Episode 12 (Serena Season 1)

It's only by convincing Serena that I'd love her to make breakfast for me that she leaves me alone.

I have no idea wha she's going to make out of all the cans and crackers,

but it really doesn't matter as long as it keeps her busy.

Heading out the front door,

I steal a private seat for myself on the dilapidated porch, away from everyone else.

Out here, the only sound is a few birds chirping as the sun climbs up the sky.

MC: "What am I going to do?"

MC: "Waiting it out probably won't work."

MC: "Clyde hasn't gotten any better, and everyone's getting sick."

MC: "And I'm next on that list."

MC: "Who's going to help if we're all delirious?"

My complaining fills the empty air, but I hear a light whirr from behind me,

looking in time to see Hope dart through an open window.

The drone drifts down in front of me, but stays hovering a few feet in the air.

MC: "Hi, Hope."

MC: "Did you come to give me advice?"

MC: "I'd take it from just about anyone right now."

MC: "Even if I'm talking to a drone."

(Maybe I can pretend she beeps once for yes and twice for no.)

MC: "Is it worse if I'm the only one who doesn't get sick or if we're all wandering around losing our minds?"

MC: "Eating the meat didn't work."

MC: "Sleeping more didn't work."

MC: "But Arthur was the only one who actually got scratched up by any of the animals,"

MC: "so I don't think they caused it? I mean..."

(What the hell do I know? I'm not a doctor.)

(And the only one we have is making puppy-dog eyes at me instead of looking for a cure.)

MC: "When did getting a girlfriend become this complicated?"

MC: "Oh, she'll be smart and gorgeous,"

MC: "but frst you have to figure out how to cure a weird island disease after being shipwrecked."

MC: "That's just excessive."

Hope gives a loud whirr in what I take as agreement, bouncing up and down in the air like a balloon.

The image makes me smile a little, which is something I need.

MC: "But you and Logan are going steady right? It's cute."

(I'm kidding, but the drone can't tell me if I made a bad joke.)

MC: "At least he's had someone to keep him company while not wanting to be near people,"

MC: "or whatever's going on there."

MC: "Maybe there's some way to get Serena to focus? If she thinks she's doing me a favor."

MC: "It would be better than trying to figure this out myself."

MC: "It's not like there's any books on medicine here."

MC: "And my phone is totally trased, even if we did have magical island wi-fi."

Reminding myself of the dazed look in Serena's eyes when she took my hand makes me cringe,

fingers laced tightly together in my lap.

Having someone fawning over you is only nice if both people involved want it to happen.

MC: "For all I know, she doesn't."

MC: "Serena doesn't strike me as the mushy type."

MC: "She's always practical and..."

(And I miss that.)

(Having someone I can trust to make the right decision.)

(Now this is just getting depressing.)

MC: "Goddamn it."

MC: "There has to be something I can do."

Hope flies in a cute little figure eight, but there's no advice the drone can give me.

In the end, it's just a winged coconut with a fancy camera.

MC: "Guess I should go back inside, huh? No one's going to get any better with me moping on the porch."

MC: "Maybe it's one big elaborate prank and they'll cop to it when I come in."

(Not the most inspiring spin on things, but at least that would mean everyone would go back to normal.)

WIth a heavy sigh, I stand up and head back into the resort,

clinging to the hope that some kind of inspiratino will strike me.

I don't make it more than a few steps into the lobby before Serena reappears, all smiles.

She immediately squeezes up next to me, taking my hand in hers,

and I can't keep a sour look off my face.

(This isn't her.)

(It doesn't feel right.)

Serena: "Where were you? I made breakfast and it's been getting cold."

MC: "Cold? What did you heat it up with?"

Serena: "Well, colder."

Serena: "It started out room temperature."

MC: "Don't worry about it."

MC: "I'll eat it later."

Serena: "But I made it special for you and you were gone for so long..."

MC: "It was like twenty minutes."

Serena: "Every minute apart from you feels like hours."

(Ugh.)

(Where's the Serena that was grumpy about me interrupting her sleep?)

(Every minute is going to feel like a year if this keeps up.)

Despite my protests, a grumble in my stomach insists that I should eat breakfast,

so I let Serena escort me into the dining hall.

Arthur is busy serving food to everyone else, arranged on plates like we're at a fancy restaurant.

(I see he found something to do with all his excess energy.)

Serena: "Yours is right over here, sweetheart."

I follow to the seat where she points and sit down,

only to realize that my food has been assembled in a messy heart shape.

(You know, of course.)

(What did I expect?)

Serena: "Just for you."

MC: "Thanks."

It's a little weird to have her watching while I eat,

but I spend most of the meal keeping my eye on everyone else.

Logan is hanging back at the other table again,

while Arthur goes on about how much work he put into the cooking,

with TK chatting Clyde's ear off about his family.

