please don't tap on the glass, it agitates the monkeys [OPEN]

[endurancepoint]

WHO: Quarantined students, staff, and their visitors
WHAT: So there are these people that are sick with a mysterious virus and they are bored
WHERE: Infirmary
WHEN: Whenever this week, they're not going anywhere
WARNING(S): People are sick. There might be undignified medical tests and discussion of bodily fluids.

OOC: Put in your header if the thread is open to visitors or just for fellow inmates. Or have multiple thread options. Run wild. If your character is visiting someone, feel free to start threads as well. Mind, visitors other than medical staff wouldn't be able to enter the quarantined area, so they'll probably have to talk through something.

Comments

Fellow Sick People

[endurancepoint]

When he'd first been put under quarantine, Alex thought his prior hospital experiences had prepared him for this. Within the first week, he'd realised how wrong he was. Sure, there were lots of television shows he could catch up on and books to read on his tablet, but after a while, even that got boring.

Not to mention staring at the same four walls day in and day out. And without and end in sight, nor any improvement in how he was feeling (rather, he'd found he could still feel worse), he was starting to feel a bit stir crazy.

"I am actually running out of things to watch and read," he finally voiced. "I would happily sit a three hour maths test right now. And I don't particularly like maths."

Re: Fellow Sick People

[bluerebellion]

Flik was also bored out of his mind. A speedster cooped up in a room this small? It was excruciating. What was he supposed to do in here. His depression at being sick had led him into an antisocial corner but despite being trapped in the same area with his fellow sick folks he hadn't really branched out. He sat and moped. Maybe it was time to try doing something before he went crazy.

"It's so boring in here. I would wish to do things." he sighed as he finally broke his silence. "We could play game doctor brought in? Might be fun, yes?"

Re: Fellow Sick People

[endurancepoint]

"Game? What game?" Alex looked over at the guy who'd spoken. He hadn't even noticed the doctor had left a game for them, though mostly because, up until now, he hadn't been in need of anything else to distract him other than his tablet. He was going to put himself off television if this kept up.

Re: Fellow Sick People

[bluerebellion]

"They brought stack yesterday. Something to keep us from being bored maybe?" He replies while scratching at his arm as he moves to a cabinet in the corner and opens it up. "Look like deck of cards and board game things."

[martyrerkomplex]

"It isn't even the school year yet. We wouldn't be doing that anyway, would we?"

Honestly, Krista could empathize about not wanting to be cooped up anymore, but she didn't let that make her demeanor anything less than gracious and pleasant -- if a tiny bit ruefully amused.

[endurancepoint]

"Nah, but I hear some of the instructors are running summer classes. So there might be some poor soul who has remedial maths for the summer."

Alex's acting skills had a limit. A few days, a week, he could maintain a facade non-stop for about that long. But past that and it was either crack to let the cynicism through or start feeling like he was losing himself.

[martyrerkomplex]

"Probably at least a few," she said, with every sign of compassion. "But not you?"

Sorry for the late tag-in

[aquawayfinder]

"I'm not a mathematics teacher, but I will happily work with you on philosophy, if you wish," Aqua offered. She was doing her best to make the rounds, despite how advanced her illness was, as she was one of the first to become ill, and then used her mutant powers constantly in the first week of quarantine to study the reactions. She had pages of notes, but now did no more for fear of students following her lead.

it's alright~

[endurancepoint]

"Philosophy? Like Plato? Can't say I've ever studied it before."

He could have taken a Philosophy elective at Brookland, but he'd opted for Theatre instead. Alex had always viewed philosophy as a rather dry and boring subject, but at this point anything might be interesting if it got his mind off the quarantine.

You would go Plato, lol.

[aquawayfinder]

"Plato, aye. And Socrates, Aquinas, Confucius, Moore..."

She gave a small smile.

