Awaking a a sodden bed was nothing special for Jules. This morning the shame of this faxct was very far from his mind however. By now the itching from the previous night had become a burning. Large blisters had started to form on his legs by the time they managed to make it to the clinic to see a doctor. 

“Hogweed Rash.” The doctor said as he applied a salve gently to the burns on Jules’ legs. “Thankfully  we caught it before you’d scar. Stay out of the sun, use this cream, and do not scratch.”

“Honestly! Just what did you two get up to?” Jules mom exclaimed on the drive back home. “Mandy’s mom phoned and she has it too. All up her legs and some on her back.”

“Nothing mom.” Jules said slowly, concentrating on keeping his fingers tightly interlaced in his lap so that he would not be tempted to scratch. “Just playing near the creek.”

“Well enough of that. The doctor said to keep out of the sun, so you are going to stay at Mandy’s place today.” 

“Ah Mom!” Jules moaned as he squirmed in his seat. “Why can’t I stay at home?”

“Don’t ‘Ah Mom’ me. You still have a week of your grounding left. Amanda needs someone to stay with Mandy while we go out. And despite your inattention we know we can trust you with that. She can keep an eye on you and make sure you don’t turn on the TV as soon as we leave.”

Jules groaned and slumped lower in his seat. Bad enough to be stuck with this rash, but even worse to be stuck at a stranger’s house with it and with no way to distract himself from the nagging urge to scratch.

And so it came to pass. Two kids who would rather have nothing to do with each other, staring forlornly after the car that drove away - stranding them together.

The silence was awkward. The house strange. Smells that Jules could not place wafted on the air. As much as Jules would have liked to take the chance to wander away from the living room where he had been left by his mom, he was worried about just what Mandy might do to him if we went somewhere he shouldn’t. He feared accidentally wandering into her room and getting viciously beaten up for it. Sighing, he dug into the bag he brought with him and pulled out a book before settling down on an overstuffed couch. He managed to keep the grimace off his face as he brushed the rashed area of his leg against one cushion.