Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Precocious	By : XxSwaggerMcJaggerxX Category: +M through R > Recess Views: 3538 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Recess and do not make a profit from this work.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Detweiler wasn’t the only ‘troublesome’ student at his school. He was definitely the least troublesome on that list, but that was because there were some hooligans at Third Street that Ms. Finster brought to his office. Yet another kid that she found trying to ditch school. He was giving the usual lecture about staying out of trouble when his office door opened and Detweiler walked right in. Him and the student watched him walk over and lay on the couch with his back turned to them.
            “Detention, two weeks,” Prickly said, ending the conversation. The student left, leaving him and Detweiler alone. He closed the curtains, despite recess not being for another 30 minutes, and went to the couch. The fourth grader was curled up in the fetal position, clutching his stomach.
            “Detweiler, what’s wrong?” Pete asked.
            “I don’t feel good,” he moaned, barely turning his head to look at his principal. “Sorry, I don’t have a hall pass, I ran out of class.”
            “If you’re not feeling well, then I’ll call your parents to pick you up—”
            “They aren’t here,” said TJ. “They’re out of town.”
            “Then who are you staying with? I’ll call them.”
            “. . .I’m not staying with anyone.” TJ turned back away. “It’s just me and my sister, and she’s staying with a friend.”
            “So you’re at home by yourself?” He asked. The boy slowly nodded. “In that case, I’m calling the authorities, you’re too young to be left alone for day at home.”
            “No!” TJ weakly said. “It’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened.”
            “Even more reason to call them,” said Prickly. He picked up the phone. “I can’t believe they would be so irresponsible to do this.”
            “Please don’t. I know you probably should, but I’m used to it, I swear,” said the fourth grader. With what energy he could muster, he gave the best puppy dog eyes to the principal. They had a brief standoff, neither wanting to back down from their position. With a surge of pain in his stomach, TJ finally looked away and curled in on himself again, willing the pain to stop.
            Against his better judgement, Prickly put down the phone. Regardless, Detweiler looked like he needed some help right now. He walked back over to the kid to get a better look at him. He was a bit green in the face, and that was enough for him to grab the wastebin, just in case.
            “Is it just your stomach hurting?” TJ nodded. Prickly placed a hand on his forehead, finding it to be both slightly warm and sweaty. “You have a small fever. You either have a stomach bug or ate something bad and caught food poisoning. But you should have someone at home to watch you.”
            “Can’t I just stay with you?” TJ asked. “No one’ll notice.”
            “Why wouldn’t you want to stay with one of your friends?”
            “I dunno. I’d feel better with you, I guess,” said the boy. “I’ll even call and ask my parents. They really won’t care, sir.”
            “I sincerely doubt that.” Prickly carried the phone over to the couch, careful not to snag the phone. Detweiler slowly readjusted until he was facing the room. Staying lying down, he grabbed the phone and dialed the emergency number his parents left for him and his sister if they needed everything. Part of TJ wondered if they would bother to pick up at all, since they were so comfortable leaving him and Becky at home for a week.
            “Hey, dad?” TJ asked once he heard his father voice on the other end. “No. . . . I don’t feel good. . . . No, I don’t think so. . .Can I stay with Principal Prickly?. . . Yeah. . . “ TJ held the phone out to him. “He wants to talk to you.”
            Prickly raised an eyebrow, but still took the phone, not knowing exactly what to expect.
“Hello?”
“You’ll watch him?” Mr. Detweiler asked on the other end, forgoing any formalities.
“With your permission—”
“Yeah, sure. Just make sure he doesn’t die. We’ll be back next week.”
With that, the phone call abruptly ended.
“Congratulations, it looks like you’re staying with me until your parents get back,” Prickly sighed. He returned the phone to his desk and pulled a seat over to the couch.
“Told you they wouldn’t care,” TJ mumbled.
“He didn’t even sound concerned. No questions or anything,” said Prickly. He pinched the bridge of his nose at all of this. “Do you have keys to your house, or do we have to stop and buy you some clothes?”
“I have keys.”
“Good, good. We’ll stop by your house after school. Until then, you can stay in here since you’re sick,” he said.
