Of Sinus Infections and Movies
The next day, I lay on my couch for almost the entire 12 hours of daylight. I can't list how many movies I watched, but it was about half of my collection of DVDs. I didn't feel like watching all my humor/romance chick-flicks, but instead felt like watching something I hadn't seen in a long time. That included the action-packed and/or somewhat mysterious movies. I think I watched almost all my James Bond movies that my cousin had sent me, two old Western films, three future-oriented mystery thrillers, and then the rest of James Bond.
Mom would always get angry with me whenever my Dad and I would sit down and watch James Bond on the TV. She'd rant on about how degrading it was towards the female species. Watching it over, I had to agree with her, but at that moment in time, I didn't really care. I just liked watching the action in it all. Especially when all the incredibly nice-looking, and probably hiddeously expensive, cars blew up into smitherines. It was cool.
I blew my nose, going through the third roll of toilet paper that weekend, and tossed the dirty paper into the trash can. I had learned to set it right next to the couch, or at least within a two-step distance wherever I went in the appartment. I sat, watching something on the Sci-Fi channel. It was one of those killer-monster-that-no-one-can-stop-except-the-hero-and-heroine-who-also-happen-to-fall-in-love-despite-all-the-blood-guts-and-horror movies. I had watched an entire marathon sometime last summer, and I figured why not tune in at eleven at night and recap? It brought back a lot of memories, and it made me somewhat content with myself. Despite the whole crazy women screaming hysterically part.
I took a bite out of my Mac&Cheese (second bowl that day), and stared intently at the screen.
The hero and heroine were running away from a monster in a swamp/forest. They were breathing heavily, and the girl was crying. The man, who was honestly not bad-looking, would pick her up whenever she tripped, and protect her whenever debris would fall over their heads. He was recieving many wounds, but would somehow manage not to be killed. The same thing happened with the girl, even though she seemed disgustingly helpless most times. It gave a bad name to females. Not like James Bond didn't, but still. I supposed since the hero was noticeably in shape, and the female was noticeably model material, they were therefor immune to the horrors of actual reality.
"Jackie, come on!" The man yelled. He had jumped down into a hole and was beckoning her in. "Come on! Jump!"
The girl, fidgiting, looked over her shoulder, then back at the man. Jackie, as she was called, shook her head. "I can't!"
I could see why she was scared (the jump was rather steep), but I made a face. It was easier to jump into the strong arms of a handsome lover, rather than get eaten by only God knows what.
"Jackie, come on!" the man shouted for the third time. "I'll catch you!"
She glanced over her shoulder, flinched and screamed at more growling noises, then turned back to the man once again. Her scrunched-up face seemed to say, "Promise?"
"Don't be afraid," the man said, holding out his hand. "Come on. Jump."
The girl closed her eyes, which was stupid on her part, and practically fell into the hole. The man caught her, both of them tumbling down further into the dark, mysterious unknown.
The doorbell to my appartment rang as I let out another sneeze.
"They key is under the mat!" I shouted, my voice sounding odd. Sometimes I would forget my key at the school. Other times, I would be perfectly comfortable reading a book in bed, or watching a movie on TV, and my friend would come over. I just got into the habbit of leaving a spare key under the mat.
I heard the door open, close, and the sound of a key being put down on a table. I looked over the edge of the couch, curious. "Who's there?"
A figure emerged from the hallway, carrying a small, brown bag. My mouth nearly fell open. At seeing the TV, the figure frowned.
"What movie is this?" Hatori asked.
"Uhh..." I looked back at the movie. Now the heroine, Jackie, was tending to the wounds of her friend. It was a touching scene, I guessed, but it was not something to watch with Hatori Sohma standing in my appartment. I mean... for Christ's sake, the actor didn't have his shirt on. I tried not to drool over that tiny turn on, and slowly turned back to Hatori. "A good one?"
He looked reluctant for a second, but then shrugged. Holding up the bag, he said, "I brought you some medicine."
"... Uhh..." I turned down the volume on the TV and tried to think of something to say. "Thanks... but I don't really need it." I sneezed again, and grimaced.
"You'll never be better by Tuesday if you don't take this," Hatori said, matter of factly.
I shrugged, as if to say "Probably not", and relaxed my head against the arm of the couch. "What are you doing here?"
"Making sure you're ok," Hatori replied, taking off his coat. He paused before he slung it over the kitchen table. "May I?"
I blew my nose and waved it away. "Make yourself at home." I heard him walking around the small appartment, and I warned him about my room. It wasn't really a sanitary place to go. But, alas, men can't hear anything.
"Jesus, Mayuko-chan, did you blow your nose enough?"
