II: Obvious concealment

"It's going to be another warm day today, folks, with a high in the fifties. It's a pretty warm fall we've been having, huh? And dry, to say the least. Today marks the third week in a row in which we've had little to no precipitation. What does this say for winter? Tune in-"

Reno shut off the radio in the break room, heaving a sigh. His shift was over for the day, but his lack of energy made it feel like he had another shift to go.

"You headed out soon?"

Turning his head, Reno saw Mae in the doorway, her jacket slung over her shoulder. She had her sunglasses perched on top of her head, a sign that she, too, was leaving soon.

"Yeah, in a sec."

"You doin' any better?"

"Yeah, I think so. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so…"

"Oh, good. That should answer some questions."

Mae glanced at Reno, then looked away. Reno could tell what she was thinking, and he wanted to agree, but agreeing would make it even more true, and that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to get an answer, feel better, and get on with his life.

But the strange discoloration on his wrist hadn't gotten any better; if anything, it had worsened over the past few months. The color had deepened and started to spread a little, but not enough that he couldn't cover it all with his sleeve and watch. Still, the correlation between that and his illness was undeniable. At this point, it would just take a doctor's diagnosis to confirm exactly what was going on.

"…Let's go," Mae said, abruptly breaking the silence. Swinging her keys impatiently, she waited for Reno to grab his things. The two of them then strolled down the hallway and down the stairs to the parking garage. Neither of them drove a car to work; motorbikes were the more popular way to travel these days, anyway.

"Lemme know what happens tomorrow with the doc, all right?" Mae said, pulling on her gloves as she stopped at her bike. Reno nodded, trying to seem convincing.

"Will do. See you later," he replied, beginning to walk away.

"HEY!"

Reno whipped himself around, startled.

"You'd better be honest with me!" she shouted after him, her voice echoing in the large garage.

"Yeah, yeah…"

What would have seemed half-hearted to anyone else made sense to Mae, and she grinned, feeling reassured. However, her reaction was only proof that Reno's use of reverse psychology had worked.

^^vv^^vv^^

Even though Reno had avoided me and Rude for a while and pretended like nothing was wrong, I knew something bad was about to happen. But when he had answered me in the parking garage, I felt reassured. Either he was going to tell us, or we'd come to find out eventually anyway: Reno is notorious for letting his lips flap, if you know what I mean.

So when I drove home that evening, I was feeling pretty relaxed. I mean, I figured that even if he didn't tell me, he'd let it slip to Rude or even Rufus, and I'd find out something anyway. Or, if it really came down to it, Rude and I would just bust in some night and beat the answer out of him. Or call his mom. Or something.

When I got home, I texted Rude, told him to tell me if Reno told him anything important. He agreed, and told me the same. I didn't feel guilty-there was no way I was even guilty of anything except worrying.

Usually, people getting sick is just whatever, a thing in life, something inevitable. The degree of Reno's illness, though, was to the point where it was affecting his life. Noticeably so. He didn't even have the energy to torment co-workers anymore; that was really disconcerting.

But he had a doctor's appointment, and as long as he actually went, we'd find out eventually. I told myself that, and later that night I fell asleep with ease. For some reason, I trusted him.

^^vv^^vv^^

Even though it was just his usual doctor, Reno felt extremely out of place in the waiting room. He had admittedly always felt different than everyone else-mostly due to his own ego, but also because of his appearance. The ponytail wasn't going to go, though, nor would he ever dye his hair. It never really bothered him that much anyway, except in cases where he was surrounded by strangers.

Waiting in the doctor's office was one of those cases. Almost everyone around him was older than him. Some of them were probably just there for a routine check-up, but there were a few people who obviously had something wrong with them. One woman kept coughing every few seconds, and the grating noise made Reno even more irritable.

The doctor took him in five minutes early, which was not nearly soon enough. Still, the actual diagnosis didn't take long at all, and within twenty minutes, Reno was on his way, informed but no less at ease than when he started.

