It all starts with a sneeze

[Trynasneeze]

Snfff, Vanessa sniffled.

"Bless you, Ness", April said caringly. "Sounds like you're catching this cold after all".

Briana blew her nose again, very wetly. She turned to Vanessa,

"Welcobe to the club", she said through her thick congestion. 

"But I don't want a cold", Vanessa said, looking confused. "I'm too busy this week".

"Well colds don't really come when you're looking to get sick", April said sweetly. "Better just stay warm and rest up".

"Or carry od as dorbal ad do't let those dagg gerbs wid", Briana said, snuffling lightly. 

"I don't even remember what it feels like to have a cold", Vanessa said. "Its been so many years since I caught one. How hard can it be to sniffle a bit and sneeze a few times?"

"If only that's all it was", said April with a coy smile. "How's your throat feel?"

"Not nice", replied Vanessa. "Like I've been drinking broken glass".

"Well thats just the begiddigg", replied Briana. "By head feels like all the passages ad tubes idside it are stuffed full of cottod wool, by ears are clogged, I cad't breathe through by dose, the coughs keep cobigg, plus by dose is actigg crazy".

"Oh goodness", said Vanessa. "That doesn't sound all that fun".

[Trynasneeze]

"Hishoo!" Vanessa sneezed into her fist. 

"What did you say you were here for?" The lady at reception asked her. A twenty something redhead with thick black glasses. "Bless you by the way". 

"Thanks", Vanessa said as she sniffed. "I have an interview with Mrs Morgan". 

"Oh yeah okay", replied the receptionist. "Grab a seat over there, she won't be long". 

Vanessa sat down as directed. Her throat felt like it was filled with razor blades today. She rubbed her nose, it kept tickling. She almost never sneezed and this morning she'd sneezed three times already. 

"Vanessa?" 

An attractive forty year old with her blonde hair tied back in a bun walked towards her. She wore a dark grey pantsuit with a pink blouse. 

"That's me". They shook hands. 

"Follow me into my office". 

The first few minutes of the interview went well. And then just as Mrs Morgan asked Vanessa what she believed she could do to enhance the company's customer relations, Vanessa's breath hitched. 

She pushed two fingers against her nose in an attempt to quell the brewing sneeze. 

"Well I think that I could... could, Hehh", Vanessa began. 

"Could what sorry?" Asked Mrs Morgan. 

Vanessa waved her hand wildly in front of her face as the tickle overcame her entirely. 

"HUHSHOO!!" she sneezed through her failed holdback. Snrrfff. "Excuse me". 

[Trynasneeze]

"Bless you", Mrs Morgan said. 

Snrrff, sniffed Vanessa again. 

"Are you catching a cold?"

"No no I never get sick", Vanessa replied.

Ten minutes later the interview was done. 

 

An hour after that, Vanessa was sitting with her duffel bag waiting at the bus stop. 

She sniffled at her nose a little and sipped some water. It did nothing to soothe her sore throat. Now that she was coming down with a cold, Vanessa wasn't as sure that she actually wanted one. A five hour bus ride was uncomfortable enough without her throat and head both aching. And she kept sneezing, that was so annoying. She frequently had a little something at the back of her nose she had to keep sniffling at, if would finally seem to go away, and boom she'd sneeze again and have to sniffle some more. 

She pushed the back of her fingers against her tickly nose and gave it another little sniff. 

[jensenkate]

Oh amazing writing! I love this story

[SunFlower_10]

I like where this is going, thanks for the update.

[Trynasneeze]

Vanessa boarded the bus. It was pretty packed and she took her seat beside a dark haired girl of a similar age to her. 

Vanessa sniffled a little and rubbed her nose. She nodded a little to her seatmate as she sat down. 

The girl looked very tired. Her eyes were pinkish and her nose was red. 

SNRRFF, she sniffled congestedly as Vanessa sat beside her. She wiped her nose wetly on the palm of her hand. 

A minute later, without bothering to cover at all, the girl snapped forward and sneezed:

"HEHHSHOO!!"

SNRRFFF, she sniffled again, deeply. She wiped her nose on her hand again. 

Damn, I hope that's not how my cold is going to get, Vanessa thought to herself. This girl is really struggling with her runny nose. 

Vanessa sniffled a little at her own nose. The girl wasn't exactly dressed like someone who was sick, she had on a T-Shirt and some light cotton shorts with a pair of sneakers. 

A few minutes later, Vanessa put her fist up in front of her nose. 

"HUHSHOO!" she sneezed. She sniffled a little at her nose as it was getting a bit runny. 

