All week, I’d been feeling just a bit nauseous. I didn’t feel too badly, but then again, maybe it was just everything going on. It was weird having to adjust to not needing glasses to see clearly, after all.
Wednesday, though, was a little different. All day, I was definitely feeling a little more queasy than I had been. In fact, I really wasn’t looking forward to lunch at all, given the circumstances.
I grabbed a light salad to munch on and sat by Jon. Tim and Yuki, who usually sat by us, were also there.
“Ugh, why do I feel so sick today?” Tim began. Normally, he was a lot more upbeat than this, but it seemed he must have caught the same bug.
“Yeah, I dunno what’s going around, but it’s gotten to me, too.” Jon’s voice was a little weak.
“I’m...okay,” Yuki replied. She was kind of shy, but even in those two words I could tell something was a little off.
“Any idea what we might have caught? Classic Lake Point lunch bug?” I asked.
“I dunno—ohhhhh!” Tim’s voice suddenly cracked and shot up an octave, and as I looked around, I noticed many other boys wincing and even moaning in pain. Something clearly had gotten to them, all at once.
“What th...e…” I didn’t feel quite so bad, but my voice cracked and dipped really low for a moment.
"This hurts!" Jon howled...though he sounded more like... Me!? "Ugh, wow." That was his normal voice again. “How did we get—”
“BLOOD!” a high-pitched voice shouted from the other corner of the cafeteria. Suddenly, we all looked at the source of the commotion, a boy who sat at one of the far tables. “I’m bl..eedi...ng!” His voice was going up and down. I saw a girl run over to him. Several boys had dropped their lunch trays with a clatter as they tended to new and sudden cramps, and I could see some spilled milk cartons on the floor.
“You OK?” she asked.
“Me too!” another boy piped up, pointing to his crotch.
“Nothing wrong here,” Jon told the table. “Why are they...disturbing our lunch period?” His voice rose as he doubled over in pain. I could see blood dripping from his chair.
Jon’s phrasing triggered another thought in my mind. ...Periods? Do boys have...them...now!?
