Hi guys, long time no see! I had writer's block for some time, and then 2021 happened. My apartment flooded, and after a week and a half, I went back to my apartment only to get sick the day after, which inspired this story. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I only own Karena, I own no part of "Meet the Robinsons."


STORY #32: Sick

STORIES OF REFERENCE: Freshman Anxiety

NARRATOR: Wilbur


MARCH 2, 2038 – Todayland, North Montana, USA

I woke up and I let out a cough. I froze in place, my eyes wide open. I noticed that something wasn't right: my throat felt scratchy. I let out another cough, and then I glanced at my phone. It was seven o'clock, which meant that I had slept in. I groaned, and I noticed that my voice sounded scratchy as I heard someone coming into my room.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's me, little buddy," I heard Carl answer, and his golden head popped out from the bottom floor. "Everyone's wondering where you are."

"Carl, something's wrong," I replied with a raspy voice.

"Yes, you're right," Carl said, scratching his head. "You don't sound good. Let me get your mom."

After Carl left the room, I took out my phone and sent a message to my girlfriend.

RobinsonW23: Hey Karr, I hope you're doing better than I am today. I think I'm sick.

It only took a minute for my phone to buzz, and I saw that Karena replied to my message.

EvelynAngel2002: Wait, what? You were just fine yesterday! What happened? What are your symptoms?

I typed my answer.

RobinsonW23: Scratchy throat, raspy voice, I have a headache…

I sent the message, unsure of any other symptoms. Suddenly, I sneezed.

"Bless you!" I heard my mom yelling from the bottom floor.

"Thank you," I replied, sending Karena another message.

RobinsonW23: Add sneezing to my list of symptoms.

After I sent the message, my mom appeared in front of me with concern on her face.

"Wilbur, honey, are you sick?" Mom asked with a frown.

"No, I just decided to sound like Humphrey Bogart today," I answered sarcastically.

"Don't joke around, mister," Mom reprimanded me, not buying the sarcasm.

I watched her take out the thermometer, and she aimed it at my head. After I heard two beeps, she took a look at the monitor.

"You're temperature seems normal," Mom told me. "You are 99 degrees warm, so you don't have a fever. But your voice is concerning me. What else did you notice when you woke up?"

"My throat is scratchy and I have a headache."

"Maybe it is best if you stayed home from school today for your own safety. I'll let everyone know and I'll bring you up some breakfast."

"Thanks, Mom."

We exchanged smiles as she went down the levitation platform. I glanced at my phone to find Karena replying to my text.

EvelynAngel2002: It sounds like either you caught a cold from somebody or it's allergy season again. Are you allergic to anything?

RobinsonW23: Not that I can think of… I'm hoping that is all this is: a cold. I don't ever get sick.

EvelynAngel2002: Don't be so cocky, Captain Time-Travel. It happens to everybody. Not everyone is immune to the common cold.

I smiled at her response, which included a wink, and I typed my reply.

RobinsonW23: That is a good point. My mom is suggesting I stay home from school today. I think she's right.

I paused, wondering what feelings the Wilbur Robinson of 2037 would have had. He would have been so happy to be sick and to stay home because he hated school. Now, despite my situation at school, I love going to school and learning as much as I can about the world today, rather than going in the time machine and going back in time to learn. Karena changed all of that, and I will forever be thankful for her guidance to what mattered the most.

RobinsonW23: Not that I don't want to be in school. I would rather be at school than stay home sick.

EvelynAngel2002: Would you rather stay home from school or go to school and possibly pass the cold to everyone you touch or talk to?

RobinsonW23: Touché. Although, if I got Rachel sick, it would at least get her off my back for a week.

I put the phone down as I heard a couple voices entering my room. Eventually, I found Grandma Lucille and my mom in front of me.

"I brought you breakfast, Wilbur," Grandma Lucille said as she placed a tray full of food on my lap.

"Thank you," I replied, and then I sneezed.

"Gesundheit," Grandma Lucille said.

"I'll get Dad to come home right away so he can look at you," Mom suggested.

"Mom, Dad's a scientist. He's not a doctor of medicine."

"But you're his son, and he knows you more than anybody."

"But I'd hate to drag him away from his work," I replied. "It's important to him."

"Wilbur, nothing is more important to Cornelius than his own son," Grandma Lucille assured me with a smile on her face.

"Your father needs to know what is going on," Mom said with a smile. "Maybe he can help you."

I nodded my head, somewhat excited of seeing my dad early in the day.

"One more thing, Wilbur," Mom said before leaving the room. "It's probably a good idea not to talk."

"At least not until you have had plenty of fluids in your stomach," Grandma Lucille chimed in, and I let out a quiet chuckle.