The girl in the seat beside her turned to look at her as she sneezed. Then suddenly turned away a little and sneezed herself:

"HEHHSHOO!!" 

Once again a big, uncontrollable, uncovered wet sneeze. 

SNRRFFF, she sniffled wetly as she wiped her nose several times on her hand. 

She turned to Vanessa. 

"You sick?" She croaked through thick congestion. "I heard you sniffling". 

"No", said Vanessa hastily. "I never get sick". 

"Too bad", said the dark haired girl as she sniffed wetly again. "You probably will be after today". 

"HUHHSHOO!!" she sneezed, uncovered again. 

"I've- SNRRFFF- got such a bad cold", she continued despite her horribly drippy cold. "I'b sorry if you catch it but I thidk half this bus will udfortudately. SNRRFFF". 

She wiped her running nose again. 

"You do't have a tissue do you?", She asked Vanessa. 

"No sorry", Vanessa replied. She sniffled a little at her own nose again. 

"Oh dagg", the sick girl continued. "I could use a ode right about dow". 

She pulled up her T-shirt and blew her nose a little into the collar. 

Just then the bust stopped. 

"Alright well, see ya", the girl said. "This is by stop, SNRRFFF". 

"Okay, nice to meet you", Vanessa said. "Get well soon". 

The girl picked up her hoody and got off the bus. 

Vanessa looked over at the empty seat. The girl had dropped a crumpled, very well used looking handkerchief. 

Vanessa turned again and placed the back of her hand in front of her nose and mouth. 

"HUHSHOO!" she sneezed again. Snrrff snrrff. 

[Anonymace]

Wonderful part! I love how messy and contagious this cold is getting 😈 An inconvenient cold is always a treat to read about   

[Trynasneeze]

Vanessa had another three hours in front of her on the bus. The seat beside her was now vacant, save for a well used handkerchief the sick girl who'd recently departed had left behind. 

Vanessa's throat felt terrible. Every sneeze aggravated it more. And the sneezes were frequent, and getting bigger. Each sneeze made her nose a little runnier. 

Snrrff snrrff, she sniffled at her runny nose. It was starting to feel like more than a sniffle. Every other minute or so, Vanessa was having to sniff at it to stop it feeling like it would drip. 

She dabbed her nose lightly on the sleeve of her pink crew neck sweater. 

Snot is wierd, she thought. 

Vanessa had little experience dealing with runny noses. She barely even sneezed. But her roommates, and her workmates, and even the girl who'd been sitting beside her earlier all had had bad colds with runny noses, and the snotty situation had looked uncomfortable. 

"HUHSHOO!" Vanessa sneezed suddenly without covering. That one had come from nowhere. 

Snrrff snrrff, she sniffled, gathering the fabric of her sleeve over the back of her thumb to dab lightly at her running nose again. 

She eyed the abandoned handkerchief beside her. 

"I wonder if I should have brought a tissue or something", she said to herself quietly.

Edited October 4, 2022 by Trynasneeze

[Rick]

Another great chapter, sounds like it's setting the scene for more. 

Sounds like Vanessa is a real sniffler? "Little experience of dealing with runny noses"? Maybe she'll struggle with it so much that one of her friends will blow her snuffly nose properly for her when she gets home...

[Dgrayman]

Vanessa is having a time! You are hustling through this story. Thanks for your hard work!

[Kaitlynne]

Sooo hot!

[Trynasneeze]

"HUHSHOO!!" sneezed Vanessa again. 

Snrrff, snrrff, she sniffles at her runny nose. She wiped it a little on her sleeve. 

The sun was starting to go down and she was getting close to her parents town. 

Snrrff, for the first time she was starting to struggle with how runny her nose was getting. Did she need to blow it or something?

That last sneeze had made it feel very runny, and breathing through her nose had started to feel a little more difficult. Each breath made her aware of the runniness in her nostrils. 

But she didn't have any tissues anyway. 

Vanessa sniffled wetly again and dabbed at her nose with her sleeve. 

She'd be at her parents house soon and could figure it out then. It was just a runny nose after all. 

Then her nose began to tickle again. She pulled her sleeve over the back of her hand and pushed it against her nose, trying to suppress the tickle. 

All this sneezing is getting so irritating, she thought. 

She sniffled wetly at her nose again. 

"I guess I'm gonna sneeze again", she said to herself as she felt the tickle get stronger. 

Her former seatmate's discarded handkerchief beside her caught her eye again. 

