In the end, he doesn't even need to pretend to feel sick. The very next day he starts feeling lightheaded a little before lunch, which leads to nausea and awful stomach cramps that left him flushed, sweating, and nearly delirious.

There's something familiar about the symptoms, he can't help but think whenever they start to ease a little, but there's not enough time to dwell on those thoughts. If it's part of the deal he made, then he needs to use these moments of lucidity well, and so he slips away and searches, eventually managing to find his mother's old necklace hidden away somewhere.

The chain is practically glued to his neck up until halfway through the second day, when he finally falls into a deep sleep.