twitched again, and her red nostrils flared with irritation. She still hadn’t stopped writing when she took a swift breath and furrowed her eyebrows a fraction of a second later. But when I saw her nostrils flare, I knew what was coming. 

“Huh’IKSSshhew!” M’s eyes snapped shut as she pitched forward and sneezed a relatively loud, harsh, wet-sounding sneeze, spinning the pen in her fingers and burying her nose in both her palms as fast as she could, catching the sneeze about halfway through with the pen still in between her fingers. I’m not used to hearing such a loud, harsh sneeze from her, which is partly why i ended up pretty much jumping in my seat with surprise. The best way I could describe the sound of her sneeze other than with the spelling is that it was just slightly higher pitch than her normal speech as if she were talking in a surprised tone (but it also sounded harsh). So it was like she was sneezing in a surprised tone, I guess? It for sure seemed to sneak up on her, too, because she had only stopped writing to snap her hands to her nose. 

She caught the sneeze around a millisecond after she started the “SSshhew!” part. I think the harshness was especially from her being unprepared for the sneeze. Usually, even with her allergies, when she’s been more prepared, she’ll sneeze much more femininely and daintily. This time, though, it sounded more...I don’t know, natural? It still was a bit higher pitch than her usual speaking, but the “SSshhew!” was quieter, and the first syllable was more pronounced than the second instead of the other way around as it usually is. The second syllable sounded quite wet.

M didn’t even waste a second to hold her hands up to the camera in an apologetic manner and say quickly, apologetically, and in an embarrassed tone while looking at her notebook, “Sorry!”

“Bless you!” I exclaimed with surprise. Even though I’d watched the sneeze build, it still startled me since it happened so quickly and suddenly.

“Thank you!” She responded in that same tone as she gently rubbed the side of her hand against her nose. Since her long bangs had fallen into her face, she moved her head to flip her hair back as she sniffled softly. She sniffled a few more times and nodded as I spoke some more, her nose twitching slightly as she listened. 

She kept sniffling quite a bit within the next few minutes, and when she spoke, her tone was slightly congested. Based on her expression, it looked like she had started breathing through her mouth again a few minutes later. About a minute or so after that, as she spoke to me, her tone was extremely congested. 

She continued to speak as she walked off camera and grabbed a roll of tissues nearby. She sat it down to the side and grabbed some, wrapping it around her hand as I’ve seen her do before when she’s blown her nose. I finished asking her a question, so she looked to the side and said congestedly as her nose twitched, “Um...” I looked up, and then she swiftly turned to her right (my left) and quickly said, “Sorry” before blowing her nose wetly but delicately. From the angle of the camera, I could just see her move her nose around a bit as she blew her nose.

“It’s okay,” I insisted. 

“Uhh, no, let’s pause at those places and change the metronome to match what you want,” she resumed with continued congestion as she rubbed her nose with the tissue. 

She picked up her phone to look at the music I’d sent her, sniffled, and almost immediately placed her phone back down and grabbed another bit of tissues, wrapping it again around her hand. She turned again but didn’t blow this time. She instead pressed it against her nostrils and rubbed her nose a bit more before sniffling thickly, retrieving her phone into her left hand, and looking at the music. She pressed the tissue to her nostrils again with her other hand, pushing the tip of her nose up a little in the process. She rubbed her nose with it one more time before discarding the tissue to the side. Her nose twitched violently a few more times within the next minutes, but she didn’t sneeze again.

 

“Oh my gosh I missed that. I’m so sorry,” M said when we were going over something.

“It’s okay!” I insisted honestly.

“How did I miss that? Ugh!” She continued as if she couldn’t believe it. And shook her head.

“It’s okay. We make mistakes,” I assured her. Just because she’s my teacher didn’t mean she has to always get things perfect.

 

She coughed harshly three or four times in a row about ten minutes before the end of the lesson, and after that and her sneeze earlier and her blowing her nose, I asked her if she was okay. “Yes, I’m good, just a little tired,” she responded and cleared her throat. “Sorry. And then put allergies on top of that...” She paused. “Dude, the weather changes!” she continued and turned to her left. “Ah, it’s driving me crazy.”

