\'\'She had an allergic reaction and that triggered her condition,\'\' the nurse, Denise Porter informs me. I used to visit the nurse\' office all the time just so I\'d skip class back when I was in Linkdale. It hasn\'t changed one bit: the twin beds are still at the left corner of the room, the cabinets filled with drugs are still placed on top of a sign post that says \'Linkdale High\' in bold letters, and the fridge is still pretty much the same.

\'\'Allergic reaction?\'\' Sophie is allergic to nuts and I packed her lunch this morning. There were no nuts in there, that\'s for sure.

\'\'Her file says she\'s allergic to nuts, right?\'\' I nod. \'\'Her friend, Ria, brought her in and didn\'t say exactly what was wrong with her or how she had access to nuts.\'\' I glance at Sophie who is sleeping on the white bed; her face is slightly red and puffy and her hair is sprawled on the pillow.

\'\'Ria also gave us her bag so we were able to find her medications and administered it to her. Thank you, Ria. \'\'I will advise you take her to see your family doctor, just in case there\'s something I\'m missing.\'\' She says with a frown, her forehead creasing with worry.

You don\'t have to tell me twice.

\'\'My mum\'s a nurse at St John\'s so I\'d be taking her there immediately.\'\' Denise nods and hands me a piece of paper. \'\'Remember to show the doctor and your mum this paper. It basically sums up my observations and the drugs administered.\'\'

\'\'Thank you, Nurse Denise.\'\'

\'\'Anytime.\'\'

...............

Sophie will be fine.

At least that\'s what Dr Carlos, our family doctor at St John\'s hospital says. He gave her an extra layer of medications along with a very strong warning to be mindful of what she puts in her mouth. I\'m still wondering how she had access to nuts in the first place but I guess I have to ask her later.

Mum almost had a panic attack when I called and told her that Sophie had allergies again. At least this time isn\'t too bad. The last time she had an allergic reaction was when she was six and was hospitalized for weeks. I was nine at the time and I remember it being probably one of the scariest moments for our family, considering we were still trying to navigate our way through Sophie\'s diagnosis of Type A Sephiligitis. Sadly, there\'s no cure yet but there are medications she has to use for the rest of her life in order to lessen the symptoms.

\'\'Mel, do you want me to order pizza or Chinese?\'\' Mum asks from the kitchen. She got off work early after the whole Sophie fiasco and I\'m guessing she doesn\'t want to cook anything.

\'\'Chinese please.\'\'

\'\'Coming right up.\'\'

I face the TV with a frown on my face. I really should be reading right now considering our test is next week but I can\'t bring myself to actually focus. There\'s a lot of things going on in my head right now: Jason, Sophie, most especially Sophie and then Jason.

Why did he try to kiss me that night?

\'\'What\'s on your mind, sweetie?\'\' Mum joins me on the couch wearing her night robe with a cup of green tea in her hands. How she can even stomach that drink or \'detox water\' as she calls it is beyond me. I\'ve only tasted it once and I almost puked in my mouth. It has no flavour whatsoever and tastes like…herbs.

I\'d just stick to my Pepsi and Lemonade.

\'\'Nothing much,\'\' I deflect. \'\'Just school stuff.\'\' And Jason. \'\'Tests are coming up real soon and I need to start studying.\'\'

\'\'Ah, I see,\'\' she nods in understanding and takes a sip of her tea. \'\'Don\'t worry, you\'ll be fine. You\'re a hard worker so I know you\'ll pull through.\'\' She searches my face dilligently. \'\'Are you sure that\'s all that\'s bothering you? I\'m your mum so you know you can tell me anything.\'\'

I smile a little. \'\'I\'m fine mum, don\'t worry.\'\' Liar.

\'\'You know you\'ve never been the best of liars, Melody Lianna Jones.\'\' Uh-oh, she pulls out the full name. \'\'I birthed you so I know you better than you know yourself. If it\'s your sister\'s issue that\'s bothering you, then stop worrying. Like Dr Carlos said, Sophie will be fine and just needs to be mindful of what she eats.\'\'

I nod. \'\'Speaking of mindful, how did she get nuts in the first place? We don\'t keep nuts in the house.\'\' Ever since Sophie had her first allergic reaction that got her hospitalized, Mum\'s had this \'war against nuts\' thing going on. Peanut butter, Chocolates with nuts in it, you name any \'nutty\' product, we don\'t have it around the house.