(The only saving grace here is that everyone can take care of themselves.)

(Kind of.)

(I'm just glad I haven't had to set a tripwire on the front door to keep Clyde from going for another swim.)

Serena: "How's your breakfast?"

MC: "Great."

Serena: "That's so wonderful to hear."

Serena: "I was worried it would be too cold and then we'd have to start a fire somewhere..."

Serena: "And Clyde hasn't chopped any wood in days."

MC: "Well, yeah."

MC: "He's busy wanting to become a bear-fighting champion."

MC: "It's admirable, really."

Serena giggles, the sound high and sugary-sweet instead of her usual absently amused laugh.

I force another bite of food into my mouth,

but stop in the middle of chewing when I see Clyde roughly wipe sweat from his brow.

He looks pale, tension written all over his face,

and doesn't say a word as TK keeps chatting, seemingly oblivious.

When Clyde's hands go limp in his lamp, a spike of panic goes through me.

MC: "Serena, Clyde looks really sick."

MC: "Can you give him a quick check-up and see if he has a fever or something?"

Serena: "Hmm?"

Serena: "What was that, ? I was looking at how beautiful your eyes were."

A. Serena, help him.

B. Clyde, are you okay?

C. Just wait a second.

---

A. Serena, help him.

MC: "For f--"

MC: "Serena, just help him."

MC: "He looks awful."

MC: "You're a doctor, remember?"

---

A loud thunk stops me cold as Clyde's head hits the table, his body sagging in the chair.

TK blinks at him, going quiet but not moving to help.

(Oh my god!)

MC: "Clyde! Wake up!"

I shake his shoulder lightly, not wanting to jostle him too hard, but Clyde stays stone still.

If it wasn't for the slow rise and fall of his back, I wouldn't even know he was breathing.

Arthur: "Is something wrong, ?"

MC: "Yes, something's wrong."

MC: "Look right in front of you."

MC: "Everyone, help me get Clyde upstairs into bed right now."

Everyone might be oblivious right now, but thankfully they seem to take direction,

and with the help of all the guys and Serena trailing behind,

we carry Clyde up into the other room, laying him down across the bed.

MC: "He's burning up."

MC: "I can feel it everywhere."

MC: "Um..."

MC: "God, what is it? Feed a cold, starve a fever... or is that the other way around?"

MC: "Serena, what helps with a fever?"

Serena: "Hm."

MC: "Serena!"

Serena: "Acetaminophen?"

(I really don't like the way she said that as a question.)

MC: "And do we have any of that in the first aid kit?"

Serena: "No."

MC: "..."

MC: "Never mind."

I'm at the point of trying to remember every time I've seen someone sick in a movie or a TV show,

racking my brain for any kind of cure.

The only thing I can think to do is get water and a towel,

stealing one of the bottles from my room and a rag out of an old bathroom cabinet.

MC: "Clyde, can you hear me?"

He lets out a faint mumble, eyes fluttering, and I pour half the water onto the rag,

soaking it through before folding it over his brow.

Clyde still looks for too pale, but with a lot of prompting,

I can get him to swallow by tilting the bottle against his mouth.

MC: "Okay, that's a start."

MC: "Just listen to the sound of my voice, okay? Even if you can't talk, you can stay conscious."

TK: "You know, emotional support can be just as important as physical support,"

TK: "especially if someone's stressed out."

TK: "I just want to let you know I'm here for you, , and we can always talk about--"

MC: "Unless you have a way to fix Clyde's fever, we have nothing to talk about, TK."

TK: "But maybe--"

MC: "Not now."

He looks put-out,

but I can't focus on that when Clyde is twitching and wincing,

making it hard to get the last bit of water down.

When Arthur starts happily humming again, though, the last of my patience wears thin.

MC: "Okay, everyone out."

MC: "He doesn't need to be crowded."

Arthur: "Should I bring him some food?"

MC: "No, just... go away."

As it turns out, Logan had already left, but the other guys shuffle out in a state of mild confusion.

I glance back over my shoulder when I hear the door closed,

but Serena is still standing there and smiling at me.

A. Are you going to help now?

B. Serena, this is serious.

C. Earth to the doctor.

---

B. Serena, this is serious.

MC: "Serena, this is serious."

---

MC: "I know there's some weird haze in your brain right now, but I need you to try and focus."

Serena: "On what?"

MC: "On Clyde."

MC: "On your friend."

Nothing I say seems to be putting a dent in her state of mind, and I'm running out of options.

Without medical advice, there's nothing I can do but wing it and wait.

MC: "It's okay, Clyde."

MC: "We'll get through this."

MC: "Just hold out a while longer."

MC: "I'll do something."

(I'm just not sure what.)