 

About a minute before the end of the lesson, I was talking to M and she happened to look to her right. She looked shocked. “Oh shoot, sorry. I just saw the time. It’s 5:59, and I teach right at 6,” she stated.

“Whoa!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, that went by very very fast,” she agreed.

“Wow!” I said. “It really did!”

She then gave me a short little pep talk saying, “You have time. You’re gonna do great. Once you get it with everybody else, everything’s going to fall into place, and it’s gonna be a lot easier. So, it’ll work out.” She coughed again. “I’m sorry. I hate not being able to give you my best, but I’m trying.”

“It’s fine,” I assured her, “honestly. I understand. You don’t need to apologize when you’re not feeling your best. I hope you feel better and your allergies stop bothering you.

”You’re so sweet,” she responded with a smile and sniffled again. “Thank you.” She paused. “Well, I got to go, but keep in touch. Tell me how it goes.”

“Yes, and I’ll you if I get into states,” I added.

“Oh, heck yeah. You better!” She responded, and we both laughed. “I’ll see you later. Have a good week.”

“See ya! You too,” I replied, and she hung up.

Edited February 21, 2019 by I love Alan Rickman
Clarification

[ThePokeFan599]

7 hours ago, I love Alan Rickman said:

She pushed the button on her pen by swiftly hitting it against her notebook and then spun it around skillfully to write. She held her mouth open slightly, obviously breathing through her mouth instead of her nose

She is better with a pen than I am, lol. I always find myself dropping it when making notes in one book and switching to another. Yeah, she would be breathing through her mouth more if she's congested from her allergies.

7 hours ago, I love Alan Rickman said:

So it was like she was sneezing in a surprised tone, I guess? It for sure seemed to sneak up on her, too, because she had only stopped writing to snap her hands to her nose

The sneeze definitely snuck up on her. I think the itch from the sniffle spread very quickly, and she didn't have enough time to prepare for the sneeze.

 

7 hours ago, I love Alan Rickman said:

“Bless you!” I exclaimed with surprise

 

7 hours ago, I love Alan Rickman said:

Thank you!” She responded in that same tone as she gently rubbed the side of her hand against her nose

A sneeze makes for a great when it shocks both the listener and the sneezer. 

 

7 hours ago, I love Alan Rickman said:

She continued to speak as she walked off camera and grabbed a roll of tissue paper nearby. She sat it down to the side and grabbed some, wrapping it around her hand as I’ve seen her do before when she’s blown her nose

I laughed at this line, thinking about M using decorative tissue paper (like for gift bags) instead of tissues to blow your nose in. Someone in a fog may make that mistake if both items are nearby, 😛 

[I love Alan Rickman]

8 hours ago, ThePokeFan599 said:

She is better with a pen than I am, lol. I always find myself dropping it when making notes in one book and switching to another. Yeah, she would be breathing through her mouth more if she's congested from her allergies.

I know, right? And the fact that she still kept holding it while she sneezed. That’s pure skill!  And yeah, I could tell just looking at her.

8 hours ago, ThePokeFan599 said:

The sneeze definitely snuck up on her. I think the itch from the sniffle spread very quickly, and she didn't have enough time to prepare for the sneeze.

My thoughts exactly! She had sniffled, and then less than a second later, her nostrils flared and she snapped her hands to her nose as fast as she could.

8 hours ago, ThePokeFan599 said:

A sneeze makes for a great when it shocks both the listener and the sneezer. 

Agreed! I like when I get these types of obs from her. Though they shock me and make me jump, it’s pretty cool seeing her be surprised too by her own sneeze! She hardly caught it in time, it built up so fast.

8 hours ago, ThePokeFan599 said:

I laughed at this line, thinking about M using decorative tissue paper (like for gift bags) instead of tissues to blow your nose in. Someone in a fog may make that mistake if both items are nearby, 😛 

Oh, no no  But now I see that 🤣 I adjusted it a bit, but that’s hilarious to think about

[I love Alan Rickman]

@ThePokeFan599 @Avril Lavigne Sneezing Fit 

After many months, M has delivered once again. 

