Fluke

32: Symbiosis

"You didn't even know that whales don't—" Darrell began, then took in a breath. "Come on, and you're going to have to carry at least three-quarters of the equipment."

"Half," Logan said, and before I had to listen to any more negotiating, I headed upstairs to Jia and my room where she curled up on the bottom bunk.

"You okay?" I asked.

Jia moved her head slightly, and I couldn't tell if it was a yes or a no.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I'm fine, mostly, except everything hurts and I wish I was dead," Jia grumbled, then poked her head up. "Do you think I'm being a little bitch?"

"Not at all." My hand flew up defensively. "Just explain to me what's actually wrong."

"There's just this pressure—" she winced, "and my piss burns like—"

"Okay, good to know."

With that helpful information, I could diagnose her with—

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Brett said from behind me, and I jumped at the sound of his voice.

Of course. Just the person I wanted to see with just the diagnosis I wasn't about to make.

"Right, you've figured it out. You're a genius, Brett. Get the fuck out of here. Fuck off," Jia said.

"I'm trying to help," Brett said.

"Well, this is clearly a girl talk, and you don't exactly fit the requirement of being a girl to participate. So, off you fuck," Jia said and raised her hand just enough to wave him off.

She was about as good as handling her misery as Logan. Neither one of them was particularly pleasant to be around when they were uncomfortable, but somehow, it always ended up being me who had to be the one to support them to the best of my ability (which was not particularly impressive, according to the data I had collected).

Brett replied with a not-so-friendly gesture, and as he continued down the hall, I took a seat on the floor next to Jia's bed.

"You could have a UTI, Jia," I said. "You'll need some antibiotics to take care of that. But I'm not a doctor, of course, so I probably should just shut up."

"Well, this sucks. I don't like it," Jia said.

"I know."

"It feels like everything is on fire and about to explode."

"I know."

"Have you ever had one?"

"I know. Wait, no." I laughed. "Sorry, I was in listening mode."

Well, I couldn't fix her problem, and I couldn't effectively listen to her vent about it, so what was I even accomplishing?

Jia didn't reply to that; instead, she tucked her head back under the covers to reform her fetal position.

I turned from her and set my gaze on the closest object to me, the garbage can. Jia and I typically didn't produce much trash since there wasn't much to waste out in the middle of the ocean or anywhere to put it really, but it seemed fuller than we ever kept it. Odd.

"Why are there so many gum wrappers in our trash can?" I asked.

"I think those were Hailey's. She and I hung out in here a while when you were downstairs working on your project," Jia replied.

And her germs had just been sitting there for days? I shuddered. Not in my house.

"I need to take out the trash, then. I'll be right back," I said, and before Jia could tell me that it wasn't even close to being full, I scooped it up and took it out into the hallway. I wasn't exactly a neat freak, but it was a little unsettling that Hailey's presence continued on Paradise City, which pretty much took the paradise right out of the phrase. Also, I needed an excuse to leave Jia alone. After further research, I could definitively say that I still sucked at comforting people.