Gendry blew out a thin stream of smoke and scratched the side of his jaw nervously. In his jacket, the ferret squirmed, wiggled and finally pushed its pink nose out, sniffling the crisp air before poking out his entire head, catching the eye of the only other person in the small, hidden garden.
"What is that?"
Gendry eyed the girl up and down. She wore different shades of grey and blue tinted glasses. He'd seen her walking the clinic hallways the past couple of days.
"Ferret." He answered curtly, looking away.
"Second hand smoking kills, you asshole. Even animals."
He chuckled under his breath, a puff of smoke rising from his mouth. "Really?" He was amused.
"Really." He took one last, hard drag before flicking the cigarette to the snow. It hissed.
"What's it's name?" Gendry turned to the girl again. She was inching closer for a better look. The ferret retreated into the jacket.
"He don't 'ave one."
"Can I see?" She slid her form beside him. Gendry stiffened. He was growing irritated and scooted to the edge of the seat, away from the girl. The bench was frozen cold below his ass.
"He doesn't like people," he warned her away.
The bell rang from the courtyard and he was up and walking back toward the building. His boots broke through the frozen layer over the grass. He could hear the crunching of the snow as the girl followed him out of the garden, keeping several steps behind him. He didn't bother to hold the door open as he rushed inside and let the warm air thaw him. When he took the corner at the end of the corridor, and looked back, she was gone.