 

It was a normal lesson with M, who had her hair very nice and wavy today. I was asking questions about some complicated parts in a piece I have for a youth orchestra I’m in. The only difference was M had sniffled and rubbed her nose quite a few times during the lesson. Her allergies were acting up because of the funky weather and some allergens that were already getting in the air. But it seemed she was just sniffly and rubbing her nose, nothing else would occur.

Boy was I wrong.

I was playing one of the weird (relatively quiet) parts real slowly, and M was looking at the part on her phone. The one spot I can put my stand without hitting it with my bow is also a spot here I can see M quite well out of the corner of my eye any time I’m playing. I saw out of the corner of my eye as she took a deep breath, and her breath caught in her throat for a second as her nostrils flared a little. She had been slightly leaned forward when watching her phone to view the part better, but when she took that breath, her head went back a little to its normal position. She turned her whole body slightly to her right. With her phone still in her right hand, she quickly snapped her left hand up to her nose and mouth. “Hah’AKSSshh!” She sneezed a bit harshly and convulsed forward slightly, her eyes shut and hand pressed in a loose fist beneath her nose. She then followed the sneeze with a soft cough. There was a short pause as she pressed the side of her hand against her nose and rubbed her nose a little roughly.

“Bless you?” I pretty much asked...somehow. I’ve wanted to ask it before but was always too nervous (it was like saying, “Did you sneeze, or am I imagining things?”), so I’m surprised I got it out this time. Since I’d been playing, it took my brain a moment to recognize that was indeed a sneeze.

“Thank you!” She replied and sniffled lightly. She then sang the part to help me with it and paused for a second during it, her breath seeming to hitch a bit as her mouth was open and her nose twitched slightly, until she continued as if nothing occurred. It may have been another tickle that flared up in her nose but backed off. She sniffled several more times during the lesson and continued to touch her nose sometimes, but nothing else worth noting. Twas a good lesson, and it’s always nice to have a little something from her. Especially after so long. 

[I love Alan Rickman]

@ThePokeFan599 @Avril Lavigne Sneezing Fit 

We got an early Christmas present from M yesterday! And in fact, this was my last lesson with her before Christmas, so that’s perfect! The reason I say “We” is because AFTER SO LONG, M HAS DELIVERED ONCE MORE!! 

Near the start of the lesson, M looked at the window and said, “It is so hot in here. I’m gonna open one of the windows.” She walked over there, and I could see as she went to open it up. “It does not feel like Christmas at all,” she continued and opened the doors of the window, and the lighting on Skype adjusted. “Like, it was cold this morning. Kind of.” I heard her throw the sash up, and she walked back over, and we continued with the lesson. You might be wondering: What’s so important about her opening the window in this observation? Well, just hold on. I promise it’s significant!

I’d noticed for a bit after that that she was sniffling a bit every few minutes. About thirty minutes later, I was casually trying to play this one part of a piece to get the rhythm right and then absolutely butchered the rhythm. You know how Skype doesn’t let people talk at the same time? I’m lucky I messed up when I did, paused, looked over, and was questioning to myself what I did wrong, because that was also exactly when it happened, and I probably wouldn’t have heard if I was still playing.

M was originally leaned forward a bit, holding her phone in her left hand to look at the music. She blinked a few times, and her nose twitched slightly. Her lips  parted, and she took a deep breath as her nostrils flared. She leaned back a bit, furrowed her brow, and swiftly brought her right hand up, burying her nose in her loose fist just in time. “Ikts’shhyeeww!” She pitched forward violently, her eyes shut tightly, and her nose crinkled against her fist as she sneezed harshly. Her entire body shook with the sneeze, and her eyes fluttered afterward too with what seemed like slight surprise. I had just commented, “What was THAT rhythm?” right before she’d sneezed, and she gave a slight chuckle to it after her sneeze and sniffled liquidly. 

“Salud,” I blessed her in Spanish. 

“What?” Her tone went up slightly as she asked curiously.

“Salud,” I repeated.

“Oh! Thank you!” She replied and sniffled a bit more softly. She laughed, looked at the music, and said, “Let’s keep—keep giving it a try. Keep doin’ it.” 

