Summer

[SneezeAbbie]

Apologies for the uncreative title 😅 but I’m starting to write a new story and I hope you guys would like it.

It was the beginning of June, but if you was an alien from the Southern Hemisphere, you would’ve thought it was December. Here in a small town in Northen England the weather had been terrible all week long, consisting of cold rain mixed with the occasional hailstorm pouring down from the sky. 

So it wasn’t surprising when Summer woke up to a text message from the athletics society saying that training was cancelled. The coach took one look at the field, once firm that could have been easily mistaken as a pothole in the road, and called off training. His expectations a lot less insistent to much of the athletics team’s surprise. 

With an evening free of commitments, Summer decided to head over to her friend Eve’s house; masculine in nature, she put on some cargo pants with a white top and black Doc Marten boots. Summer sat at her desk as she was waiting for her straighteners to heat up. Delicately placing a silver necklace round her neck that was handed down from her aunt before she moved to Australia for better work prospects. Summer thought about her a lot, but she tried to put it at the back of her mind. After all, aunt Shelly just wanted her niece to be happy. 

She soon snapped out of her thoughts when we saw smoke coming from the straighteners. Thankfully it didn’t damage the carpet, she would’ve hated to not get her deposit back at the end of the academic year. She finished straightening her long brown hair and headed downstairs to lock the door. 

Of course the moment she left the house it started to rain again, that in combination with the strong winds wasn’t going to make the journey to Eve’s house any easier. But thinking of Eve seemed to make her feel warm inside. Aaaaaah Eve…such a gentle girl who wouldn’t harm a fly. Her wholesomeness was what charmed both Summer and anyone she interacts with, it didn’t matter what kind of mood you would be in, she would always find your spark back. She honestly would’ve loved to be more than friends; but alas, she wasn’t into girls. We all like who we like at the end of the day, and from what Summer has seen from her current boyfriend, she couldn’t blame her. 

Her daydreaming was soon interrupted when she saw the university bus. With the road beginning to flood, she knew what was coming. She tried to get away from the bus, but not fast enough as the wheels splashed her cargo pants, soaking them entirely. A mixture of shock and rage went down her spine, stifling the swearing that would have erupted if there wasn’t any elders nearby. She eventually composed herself before continuing her journey to see Eve. 

Eve was waiting for Summer to visit but became concerned as soon as she saw the rain leathering it down from her window. When the doorbell finally rang, Eve sprinted to the door, opening it to find Summer shivering with not a single dry spot on her body.

“My goodness! Come in, come in!” Eve fussed. ushering Summer into her house.

[jem]

OOH I’M SO EXCITED TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES THX FOR SHARING

[Likesn]

Very sweet 😃 Please do continue.

[nothin2sneeze@]

Aww poor Summer. Loving this! Can’t wait for more

[Dc1]

Can't wait for more 😄

[SneezeAbbie]

Quick warning: there is a breif mention of vomit, so I recommend you skip this part if it grosses you out! 

 

Summer could care less about keeping up appearances at this point in time. She was sure Eve had seen her in worse states before today, going back to first year, when their mutual friend Amy had a birthday party. One game of Drunk Roulette quickly turned into Summer mistaking a life size cut out of Harry Styles for the real deal and throwing up on him. So it would be fair to say that Charlotte wouldn’t mind her carpets being damp from her dripping clothes. 

Charlotte led Summer into her bedroom where she kept her hairdryer and gave it to her. She was a firm believer in old wives tales and the last thing she would want was for her friend to catch her death from being outside with wet hair. After blow drying her hair, Summer peeled off her socks and cargo pants and placing them onto the radiator. Eve also kindly lended Summer a pair of shorts she could wear whilst waiting for her pants to dry up. 

In the meantime, the girls made small talk about their days until Eve finished cooking tea for the two of them. The kitchen filled with laughter once Summer told Eve about seeing her coach double checking that the field was still boggy during a break from her lectures; and Eve telling Summer about how she mistook Philadelphia for butter with her breakfast. Soon enough, the pasta came to a boil and was threatening to spill water onto the hob. Whilst placing the pasta into 2 bowls, Summer begins to notice a slight sniffliness to her nose, not quite enough for her to need to blow her nose, but it was there in the back of her mind. 

