Nenjamellam kadhal

Chapter-11

                                                              Sakthi

I caught a cold during the week from my brother, who had come back from one of his business trips with a viral fever last week. The condition worsened over the weekend, and I've been struggling with a fever since last night. My mom was worried and pestered me around yesterday. I lost my appetite and couldn't eat much, but managed to eat a few bites of milk bread and jam, took some tablets, had a bath to feel refreshed, and got ready for college. Today was the last practical exam, and it was a workshop practical. I hope I will get to do something easy like welding or working with sheet metal.

My mother dropped me off at college today along with Ramya and Sakthi. I felt drained and dragged myself behind Sakthi to the workshop.

Each student, in roll number order, started choosing an answer sheet spread out upside down on a table. Each sheet had a random work name printed on it. My turn came after Sakthi's. As I lifted the next sheet slightly from the table, the professor standing there overseeing us took it back and asked me to take another one from the table. I lifted another sheet from the table and checked what I had.

To my frustration, it was a metal fitting, a complex assignment requiring me to cut and shape two metal pieces separately, followed by interlocking them to form a square or rectangle piece. How was I supposed to do this with a fever? Indha professor venumnu panrara.nalla pali vangitaru emathi sign vanginadhuku. I felt like crying, but anyway, I moved to the fitting section where Sakthi had already stood. He signalled that he would take care of things, which was a small relief.

I began by writing the theory part on the answer sheet before attempting the practical part of the work. I began cutting the metal at a slow pace. Midway through the task, a wave of extreme coldness swept over me, and shivers ran through my body. I was growing increasingly tired, and my eyelids grew heavy. Probably the medicine effects were wearing off, and the fever was returning. I needed to finish before 1 p.m., and it was already 12, so I went to the water dispenser, had a glass of water, found some relief and continued my work.

As I continued working, I started feeling very dizzy and couldn't stand anymore. I sat down on the floor, clutching my head in my hands, and took deep breaths. Sakthi crouched beside me to check on me as I heard a couple of footsteps approaching us.

Sakthi felt my forehead to check my temperature and asked, "Tablet vachirukia? tirupi fever adikidhu, Vera enna panudhu en ipdi okandruka?" The professor and instructor asked Sakthi about my condition. He explained to them about my fever.

When the instructor touched my forehead with his cold hands to check for fever, I shivered and got goosebumps all over my body. "Rombha fever adikidhu ma, fever nu panna start panna munadi solirukalamla ma? You look pale. Saptia kalela? tablet vachirundha eduthu podu ma "

I asked Sakthi to fetch the medicine from my backpack, and he returned with it in a minute and gave me the medicine along with water. After taking the medicine, I felt nauseous. I rushed outside the workshop and threw up on the ground. Sakthi rushed along with me, held my head, and patted my back until I stopped vomiting and dry-heaving. He then made me sit on a bench placed outside the workshop.

Jithu, who happened to pass by the workshop, stopped to ask what happened. After learning of my condition from Sakthi, he asked him to buy cookies and something hot to drink from the canteen and went inside the workshop to retrieve my medicines from my bag. The professor came with a canned drink and handed it to me. I was parched, took a few big gulps, and felt better after drinking it.