Chapter 13. Getting Worse
After she arrived at the campus, Professor Vega immediately parked the car. Then, she walked along the aisle to the lecturer room in a hurry. After she arrived in front of the lecture room, Professor Vega immediately took attendance and went to her chair in a hurry. Arriving at his seat, she found Alberto waiting in front of her chair while Alberto was reading a handout from her.
"Good morning, Alberto!" Professor Vega greeted Alberto as she hurriedly prepared for the class that day. She immediately turned on the laptop and took the books and stationery quickly. Alberto saw Professor Vega's pale face, and her body was sweating. The sweat was pouring from her body and head, which made her forehead wet.
"Good morning, Professor!" Alberto greeted.
"I'm sorry, Alberto!" Professor Vega apologized.
"What's wrong?" Alberto frowned because he was confused.
"You've been waiting for me for a long time, right?" Professor Vega felt pity for Alberto, who had been waiting for her for a long time.
"I think it's not a long time, Prof!" Alberto said that on purpose to make Professor Vega calmer, even though he felt like he had been waiting for quite a while. Because he knows that, Professor Vega is a person who easily gets panicked. He didn't want to make Professor Vega panic or blame herself for making Alberto wait so long.
Professor Vega immediately looked at the clock that was stuck to the wall in front of her. The long hand of the clock points to three, and the short hand of the clock points to seven, which showed 07.15 in the morning. Seeing this, Professor Vega patted her head with her palm. She immediately felt pity for Alberto, who had been waiting for her for a long time. She immediately blamed herself for the delay. "Oh god! It's all my fault."
"Why, Professor?" Alberto was very confused by Professor Vega's sudden change in behavior.
"It's 7:15 now. I'm already 15 minutes late. You must have been waiting for me for half an hour. I'm sorry, Alberto!" Professor Vega immediately apologized to Alberto. She was sure that Alberto had been waiting for her for a long time.
"It's okay, Prof! Let's go to the class now, Prof!" Alberto immediately took Professor Vega's laptop.
"Okay." Professor Vega immediately tried to carry the items with her hands, but her hands were shaking until the items fell back. She felt that it was so difficult to carry these items because her body was so weak.
Seeing this, Alberto immediately took the initiative to try to help Professor Vega. "Professor, is there anything I can help you with?"
"That! My laptop!" Professor Vega said curtly.
Alberto already knows from their previous relationship that Professor Vega is an independent person. She doesn't want to ask for help from others. She doesn't accept the help of other people easily. Moreover, expecting the help of others is not the character of Professor Vega. Even when she is sick, he still tries to carry her own things.
Alberto is amazed by the figure of Professor Vega. Alberto tried to offer help again. He hoped that Professor Vega would accept his help. "Besides a laptop, maybe? Like books or other stuff?"
"You don't have to do that. I don't want to cause more trouble and difficulties for other people." Professor Vega spoke firmly.
Alberto rolled his eyes because he was annoyed with Professor Vega's figure for doing the same thing they did when they were dating before. Alberto was well aware that Professor Vega's refusal to ask for and readily accept help from others was motivated by a desire not to cause difficulty for other people.
In fact, for Alberto, it's okay to ask other people for help and easily accept other people's help if someone needs it, and it's not too difficult for Alberto just to carry things to class. What was the difficulty, and why did Professor Vega feel reluctant to accept his help? For Alberto too, Professor Vega was in need of his help. Alberto knew that Professor Vega needed his help. Alberto saw for himself that Professor Vega's hands were shaking, which made her things fall repeatedly, but Professor Vega kept on trying to carry the things herself.
"It's all right. Don't feel bad for me! I know you're sick." Alberto said that he understood Professor Vega's condition and hoped that Professor Vega would accept his help.
However, Alberto's words suddenly made Professor Vega glare and frown. "How do you know? I haven't spoken to you about it since we met today."
Alberto exhaled his breath slowly because he was annoyed with Professor Vega's behavior, who even asked how Alberto knew. Alberto tried to be patient. "I know that you need my help because I see with my own eyes that your face is pale, you keep sweating, and your hands are shaking until your things fall again and again. However, you keep trying to carry the items yourself."
Not long after, the atmosphere in the lecturer's room was quiet. There were no lecturers in the room again. Alberto felt that he said the wrong word.
Alberto immediately said, "I know that you feel bad for receiving help from me. That's fine, though. It doesn't bother me at all. I can help carry all your things if you let me carry the things."
"Well. If that's the condition, just bring it!" Professor Vega had to relent because she had tried many times but couldn't carry her own things. Alberto immediately helped carry all of Professor Vega's things to Alberto's class.
"Thank you, Alberto!" Professor Vega immediately thanked Alberto. After that, they walked to Alberto's class. But when they were climbing some stairs to class, all of a sudden, Professor Vega went to the bathroom because she felt nauseous and wanted to vomit again.
