Nes and Peanut Butter
Nes wasn’t sure what was happening at first. She was ten at the time, sitting at the kitchen counter of one of her only friend’s houses. Of course, her friend wasn’t there this time -- he had gone off to grab something from his room. His mother placed a carefully crafted sandwich in front of her and, never one to be picky, Nes plopped it into her mouth.
The first bite was heaven. There was something in there -- something creamy and thick -- that she’d never tasted before. Sure she’d had jelly, but peanut butter was a whole new experience. The second bite went a little more in the opposite direction. She had to choke it down, but couldn’t put her finger on why.
The third bite was nearly impossible. It felt like her throat was closing. She began to cough, holding onto the counter in front of her so tight that her recently bruised knuckles turned white. The mother -- she never did remember her name -- came close, a worried expression scrawled across her face as she tried to communicate with Nes.
It was fifteen minutes before she was in the best hospital in Crann with nurses fussing over her. Ma wasn’t there yet, and she couldn’t exactly speak when her throat felt like an inflatable tube bursting at the seams, so she kept quiet. She was obedient, following all of the orders the medical staff sent her way, but her eyes were firmly glued on the door.
Twenty minutes after that first bite she could breathe again. She spent the next five minutes coughing and choking on the fresh air that was heaven -- better than heaven -- to her lungs. The next time she lifted her head to look at the door, she saw Ma and her heart skipped a beat. What would she think? It’s not like Nes had any physical injuries that could have caused it.
Ma spoke to the doctors for a few moments, their conversation clipped and completely silent to Nes’ ears. At the same time that Nes was finally able to breathe comfortably, she felt Ma’s warm arms around her and smelt her lavender perfume mixing with her rose scented shampoo.
The next time she came across that dangerous food, she was prepared. It was a sleepover with a few other top students. One of their fathers brought up sandwiches for the children, which all but Nes happily devoured. It was Sam that noticed her avoiding them. “Nes?” He asked.
She looked at him with a small tilt to her head, eyes quickly flitting back to the sandwich that lay between them. “Yes?”
“Aren’t you going to eat that?”
With another wistful look at the food, she goes over to the corner and grabs her backpack, reaching into it and pulling out her epi pen. Sam’s eyes widen as the device draws the attention of a few other children around them. Nes pays them no mind, handing it to her friend. “I’m going to need you to give me this in a moment.”
“You-- What?” Sam asks. His question is answered by Nes’s face reddening and her frantically pointing at a spot on her thigh with one hand, the other grabbing at her neck, trying to pull away invisible hands. Shaking his head and closing his eyes, Sam pushes the injection into his target, releasing the medicine.
Within moments, Nes speaks again. “Thank you.”
“Why couldn’t you have done that?”
Nes gives him one of her rare grins, slightly tilted to one side. “I’m not good at holding things while I’m dying.”
Sprint for NaNoWriMo July 2019, with the dare of "Make a character have an allergic reaction to something".
Characters:
Nes
Ma
Sam
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