Looking for Sympathy in all the Wrong Places
by jinguingirl
The alarm went off, 8am blinking at him. Brooks had watched it since 7, waiting. He wasn't in the habit of beating his alarm, but the annoying tickle in his nose didn't seem to take that into consideration. He sniffed at it and sat up, hitting the snooze button and ran the back of his hand over his nose. The tickle settled into the bridge, but seemed satiated for the time. Falling against the head board, he felt his forehead. No fever. Damn. Nothing to get worked up about. He sighed, sliding back down into the covers. Scheduling meetings on Saturdays should be outlawed. He let his eyes close, wondering if he could get away with calling in. He'd been fine yesterday, another day at the office. Minus one. Alan, the finance coordinator. He'd been coughing hard all day previous and was found passed out in the break room. Julia had driven him home. Lucky bastard. Brooks cleared his throat. He could turn that into a cough, if he wanted. And, if he sniffed hard enough...He tried it and felt the tickle surge with indignation, flaring his sinuses. His hand moved from his covers to cup his mouth.
"Hiiiiticsh! Hiiih--" He waited. Nothing. Well that wasn't very inspiring. But, maybe his consciousness would let him...The pang of guilt hit him hard in the stomach when he thought about how Stewart and Jack had to carry Alan between them to Julia's car. Nope. Defiantly not. Especially when Alan had been so obviously sick. He sighed and pulled the covers off his legs.
Slumping to the bathroom, he leaned on the sink and stared at himself in the glass. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, tilting back. He closed it with a reproachful look at his reflection and started the shower.
"I never get the production..." he mumbled. "The one freakn time..."
He was in his car with his brief case thirty minutes later, a bagel in his mouth and nearly dry hair dripping down his collared shirt. He had thought maybe it would couch the cold out a bit more. All it was doing was causing him to wiggle oddly at stop lights. As he pulled up, he could see Julia's auburn hair above her Passat. He straightened his tie, shook his hair so it fell just in his eyes and exited his car. He turned from her to get his brief case as nonchalantly as he could and felt it. The little tickle was growing fast, arching down his nose. He smiled and stepped into it.
"Heh...heh..." he stood slowly, trying to peek at Julia from the corner of his eyes. "Heh..." He blinked. Come on, come on! This is perfect she's right there and...
"Morning Brooks." He heard he call over her shoulder.
"Morning." And it was gone. He recovered quickly. "Sorry I was about to--" He turned to catch her walking fast up the parking lot. "Shit!" He dove in his car, grabbed the handle of his brief and--
"HehTISH! Hehtshho! Aashoo! Damn it!" He wiped the spray off the case. "Where were you two seconds ago!" He slammed the door and hurried after Julia. "Wait up!"
She turned at the door, her eyes on the reports cradled in her arms. Brooks let his eyes dart to the body under the pinstriped dress suite. B E A-utiful. She leaned against the door, holding it open for him.
"Thanks." Brooks smiled with a loud sniff. She didn't look up.
"Sure." She followed him into the building.
"So, ah--" Brooks fumbled for the handkerchief he had previously stashed strategically in his pocket. "How's Alan?"
"Oh!" She rounded on him, looking as if she had just seen an abandoned kitten. "Oh the poor thing! Just a mess. I stayed with him almost all night."
All night huh? "That bad?" He dabbed the handkerchief against his nose, regretting the sniff that had all but cleared it.
"Oh goodness yes! Poor baby!" She pressed the elevator up button. "I just have to run up to my office." She smiled back at him.
"Uh, yeah--I think I might--"
"Brooks!"
Brooks turned to see the head of his department, Mr. Channing, strolling towards him.
"Morning sir."
"Glad I caught you. Meetings in the atrium this morning. Thought the change of scenery might spawn new ideas!" He laughed.
"Ah, ha." Brooks gave a half hearted smile, rubbing his irritatingly dry nose.
"What's the matter son? Your not coming down sick are you?" Brooks inwardly beamed and outwardly tried to arrange his face into what Mr. Channing might recognize as reluctant honesty.
"Well, actually--"
"We cant loose another member of the team like poor Alan! Oh no. Poor man. Especially not you our prize account winner!" Mr. Channing clapped him on the shoulder.
The inward beam turned into a mental eye roll.
"Yeah. Of course." Damn it.
"Good! I'll see you in the atrium!"
Brooks watched him turn. He gave a hearty sniff, trying to loosen up the tickle that had decided to suddenly disappear. He could still alert the boss. He wiggled his nose, cleared his throat and...nothing.