"Philosophy is a study of great thinkers of the past, yes, but also of our won centers and morality. Philosophy is used every day, even if we do not call it by such a name, and is a cornerstone of Mastery. Philosophy is a mix of the personal and the public that which is unchanging within ourselves, and that which evolves as we do, with our experiences and interactions. It is the core and root of who we each are as individuals. It is perhaps the hardest thing in the human experience to define, because it is ephemeral yet immortal, because it touches every other difficult to define thing about us, hearts, minds, souls, emotions, behavioral patterns, thought processes. It is something I could help you learn, but in many ways, it is something that no one could ever teach."

And yes, that did actually make sense.

Visitors

[soccerwhisperer]

Tenma was no stranger to hospital visits. With a teammate's brother and eventually a friend of his own at the hospital when he was still enrolled at Raimon, it had almost been routine to drop by after practice. He knew exactly what to bring.

He rolled up to the infirmary with fresh magazines and several decks of cards stuffed in one bag, bags of cookies in another bag, and a couple of board games tucked under his arm. It was disheartening to see the thick plastic barrier that isolated the ill from the rest of the world. Things will be better soon, he had to remind himself as he waited for someone to check over his items.

Re: Visitors

[endurancepoint]

"If there's anything you don't want to risk being destroyed, take it back now," a member of the medical staff advised Tenma as she inspected what the young man had brought with him. "Until we know more about this disease, we can't guarantee you'll get them back."

On the other side of the plastic barrier, Alex spotted his roommate. He gave a little wave then pulled out his phone, silently asking if Tenma wanted to talk. To say he looked haggard would be putting it lightly. Despite the fact he wasn't doing much beside watching old cartoons and sleeping, there were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale, with the exception of his arms were a rash was visible that disappeared up his sleeves.

[soccerwhisperer]

"It's okay." He replied to the medical staff member inspecting his wares. "Those things can be bought again but they can't."

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Alex with his phone out. He nodded and pulled out his own while waiting for his goods to finish inspection. Deciding it would be rude to start talking while the staff member was working, he sent a text.

[i made everyone cookies!] He typed quickly and sent before anyone had a chance to initiate a call. [chocolate chip (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))]

[endurancepoint]

"That is a good way to look at things," the medical staff said, smiling slightly at Tenma's response. "Your friends are lucky. I'll have these sent in momentarily." With that, she carried everything off.

Alex, meanwhile, was tapping away at the screen on his phone.

[Chocolate chip, nice! Those are my favorite (thumbs up emoji)]

Open to Visitors OR Fellow Patients!

[martyrerkomplex]

For her part, Krista was doing her best to keep up with the things she usually did from inside the quarantine area. She often had her computer open, clicking and typing away to promote this or that volunteer opportunity or charity fund. Every day or two, she wrote up a new blog post about being quarantined -- something inspirational, she thought privately. Something people could look to if she really did die from all this, and think oh, what a poor, sweet girl, what a shame... Now and then, she took a little break to read or watch a movie -- first Star Wars, like Ken had suggested, then whatever seemed like it would appeal to whoever else was in the room with her.

Anytime there was any big sign of trouble with the other patients, no matter how fragile and weak she might be at the moment, she would get to her feet and hurry to the other patients' sides, fetching water or warm hand towels or whatever they or the doctors might need.

If anyone came to visit her, she was poised and polite, angelic blonde hair neatly braided over one shoulder, her natural slimness and paleness lending themselves well to an image of frail, fleeting, ethereal beauty as she came to the glass to greet them.

[long_live_the_queen]

She was fine. She was just fine. And for the most part, Kaede was; the illness had caught up with her too, but she weathered the coughing and headaches with the same sullen silence as everything else. They'd given her one of the single rooms further away from others, where it was quieter and easier for her mind to rest. Kaede was holding up just fine.

Until the fever started. It was only a mild one, as fevers went--but it hit her like a sack of bricks.

She'd never been good with fevers. She remembered that.

