Page 59 of Class Clown

The three adults in the room were silent as we all processed this. I can’t speak for what Kristy and counselor Austin were thinking, but based on facial expressions I’m guessing we were all having similar thoughts ping around our heads.Rat? Ewwwww. He was petting it? Oh my gosh, why??? Why are rats crawling on sleeping kids? Do rats carry rabies? Did it bite him? Is that foam on his lip, or leftover toothpaste from this morning?

I slowed my thoughts and went with the least frightening thing I could think of. “Did it bite you, buddy?” He shook his head. “That’s good. Did it lick you, or scratch you, or go potty on your hand or anything?”

“No. He ran away after a few pets.”

“That’s good. Milo, you’re going to be okay. Rabies only comes from an animal biting you. And it sounds like this rat was pretty friendly, which means he wasn’t sick.”

I glanced over to see Kristy scouring a medical book and when her finger paused on something she looked up happily.

“Milo, it says in our doctor book that rats don’t usually have rabies, and if they do, humans can’t get it from them. You’re going to be just fine.”

Milo’s little nose scrunched up and his sobbing slowed. “So rats don’t have rabies?”

Look, the kid did not need to get into percentages and possibilities, and disease transmission discussions. The important part was that there had been no breaking of skin or fluids involved. He simply needed to know that he was going to be okay.

I nodded and squeezed one of his little shoulders. “Yep. You have nothing to worry about. But, and I need you to listen really close, okay?” He nodded, his eyes growing round. “It’s not safe to pet wild animals. Ifyou ever have a rat climb on you in bed again, you need to wiggle it off your body and don’t touch it, alright?”

“Okay.”

“Great. Let’s get you all washed up and clean, and you’ll be good to go.” Because while rats aren’t a known rabies risk, they can still carry other diseases, and cleanliness is always the best procedure. “If your counselor can go get you a change of clothing, we have a little wash station behind that curtain where you can get cleaned up.” I pointed to an area near the back that consisted of a sink with a shower curtain that could be tugged around it. It wasn’t a full shower, but a person could get tidied up if needed. “Kristy will go get you a fresh towel and then we’ll wait in the hall until you’re all done. Is that okay?”

Milo agreed, and Austin and Kristy ran to gather their supplies while I got Milo some soap and a wash cloth. Milo had stopped crying by the time he had clothing and a towel, and the three adults sighed in relief as we closed the exam room door behind us, and left him to his privacy.

“Do rats regularly crawl on people at night?” I asked Kristy and Austin.

“We’re in the mountains, and the cabins are a source of warmth and food,” Austin responded calmly. “I haven’t seen it before, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

“I will be awake for the rest of the summer,” I groaned, rubbing the goosebumps off my arms.

Kristy laughed. “If you’re that worried you can always get one of those mosquito nets to wrap around your bunk.”

“Rats could gnaw right through that,” I shuddered.

Austin grinned. “I’m sure maintenance has some sort of rat spray or poison or something that you can put around your cabin. It’s really nothing to worry about.”

Okay, partner. From my perspective this was very disgusting and I would worry. I would also discuss it with my brother, because I really did not want kids getting crawled on by rodents in the night. Not as a nurse, and not as a fellow human.

Once we had Milo cleaned and cheerfully sucking on a lollipop, I left Kristy to sterilize everything and went in search of Cole. He needed to be made aware of the rodent infestation. He wasn’t in his office, and I poked around a few other places but he must have been outside of the lodge. I’d have to talk to him later.

However . . . since I was near WiFi I hurried to text my friend group.

Me: Only have one second but have to tell you that a kid came into the health center thinking he had rabies because he had a rat crawling on him in his bunk last night and he gave it a friendly pet. If I die here, please know I love you all.

Meredith: You’d better be lying!

Me: Sadly, no.

I knew eventually the others would respond and I was sad to miss the conversation that would happen, but I needed to get back to the health center.

And it was a good thing I did, because by the time I entered the little cabin nestled up next to the lodge, there were three more kids inside. Kristy had one on the exam table and the other two were sitting in chairs in the tiny hallway that worked as a waiting area when needed. It had never been needed before. This was practically an epidemic, and suddenly the afternoon was looking long.

I was completely wiped out by the time the last of today’s wave was cared for. I still didn’t have my energy fully back after my own illness that week, and as the bell sounded calling campers to dinner, I found myself walking in the opposite direction, toward my cabin. I needed to rest up in case more kids needed me in the evening hours.

True to form, stalker Quinn rose from his resting place in the meadow grasses off to the side of the path and began to lumber along behind me. My head hung down as I watched every step I took. I was too tired to trust my balance, and this place liked to surprise you with rocks.

“At least we didn’t have anyone in there with quill injuries,” I said to him. “If you feel like doing something to prove your love to me, you could go scare off all the rats that are crawling on people in the night.”

“There are rats crawling on people in the night?” Nico’s voice floated to me from the path ahead and I tore my eyes away from the gravel.

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