As the girls began to eat their tea they continued to gossip about their life’s, occasionally breaking the cycle with Eve taking a sip of water or from Summer sniffling at her nose. For some the reason, Summer felt that the pepper and other spices used was tickling her throat more than usual. But again, put it at one side. 

“Ooh! I almost forgot” Eve interrupted the breif silence, “We need to watch Heartstopper, I can’t believe you haven’t seen it yet”. 

Summer laughed and said “We’ll definitely have to do that after tea”

And with that, the girls went back to Eve’s bedroom to watch a couple of episodes of Heartstopper. Hours passed before Summer realised she needed to set off before she got the final 10pm bus back to her house. Normally, she would ask Eve to walk with her but she didn’t want to inconvenience her. 

It was difficult for Summer to concentrate on her playlist whilst walking to the bus stop without her runny nose threatening to spill onto her face. Of course the British climate meant it was continuing to drizzle throughout the evening, making it feel chillier than usual. Just a plain old coincidence. 

Eventually, she returned to her flat after what seemed to have taken an hour. She collapsed onto her double bed and took a deep breath, allowing all the stress from today easy away. Summer paused for a moment as she massaged her temples, wondering how it was nearly the end of her second year at university already. Just as she was getting ready to go to sleep, she felt a familiar tickle blossoming in her nose, but found that she couldn’t sneeze. So she was left to just sniffle at her runny nose. Reassured that her tickle has gone, she decided to get an extra couple of hours rest. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by SneezeAbbie

[SneezeAbbie]

Summer woke up to the blaring of her alarm and weakly groaned. As much as she wanted to just hit the snooze button, she had a long day ahead. She had to meet up with some of her classmates to prepare for a presentation that was due to following week; and she could not afford to fail another assignment this year. 

She looked around her bedroom drowsily, as she was starting to wake up a bit, she noticed her head felt funny. It took soon enough for Summer to figure out what was wrong, she couldn’t breathe through her nose. Hence the congestion in her sinuses, causing them to ache. 

“Well, it was pretty much inevitable” she thought to herself. Eventually mustering up the courage to bed out of bed, she got changed into the softest hoodie she could find and a pair of black leggings. Dragging herself to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth but not without that pesky tickle reeking havoc in her nose. Her brown eyes narrowed slightly and her mouth parted open - HAH-shoo! A sneeze erupted out of her nose, causing her to bend at the waist. She looked back up to see the mirror glistening with her spray. “Bless be” she muttered under her breath. She promptly wiped the mirror, cringing at how much spray there was, before she left the house to go to the university. 

[KSC]

I usually don't comment, but I just wanted to say I did read this story when you posted it and I'm super excited to see where it goes! I actually thought it was written by one of the really good regulars - I'm kinda surprised it has so few comments!

[SneezeAbbie]

14 minutes ago, KSC said:

I usually don't comment, but I just wanted to say I did read this story when you posted it and I'm super excited to see where it goes! I actually thought it was written by one of the really good regulars - I'm kinda surprised it has so few comments!

Awww thank you so much! 

[SneezeAbbie]

Summer entered the university library, but it would soon be apparent that dragging herself out was a terrible idea. It didn’t take long for Summer to find her classmates who were sat (conveniently) near the Grab & Go station where there were a selection of hot food and drinks on offer. With time ticking away, they would all need a supply of caffeine to push through until the presentation. 

“Hey Borgan *SNFF*, how’s it goig?” approached Summer. Morgan, as well as studying Sports Science, was also part of the athletics society. She wittiness always made those Monday morning lectures bearable. Summer’s increasing congestion seemed to draw Morgan’s attention.

“Oh hey, are you good?” She hesitantly paused to look at her pink rose. The group was already behind with the presentation as much as it is, the last thing Morgan wanted was for Summer to die on her. 

“I’b fide, just a bid tired *SNFF*” Summer replied before turning away to wipe her nose onto her sleeve. Morgan raised a doubtful eyebrow but chose not to engage further into the conversation. Instead, she turned to the rest of the group. 

“So Daniel, what ideas do you have for some of the barriers when it comes to planning inclusive PE lessons” asked Morgan

“Well, I wrote down that although students with disabilities may benefit more from repetition as it gives them more opportunities to utilise skills, teachers may not have the time to persist on some skills. Of course this is dependent on timeframes such as half term and the type of sport that they are currently teaching” he explains.

