She suddenly felt like her hand was cooking on top of Chisato’s forehead. She moved back, taking her hand off Chisato’s head, and looked down at her friend’s face searchingly.
Chisato was avoiding her gaze, looking the other way. Her face was much redder than before.
“Oh, this isn’t good. I think you’re running a fever. Please just stay in bed for the rest of the day. If your symptoms get any worse, Mizuki can drive you home or take you to see a doctor.”
“O-okay…”
Chisato closed her eyes, her face turned away from Takina.
“What’s wrong?” asked Takina.
“Nothing.”
“Well then, I’ll be back later to take your temperature. Don’t worry about anything. Oh, I’ll go and get you something to drink first.”
Takina stood up and was about to leave the room, but she hesitated before closing the door behind her. She and Chisato weren’t old friends, but she knew Chisato well enough to know that she would ignore everything Takina had said if she wasn’t firm with her.
“Don’t do anything unnecessary, okay?”
That was a tall order for Chisato.
“Okaaay.”
“Don’t leave the room.”
Takina closed the door. She just about managed to catch Chisato grumbling quietly, “This really is Sparta…”
✦ ✦ ✦
Chisato’s temperature kept slowly rising, and when Takina checked it a bit over two hours later, it was at 37.9 degrees Celsius. That temperature qualified as a low-grade fever, but it was no reason to panic.
Rather than see it as Chisato’s cold worsening, Takina thought her body was finally fighting the infection now that she was properly resting.
“You should stay here for the night,” she said. “I’ll feel more at ease. We’ll be staying late anyway.”
After taking Chisato’s temperature, Takina took the now-warm towel off Chisato’s forehead and went to cool it down with cold water in the sink.
“Oh, but I don’t want to miss the board games…”
“You’ll have to take a rain check. You might have a temperature just from being so worn out, but what if it’s a nasty cold? Do you want to spread it to everyone at the café? Can I ask you to just stay in bed tonight?”
“…I can’t say no with you looking like that.”
Takina was wearing a flu mask and thin rubber gloves. Besides a sports drink in a plastic bottle, she’d also brought a disinfecting alcohol spray. She left them on the floor next to the futon.
Overwhelmed by how seriously Takina was treating her cold, Chisato lost the will to resist.
“Meh!”
She picked up a large tablet from her bedside and placed it on her chest to stream some movies. She was borrowing the tablet from Kurumi, but she was logged into her own account, as was evident from the history.
“I think it’d be better if you slept,” said Takina. She wrung out the towel she’d been soaking in cold water and placed it on Chisato’s forehead.
“Doesn’t matter if I sleep or watch movies. Other than my eyes and brain, my body’s resting.”
“I think sleep is supposed to help your immune system.”
“Dunno about that.”
“Well, I’m not a doctor, so I’m not going to press this point any further…”
“Trust me, it doesn’t make a difference. If I’m staying in bed, I want to put this time to good use. Now, what to watch next…”
“What was the movie you were watching earlier?”
“Oh, that was Contagion. It’s about a global panic set off by a super dangerous virus spreading worldwide.”
“Why would you want to watch that when you’re not well…?”
“In a way, isn’t it the best time to watch it, for added immersion? It’s not even 3D, it’s a 4D experience!”
“And that’s fun for you?”
“It makes me feel better in comparison!”
“Please be serious.”
“Okay, okay. Hmm, it’s been a while since I’ve watched this one. Okay, I’ll watch this next… It feels wrong to stream it when I have the Blu-ray at home, though…”
“But you’re not at home, so you shouldn’t feel bad about streaming it. What is the title?”
“28 Days Later. It’s about a virus that turns people into zombies spreading through the world—”
“Chisato.”
“Okay, okay. I won’t watch that.”
Giving in, Chisato chose to watch Crank, starring Jason Statham, instead.
“Is it good?” asked Takina.
“Sure is! The fast buildup of tension is so energizing! And the sequel, that hits me hard for some reason!”
“You like movies with actors who don’t have much hair.”
“No, I don’t have a fetish like that!”
“But in thirty percent of the movies you foisted on…ahem, you kindly let me borrow, the main character has little to no hair.”
“Really? I guess that’s just the macho aesthetic in action movies? Maybe too much testosterone causes hair loss? Also, over there, it seems like there’s a lot of men who just start shaving their heads once they reach a certain age. That must be why.”
“You’re saying it’s a coincidence?”
“Yeah. Although I don’t mind it at all.”
The movie protagonist broke into a frantic run, drawing Takina’s eyes to the tablet. For a while, she and Chisato watched the movie together in silence.
“What is this movie about?” asked Takina.
“The lead guy gets injected with a weird poison that’ll kill him if his adrenaline level isn’t constantly high, so he has to do all sorts of crazy stuff.”
“And how does it end?”
“If you keep watching, you’ll find out.”
“No, I don’t have time for this. I have to prepare a light meal for everyone before game night. Don’t worry. I’ll make food for you, too.”
“Oh yeah? What are you making?”
“Well, what do you feel like eating? If it’s something I know how to make, you can request anything. Or I can go out and buy you something.”
With a temperature of almost thirty-eight degrees Celsius, a person could often lose their appetite and would be willing to consume a jelly drink at most, but if Chisato felt like having something more substantial, that would probably be better for her. Especially if she felt unwell from pushing herself too much recently.
Chisato paused the movie, took the towel off her forehead, and sat up. She placed the towel on top of her head as you’d do in the bath, and she got to thinking with her arms folded. She was probably imagining different foods, trying to decide what her body would tolerate.
Takina waited patiently.