"That makes you look like a rabbit."
Brooks jumped and whirled around to see Cissy Pinkerton. She was one of the part time clerks who lived in his building. Nice girl, with pretty green eyes. They were gazing at him now with a curious expression.
"Are you okay?"
"Fine, Cissy..." The boss was getting away, and his cold wasn't getting him out of the meeting or work. "I, ah, I gotta go!" He scampered forward.
"Right. Saturday meeting. Have, um, fun..."
Brooks got to the atrium to see chairs set up in a semi circle. Julia was already seated. The chairs on either side of her were taken, but there was one behind her, next to a huge flowering bush. Brooks smiled and took it, scooting it forward a little. Mr. Channing entered, standing at the head of the semi-circle and cleared his throat.
"It is very good to see all of you! Especially well. So, first. Any news on Alan, Julia?"
Alan again? Brooks sighed.
"He's doing better then yesterday, but still so sick!" Julia purred. "I'm going to check on him tonight."
"Give him our best dear. Now, down to business!"
Brooks lost Mr. Channing's voice to the plotting in his head. He was close enough to Julia. He'd just need a good sneeze, a cough or two and he'd be home in time for Judge Judy and cartoons. He glanced down at the bright red flowers. He didn't know of any allergies, but it couldn't hurt to try to spring boarding a sneeze or two. He leaned down quickly, stole a whiff and popped back up before anyone notice.
"...and the revenue of that achievement has brought our little company into the twenty-first century!" Mr. Channing paused as the company clapped. Brooks leaned into the flower as he clapped, taking a deeper sniff.
"...so in honor of the..."
This wasn't working. He carefully scooted his chair closer, which caused several people to turn around briefly in his direction. Waiting until they righted themselves, he blew all his air out and plunged his nose into the flowers. Something small rose from the petals, but instead of tickling his nose, leapt into his eyes. It stung immediately.
"Ow!" He lurched back, rubbing his eyes. He could hear the room go quiet, chairs screeching against the floor to turn to him.
"Brooks?" Mr. Channing's voice said. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Just, something got in my eyes." Brooks stood, feeling heat rising over his checks. "I'll just, ah, wash them out." He stumbled to the door and fell out into the hallway. He ran to the corner and darted into the bathroom. Running water over his eyes eased the pain. He shut the water off to survey the damage. A little pink, but that, he told himself, could work in his favor. He looked down at his watch. The meeting would go on for another twenty minuets. He could spend them in here, making people worry. He leaned into the sink, watching his watch.
"Annnnd, now." He strolled from the bathroom in time to se Channing exiting the atrium. Brooks cornered him.
"Sorry I couldn't make it back sir, I was--"
"No, don't apologies. It was nice. No interruptions." He glared at Brooks before walking away. Brooks felt flat in his shoes.
"We decided to go ahead and stay the day, by the way." Channing tossed over his shoulder. "See you up stairs."
"Great." Brooks slunk by his other office workers, trying not to notice their glares and slid into his office. He shut the door and slumped into his chair. Suddenly the tickle was upon him with vengeance.
"Haheshho! ESHHOESHOO! Heshhh! Heh...heh...eshhhoo!! sniff Uh. Great..." He fumbled in his desk for the tiny packet of Kleenexes. He took the whole pack out of the plastic out and blew as hard as he could. There was a knock at the door.
"Comb in." He almost smiled at the congestion still lingering. But his nose was running now and he had no Kleenexes. He rubbed his hand under it, but it did little good.
"Damnb it!" He gave a large sniff and held it, blinking down at his desk as Julia opened the door.
"I have what you nee to start the Hilson Report. Cissy will bring up the IN coming files." She paused, frowning at him.
"Your nose is a little red."
Brooks' head shot up. "I--"
"Should watch what you put it in." Julia shook her head, with a touch of irritation. "Those plants are chemically treated you know."
"Actually its from my co--oh forget it." Brooks heaved a sigh, looking at his computer monitor. He groaned and put his head in his hands as Julia's heels clicked away. There was a soft nock.
"I have your files here Brooks."
"Thank you Cissy."
"Do you need any--"
"Not dow please," he mumbled into his arms.
He heard her shut his door.
He was buried under files the rest of the day, stuck in his office with a five o'clock dead line. On a Saturday. The time crawled by, punctuated with a few coughs, but the sneezing was MIA. He emailed the reports to Channing, too embarrassed to hand them in himself, cleared out the In coming file and decided he might as well get started on Monday's progress report. He threw the pensile at his monitor as his clock flipped to 5pm.