“That’s a great point! I’ll write that down. Alisha, what do you think are the strengths of planning inclusive PE lessons?”

‘Oh god, oh no no no’ Summer’s breath begins to hitch. Frantically, she pulled down her sleeve ready to bury her face into.

“I think that inclusive PE lessons will encourage students with disabilities to successfully engage. Focusing on what students can already do will ultimately boost their self esteem… HAR-shoo!” Summer interrupted Alisha’s point with an explosive sneeze. 

Mortified, she apologised. The group blessed her and Alisha could carry on with her point.

“Their self esteem will be boosted as they will gradually have a more positive view of PE”. Summer ended her point by sniffling periodically. 

Irritated by her sniffling, Morgan stopped typing on her laptop and took a pack of tissues and slide them across the table, aiming for Summer. 

“I dod’t need id” Summer whispered thickly. Morgan could only roll her eyes in hopes that she would blow her nose and have no more distractions. A couple of minutes later, Daniel offered for the group to take a break to refresh their minds. 

Despite it being a library, constant shrieks of laughter and chattering on the ground floor made it difficult for Summer to concentrate throughout the morning; as well as the worsening pain in her head. She groaned as she sunk into hoodie wishing that she never came in the first place. 

But soon enough, the group reunified. Together they created a lovely poster on PowerPoint exploring inclusivity in PE, how sessions can be adapted to support disabled students, and highlighting its strengths and weaknesses within the National Curriculum. Every now and again, Morgan would give Summer dirty looks for sniffling but nothing came from it, until…

 “I can’t believe we’ve got so much done!” Chimed Morgan, “Daniel do you want to say your introduction?” 

Daniel cleared his throat before reading from his notes; Summer tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but she was distracted from a brewing tickle in her nose. A pre-sneeze expression plastered on her face; her heavy eyes squinting shut. The group get to see her quickly worsening head cold in all of its glory 

“T’chew… hAT-schoo… hAT-schew… he..heh..” With each sneeze increasing in volume, she could feel the room getting quieter and quieter. But she did not care. Summer quickly yanked a tissue from the packet Morgan lent her and put it to her face preparing for the final sneeze. “HAR-SCHOO!” She bent over the table, draining the remaining energy she had. 

The group were stunned into silence; Summer opened her eyes to see Morgan’s eyes staring like daggers. If only looks could kill. 

[Rick]

Great story! Poor Summer, with a cold coming on and so reluctant to blow her nose that she sniffled herself into such a huge sneeze. Maybe now she's finally taken a tissue, she'll be able to clear her nose? Or maybe we'll find out why she's avoiding trying...

[KSC]

I love this kind of story! Please continue!!

[SneezeAbbie]

On 6/17/2022 at 10:31 PM, Rick said:

Great story! Poor Summer, with a cold coming on and so reluctant to blow her nose that she sniffled herself into such a huge sneeze. Maybe now she's finally taken a tissue, she'll be able to clear her nose? Or maybe we'll find out why she's avoiding trying...

 

On 6/19/2022 at 11:36 PM, KSC said:

I love this kind of story! Please continue!!

Thank you for all the feedback so far! I’m glad to hear people are enjoying this story ❤️
 

 

Summer took the look of death as a sign to leave, she packed up her stuff and headed towards the exit of the library. With a bit of red spread across her face it either gave a hint of a slight fever or the wish to evaporate into thin air out of embarrassment. Whilst Summer was glad to be able to spend the rest of the day recoupering from her fast hitting illness, she couldn’t help but feel terrible for leaving her classmates to do all the work. 

“Going home early are we?” 

Summer snapped out of her self-sabotages thoughts when she saw a familiar face walk across to the bus stop. It was Eve, she must have finished her seminar. She could only sigh and give a simple “yeah, i’b gonnda go hobe for a bit”. Eve raised a quizative eyebrow 

“By the sounds of it, you should be at home for eternity” 

“I have do idea what you’re ond aboud -SNFF” Summer mumbled tiredly. In reality, she would love to just stay in bed, but she couldn’t let Eve catch on to her vulnerability. Eve tended to notice things and Summer picked up on that very quickly into their friendship. God knows if Eve found out that she was sick, she would probably be spoon feeding her soup from her bed. There was no way Eve could find out.