"Shut up," I said, watching TV. "Sinus infections are a bitch."
I heard him grunt as he picked up all my used tissues and threw them into the trash can in my room. He walked about, doing the same thing in the bathroom and the hallway. He stopped back in the kitchen again, and opened the refidgerator. I refused to look at him, as if I didn't care that he was wandering around my apartment at eleven-o-clock on a Sunday night, and continued to watch the movie.
"Are you ok?" Jackie asked the man. By that time, I had figured out that the man's name was Mike.
"A bit late for that question, don't you think?" Mike replied with a grunt and a rough smile. The two had now found an abandoned house in the middle of the woods, and surprisingly found an entire cabinet full of guns and ammunition. Mike was busying himself with the toys, and Jackie just stood there, not really knowing what to do.
"This girl drives me crazy," I said before I could remember that Hatori was present.
"Hm?" he called back.
"This girl!" I repeated. "She brings disgrace to us all. If I were there, I'd grab all the good guns before he could, keep them for myself, and save my own ass. I mean... I'd help him as well, but I wouldn't just let him do all the hero work. Women have power too, you know."
"Yes, I know." Hatori was now standing next to the couch. I sat up, seeing the glass of water and two pills in his hand. He handed them to me and made sure that I took the medicine.
I shivered and almost threw up at the taste. "This stuff is going to make me better?"
Hatori nodded, and gave a knowing smile. "Did you drink a lot of liquid?"
"Uhh... not really," I said, visibly gulping as Mike stood close to Jackie, staring deeply into her eyes. "Why?"
"I want you to drink as much as you can," Hatori instructed. "Before I leave, I want to see you drink five glasses of water." I was about to protest, but he held up a hand. "You don't have to chug them all right now."
"Then how long do you plan on staying?" I asked.
He paused, thinking. "I don't know."
I rolled my eyes, but didn't want to be stuck in an awkward silence, so I told him to sit down. He resisted at first, but I eventually persuaded him to watch movies with me. He sat at the other end of the couch, my feet perched on his lap. I managed to make him get up and fill a glass of water just before Mike and Jackie passionately kissed at the end of the movie. I didn't really want to be stuck watching that part with Hatori sitting beside me.
We ended up watching another two monster movies like that. We would watch most of it, talking from time to time, and I'd ask for a glass of water before the romantic scenes. On the third movie, I forgot to, because I was practically asleep on the couch.
"Jake," the beautiful, blonde-haired heroine asked her buff and handsome hero. "Are you going to be alright? Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"
"And be killed by that thing?" Jake asked, refering to the humongous, killer spider that was on a current rampage towards their hiding spot. "Yeah, I'm sure."
"But-" The girl tried.
"Kim," Jake said, stepping close to her. "I don't want you getting hurt. I was sent on this job to protect you, remember?" This was true, seeing as that was how the whole romantic plot was developed. Smart girl finds out about monster, alerts FBI, and gets an incredibly attractive agent sent to protect her.
There was dissappointment in Kim's eyes (probably because she thought that she was not the object of his affection, but merely his job), and she looked down at the ground. Jake cocked his gun, walked over to the window and scowled. I really must say that Jake possesed a gorgeous frown. You should have seen him when he smiled. Oh. My. God. He walked over to the door and was about to open it when he suddenly paused.
This would normally be the time when I would ask Hatori to get up, but I was practically dead. If this is beyond your comprehension, I suggest that you go get yourself a sinus infection and have fun trying to get to sleep at night. Trust me, you get tired fast.
Anyway...
In three large steps, Jake had returned to Kim, taken her face in his free hand, and kissed her. She was surprised, but clung to his shoulders for support as he pinned her against the wall. It was over almost as soon as it began, and before I knew it, Jake had exited the screen with a beat-red Kim gasping for breath.
"I think that was when you were supposed to ask me to get a glass of water," Hatori said. I looked at him, confused. He pointed to the TV. "That was when you wanted me to leave. When the male kissed the female."
I hesitated before I burst out laughing. That was a mistake, I noticed, seeing as how I went into a coughing fit seconds later. When I was finally done, and breathing again, I melted into the couch and shook my head in disbelief.
"I'm not dumb, Mayuko-chan," Hatori said, confused himself.
I waved it away. "Yeah... I know." I let out a content sigh. "Sorry. Did that make you uncomfortable?"
"You laughing at me or the kissing scene?"
"Both."
Hatori gave me a warm smile. I almost couldn't breathe again. Never had he given me that smile. It was always preserved for... her. "Neither."
That was when I passed out of the couch. I didn't wake up until noon the next day.
