Low Counts

Your counts are low
white blood cells
.2
weak immune system
Don't go near sick people
germs
You could get a fever
Need to be hospitalized within hours
May need antibiotic therapy to make it
were talking a temp of 100.4
not 100 and 4
Just wash your hands a lot
you'll be alright
and stay away from sick people

But you have tickets
So you go to the symphony
fancy place
people dressed up
you're dressed up
for the first time in months
you sit down
nice view
nice seats
nice nice
perfect position
you're enjoying yourself
a woman comes and sits next to you
she smiles
you smile
she holds up her hand

and coughs

Holy shit
you think she just coughed
she couldn't have
this is the symphony
fancy fancy healthy people
then you notice other people coughing
people all over the place coughing
Someone right behind you coughing
but put it out of your mind
the peice is about to begin
the orchestra is doing their synchronized tuning
getting ready
now the entire audience is coughing
getting ready
the woman next to you is coughing
getting ready
trying to get it all out
god you hope she's not sick
she couldn't be
the piece rolls on
she's taking out little cough lozengers
the paper is crinkling loudly
she tries to unwrap them quietly
little wax papers
louder than the symphony
Crinkle crinkle
now she just coughed without covering her mouth!
your certain she did
Someone coughed behind you
Did it brush your bare scalp?
come to think of it
Did you wash your hands after using the drinking fountain?
Now the floor under the woman is littered with little lozenger wrappers
she's trying to cough quietly
Oops
you just touched the armrest she's been touching
and then wiped your eye!
she sniffles
Or was that just your imagination?
the music quiets
the room quiets
the woman is squirming next to you trying to be quiet
Now the music builds
more trumpets
more bass
the drummers release thier pent up sound like a blast
the woman releases her pent up coughs like a blast
the audience is releasing their pent up coughs like a sick and dying blast
timing it perfectly
hoping it will remain hidden in the music
hoping no one will notice
well timed coughs
the cacaphony slowly dying along with the instruments
applause
no one noticed
the floor is covered with wrappers

A night at the symphony