“Come on Summer” Eve cut to the chase “your face is flushed, your voice is stuffed up, in fact I think you’re going to sneeze right now” 

Summer was going to testify against her statement but her nose betrayed her “hAP-schoo!” She sneezed harshly into her elbow. 

“And sneezing, sounds like a case of a severe cold. You have my sympathy” with a rub on Summer’s shoulder to add the extra caring touch of hers. 

“How about you stop at mine for a bit?” Eve could see Summer about to open her mouth to oppose such ideas but Eve bluntly said “it’s not like you’ve got anything else planned for the day, and I know just the thing that will make you feel better…”

[SneezeAbbie]

Chhinkni: a unique herbal remedy with an equally unique dosing technique that provides instant relief from nasal congestion, and cold symptoms. 

Eve did her research on cold remedies over the years; she was notorious for catching colds that were really ill-timed. Like last year when she came down with a case of lurgy 2 days before opening night of her drama production. It was a very dialogue heavy show and there was no way she could afford losing her voice. Sure, the tablets, the steam inhaler, the first defence all provided temporary relief. But nothing was capable of stopping it in its track. That was until Eve remembered a sneezing video she watched when she was younger. As much as she wanted to erase her embarrassing phase, she remembered a woman feeling less congested after inducing with chhinkni. And the next day announcing that she was completely recovered. 

Eve saw the capsule of chhinkni sitting rather gleefully on her desk, she hesitantly looked at it before looking the other way. Besides, borderline torturing her friend with spices wouldn’t exactly qualify as a bonding activity within their friendship. 

“hah-REschoo! Oh for fucks sake” Instead, Eve chose the safest option of providing comfort and company.

“This is ridiculous” Summer muttered, her voice muffled from the tissue in her hands.

“By nambe is Sumbber, add the only timbe I get a cold is ind the subber -SNFF” 

“I suppose the only thing you forgot to mention is that your was born two days before the start of…”

“Shud up” Summer quickly cut her friends snarky comment. She looked at herself briefly in the mirror, she couldn’t decide wether to be miserable or angry. Tears overflowed her frail brown eyes with frustration, she couldn’t conceal her signs of illness for just a couple of hours. And now she’s sat in her best friends bedroom trying to keep whatever remaining stubbornness she had left. 

She quickly swiped a a finger across her eye as to not draw any unnecessary attention to herself. But Eve saw everything, she knew what to do. She didn’t waste any time. Eagerly opening the capsule, she tipped a minuet amount onto her finger and held it up to Summer’s nose. “Sniff” Eve says softly. Whatever havoc this cold was having on her sinuses was nothing compared to what was about happen next…

[SneezeAbbie]

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL PART AS I AM WORKING ON MY FIRST FANFIC! 
 

The intense burning sensation was one that Summer had never experienced before. Being a novice to herbal remedies, she was oblivious to the impact Chhinkni would wreck on her sensitive membranes. Her chapped nostrils flaring with irritation, a streak of snot gathered underneath her upper lip. Eve observed this in its full glory, the snot having a gleaming streak against the light on her ceiling. 

“ah...aaah..hah” Summer started hitching uncontrollably, gasping before each hitch.

God damn it she needed to sneeze.  Still gasping and hitching, she snatched the box of tissues Eve had laying on her desk. The slight touch of the tissue held against her chaffed nose must have been enough to reboot her entire respetitrory track. 

“Ap-tchhh… ugh... APT-chhh... ugh… AP-tchew” the tissue now containing the mix of messes from her cold and the Chhinkni hesitantly lowered, as if Summer was going to sneeze again. The tickle flared up and she could feel it crawl from the back of her nose and down to the very tip. “Jesus Christ, not again” she muttered. “hah-REschoo! Huh-eschoo… hAT-schew… oh by god… APT-chhh… AP-tchew!”
 

Summer sensed that she was done, she sniffled tentatively. She exhaled in relief when she realised that she could finally breathe properly. 

“Better?” Eve asked.

“Better!” Summer smiled with delight. 

[jke1995]

This was really sweet!