TJ opened his mouth to say ‘thank you’, but a lurch in his stomach made him pause. Knowing that look, Prickly handed him the trashcan in time for him to empty his stomach. As he hurled and his throat burned, he felt a comforting hand rub small circles on his back. The fourth grader curled back up once there was nothing left to upchuck.
            “Thanks, Pete,” he said, weekly smiling.
            “You’re welcome. Now get some rest,” Prickly said. “There’s still a few hours before schools out.”
            “Are you gonna make me come to school tomorrow?”
            “We’ll see how you feel in the morning. Don’t try any tricks to convince me if you’re not feeling better in the morning. I can see through all the tricks.”
            TJ nodded, turned over, and settled in for a nap for the rest of the day.
            Meanwhile, Prickly left his office to clear things up with Ms. Grotke as to why one of her students ran off in the middle of class. It was an interesting conversation to say the least, but she was definitely one of the more understanding and forgiving teachers at Third Street. When he returned, he placed a blanket over Detweiler. By then, the fourth grader had fallen asleep. Hopefully, it was just a stomach bug. Food poisoning felt like a slow, agonizing death, and he didn’t want the boy to suffer through that.
            The fourth grader slept through the rest of the school day, only coming to a half hour before the bell rang.
            “Are you feeling any better?” Prickly asked. TJ shrugged, wrapping his arms around his stomach. “We’re stopping at your house to pick up your things, alright?” Detweiler nodded. After the hallways cleared of students, Prickly lead him outside and to his car, to avoid as many eyes as possible. Prickly hoped that he didn’t have anything left in his stomach to empty on the upholstery.
            The boys home was like many others, he supposed. Average by all means, nothing that would elicit a concern. He followed Detweiler upstairs and to his room. Again, average, if not a little boring, a bit of a contrast with Detweilers personality. The boy tossed what he needed from a bag he grabbed from his closet, not bothering to fold them. His head was fuzzy, too fuzzy to focus or care long enough to do so. All he wanted was to curl up in a bed and ignore the world for a while.
            After zipping up the bag, he reached to carry it, but it was take from him and Prickly carried it instead.
            “Don’t strain yourself,” he said. “Let’s go.”
            By now, TJ had been over Pete’s house enough times to feel comfortable not like he was entering some weird twilight zone. It was like a second home, and like a second home, he slowly made him way upstairs, towards the one bedroom he was familiar with. Until a hand was placed on his shoulders.
            “Not my bed,” Prickly said. “The guestroom.”
            “Why not?” TJ whined.
            “Because I’m not having you vomit in my bed if you can’t make it to a bucket in time,” he said. “Let’s go.”
            TJ groaned, but didn’t argue. The guest room was perfectly fine, with a bed, dresser, and TV, but it wasn’t the room or bed he wanted to be in. He crawled into bed and settled under the covers, happy to get off his feet and to relax.
            “Your father was entirely too uncaring about you staying here,” said the principal. “Even without knowing what we’ve been doing, he didn’t bother asking any questions.”
            “That’s how he always is,” said TJ. “Thanks for letting me stay here.”
            “You’re welcome. I’ll be back with some water. Sip it, don’t chug it all down, okay?”
            “Yes, sir.”
            Now that he was settled in, Prickly left and went back downstairs.
            Curled up in a fetal position, listening to only the ambient sounds of the house and cars and people passing outside, it was easy enough for TJ drift back to sleep. It might’ve been on and off, only lasting for 30 minutes at a time based on what the clock read each time he opened his eyes, taking a sip of the glass of water left on the bedside table.
            Though his stomach hurt with each breath, he had enough energy to stand up and walk out of the room. Heard the TV downstairs, and some sounds coming from the kitchen. So going downstairs was a no go. Pete would just shoo him back to bed. Instead, he stayed upstairs and walked to the principals bedroom. Clean, as usual, with everything in it’s place. Including the SNES! For a brief second, he wanted to play, but the amount of concentration he needed was more than he could muster.
            The jacket on the bed, however, he had enough energy to grab that before returning to bed.