I quietly ate my breakfast with enjoyment. I had scrambled eggs with buttered toast and orange juice. After I finished, I placed the tray on my nightstand, and I texted Karena again.

RobinsonW23: How's your healing going?

I waited for either my dad to appear in my room or for my girlfriend to text me back, and I felt my phone vibrate.

EvelynAngel2002: It's going very well! The physical therapy is helping my arm, and I've also been doing some chest exercises to help heal my chest faster.

RobinsonW23: You still have to take it easy in order for your arm to heal properly. You know that, right?

RobinsonW23: Wait a minute… what chest exercises?

"Hello, Wilbur."

I looked up to see my dad in front of me with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Dad," I replied raspily.

"Shh, Wilbur, take it easy," Dad told me, sitting on the bed. "So your mother tells me that your body temperature is normal and that you just have symptoms for the common cold. When did this start?"

I sent my dad a text.

RobinsonW23: Just this morning. I felt totally fine yesterday.

"A common cold always starts that way," Dad replied. "But it may not be the common cold. You could be allergic to something."

I gave my dad a look of skepticism as I sent him a text.

RobinsonW23: Really, Dad? I've never been allergic to anything my whole life.

"You learn something new about yourself every day, Wilbur, even if you know about it already. We can test out some things, see if you are allergic to anything, and then we'll see how you are feeling tomorrow."

I smiled, I sneezed, and I sent my dad another text.

RobinsonW23: That's fine with me.

I kept on sneezing and coughing all day. Even though my parents had brought up everything I could be allergic to, like our dog Buster or any of the plants and herbs my family planted in our backyard, I was still feeling horrible. But I had gained my voice back, so at least I was able to talk clearly despite my scratchy throat.

I heard a knock on the door, and I put a confused look on my face.

"Come in?" I said with uncertainty, wondering why anyone would knock on my door.

"Hey, Wilbur! Surprise!"

"Karena?" I asked with surprise in my voice. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to cheer you up," Karena answered, and I watched her brunette head emerge from the levitation platform. She was cradling a boxed dinner in her broken arm, and she was holding orange lilies in the other hand.

"You didn't have to do that," I replied with a smile on my face. "Besides, I should be the one getting you flowers, not the other way around."

"Who says that a woman can't give her boyfriend flowers?" Karena asked with a wink.

"Well, I feel a little better now that I've seen your face," I replied with a smirk, and then I sneezed.

"Still that bad, huh?"

"Yeah. The only thing that got better was my voice. My dad thought it could be allergies, but I sneezed at everything. I'm pretty sure it's the common cold."

"Hmm… who did you come in contact with who was sick?" Karena asked with a pondering look on her face.

"No one! That's the thing!"

"So maybe it is allergies… it could be something in here that's making you sick."

"We've tried everything, Karr," I replied flatly. "The only thing we haven't tried yet is the sun, and I highly doubt that's it."

"Well, I highly doubt it's dust since we breath it every day."

"We've tried dust anyway," I said, looking down.

"I take it pollen is not one of them?"

"Right. I've sniffed every flower that Tallulah, Laszlo, and everyone else planted. I felt fine… well, no worse than normal, anyway."

"Did you test out the allergies in here or did you get out of the room?" Karena asked.

"I was in the kitchen when I was tested."

"Hmm… let me look up something."

I watched as Karena did some research. I opened up the box dinner she had brought with her, and it was broccoli cheddar soup and an orange. I had started eating my dinner, when Karena tapped me on the leg.

"So the symptoms of a common cold are a runny nose with watery or thick yellow discharge, body aches, and a low-grade fever," Karena explained. "And the onset is one to three days after exposure, and it lasts from three days up to a week. Hay fever, which is probably what your family is suspecting you have, involves a runny nose with thin, watery discharge but no fever, and it happens immediately after exposure to allergens. And you will be sick as long as you are exposed to the allergens."

"My discharge is yellow, which means—"

"You have the common cold, Wilbur."

"But who could have been sick?" I asked with confusion in my voice, scratching my head.

"Think, Wilbur. It may not have been anyone in school. Someone from this house may have been sick the past three days. Did anyone in this house sneeze or cough the last few days?"

I pondered hard, trying to remember everything that had happened this weekend.

"Well, let's see. I spent most of my weekend playing chargeball. Carl can't get sick because he's a robot. Asides from dinner, the only people I was around were you and Gaston."

I paused, remembering what had happened on Sunday.


FLASHBACK: February 28, 2038

Carl had called me to dinner, and I decided to walk to the dining room to get some more exercise in.

"Psst! Wilbur!"

