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I wake up with a headache. It’s pounding. Wait, no, that’s the door. Did I oversleep? I scramble out of bed and find my glasses before opening the door. It’s Rocky.
“Why Grace no answer door, question? Why Grace look like that, question?” he says.
“I just woke up, Rock,” I say as I run a hand through my bedhead. “Armando, coffee.”
Armando hands me my vitamin soda, having run out of coffee months ago. It helps me to pretend, ok?
“Grace too slow,” says Rocky.
“I’m getting ready as fast as I can, ok?” I say as I struggle into a fresh jumpsuit. It feels a little chilly this morning. I wonder if there’s a problem with the environmental controls? No time to think about that. I pull on my Converse and am out the door. Rocky and I chat on the way to my classroom, but my voice is hoarse.
“Why Grace sound that way, question? Is Grace eating enough?” says Rocky. He remembers when we first got here and how sick I was when I was starving.
“Yeah, Rock, I’m eating fine. Just a scratchy throat.”
We part ways and I enter my classroom. The kids are all jumping around and talking wildly.
“Ok, ok, settle down,” I say, my voice still hoarse. I cough a couple of times. The kids take their seats and before I begin my lesson, I take up their homework. Eridians don’t use paper, and the science Eridians are still figuring out how computers work, so they complete their assignments on thin sheets of zinc, which they etch into with a pointed stylus. It makes their homework really heavy, especially today since I’m a little achey.
We’re talking about star types today. I’m in the middle of talking about red giants when I feel an itch in my nose. I sniffle and try to keep talking, but a sneeze catches me by surprise.
“HAATCHoo!”
I sniffle and rub my nose before noticing that the kids are alarmed. They’re all out of their seats again.
“What happen Teacher Grace, question?!”
“It’s ok, it’s ok, that was just a sneeze,” I say, trying to calm them down. “Sometimes humans have to expel air quickly through their nose to clear out an irritant,” I explain, but not before my nose starts to tickle again.
“HAATCHoo! Ugh.” Great, the kids are all upset again. After answering a whole bunch of human anatomy questions, I wipe my nose and try to get on with the lesson, but my nose is so stuffy and my headache is worse.
The day ends and all I can think about is climbing into bed, but I push through and do some grading first. I give up since I can’t stop coughing. Finally, I head home much slower than usual. I get in the door and flop down on my bed face down.
“Ugh,” I groan. I ignore Armando who is trying to get me to eat, but I have no appetite. I just pull the blanket around myself and fall asleep.
A little while later, I wake up to a knock at my door. Rocky usually stops by after dinner. I try to breathe in, but my nose is completely blocked. I drag myself to the door, blanket still draped around me.
“Grace look bad. What wrong, question?”
“Hi Rocky,” I sniffle, “I think I have a cold,” I say.
“Something wrong with temperature, question? I fix,” he says.
“No, Rock, a cold is a human illness. What I can’t figure out is how I could have gotten one here on Erid,” I say. “Do you have viruses here?”
“Viruses yes. Only in juveniles. Adult Eridians stronger, no get virus.”
Great. I caught something from my students, just like back on Earth. Some things never change.
“Listen, I’d love to chat, but I’m wiped out. I’ll see you tomorrow," I say, coughing.
Rocky scraped his claw against the ridges on his arm to say goodbye. I mimic the motion back to him. Then I collapse back into bed for a dreamless sleep.
I must have overslept again because I’m woken up by the sound of Rocky knocking at the door. My head feels like it’s stuffed with cotton and I still can’t breathe through my nose. Rocky doesn’t wait for me to open the door, he just walks right in.
“Hey Rock, over here,” I rasp from the bed.
“Lazy human! Why not answer door, question?”
“I told you I’m sick,” I say.
“Understand. Rocky make joke.” He holds out a xenonite container. “Adrian make this for you,” he says.
“What’s this?” I say, propping myself up on my elbow.
“Is chicken soup. Is good for cold. Rocky do research on human thinking machine and Adrian make.”
“Rocky, there are no chickens on Erid. What did you put in this?” I ask, taking the container.
“Is Grace-meat,” he says.
I unscrew the lid and try to smell the steaming liquid inside. I can’t smell anything of course, but the steam feels nice.
I get up and grab a spoon from the kitchen. I take a tentative slurp. The hot liquid feels good on my sore throat.
“Ahh. Thanks, bud,” I say.
“Adrian soup make Grace feel better, question?”
“Yeah, it’s helping,” I say.
“Grace stay home today. Rocky cancel class,” he says. “Rocky stay with Grace.”
“Aren’t you scared of catching my cold?” I ask, coughing.
“Rocky told Grace, only young Eridians get virus. And weak humans like Grace.”
I laugh. “Ok, bud. Thanks.”
I set up my laptop on the bed and climb in. Rocky sits next to me as I eat my soup. My sinuses finally start to clear. We watch movies the rest of the day while Armando hands me tissues.
“Grace feel better now, question?” Rocky asks.
“Yeah, I feel much better. Thanks, pal,” I say.