\'\'I packed her lunch this morning so I don\'t know how she got it and the nurse didn\'t say much only that her friend, Ria brought her to the nurse\'s office.\'\'

\'\'Hmm. I\'ll ask her about it later.\'\' The doorbell rings and mum jumps a bit. \'\'Must be the delivery man. See if you can get your sister to come down for dinner, yea?\'\'

\'\'Roger that.\'\'

I trudge up the stairs and make a left for Sophie\'s bedroom. Knocking slightly, I enter and see that her lights are on, but she\'s still asleep. As usual, the purple covers are off her body and lying haphazardly on the floor while she\'s sleeping in a horizontal position with her pajamas on. I giggle slightly and pick up the covers. Folding it neatly, and placing it on her reading chair, I proceed to arrange her slightly messy room. I\'m a neat freak, don\'t judge me. A couple of her fountain pens on her reading desk are knocked down to the ground, along with her school books which so happens to be scattered on the floor at the foot of her bed.

\'\'What are you doing?\'\' I turn my head to an already awake Sophie who is yawning. Luckily her face is no longer swollen and has regained that brown sugar glow that she rocks effortlessly.

\'\'Cleaning.\'\' I pick up the books from the floor and place them on her mahogany desk. \'\'Since you don\'t want to.\'\'

She narrows her eyes. \'\'Mum ordered Chinese for dinner so it\'s time to eat.\'\'

\'\'She jumps out of the bed and combs her hair with her hands, a bright smile prominent on her face. \'\'It\'s been so long since we actually had take out food.\'\'

\'\'Yea. I\'m pretty shocked that Mum actually suggested it.\'\' Mum\'s been on this Keto diet for a while now, and when she\'s on a diet, Sophie and I are automatically on a diet as well which means no take out food, no pizza and no junk food. If you check our freezer, you\'d only see vegetables and fruits, and the occasional Maltesers and Kit Kat bars. Newsflash, the only reason why Sophie and I are even allowed to have those is because we promised to do house chores for a week.

It\'s been a tough time in the Jones\' household.

\'\'Speaking of food, I wanted to ask you something before Mum beats me to it,\'\' I start. \'\'How did you have access to nuts?\'\'

She hangs her head low on the ground, the tiles seeming to be more interesting than my question. \'\'Well?\'\' I ask impatiently. \'\'Mum\'s waiting downstairs.\'\'

\'\'RiagaveittomeandIateit,\'\' she mumbles.

\'\'Excuse you?\'\'

She finally raises her head and looks at me with guilt in her eyes. \'\'Ria gave it to me and I ate it. It was a chocolate bar and I didn\'t read the label so I didn\'t know if it had nuts in it. It\'s not Ria\'s fault too because she didn\'t know that I had an allergy. I\'m sorry Mel and please don\'t tell Mum.\'\' she pleads.

\'\'Apology accepted and you had Mum and I super worried because God knows what could\'ve happened. Remember to thank your friend, Ria?\'\' she nods. \'\'Right, Ria, for me and please be careful of what you put in your mouth. For your sake.\'\'

\'\'Yea, because I have Type A Sephiligitis, I know,\'\' she says sadly. \'\'You know, this disease sucks and I wonder what I ever did to God to make him hate me.\'\'

\'\'Hey,\'\' I warn lightly. \'\'God doesn\'t hate you, Soph. How could he ever hate you? You\'re one of the sweetest people I know.\'\' We\'re not really religious, but when I was younger, we used to go to church every Sunday. However everything changed once...

That\'s a story for another day.

\'\'We may not go to church anymore, but I know He loves you so much and that\'s why you\'re alive today. Think about the almost death experiences you\'ve had, but here you are, talking to me.\'\'

She smiles a little. \'\'I have dodged a bullet so many times, haven\'t I?\'\'

\'\'Yep, and it\'s all thanks to God. Now, I may not know why humans have diseases and fall sick, but what I do know is you\'re loved Soph.\'\'

She gives me a hug and I hug her back. \'\'I love you Melly Mel.\'\'

\'\'Love you too. But call me that again and I\'m seizing your iPad.\'\'