I turned to see Gaston signaling me to get into the cannon range.

"I need some ideas on how to enhance my cannon range," Uncle Gaston explained. "Do you ha—achoo!"

"Bless you."

"Thanks. I've been sneezing all day. Do you have any su—achoo!"

"Gaston, maybe you need to get in bed," I suggested. "We'll talk about the cannon range later."

"But it's dinnertime!"

"I'll bring dinner up to you. Now go!"


END OF FLASHBACK.

"It was Gaston!" I exclaimed angrily before sneezing. "I brought him dinner and he was still sneezing. He must have sneezed on me as I handed him the tray."

"You should prank him for revenge," Karena suggested with a sadistic grin on her face.

"It's not nice to prank someone because he passed down the common cold," I replied, shaking my head.

"A year ago, you would have not hesitated to prank anybody! What changed?"

"Colds happen, like Dad said. Although, to be fair, I think Uncle Gaston has earned a prank coming to him. Will you help me?"

"With pleasure," Karena answered with a smirk. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Try to find all the meatballs you can. You are going to spend the night here and then we're going to prank him tomorrow morning."


"So we're just going to hide under the table until Gaston comes in?" Karena asked as we crouched down to the floor.

"Yup," I answered with a sneeze.

"Bless you."

"Thanks."

"Are you feeling any better, Wilbur?"

"No, I think I feel worse," I answered, putting a hand on my head. "My headache is really hurting me and I feel even more stuffed up."

"Let me feel."

I removed my hand from my head before she placed her hand on it. Then I saw a look of concern on her face.

"You're warmer than normal. Maybe we should have your mom take your temperature again. The last thing we need is to find out you have the flu."

"I did make it downstairs now, did I?" I asked with a smirk.

"Touché, mister," Karena replied, returning the smirk. "But you still need to be cautious."

We both froze in our places as we heard the door open, and we both saw black boots – Gaston's boots. I quickly emerged from my hiding place as I fired the meatballs from his cannon. I quietly chuckled as Gaston screamed, and Karena started to laugh out loud.

"What did I do to deserve this?" Gaston asked with fright in his voice.

"I caught your cold, Uncle Gaston!" I sternly answered him. "You were sneezing a few days ago when you asked me for suggestions for something."

"Oh yeah, I never got to ask you for those after you helped me get in bed," Gaston replied, scratching his neck. "I still have a sore throat from all of that sneezing and coughing. And now you're sick?"

"You weren't at breakfast yesterday morning?" Karena asked as I raised an eyebrow.

"No, I felt like passing out when I woke up. I'm sorry, Wilbur. I did not mean to make you sick."

"Well, now we both have to find ways to overcome this cold," I replied.

"Wilbur, you are going back to bed," Karena told me, guiding me to the travel tube. "Gaston, I'm glad you're feeling better."

I went up the travel tube before Gaston could reply, and I landed back in my room. I had a rough landing and suddenly, I felt dizzy.

"Karr?" I asked, trying to find my way around. "Karena?"

Before I knew it, everything went black.


I woke up to find both my parents and Karena around my bed, and I had a massive headache.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You passed out right when I followed you in here," Karena explained.

"Wilbur, you have a fever," Dad chimed in. "You need to stay in bed for a few days."

"What am I supposed to do for the rest of the week?" I asked, not thrilled with this new information.

"Homework," Mom answered, putting a pile of books on my nightstand. "I already went to school and got all that you need to do before next week. And it sounds like you have a math test and an English test coming up that you need to study for."

"I'll be happy to help you if you need it," Karena offered, putting her good hand on top of mine.

"That goes for me, too," Dad chimed in, giving me a smile.

"Wait, Karr, what time is it?" I asked.

"It's nine o'clock. Why?"

"Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I called my teachers and my boss and told them I was taking the whole day off to take care of you," Karena explained with a smile on her face.

"Karr, you didn't—"

"I did and I will. You took care of me when I got in that accident. Now it's my turn to take care of you."

"I was trying to say, Karr, that you didn't have to sacrifice your daily routine for me," I assured her with a smile.

"Wilbur, you can't be replaced. Even if you're not dying, I would still rather be with you than worry about you all day."

I watched Karena sit on the bed, and I felt the sudden urge to hug her. I felt her hugging me back with her good arm.

"I'll go ahead and get you some medicine, Wilbur," I heard my dad say before he and my mom went down the levitation platform.

"This is the worst I have ever felt in my life," I told my girlfriend with a chuckle, and then I sneezed.

"Bless you," Karena said.

She leaned in to give me a kiss on my right cheek.

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"Another hug?"

We both chuckled as Karena got closer to me and gave me a hug.