--
            The kid had to eat something eventually. Not wanting to risk having to replace the carpet, Prickly found the blandest foods someone with a compromised stomach could eat. A bowl of unflavored oatmeal and half a banana should keep him for the night and not make him feel any worse than he already did.
            Prickly carried the improvised dinner upstairs rather than drag the boy downstairs to eat. Detweiler was still asleep, as he expected. What he didn’t expect was to find that the kid had at some point, took his blazer and decided to use it as a second blanket.
            He couldn’t lie, it was an adorable sight.
            “Detweiler? Wake up, I want you to eat this.” It took a few gentle shakes of his shoulders before TJ came to.
            “Huh?” TJ rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
            “I made you something to eat. You don’t have to eat all of it, just have some if it’s all you can stand,” Prickly explained. He sat on the edge of the bed while TJ adjusted his position until he was sitting up. “First my shirt, now my blazer, huh?”
            “. . . It’s comfy.” He blushed. “What’d you make?”
            “Oatmeal and half a banana,” he said. He handed the bowl over to the bowl. TJ looked at the mush in front of him with a slight grimace. Oatmeal was on the bottom of the list of breakfast foods in TJ’s mind. He ate a bit, and it was worse than he expected.
            “No sugar?” He asked after forcing it down.
            “Sugar would be too much for your stomach right now. You need something gentle for the next few days,” Prickly explained. As much as that made sense, eating plain oatmeal was a struggle TJ had to force himself through. But he definitely didn’t know how to treat himself when he was sick or what to eat to feel better.
            “Pete?”
            “Hmm?”
            “You sure I can’t sleep in bed with you? I won’t ask again but I like it when we do that,” he said.
            “I’m sure, Detweiler. You need space if you have to move around,” said the principal. “You have my blazer, that should be good enough.”
            “My stomach feels like it’s being stabbed over and over,” said TJ. “This whomps.”
            “It’ll be alright. This wouldn’t have happened if your parents left you with someone to watch you,” Prickly said. He placed a hand on TJ’s forehead once again. “You still have a fever. I think it’s safe to say you won’t be going to school tomorrow. Maybe for the next few days, too.”
            “Am I gonna be here by myself?”
            “No, I’ll be staying home to watch you. I have more than enough vacation time saved up, anyways,” he said. “I’m debating if I should call a doctor friend of mine to stop by and give you a look over to make sure it’s nothing more serious.”
       TJ turned his attention from the flavorless oatmeal to the half banana. Getting doted on like this like this, sick and unable to do much for himself, felt nice. His parents still made sure he took medicine and made him chicken noodle soup and all that, but there was always the feeling of it just being their job to make sure he doesn’t get worse. It didn’t have the same care and concern he was getting from Pete right now. It was a new, but welcome.
“I don’t think I can eat anymore,” he said. “Sorry.”
            “That’s alright. Don’t force yourself to eat more than you can,” Prickly said, taking the bowl. “There isn’t a magic cure for this, except to wait it out, unfortunately. Sleeping through it is the best plan, unless you want to suffer more.”
            TJ shook his head. “No. I’ll go back to sleep. With your blazer.”
            “With my blazer.” Prickly rolled his eyes. “If it’ll help you sleep.”
            “It will,” TJ said, nodding. “Thank you, Pete.”
“Youre welcome.” He leaned over and kissed the boys forehead. “Get some sleep.”
--
Being a friend of a doctor certainly had it’s perks, Prickly was coming to learn. Rather that haul Detweiler into a doctors office with some flimsy excuse as to why one of his parents wasn’t there instead, he was able to call a friend to come over, who didn’t ask too many questions, to get a better look at the fourth grader.
It was difficult to sleep knowing there was an ill child in his house. He managed to convince his friend to come over first thing in the morning. The principal stood in the doorway, watching the doctor look over the fourth grader, who was now holding a thermometer in his mouth.
“What did you eat yesterday morning?” The doctor asked.
“Cereal,” TJ answered.
“And you aren’t lactose intolerant?”
“No, sir.”
