Mrs Wilkins36

As soon as she disappeared, Johnny winked at Billy and held the thermometer briefly near his bedside lamp. After it went way up, he then shook it down a few times, checking it to make sure it didn’t sink too low or stay too high. He must have got it down just right because when Belinda returned to check on his temperature, she said, “99.5 … hmmm … I guess you do have a slight fever. Let’s see what Billy’s is.” She then washed the thermometer in the bathroom and returned, shaking it down as she crossed the room to Billy’s bed. After slipping it in and reminding him to keep his mouth closed til she returned, she went back to her lunch preparations. Once she left their room, Billy put the thermometer near his bedside lamp for just a second as Johnny had done. Anything more than that and the mercury would have exploded out of the thermometer. Even so, it read more than 106 when he looked at it.