Kane waved dismissively. "No worries. I'm not that into clam chowder."
"But..." Ramona started to protest, but Rocky had already slurped down the clam chowder and scampered back to his seat, grinning from ear to ear.
Ramona's face turned paler, her grip tightening on her fork.
In the afternoon, they had P.E., where they were learning to fence.
William paired up with Rocky.
When William lunged with his foil, Rocky clutched his stomach and fell onto the ground.
Kane jumped, thinking Rocky was pulling one of his pranks. The kid loved practical jokes.
"That's some bad acting, buddy. I aimed for your chest, not your belly," said Kane.
Groaning, Rocky was sweating. "My... My stomach hurts, ouch!"
The coach sprinted over and rushed him to the school infirmary.
After an examination, Rocky turned out to have bacterial poisoning, and the dorm supervisor rushed him to the hospital.
Soon after, Rocky's parents arrived in a frenzy.
They had visited on the weekend, taking Rocky out for fun. He must have eaten something dodgy, leading to the bacterial infection.
If it had been the school cafeteria's fault, other kids would've shown symptoms, too. But they were fine, so external contamination was the likely culprit.
Nevertheless, Pinnacle Ivy League School had a reputation to uphold. Its students were the cream of the crop, so the administration ordered comprehensive inspections of all dining facilities for good measure.
The next day, the school doctor called for Skyler to come to the lab after biology class.
"Mr. Heninger," the doctor began, "when I tested Rocky's blood yesterday, I found some unusual bacteria, so I cultured it. Could this be some superbug?"
Skyler was a Ph.D. in microbiology specializing in microbes.
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