"Un-freakn'-believable!" He stood, stretched and stuffed some papers on his desk into his brief case. He sniff and ran his finger back and forth under his nose as he left. The office was already cleared out and the parking lot empty, save a little red Bug and a blue Passat parked near his car. Julia was rummaging threw her purse. And, the tickle was back. He smiled and stopped rubbing his nose.
"HEHSHOO! KIEWSHHHOO!" Finally, he grinned.
"Bless." Julia said absent mindedly.
Brooks blinked at her.
"Bless?"
"Uh huh." She took her phone from her purse and began searching for a number.
"That's it. That's all I get?"
She glared at him as she put the phone to her ear. "What do you want?"
That was it.
"IM SICK!!" He yelled, flinging his arms.
"You are not." She rolled her eyes.
"EXCUSE ME?!?" Brooks nearly hit the ground. "I think I would know! Sneezing all damn day! Coughing. Some people just didn't notice! If you weren't so far up some one else's ass...Where's my sympathy? Huh?"
"Have some respect!" Julia growled. "I am about to be on the phone with someone very sick! You barely have a sniffle, if that! Not NEARLY as bad as Alan! Alan is REALLY sick!" Her voice dropped into a purr of concern. "And YOU are mocking him by playing this ridiculous game!" She spun around and dipped into her car, shutting the door.
Brooks was seething, his breathing fast as he approached his own car.
"Not as bad as Alan. Not as bad as Alan! Good grief. Do you have to be dying to get any attention around here?!" He threw the brief case into the car. His breath caught on the edge of the quickness and hitched. "Heh, heh--no. NO!" He knuckled his nose. "You are n-not doing this t-to be dow! sniff I--I w-ont...snneeeze--" He pinched his nose tight, screwing up his face. He could feel it growing hot as the sneeze pushed painfully against his sinuses. Just when he thought his eyes might burst from the itching, it stopped. He carefully relinquished his hold, running his finger delicately under his nose to clear away some of the liquid that managed to seep threw his iron grip. Nothing. He smiled. "HA! There! I showeddddISHOO! KISHOOO!IXSHOO! ehAtch! Hehishh! Heh..oh dow you...keh-ishh! i s-see how it...ahhshooo!! sniff Is! Damb it dall!" He wring the tears from his eyes, tore open the door and slammed it closed.
Getting home, he ripped off his tie and flung himself on the couch. A whole Saturday, wasted. He kicked off his shoes and laid his head back. It was suddenly killing him. All that resistance in the parking lot, he thought. His fingers messaged his eyes and bridge of his nose. The tilted of his head was causing his throat to pinch. He clear it, but it caught and sent him coughing hoarsely. It caught him so off guard his head bounced against the wall. Rubbing the spot, he tripped into the kitchen for water. He made a mental note to take it easy on the clearing for a bit as he drank. His nose began to run. He took some paper towels and went into the bathroom for the box of Kleenexes. He was coughing again as he stripped and pulled on his sweat pants and an old band tee-shirt. He pulled the blanket off his bed and huddled on the couch, a handful of Kleenexes hovering above his nose.
"Hishoo! HEHSHOO!! Eshooeshhoo! Yeah, thad's right." He blew his nose wetly. "Comb on dow. Lett-tt's sshoo! KsihhhooEshoo! Get emb all oud dow... Sniff Sniff Gah." He shook his hair from his eyes with a tired sigh, realizing he was starving, but more then likely didn't have a thing in the apartment. Just as well. Might as well be miserable and hungry.
The door bell rang. He stared over at his door a moment before dragging himself up. Clinging to the blanket to stave off the shiver that accompanied his standing, he skipped the peep hole and opened the door.
"Hey Brooks. You looked a little under the weather today so I thought I'd bring you some soup." Cissy grinned, offering him a large crock pot with oven mitt covered hands.
The blanket dropped to the floor.
"Ci--Cissy? sniff I I--" His hand rose to cover his mouth. "I-- d-didn't think any any...anAAHHESHOO! ESHOOESHHOO!" He rocked forward.
Cissy stepped inside and set the crock pot on the kitchen counter then knelt and picked the blanket up from the floor.
She wrapped the blanket over his shoulders. Smiling, she brushed his hair from his check.
"Some people did notice."
Week #85- Plot Bunny Idea: Someone is suffering from a cold. It is not bad enough to justify taking off of work (or other responsibilities) but it is bad enough to make them wish they could.