Azusa had grown accustomed to her daily regimen in
the hospital. Each day would begin with her friends
around her. They would usually leave before the
nurse came with her lunch at noon and her medication
at 3 o'clock.
In the little cup would be her three pills: the white pill
and the red pill that were her antibiotics and the
round white pill with a '3' stamped on it was for pain.
Today, there was another pill.
It was a small, round, pale-yellow pill marked with a
'C 11' mixed in with the others.
"What's this one for?" she asked the nurse as she
was handed another paper cup filled halfway with
water.
There was some hesitation before she replied.
"The doctor thinks that it will help your memory," she
answered after giving the question some thought. "It
might make you sick, but it will help you."
"Oh," she said, partly to herself, before opening her
mouth and placing the pills as far back on her tongue
as possible. She sipped at the cool water and let out
a sigh.
"Am I really getting better?" she asked the nurse, who
was busy checking the clipboard that had Azusa's
entire life summarized on just a few filled in lines.
"Of course little one," she answered, her voice
cracking out of sympathy, "you just need more time.
Don't worry, you'll be alright."
After the nurse had gone, her friends came back.
"You don't have to leave every time they come in,"
she reassured them, "the nurse said she doesn't mind
that you're here."
The four girls again exchanged glances before coming
to a unified agreement.
"We just want to be sure we're out of the way," Ritsu
said casually, justifying their behavior.