...but who were these people, again? Where was she? She was sick, yes--but the facility's clinic didn't look like this. And wasn't it autumn? The view out of the window only confused her more. The horned girl got up, meandering aimlessly and rubbing at her temple, but otherwise seemed fine as long as no one looked at her eyes--soft and hazed over with little recognition, entirely unlike how cold and harsh her gaze usually was.

She kept peeking into doors, looking for memories. Krista's was one she stopped at, opening the door and looking in without knocking. Did she know this person? She thought she did.

Remembering was difficult.

"...nyu."

[martyrerkomplex]

Krista was dozing off when the door creaked open -- she'd been in and out of consciousness all day, laid out with a fever of her own. It wasn't until she heard the other girl's voice that she realized the door was open at all and managed to open her eyes.

"Kaede?"

...But no. This wasn't Kaede, was it? Not with that look on her face, not with the strange sound she made. It was like the time before, and like the presence that had been in her mind when they were replanting the garden together.

"...Hello."

[long_live_the_queen]

Kaede? That wasn't her name. At least, not her name. That was...that was the sleeping one's name. Yes, that was right. Probably right. It was familiar in a distant way.

She still wasn't closer to remembering this person's name, though. She tried to ask.

"Nyu?" The same sort of mewling sound came out of her mouth instead of "who?"; she changed the inflection a bit, but that was all.

A clone comes to call!

[eileaneathompson]

Eli's clone argued her way into the area, knowing the professors were not happy about this, but there was no way she was letting her best friend... her only really friend... go through this alone. So whatever she had to do to be allowed in, in she came.

She carried the stuff she was bringing for Krista, and went hunting for her friend. She smiled when she saw her. "Told you I'd come!"

[martyrerkomplex]

"You're really sure it's safe for you to be here?"

For Eli's sake, but not only hers. "We can't let anything contaminated get out into the school, you know that..."

[eileaneathompson]

"I know. that's why I'm killing the clone," she said cheerfully, though there was a flicker of something that was almost fear in the eyes of the clone as she spoke the words. "SO! What shall we do?" She asked, happily, taking her hands.

Open to people in quarantine and people who want to yell at her through the glass

[long_live_the_queen]

Yesterday was fine. Some coughing, some headaches, some ignoring people--fairly normal. Kaede tried to focus on the things Liir had instructed them to read, though her mind kept slipping sideways away from the words despite her best efforts. The rest of the illness was fairly mild in comparison to what it could have been.

It was how her mind reacted to being sick that was out of the ordinary.

Her thoughts curled inwards, chased erratic threads in search of answers, wound themselves into knots. People had it worse, what was her problem? There was no point in complaining. Sleep. Just needed to sleep, and she could fix it. She was just fine. Would be.

Just fine.


Today--what day was today? She got up, wandering this way and that, looking for a calendar. Or a mirror.

When she found the latter, she spent a long time staring at it, blinking sluggishly. The person looking back at her had a softer expression, a tired one. It didn't really give her any answers. She went elsewhere to look for them, peeking in unlocked doors, meandering through common spaces.

Who were these people? Did she know them? She thought she did--what were their names, though? Remembering was frustratingly difficult.

Ugh.

[droppedbucket]

At some point, on the other side of the glass, Kisume had been pacing about. She had been waiting to see anyone because the separation from people was starting to upset her more then she was letting on.

So when she spots Kaede there is a rapid knocking on the glass and a messy girl behind it all.

"Hi! You are here!"

[long_live_the_queen]

She knew that voice. Almost knew it, she knew--what name went with the voice? What word?

"Nyu?" The same mewling noise crawled out of her chest; the same noise she kept making instead of words. It frustrated her.

She knew this person, this mossy-rock-pebble thought pattern. She stared through the glass back at her, blinking slowly.

A call from clone - OTA

[eileaneathompson]

The clone that Eli sent to Krista had already won the argument, so the second clone, loaded down with books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, small games, candy, soft drinks, and anything else that Eli had been able to come up with...and afford...

The clone moved around, handing out small care packages, offering a kind word, or a small sympathetic smile here and there. She was just trying to help. That's what Krista would do... right?