I shouldn't use that to wipe my nose right? She asked herself. That seems kinda gross. 

And before she had time to answer her own question, the bus pulled to a halt in her home town, she snapped forward and sneezed uncovered:

"HUHHSHOO!!"

[Rick]

That was a build-up in more than one sense. Maybe Vanessa's parents are so used to their daughter's neglect of her poor nose that it will simply be caught in a soft, dry handkerchief when she arrives with no need for comment...

[Trynasneeze]

Her mum had come to pick her up from the bus station. Vanessa could see her waiting as the bus pulled into the station. She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and sniffled wetly. 

She grabbed down her duffel bag from the overhead luggage rack and started to walk to exit the bus. 

"Excuse me", called out a middle aged man who'd been sitting behind Vanessa. 

She turned around, a little shocked. She sniffled wetly again. 

"You left this on your seat". He was holding out the handkerchief that the girl she'd originally been sitting next to had dropped. 

Embarrassed, and without really knowing what she was doing, Vanessa muttered a small thank you, took the crumpled handkerchief and stuffed it quickly into the pocket of her sweatpants. 

 

"Nessy, how are ya?" Her mum hugged her tightly as she stepped off the bus. 

"Good mum, how are you?" Vanessa replied, despite the cold that was steadily growing in her upper respiratory system. 

"Really good", her mum replied. "Come on let's get home, dinner's waiting". 

 

As soon as they'd gotten in the car, Vanessa's nose had started to feel like it was going to drip, leaving her sniffling wetly at it every 30 seconds. Her mum hadn't said anything about it, but gave her a few sideways glances as she sniffled and dabbed at it with her sleeve. 

They were finally inside, Vanessa still sniffling, she hugged her dad and went to sit down in the dining room. 

Her sister Bethany came in, she looked her older sister up and down. Bethany was dressed in blue denim overalls over a white shirt. She raised a fist to her mouth then coughed loudly. 

Vanessa sniffled. 

"You sick too?" Asked Bethany. "I'm just getting over a cold". 

"I dunno", Vanessa replied. "I think I'm catching a little something maybe. Snrrff" 

Her mum came in and began serving dinner. 

"I thought your nose sounded a bit runny in the car", she said. "I can't remember the last time you got sick". 

Vanessa sniffled again. Her nose was feeling very runny now. 

"Neither can... Neither can I - HUHHSHOO!!" She sneezed suddenly, turning away from the table. 

"Bless you". 

Vanessa sniffled and pushed her hand against her nose. Her face looked a little confused. 

"What's wrong?" Asked her mother. 

"I... I gotta sneeze... Huhh... againd-" she said between hitching breaths. 

She pressed her fist against her nose. 

"HUHHSHOO!!" she sneezed again. 

Snrrff snrrff snrrff. She wiped her nose with her sleeve. 

"By ndose", she said. "It's just getting so runny". 

"So blow it, duh", her sister offered. 

"Go get a tissue", her mum said. "Oh wait, you'll have to use one of the serviette ones from in here. Your sister used all the proper ones when she had a cold the other day". 

"It's all just paper, geez", Bethany said as she coughed again into her fist. 

Vanessa grabbed a serviette from the center of the table and pinched her running nose inside it. 

[NickG1998]

Can you make Vanessa’s mother catch their cold and have her with really explosive sneezes please I would sincerely  appreciate it 

[Rick]

A cliffhanger ending to that part - but I have a feeling that she's still going to wipe and dab and not successfully blow that runny nose, maybe she's pinching it too tightly to get anything out. I'm sure that would frustrate Bethany further, as the one who perhaps successfully honked her way right through the family box of tissues...

[FireFlower3013]

These are amazing! you are so talented thank you fro writing them! 

[Trynasneeze]

Dinner was over and Vanessa was beginning to feel quite run down from her oncoming head cold. 

She sat at the dining room table still, talking with her family. 

"Yeah my job interview snrrff did go well today, thanks Dad", she said. She fanned at her nose with a slightly crumpled serviette as another tickle quivered deep inside her nose. "Just this dang cold - snrrff - I sneezed right in the middle of it and got a bit sniffly". 

Vanessa's nose now had a constant sniffle and she'd sneezed twice during dinner. The only problem now was that each time she sneezed, her nose got quite runny, and she was really nervous about having to blow it. 

Oh no, Vanessa thought. The sneeze was coming. 

She turned away and sneezed, trying not very successfully to hold it back as much as she could. 

"HUHH! HUHSHOOSH!!" 

Vanessa sniffled wetly as she pinched her nose in her tissue. 