Much to his concern, TJ didn’t look much better in the morning than the day before. He found the kid on the toilet and retching into the bin at the same time. Poor kid, looked like he had a foot in the grave. After getting him cleaned up, Prickly sat at his bedside until the doctor arrived, making sure he didn’t get even worse.
“What about the night before?”
“I just had a sandwich for dinner.”
“Hmm, a sandwich? Did you use the lunchmeat brand with the chicken on the cover?” The doctor asked, taking the thermometer back.
“Yeah, that one.”
“That’s what I thought. That brand was just recalled because of people getting sick from it. He has a bit of a fever,” the doctor said as he read the thermometer. “But it should break in a day or two. If he’s feeling uncomfortable or his temperature spikes, give him a cool bath. But otherwise, this is just a simple case of food poisoning. You didn’t need to call me for this, Peter.”
“I figured it was better safe than sorry.”
“No, I understand. Give the kid the week off from school to recover. If he’s not looking better by Saturday, then call me back,” he said. “Sip water, BRAT diet, keep him comfortable. If he keeps throwing up, get him some Pedialyte to get those electrolytes back. If you can’t wake him up, get him to a hospital. But I doubt you need me to tell you that. He should be fine, by Monday, if a little sore in the stomach.” The doctor stood up and closed his bag with a snap. “Questions?”
“How high is too high for a fever?” Asked Prickly.
“102. He’s at 100.8 right now. A little warm, but not concerningly so,” the doctor explained. “If he gets that high, try and break it, but I doubt he’ll get that bad.” He turned his attention back to the patient in front of him. “It feels horrible now, but food poisoning typically doesn’t last more than a week. You’ll be better before you know it, so take it easy, kid.”
Pete nodded. TJ settled back in bed, watching as the two adults stepped outside the bedroom. He felt the worst he ever had, worse than all the flus and colds he ever had combined, and he wanted nothing more than to be better. A week off from school would be awesome, if he wasn’t stuck in bed with a stomach doing flips.
“Alright, you heard the doctor,” Prickly said when he returned. “Nothing but resting for you.”
“Yes, sir.” TJ adjusted the blazer over him to act like a blanket, with the bed covers on top. He smiled.
“I don’t see why you’re so fascinated with that.”
“It smells like you,” TJ said. He closed his eyes once he was comfortable. “It makes me feel safe. Well, safer.”
“You’re an odd child, Detweiler.” Prickly rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to go to sleep, but you won’t be doing much.” He handed the fourth grader the TV remote. “Try to relax.”
--
            Prickly had plenty of things to keep him busy around the house. Despite this, he found himself periodically peaking into the guest room, making sure Detweiler was okay. Fortunately, the boy didn’t suffer through another fit of vomiting, allowing him to rest and get some food in his stomach.
            Utilizing his plentiful vacation days, he was able to stay home. As ill as the boy was, he should’ve known that the fourth grader wouldn’t want to be cooped up in a bedroom all day.TJ camped out on the living room couch, watching TV all day, occasionally leaning against Pete when he joined him.
            It was hard for him to not fall asleep when Pete ran his fingers this hair. TJ tossed his hat off at some point in the middle of the night and hadn’t bothered to pick it back up. The boring shows on TV didn’t help. His stomach might still ache, he might throw up at any time, and he might be stuck doing absolutely nothing, but curling up with one of his favorite people helped him feel better.
            “I’m gonna have to make up so much homework,” TJ grumbled. He looked up at Prickly. “You’re the principal, can’t you write me a pass on it?”
            “No, I will not. You’re going to have to buckle down to get it all done,” said Pete. “I can help you catch up on what you missed, but you ARE going to do it.”
            “Okay. Hey, I haven’t thrown up in two days.” Prickly watched as the fourth grader readjusted his position to that too familiar straddling position from weeks ago. “Can I sleep in your bed now?”
            “Well, lets see.” Prickly reached up and placed an open palm on the boys head. This morning, he was relieved to find that Detweilers fever had broke and that he was back at a normal temperature. He was still on the lookout for a sudden spike, but so far, it was all clear. “Your fever hasn’t returned.”
            “See, I’m getting better!”
