Diary/Journal/Whatever is Manly

Chapter 5

Misty wondered why they were still at the hospital. Technically speaking they had no reason to stay, and yet here they were, drinking cheap coffee. At least those hospital dramas got one thing right, hospital coffee was absolutely lacklustre. She had asked Stacey multiple times why they were still here, and she had received the same vague answer that is was the right thing to do. No Stacey, the right thing to do, is to go home and study up on all the lectures they had missed today. It was going to be an absolute pain trying to catch up on all her classes, and the longer they stayed here, the more they fell behind. 

"Stop with the facial expression."

"What facial expression?" Misty asked, looking up to see her friend glaring at her from across the table.

"That, I would rather be anywhere other than here facial expression." Stacey told, still giving her that stern look. Sometimes her friend was more like an overbearing mother, than her friend.

"But I don't want to be here." 

"Yeah, but you don't need to show it. Try showing some support for the guy who just had two seizures in your presence, and who won't have any family here until late afternoon tomorrow."

"Is this what this is about? Him not having anyone to sit by his bedside? I don't see how that's our problem, considering the Dean has already been notified. Anyway, it's not like holding his hand is going to miraculously wake him up."

"I don't know why I bother with you sometimes."

"Hi." At the voice, both girls turned to see a boy around their age looming over them in their seated positions. Misty frowning up at the stranger, still reeling from Stacey's unforeseen attack, thinking 'did I say something wrong?' Whilst, Stacey was giving the stranger a sceptical look of, 'why are you here?' 

"Hi," Stacey wearily answered.

"The nurse pointed you out. You're the ones who brought in Tyke right?"

"Who's Tyke?" Stacey asked bewildered, looking around to see if she could find this nurse that had given up their location. 

"Tyler," Misty mumbled to herself, still trying to figure what she had said wrong.

"What?" Stacey asked, attention shifting to her friend.

"Tyke, it's what his friend's call him."

"You know this how?"

"I told you, we talked at the library last night."

"Okay, totally ignoring the fact that none of answered my question, and have most likely forgotten that I'm standing here. I'm going to deduce that you are in fact the girls who brought in Tyke." The boy interrupted the conversation.

"Yes, Dennis we brought in Tyler. Is there a reason you want to know? Are you here for gossip? Cause that's low, even for you." Stacey once again went into protective, mother hen mode, scolding her rival.

"I'm not here for gossip, who do you think I am? I'm just asking cause, Tyler's my best mate." Dennis defended himself, giving Stacey an offended look.

"Whatever, just sit down. You're blocking my view to the funny cat videos." Stacey dismissed Dennis, whilst pointing to the television that was behind him.

"What happened?" Dennis decided talking to Stacey would get him nowhere, thus shifted his attention to Misty as he pulled out a chair for himself.

"He had a seizure."

"What, that's all?" Dennis asked, after a period of silence.

"Well, actually it was two seizures."

"Do you have any idea why?" Dennis once again prodded for information, once he realised Misty was not going to elaborate any further.

"No." Misty told him, whilst sipping her coffee. She was having one of those moments, where she was consuming something so bad it just made her go back for more. "Doctor was real vague about the whole thing, stress and whatnot is what he said. But, then he had another seizure, and well they're running more tests."

"Tyler man, what are you doing to me?" Dennis asked himself, as he put his head in his hands.

"Do you have other friends?"

"What?" Dennis was completely confused by Misty's random question.

"Do you have more friends?"

"Yes, I have more friends. Tyler's just my best mate, we've been best mate's since we were children."

"Would you say it's worth it having all the friends, knowing that at any given moment they can make you feel like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like your life is falling apart?"

"What is this? A social experiment?"

"Yes." Shaking his head to refocus once again, Dennis looked at Misty as though she were mad. Here his friend was possibly dying and she was running a social experiment. At least she had the balls to admit to it. The problem was, she did not look spiteful in the least, she looked genuinely curious. As though she were child asking a parent for information, it was the only thing that had stopped him from yelling at her. Her undeniable innocence.

Sighing he answered, "yes. It's worth it, it's all worth it." With that silence fell between them all. Stacey watching her videos, and shocked that Dennis had not yelled at her friend for being insensitive. Misty nodding her head, satisfied with her answer, and returning to her subpar coffee. And Dennis, overwhelmed with a great sense of dread, as memories of him and Tyler flashed through his mind like a re-run of his favourite show.