Rohan whimpered as his mom pulled the thermometer out of his mouth. She studied the end before tutting and shaking her head. "It's ninety-eight degrees. That's normal, you're perfectly fine."
"But moooom," he whined, his voice unusually deep and husky for a twelve-year-old. "I don't feel good! Even my throat hurts." He coughed meaningfully, as if to prove his point.
"But nothing! What you have is a case of the man-flu. Now get ready for school."
As his mom left him to get ready, Rohan only dug himself further under the bed covers. He felt awful, and it hurt that his mom didn't believe him. Sure, there had been times in the past that he may have faked a flu to get out of school. And he did have an exam to take, one he hadn't prepared for. But he really wasn't faking it this time. He may not have a temperature, or clogged sinuses, or even a runny nose, but that didn't mean he wasn't actually sick!