“I absolutely messed up at that measure,” I said.

“Oh, sorry,” she stated and laughed nervously, as if she thought her sneeze distracted me (which, really, it obviously did, but I’d already screwed up before it, I didn’t mess up because of it this time).

“No, I just added an eighth note,” I clarified.

“Ohh, okay,” she stated. I explained what exactly I did wrong, and she sniffled a few more times. She had been following along in the music earlier, but it seemed that after she sneezed, she lost track of where she was on the page, because she asked me to remind her of the measure number I was talking about. And each time I talked about how I totally screwed up and added notes here and there, she chuckled a little, each chuckle sounding slightly congested. She had started to sniffle more frequently, and her nose twitched a little with irritation as she sat there following along in the music on her phone once more. But it didn’t seem like she had to sneeze again, just like her nose was still recovering from the one sneeze. 

Just about two minutes after her sneeze, she recommended I write in some tick marks in the music to help me keep better track of the big beats to understand the rhythm more. “Yeah, that’ll help,” she said, paused, and looked behind her. “Aughh, I need a Kleenex. I’ll be back...” she said with annoyance and walked out of the room. As I wrote in my music, I heard her blow her nose strongly. I glanced up to see her coming back into the room as she finished up with her head forward a bit, the tissue held to her nose just in her right hand, her left hand still holding her phone. She wiped her nose with the tissue, lifted her head, sighed, sniffled, and walked back to her chair a bit before going back to the door, closing it, and then walking back again, glancing at the window on the way to her chair as I looked back down at my music. 

“Something outside is...making my nose drippy,” she said with a sniffle.

“Huh?” I asked and looked up. I didn’t think I’d heard her correctly. There was no way she used that word in normal conversation. I didn’t believe it. She sniffled two more times and glanced out the window again.

“Augh. I just—As soon as I opened the window, I—my nose just started dripping,” she said and rubbed her nose with the tissue once more. My heart sank a little with sympathy for her. She’s my friend, and just when she wanted to open the window to cool off the room a bit, her allergies were bothering her. I felt bad but was also shocked at her word choice. I never thought that a “muggle” would use that word to describe their runny nose in normal conversation! I was genuinely surprised, and it took me about a second to snap out of that shock. She seemed to massage her nose with the tissue and looked at me as I said I felt a little bad. “Why? For drawing in marks?”

“No, I feel a bit bad for you,” I stated honestly.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she said quickly and gave a nervous chuckle, looking to the side. “It’s fine.” Another little nervous chuckle as she looked back.

There was a short, slightly awkward silence, which I broke when I said quickly, “I’m just a sympathetic person, and you’re my friend, too, I care about you.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said softly, and a genuine smile you couldn’t fake formed on her face. It was a smile of true appreciation of how much I cared about her and the sympathy I expressed even when she just had allergy issues. I meant it. I really do care about her. Even though I love when she delivers another sneeze, I still get sympathetic for her and wish I could give her a hug and help her when she feels miserable. 

Throughout the rest of the lesson, she continued to sniffle a little, but she didn’t sneeze again. Though she also didn’t close the window, which I was quite surprised at. It was clearly bothering her allergies, so I was surprised she didn’t close it. Maybe she did afterward. I did have to end a few minutes early anyway because time was running short and I had to prepare for my school’s holiday concert, so we didn’t really get a normal send-off at the end of the lesson. If I didn’t have to end early, maybe she would’ve said she was gonna let me go and close the window haha. I sure hope she’s feeling better now, and this was truly an excellent early Christmas present that was unexpected and she didn’t even know felt like a present to me. But that’s okay. It makes it even more special! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Edited December 18, 2019 by I love Alan Rickman
Added a detail

[ThePokeFan599]

Yes I did. What a great observation. Plus how long the sneeze seemed to bother M, and her nose being drippy too was a very nice detail. 

[SneeVee]

Yummy! M's poor tickly nose! 

[FireFlower3013]

Just discovered these gems. 

Very enjoyable observations. 

TY for sharing

Cheers, 
Drea