As he had feared, the assumptions he had made from the start were entirely correct: somehow, he had contracted Geostigma. It wasn't entirely impossible, since he had been exposed to it enough times. The disease had had plenty of chances to take root, and so it did.

To say the least, Reno was not optimistic. The doctors had no answers about a cure yet; how all those children were cured earlier in the year was still a scientific mystery. He would need a miracle of his own to work out.

As he mounted his motorbike, Reno pulled out his cell phone to call Rude. Something stopped him, though. Here he was, about to break horrible news to one of the few people he trusted. Rude was always there for him, and Reno appreciated that. But this time, Rude wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Mae, too, was powerless. Reno feared telling her even more, simply because of her reaction. He rarely saw her worried, and it was never about anybody-just about things in general. As her friend, he did not want to be the source of trouble for her, or for Rude, or for anyone else. This was his problem; he would have to treat it as such.

Reno pocketed his phone, then climbed onto his bike. A few moments later and he was on his way home, his head still reeling.

^^vv^^vv^^

Admittedly, regrettably, I awaited a call or text from Reno that whole afternoon. I checked my phone often, sometimes literally only seconds between. I was worried, and more importantly I was tired of being worried, so I guess I was just waiting for that peace of mind. It didn't come until that night, as I was half-passed out on my futon.

It was just a text, but I was so happy about it that I could have shouted about it. He said that it was just exhaustion, and that the main thing he really needed to do was rest and take better care of himself. Sounded fair enough. I was actually a little jealous. Less to do, less to have to do. What a deal.

Just to be sure, and because I am a sneaky and nosy friend, I texted Rude for his end of the story. When I found that it matched mine, I sent a reply text to both guys and flopped back on the futon. From what I was told, things were not as complicated as they seemed.

The next day at work, Reno was there. He didn't look any better.

"What time d'you crash last night?" I asked him.

"Eleven o'clock, Mom," he replied, impatience in his answer.

"Don't call me that," I snapped back.

"Cut it out, you two," Rude said with enough authority in his voice to make us pull back the reins. "You're supposed to be taking it easy, Reno. Mae, you're not helping."

"It's all right, Rude," Reno said suddenly, waving his hand. "It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?" Rude echoed.

"So you wanna stay like this or something?" I asked. I was starting to get pissed. He had complained, and now he'd found his answer. But he wasn't going to do anything about it? Maybe he had no idea, but he was causing problems for me and Rude, too.

"No, that's not what I meant. I just…whatever."

Without another word, Reno stormed out of the break room, leaving me and Rude in stunned silence. Reno rarely did that. Either he was really pissed, or something was wrong.

"Guys, what's going on?"

Just then, Elena poked her head into the room. Her eyes seemed wider than usual, probably a sign of her nosiness. Not that I can talk.

"Reno just stomped down the hallway practically!" she exclaimed, walking into the room. "What'd you guys do?"

"Nothing!" I said quickly. Rude was quick to step in.

"He's not doing well." Ah, Rude. Always so much more eloquent than me. "He went to the doctor yesterday, but he's not following the orders."

"When does he follow orders?" Elena asked, tilting her head. I grinned.

"You have a very valid point, my friend."
"It doesn't matter," Rude interrupted. "I don't know about this."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"…Forget I said anything."

"Now don't you start, too…"

"Well, fine." Rude looked at Elena, then at me. "He might be lying."

"Who, Reno?"

"That would be nothing new," Elena admitted with a crooked grin.

"Yeah, that's true, but lying would mean he's got something to hide." I looked back at Rude, who raised an eyebrow. "You don't think that's the case, do you?"

"Unfortunately, only time will tell," he replied, standing from his chair.

Frowning, I did the same. Lying about his health? Unusual. Very much so. And that meant he would probably have something worth hiding. But what?

In order to keep myself from jumping to stupid conclusions, I just followed Rude and Elena out of the room and down the hallway for another day at work.