Quickly closing the bathroom door behind her, Elly looked down at the now half eaten pineapple with an expression that was confusion mixed with fear. What on earth caused her to do that? How could she bite through the husk of a pineapple without even noticing? It didn't even seem hard to chew. "Elly? Did something happen to the pineapple?" she could hear Hyacinth calling from the kitchen.
Looking at the pineapple then at her juice covered shirt, she couldn't explain something that she could barely understand herself. So, she lied.
"I somehow dropped it and it cracked all over me and the floor. I guess it's rotten or something."
"Ick! Well, get cleaned up and I'll cook us some stir fry."
After watching off again and changing shirts, she noticed more scaly bumps on her arms. She tried putting on some lotion thinking it was a rash, but it didn't seem to help. Deciding to deal with it later, Elly pulled on a long sleeved shirt and walked into the kitchen.
Hyacinth was already cooking the ingredients by the time she came to the counter. "Smells good." Elly smiled leaning over the counter to look.
"I'm glad you got all cleaned up. I'm guessing you tossed the pineapple?"
"Yea, I'll take out the trash tomorrow so it won't stink up the place."
After dinner, Elly began to feel ill and went to the restroom. Her gagging and coughing could be heard from the table.
Tapping gently on the bathroom door, Hyacinth winced hearing Elly groan from within. "Are you ok in there?" Then there was a belching noise. "I thought I cooked the fish enough." Elly responded with another cough and the sound of the toilet flushing.
"I'm sorry Elly.."
"...Its okay.." She whined from her fixed spot near the toilet. "Maybe it's just your nerves affecting your stomach." Hyacinth suggested. Elly hacked again and saw bits of pineapple with stir fry. "I dunno..." She grumbled laying her head on the toilet seat.
"I'm going to call your aunt and tell her you got some bug and can't some to work tomorrow. That way you can chill and have a stress free day. Sound good?" After a long pause she let out a feeble 'uh huh'.
Her friend left after cleaning up and helping Elly get in the bed. Elly sighed looking at the 'rash' that had progressed more since her after dinner bathroom visit. It was a long and difficult day. She thought back to the restaurant and the host Raven. Everything seemed to happen after she saw him. Then again maybe it was the stress of being around so many people at once. Why did she panic, hallucinate, develop a rash, eat pineapple in its rawest state? Why did all this seem to hit her at once? Could it all just be stress from having the same mundane pattern over and over? Perhaps a day of rest would make all these problems go away. Maybe she would wake up and feel better. She hoped so. Rolling over, Elly fell asleep. Little did she know, the bizarre happenings were just beginning.