Alberto was confused, but he hid his confusion. He only thought about Professor Vega's reason for going to the bathroom. After they arrived at the bathroom, Professor Vega immediately opened the bathroom door and vomitted.
"Alberto, you can go to class now. Don't wait for me here! I'll go to class after I finish vomiting." Professor Vega so ordered.
"Okay, Professor." Alberto immediately went to his class and brought Professor Vega's things. After he arrived at the class, he immediately walked to Professor Vega's chair while he observed his friends. Some students were seriously memorizing Professor Vega's material. Some students were joking, chatting, and relaxing with the idea that there would be a quiz that day. Some students were sleeping in class.
"Wow! Today we have Professor Alberto. You replace Professor Vega, right?" Nicolas mocked Alberto immediately, which brought laughter to Alberto and his friends, who were studying in the same class as Alberto.
"Where's Professor Vega?" Dario frowned because he was confused.
"In the bathroom." Alberto answered curtly as he placed Professor Vega's things on his chair. Then he connected Professor Vega's laptop to the projector. Then, Alberto went to his seat and waited for Professor Vega to teach their class.
After five minutes of waiting, Dario was getting impatient. He immediately walked over to Alberto's chair, and after that, he sat down on the chair opposite Alberto. "How come Professor Vega hasn't arrived yet, Alberto?"
"I don't know." Alberto shrugged his shoulders and lowered his shoulders quickly.
"Is she sick?" Dario was worried about Professor Vega's condition.
"Yes, she is sick." Alberto answered curtly.
"What's the disease?" Dario was curious and confused until he frowned.
"Who knows. I am also confused. She is vomiting. It seems that she has been vomiting for a long time until her body is sweating and her hands are shaking. Because her hands are shaking, she can't carry her own things." Alberto explained Professor Vega's condition.
"I guess Professor Vega gets pregnant because of you, Alberto!" Nicolas tried to make a joke again to calm the situation. The jokes made the students in the class laugh.
Alberto responded casually. "Yeah, maybe she gets pregnant, but I don't know who will be the father."
"Then Alberto will be the father and Professor Vega's husband. Then Alberto will have good grades without having to study much," Nicolas attempted another joke.
"Ah! I envy you, Alberto," said Dario.
"What makes you so envious of Alberto, Dario? Don't you like children?" Nicolas' question made Dario ask again, "Indeed, what's the correlation with it?"
"As far as I know, Alberto likes children, so he will be a good father figure for his children. Later, Alberto will have cute children from Professor Vega. Professor Vega is a twin, according to what I've heard. So, Professor Vega's children will be twins," Nicolas teased.
"Wow! I can't wait to see Alberto and Professor Vega's children. I'm sure their children will be very smart like them." Nicolas couldn't wait to get to know Alberto and Professor Vega's children.
For Alberto, Nicolas' words were just a joke, so Alberto only responded casually, "Yes, I can't wait either!"
At that moment, Dario's eyes immediately bulged because he was so shocked. He immediately frowned. His lips trembled as he was unable to accept the fact. Dario confirmed the truth. "Does Professor Vega get pregnant from you, Alberto?"
"No! No way! That's so impossible" Alberto responded casually.
"Perhaps both of you often have sex together. So, there's a big possibility that Vega gets pregnant from you, Alberto," said Nicolas.
" Ah! At the very least, Vega's GERD is getting worse. She is a naughty woman. She already knows that she has GERD, but she still loves to eat sour and spicy food. How can her disease not relapse and be cured if she always eats sour and spicy food? It's extremely difficult for me to tell her. When I was dating, we often fought because of this," said Alberto.
"Just like you, Alberto. It's really hard for me to tell you about this. You still love to eat sour and spicy foods, even though you have gastrointestinal disease. "I'm so tired of telling you, Alberto," said Dario.
Alberto just laughed sheepishly. "Yes. I'm also like her. Because the spicy and sour foods are so delicious."
"Then you're exactly like Professor Vega. Person usually has the same thoughts and interests as her or his partner, like Professor Vega and Alberto," Nicolas said.
"Shut up! Now just meet Professor Vega! Maybe she needs help. I'm afraid she has a problem. What's wrong with her? You will definitely feel sad and feel bad if it turns out that something bad has happened to her," said Dario.
"Yes, that's true." Alberto agreed to Dario's suggestion because he felt the same way as Dario. He was worried about Vega's condition. But Alberto was afraid that Vega would be angry with him because he was considered disobedient to her orders.
Alberto's greater worry made him immediately stand up from his chair. Then he went to the bathroom to meet Vega. He found Vega, who was still vomiting. He waited for Vega for a while until Vega went to his class.