Oh dang, it was really runny this time. She lifted the tissue to her nose again.

"HUHSHOOSH!!" she sneezed again. 

Snrrff snrrfff. 

"For god's sake, just blow ya damn nose", Bethany snapped. "You're literally holding a tissue". 

"HUHSHOOSH!!" sneezed Vanessa again for a third time. She had to blow her nose now. She could feel it dripping. 

She grabbed a fresh serviette, unfolded it a little, put it to her nose, and blew..

 

[NickG1998]

Another wonderful update please continue this amazing story and keep up the great work can you please make Vanessa’s mom catch her cold if it’s possible I would definitely love to read her mother having massive explosive messy sneezes 

[Trynasneeze]

16 minutes ago, NickG1998 said:

Another wonderful update please continue this amazing story and keep up the great work can you please make Vanessa’s mom catch her cold if it’s possible I would definitely love to read her mother having massive explosive messy sneezes 

I'm sure her mom may well get sick after two contagious daughters in the same week

[NickG1998]

I can’t wait to read what you come up with I absolutely love this wonderful story and keep up the amazing work 

[Trynasneeze]

By the time Vanessa went to bed, she'd had to blow her nose five times. It still felt very wierd and uncomfortable but each sneeze was making her nose so runny. 

She undressed and got into a t-shirt and pyjama shorts. 

"God damn I feel exhausted", she said to herself. She rubbed her nose with her hand and then sniffled wetly. 

Having a cold was a very unfamiliar experience for her - she'd forgotten how it felt to have a sniffly nose and a sore throat. She didn't have allergies, she never got colds - the only times her nose normally ever ran were when she cried or ate spicy food. 

Snrrff, she sniffled again. 

Vanessa plugged her phone in to charge and climbed in to bed in her old bedroom. 

She'd barely pulled the covers up over her when she felt another overwhelming urge to sneeze. 

"HUHHHH"

This was going to be big, and she didn't want to sneeze loudly just as everyone was going to bed. 

"HUHHHH"

Vanessa pulled the bedcovers over her face and tried to quell her impending sneeze. 

"HUHHH-ASHOO!! HUHHSHOO!!"

Her throat felt terrible. Each sneeze tonight was giving her a refresher on why people complained so much when they caught colds. 

Snrrfff snrrfff. Vanessa needed to blow her nose again. But there were no tissues in here. She didn't want to go all the way downstairs again after coming to bed. She was exhausted. 

Snrrrfff. 

Why was her nose getting so runny? Maybe she shouldn't have tried so hard to catch a cold. 

She wiped her nose on her hand, and then the bedsheets but it just seemed to make it run more. 

Snrrfff. Then she remembered. The hanky. The one her sick neighbouring passenger had dropped on the bus, and she'd embarrassedly pocketed when someone thought it was her own. 

I don't even think I own any hankies, Vanessa thought. But God I need to blow my nose. 

Was it really that gross to use someone else's hanky? Not like she could get double sick from it, right?

Suddenly she sneezed again. 

"HUHHSHOO!!" 

into her blankets. That made up her mind. 

She reached for her sweatpants and tugged the crumpled handkerchief from her pocket. At least it now felt dry to the touch

[launderedlace]

Love the pace and detail of this story! If this already well-used handkerchief's about to play a more central role, it would be great to have some other of its features described

[NickG1998]

I absolutely love this wonderful story please update soon and keep up the amazing work I can’t wait to read what you write next 

[Trynasneeze]

Vanessa pulled apart the crumpled brown cloth. 

Snrrfff, she sniffled wetly as she pushed the hanky against her nose. Her nose left immediate moisture behind as she pinched it inside the cloth, trying to just dry off the drips from the end as she sniffled. 

That only made it more runny, she thought. She folded the crumpled cloth over once and gave her nose a vigorous rub inside it. 

That action seemed to have aggravated yet another tickle in her sinuses. 

Instinctively turning away from herself, she sneezed 

"HUHSHOO!!" 

uncovered, despite the fact that she was holding a handkerchief in both hands. 

Snrrfff, she sniffled. "Ugh, why won't it stop running?"

She put the hanky back to her nose and blew through both nostrils, clearing her nose for now. 

She balled up the wet hanky and placed it beside her as she lay down to sleep. 

 

                          ***

"Hik-shoo!" 

Down the hall Vanessa's mother, now clad in her pyjamas, sneezed flatly into one palm as she climbed into bed beside her husband. 

"Bless you, hun", he said to her. 

Snff. "Thanks", she replied.