            “Yes, you are. Alright, Detweiler. You can sleep in my bed.”
            He watched the boy cheer at the news. His happiness was infectious.
--
            Despite the stress of the last few days, Prickly was unable to sleep now that most of the cause of it was gone. The only sounds in the middle of the night was of the fan, the occasional creak of the house at it settled, and the soft, gentle snores of the boy next to him.
He came to learn that Detweiler tends to sleep in the starfish position, taking up a considerable amount of space with his arms and legs going in each direction. That is, when he wasn’t curled up and clinging to his side.
It was such a relief when Detweilers fever broke. It briefly spiked to 103 two days ago before a cool bath brought it back down. Poor kid was borderline delusional as he guided him to the tub.
It was odd, having Detweiler being so vulnerable and trusting towards him. To the point where he’d rather recover here than at over at one of his friends houses. He didn’t mind watching after the kid, but the fact that he was the fourth graders first choice was still a surprise.
Pete grabbed a tissue and wiped the side of the boys mouth where a bit of droll was trickling down. That was enough to stir Detweiler from his sleep, as he reached up to rub the same spot and slowly open his eyes.
“Principal Prickly?” TJ sleepily asked. “What’s up?”
“You were drooling. And these are new sheets,” Prickly said.
“Oh. I’m sorry, sir,” he said. TJ turned over so that he was on his side and facing the older man. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“That’s actually a good question. I’ve been up worrying about you for the last few days. I should be fast asleep.”
“It’s not because I’m in here, is it?” TJ asked. “I’ll go back to the guest room if it is—”
“Relax, Detweiler. It’s not you. I have a lot on my mind, that’s all,” said Prickly. “Go back to sleep.”
“I kinda can’t. I’ve been sleeping since I got here. I don’t think I can sleep anymore, sir,” he said. “I got too much energy.”
“We’re both in this boat together, then. Fantastic.” Prickly groaned. “I suppose one night of bad sleep won’t be the end of the world, but don’t make a habit of it.”
“I won’t! So, what’s on your mind?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you, Detweiler. I have no idea why you’re so persistent about spending time with me of all people,” said Prickly. Even now, in his bed, TJ was using his blazer as an extra blanket. “How come?”
“I like you. That’s it.” TJ curled up until he was in more of a fetal position. The fan made it cool and easy to stay under the covers. “We have a lot in common. And you don’t brush aside what I have to stay like I’m some dumb kid. I just feel safe around you, sir. I dunno how else to describe it. I know you’d get in trouble if anyone found out, but I don’t want to tell anyone, because I like this.”
After listening to the boys explanation, he reached over and ran his fingers through TJs hair, earning a delightful sounding chuckle that made him smile. Pete leaned over and placed a kiss on the boys forehead.
“Like that!” TJ said between chuckles. “I like when you do that. A lot.”
“You’re an odd one, TJ.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot,” He said. TJ looked up at him with wide blue eyes. “You said my name!”
“I did.” He peppered the boys face in gentle kisses and pecks, enjoying the laughter each one got. On his forehead, his chubby freckled cheeks, the crook of his neck, and so very close to his mouth. Pulling away, Pete saw him looking up and smiling. “You should try to fall asleep again.”
“I’ll try.”
TJ didn’t think he’d be able to after the endless sleep he had gotten over the last few days, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t just enjoy this. The quietness, how nice the bed, blanket, and pillows are, the breeze from the fan, how safe and protected he felt being held like this, with on large hand rubbing circles on the small of his back. It all felt so comfortable and nice, even if he didn’t go back to sleep.
He didn’t quite have the words that explain how safe and secure he felt with the older mans arms wrapped around him. Like nothing can hurt him, like the world could end and he would still feel safe like this.
--
            As plain as they might be, TJ was more than happy to be able to eat something as simple as scrambled eggs. No cheese, because that was still too much, but it wasn’t toast, rice, apple sauce, or bananas, and he was sick of A food by now. Still, he never thought he’d be jealous of not being able to eat vegetables. He missed the omelets Pete taught him how to make.
- 8
- 9
- 10
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Precocious