When Vega was about to leave, Alberto immediately called out Vega's name. "Vega!"
Vega's eyes immediately bulged. She was very surprised by Alberto's presence in that place. "Alberto!"
"Why didn't you go to class?" Vega asked why Alberto was still there.
"I've been to my class earlier." Alberto answered curtly.
"Then why did you come here?" Vega frowned, as she was confused.
"I'm worried about you. I'm afraid you have a problem, and something bad happened to you." Alberto expressed his worry.
"Oh, Alberto! Don't worry about me! I'm fine. I'm okay." Vega tried to calm Alberto down.
Vega knows that Alberto is a person who gets panicked easily, She also knows that Alberto cares for her so much and he is so worried about her condition.
"If you're okay, you won't vomit." Alberto argued, and he rolled his eyes immediately because he was annoyed with Vega's behavior, who said that she was fine.
"Okay. Actually, I'm not really well, Alberto. I have gastritic disease. I'm feeling sick and have vomited several times. Since this morning, I have vomited several times. I don't know why my illness is getting so bad now. Usually, my illness is never so bad as this, and I've never had nausea or vomiting so bad, Alberto. I am so confused," complained Vega.
"Maybe the disease has gotten worse and requires stronger medicine or more doses." Alberto only conveyed his analysis because Vega's illness might get worse.
"But how is that possible? I've been avoiding spicy and sour foods lately, Alberto." Vega frowned at Alberto. She was so confused.
"But, you've been eating lately. It can also raise your stomach acid."
"Oh. I forgot that. That's true." Vega just remembered that lately she had been eating late because of her recent condition. She was so busy recently.
She felt nauseous every time she wanted to eat the food made by her maid. Not only that, she always wanted to vomit every time she smelled the food. Like it or not, she had to cook her own food, and she ate all of it at once. If she kept it and rewarmed it, she would have vomited when the food was warmed, and she wouldn't have any appetite afterward.
Professor Vega took and chewed the gastric medicine tablets she always carried. At that time, suddenly, a fat man with black skin walked past them. The man is Professor Jose Trevor, who is the Chancellor of Brittle University. Seeing Professor Vega and Alberto, who were in the restroom, Professor Jose immediately glared at them while rebuking them. "Hey! What are you doing here?"
"We just went out of the toilet, Sir." Professor Vega answered weakly, as her body was very weak.
"Why are you still here?" Professor Jose spoke curtly.
"I'm sorry, Sir!" Professor Vega immediately bowed her head and apologized to Professor Jose because she was not brave enough to fight him.
"I'm sorry, Sir! Professor Vega is sick. She has recently vomited. She just puked some minutes ago." Alberto explained Professor Vega's condition.
"Oh. It seems like that. Just take a rest, Vega. You can ask for and receive permission from me. You shouldn't have to teach today." Professor Jose advised Professor Vega to take a rest.
"I'm sorry, Sir! But I feel sorry for my students because they will receive the material later than the other students." Professor Vega explained why she came to Brittle University and taught that day.
"Well, after teaching, you can go to the hospital. You must immediately check the condition of your body. I'm afraid and worried that something may happen to you." Professor Jose expressed his worry to Professor Vega.
"Okay, Sir." Professor Vega only confirmed the words of Professor Jose.
"Okay, I'll go first!" Professor Jose immediately said that he would continue to go to the rector's room. Meanwhile, Alberto and Vega walked to their class.
"Thank you for defending me earlier and explaining my condition to Professor Jose! Thank you for making Professor Jose understand my condition!" Professor Vega immediately thanked Alberto because he had explained her condition.
"You're welcome." Alberto answered curtly.
"I really salute and admire you for being brave and willing to explain my condition to Professor Jose! I thought you wouldn't explain my condition to Professor Jose." Professor Vega expressed her admiration for Alberto.
"Ah! It doesn't matter. It's just ordinary!" said Alberto, because there was nothing special about telling Professor Vega's condition to Jose. It was just an ordinary thing for Alberto.
"They said that Professor Jose is stubborn and doesn't care about the condition of his employees." Professor Vega's words were immediately answered by Alberto.
"I don't think so. As far as I know, he is a very good rector. Many lecturers often don't teach when they are sick or they can't teach, and Professor Jose understands their condition," said Alberto.
They had just climbed the five stairs, and Professor Vega was already feeling nauseous and wanted to throw up again. She immediately ran to the bathroom. Then, she opened the bathroom door and vomitted. Fortunately, she didn't take a long time to vomit at that time. She then went to her place after splashing some water on her vomit. Then, they continued their journey to class.
Arriving in front of the class, Alberto immediately opened the door for Professor Vega and herself. Then they entered the class. Professors Vega and Alberto immediately walked to their respective places. After that, they sat down in their respective chairs.
