Fuzzy

"How are you feeling?" asked Jason as he poked his head into Naomi's cubicle.

She had just finished blowing her nose and felt a little embarrassed at having Jason witness the act. There was no way around it though. Naomi was sick. Nothing serious. Just a cold. It was more of an irritation than a problem, really. Annoying enough to make her feel awful, but not bad enough to allow her a day off work.

"How do you think I feel?!" she snapped as she tossed a tissue into the wastebasket. She hadn't meant to snap at Jason. He had simply asked a question. And he'd done so with genuine concern in his voice.

"Sorry," Jason said as he turned to walk away.

"No, I'm sorry," Naomi said, "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's okay. I've been there. Just a couple weeks ago, actually."

"Yeah, I remember," she said as she turned to cough into her elbow. "To answer your question, I feel like crap."

"Are you taking anything?" he asked.

"I am. But it's making my head all fuzzy, you know?"

"Why did you come in today?" asked Jason, "Don't you have any sick days saved up?"

"I thought about calling in, but I've just got too much to do. These reports aren't going to file themselves," Naomi said as she sighed, looking at the pile of paperwork on her desk.

"If you need a hand with anything let me know."

"Thanks," Naomi said softly before turning back to her computer.

She stared at the screen for a few minutes until her vision became blurred. According to her watch, 15 minutes had passed. That medication was really messing with her today. Maybe Jason was right. She should have taken the day off. In the state she was in, she wasn't sure that she would be able to spell her own name correctly, much less wade through the mountain of paperwork she had to do.

Naomi got up from her desk and walked to Jason's cubicle. "I'm gonna leave," she said.

"Good idea," Jason said as he looked up at her. "Do you want me to take care of anything for you?"

She gave him a strange look and he realized that came out wrong.

"No! I meant work! I mean, do you have any paperwork I can take care of for you?"

She laughed, "I think it will wait 'til tomorrow."

"All right. Feel better. Hopefully you won't feel so fuzzy tomorrow," said Jason, receiving another strange look. "I'm just gonna stop talking now."