Hanahaki

As their laughter mingles together while the video of Dennis falling back into his pool finishes playing, Tobi's laughter gives way to coughing. Dennis's laughter tapers off as he turns to look at her with a concerned face. "You alright, Stronghold?"

Bent over with her hand over her mouth as the coughs continue to shake her body, she nods. When she takes her hand away, two pink saliva covered petals sit in her hand. "Oh, gross. I inhaled some dumb flower petals while I was laughing at you."

With a chuckle, he states, "Well, they always say that Karma's a bitch."

Rolling her eyes, she replies, "Har har, very funn--" Another fit of coughs ravishes her body, cutting her off. Another petal sits in her hand when she takes it away from her mouth. "Okay, I guess I ate a whole damn flower."

"Dude, maybe you should go to the nurse. Maybe you're sick."

"Ooh, trying to get rid of me, I see." Tobi laughs as she stands and puts her hands in her skirt pockets. "If it'll make you feel better I'll go to the nurse, but it's--" Another fit of coughs attacks her and a petal flies out of her mouth and into the wind. She wipes her hand on her uniform's skirt and finishes, "just a cough."

"Here, take this water and go to the nurse, ya sickie." Dennis laughs as he tosses his bottled water.

"Thanks," She smiles and wanders off in the direction of the school, away from their secluded spot under the tree.

❀❀❀

"Well, you seem fine. No fever, stomachache, and you haven't coughed the entire time you've been in here. If you feel like you need to come back, you can, but I think you'll be okay." The nurse says as she pushes away from Tobi on her wheeled office chair.

"Alright. I said was fine, but my friend insisted. He's kind of a worrier." Tobi laughs as she fiddles with one of the petals she coughed up in her pocket.

"No problem! Why don't you get back to him and tell him you're fine before the bell rings."

Giving the nurse a small lopsided smile, Tobi waves before leaving. Once she steps out of the office, Dennis stands from one of the chairs next to the door. "I got bored waiting at the tree."

Tobi's grin widens slightly as she gives him a light punch in the arm. "Aw, did someone miss me?"

With a laugh, he rubs his shoulder and replies with a little shrug, "Eh, maybe a little."

She gives a little eye roll before another round of heavy coughs erupts from her. Bent forward with one hand on her knee and the other over her mouth, Tobi continues to hack. The nurse's office door opens and she pokes out her head, a concerned look spread on her features.

Dennis, even more concerned than the nurse, rubs her back. "Hey, are you okay?"

As he asks this, she feels petals collect in her closed fist. Nodding, she makes her way into the nurse's office and sits on one of the cots as the coughing continues. The nurse fills a paper cup with tap water and offers it to Tobi as she continues to cough into her fist. Dennis takes it and kneels in front of her, his free hand on her shoulder.

The bell rings as her coughing continues. "Shoot, I gotta go to class." He turns to the nurse and asks, "Can she be sent home? She sounds really sick." Without waiting for a response, Dennis puts the cup on Tobi's hand and leaves the office.

As he leaves the coughing dwindles down as she gasps for air. "Holy crap..." She mutters before spitting out another petal. "What the hell is going on?"

Unfurling her fingers, she stares at the collection of pink petals covered in saliva and mucus. "Oh my God." The nurse says, her eyes wide. "How-- how long have you been coughing up petals like that?"

Turning her head up to her with a quizzical look, Tobi responds, "It only started today. Why?"

Regaining her composure, the nurse clears her throat and says, "I am, um, going to send you home for the day because, um, you've been throwing up -- well, coughing up -- some, uh, flower petals. Okay?"

Turning her head back down to stare at the collection of pink flower petals covering the inside of her hand, Tobi nods. "Alright."

❀❀❀

"Uh, I just want a tea, please," Tobi tells the employee at the cafe a block from her apartment.

The guy taking her order looks down at her, her arms stretched across the table to the other side and her cheek resting in between them. "Alright, tea, got it. But what kind? You know we serve, like, fifty kinds here. Black, green, jasmine, and a bunch of others I can't remember without looking at the menu."

Quickly scanning over the variety of drinks, she mutters, "Rose tea sounds pretty neat."

"Rose tea. You got it, lady."

He leaves and returns a few moments later with a teacup in hand. Lifting her head, she stares into the pink liquid. "Neat. Does it taste any good?"

With a raised eyebrow, he responds, "Usually people ask if something is good before they order."

Shrugging, she picks up the cup and holds it under her nose. "Holy crap, that is sweet." He chuckles and continues to stand next to the table as she takes a hesitant sip.

"So? Is it good?" He asks with a smile dancing on his lips.

After giving a small nod in response, she turns to the window. From her seat, she can see her apartment window which she left open. As she continues to stare at the building, she feels a coughing fit building in the back of her throat.

Tobi covers her mouth with her palm as the coughs start up and petals fly from her mouth, pink and saliva covered. Finally, the coughs stop and she gasps for air, feeling winded. Taking the cloth napkin from in front of her, she dumps the plethora of petals on to it before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "What the hell? I'm really sick of this flower petal crap. I mean, didn't think I ate a damn flower, but now I'm having my doubts." Tobi mutters to herself with a frown drawn on her face.

After a long silence of staring at the petals collected in her napkin, the boy who gave her her tea finally says, "It's Hanahaki."

"Huh? What, the tea? Is that like a fancy name for it or something?" She asks as she pulls her wallet out.

"No, not the tea. You. You have the Hanahaki disease. That's why you're coughing up flower petals." Says the waiter, his tray tucked under his arm, an indifferent expression on his face.

Still confused, Tobi asks him, "Look, I know you're at work and all, but do you think you'd be able to tell me about that? I have no idea what the hell is going on with me right now and I need answers."

He drags his eyes around the cafe slowly. Five new people walk in, laughing and talking. Finally, he looks back down at her with her determined eyes. "I can talk when my shift is up at five."

"That's an hour and a half." She points out, feeling impatient as she begins to bounce one of her legs.

Raising an eyebrow again, he replies with a shrug, "Well, I didn't say you had to stay here and wait. I can talk at five and that's that. You don't wanna wait, then look up Hanahaki yourself."

Tobi thought of herself at home when she'd first arrived, from school still in her uniform. Thought of how she'd pulled all of the medical books she'd collected since she was seven from the shelves, skimming and slipping through the pages of them frantically in search for an answer. Then, thought of her frustrated tears as she'd thrown the last book onto the floor, defeated and exhausted, before changing out of her uniform and coming here. She needed something reliable -- something tangible and solid. Swallowing past the lump that had built in her throat, she muttered, "No, I'll wait here."