Not long after, Vega immediately stood up to start presenting the day's material. Just as she stood up, she felt a strong pain in her back. She held her waist as she groaned inwardly.
"Oh! It really hurts!" She complained.
Professor Vega was silent for a moment. Lorena immediately took the initiative to ask Professor Vega. "Why, Professor?"
"This!" She pointed to her back.
"My back hurts! I want to sit down, but I'm afraid I won't be able to present today's material well. So, I force myself to stand up," complained Professor Vega.
"Oh, Professor. Come on, Professor! Don't force yourself like that! We know that you're sick, Professor. Just take a rest, Professor!" Dario suggested.
"Rest?" Professor Vega's eyes immediately glared at Dario.
"Of course not! I can't take a rest. I have to be professional to teach all of you in this class." Professor Vega rejected Dario's suggestion.
"How about if the chair is raised and lowered and you explain with a ruler, Prof?" Nicolas chirps.
"Can it be raised and lowered?" Professor Vega asked again.
"Yes, Professor." Alberto and Alberto's classmates immediately answered. Alberto and Professor Vega immediately walked towards Professor Vega's chair. After they were close to the chair, Alberto immediately explained to Professor Vega how to raise and lower the chair.
"So, Prof., if you want to raise the chair, just pull it up to this section. If you want to lower the chair, you just have to press it under this part." Alberto pointed at the tilt of the chair while demonstrating. Professor Vega tried to do that, but she couldn't. She asked Alberto again how to lower the chair. Alberto explained patiently over and over again until Professor Vega could.
"Do you understand, Professor?" Alberto confirmed that, and Professor Vega was able to
"Yes, Alberto. Thank you very much!" Professor Vega immediately thanked Alberto.
"You're welcome, Professor." Alberto answered curtly as he walked to his seat.
"Okay, Students. We're continuing our lesson today!" Not long after, Professor Vega continued the lecture that day. The lecture continued until she gave a quiz. "Okay, Students. Today there is a quiz to test your understanding of the material I have given."
"Ah! Okay." Nicolas said.
"As Nicolas guessed that there will be a quiz today." Dario complained.
"Yes. That's right. It's similar to what Nicolas said." Alberto complained because he was annoyed by Professor Vega's quiz.
"Nicolas, please help us later!" said Dario.
"Yes. That's true. Please, help us!"
"Help us, please!"
Professor Vega tried to calm the students in the class. "Shut up! Be silentl! This is just a quiz to test your understanding of the material I teach. You don't need to be noisy! Just concentrate on the test that I'll give!"
"How can we not be noisy? We're afraid that the material and the questions given will be very different," complained Alberto quietly, because he was really annoyed with the previous quiz.
During the previous quiz, Alberto felt that the material and questions given were very different and had no relevance. As Alberto recalled, the questions that came out in the quiz had no answers in the material that Professor Vega taught.
"Yes. Of course. We will be panicked," said Dario.
"That's why I said last week. You have to look for the answer on the internet if you want good grades!" Nicolas spoke softly.
"Just share the answers later, Col!" asked Dario.
"Okay." Not long after, Professor Vega mentioned ten questions. After she finished mentioning all the questions, she started to feel nauseous and wanted to vomit again. As before, she quickly went straight to the bathroom. At that time, Nicolas, Dario, and Alberto immediately looked for the answers to the quiz either in books, handouts, or on the internet. They immediately recorded the answers that they found and shared the answers with their classmates.
Meanwhile, Professor Vega was struggling in the bathroom. She was vomiting again in the bathroom.
"Ah! Why does my condition go so bad like this? Am I pregnant? Why does my back hurt so much?" She groaned in her heart.
After she vomited, Professor Vega returned to class. At that moment, the atmosphere immediately became silent. It wasn't like before, where they became very noisy as they discussed the answers for the quiz. There were only glances and tosses of paper as a form of communication to ask for and share answers. Not long after, the class ended and the students had to collect the exercises.
"Students, time is up! You have to collect your papers! Otherwise, your score will be zero!" Professor Vega threatened the student.
"Prof, please give me a little more time!" complained Hermano (Alberto's classmate).
"Yes, Professor. Please wait a moment!"
"No!" Professor Vega refused.
Some students protested because they had not finished their quiz.
"Oh no!"
"Oh, Professor! I haven't finished this quiz yet. What should I collect?"
"Yes. What should I collect? The quiz is too much, and I haven't finished it all!"
But no matter how they protested, like it or not, they had to collect the exercises or else they would get zero marks. They tried to finish it as quickly as possible and gave it to Professor Vega. At that time, Professor Vega gave Alberto a glance to leave the class and asked him to leave the building. "Come on, Alberto! Please help me carry things to my room!"
"Okay, Professor." Alberto just nodded his head. Then, he helped Professor Vega carry her things.