Chapter 2: Wanna Play?
Later that evening Tiffany sat alone in the asylum's dimly lit cafeteria quietly eating some beige goop off of a styrofoam plate that she had been served for dinner. She had winced the first time she put the nasty stuff in her mouth, but had now gotten used to the weird flavor and texture. It was either mashed potatoes or chicken, she hadn't decided which yet. All of a sudden a small, high pitched voice from across the table said, "Hi," and Tiffany looked up, startled, to see what appeared to be a small, blonde, female doll sitting there.
"Holy crap!" Tiffany exclaimed.
The doll looked offended.
"Uh, my name's Mary Dahl," it said, and Tiffany realized quickly that it was not a doll at all, just a really small human. "Sorry if my appearance scares you, but I have Systemic Hypoplasia and can't really do anything about it. Thanks for being so polite."
"No, I'm sorry," Tiffany said quickly. "You just caught me off guard. I thought you were someone else. Sorry."
Mary eyed Tiffany quizzically.
"It's fine," she said. "Anyway, I just came over because I thought you might be lonely sitting here all by yourself. In a place like this it's good to have a friend or two. Not everyone is nice and welcoming to new comers."
"I appreciate it," Tiffany said. "I'm usually a pretty friendly person myself actually, but I just... I don't know, I'm not very comfortable in this place."
"Who is?" asked Mary.
The two sat in an awkward silence for a minute and then Tiffany finally said, "So, I'm afraid I don't really know what Systemic Hypoplasia is exactly. Do you mind if-"
"It means I look like a four-year old even though I'm thirty," said Mary, not really mad, just kind of matter-of-factly. "And will for the rest of my life too."
"Oh," said Tiffany.
"I suppose one advantage of it, though, is nobody gives me funny looks when I go see Disney movies all by myself," Mary said with a smile.
Tiffany smiled back. "It's good that you have a sense of humor about it," she said.
"You have to," said Mary. "If you don't, you go really crazy."
Tiffany nodded.
"I do wish I could reach stuff on high counters sometimes, though," Mary said wistfully.
"I know, isn't that the worst?" said Tiffany.
Mary gave her a look that said "what do you know about it, bitch?", but then changed her expression to a polite smile.
"So, what is you-" Mary began to ask, but was suddenly shoved over by a woman's hips as Harleen sat down and stole her seat at the table's bench.
"Hey," shouted Mary.
"Beat it, shorty," said Harleen. "I wanna talk to this lady."
"But I was-"
"Scram!" yelled Harleen.
Mary looked at Tiffany for help, but Tiffany just shrugged, so Mary hopped off the bench and toddled away in a huff.
"That wasn't very nice," said Tiffany, once Mary was out of earshot.
"I don't got time for nice," said Harleen. "Besides, that little tinker toy still owes me twenty bucks."
Tiffany admired this woman's feisty attitude. It reminded her of herself when she was younger, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel bad for little Mary.
"Your name is Harleen, right?" Tiffany asked. "From group?"
"Right-a-roony," said Harleen. "But you can call me Harley, everyone does. And you're Tiffany?"
"Mmm hmm," said Tiffany.
"Ya know, I really liked that story you told in group today, Tiffany" said Harley. "It reminded me a lot of myself and my boyfriend, The Joker. As soon as I heard it I thought, now here's a chick I can probably become pals with. She's seems like a real old-fashioned romantic like me."
"Love does conquer all," said Tiffany, simply. "That's what my mother always told me, anyway."
"You're preaching to the choir, sister," said Harley.
There was a pause.
"So... you said in group that your boyfriend is dead too?" asked Tiffany. She couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Sort of," said Harley. "He 'dies' all the time, but he always comes back eventually."
Tiffany, who had only regarded Harley with mild interest up to this point, suddenly sat up and gave her her full attention.
"Really?" she asked in a serious tone. "Ya know, you and I might have even more in common than you think."
"How so?" asked Harley.
Tiffany looked around at the other inmates who were milling about in the cafeteria, all in their own little worlds. Then she leaned across the table so that her face was only a few inches away from Harley's.
"If I tell you something that's kind of... strange, can you keep it to yourself and not tell any of these other wackos?" Tiffany asked Harley in a hushed voice.
"You really are new to Gotham," said Harley. "Strange is pretty much all we got here."
Tiffany regarded Harley for a moment and then figured, what the hell, this chick seemed trustworthy, and if nothing else, no one would believe her if she did blab anyway, since she was just a mental patient. Why not take a chance and open up to her?
"Okay, here goes," said Tiffany. "My ex that I mentioned, Chucky, was the notorious serial killer, Charles Lee Ray, who was gunned down by police in 1988."
"I remember that," Harley said, enthusiastically. "It was all over the news when I was a kid."
Tiffany gave her a stern look.
"But go on," said Harley.
"Anyway, what most people don't know is that he didn't actually die that night. He transferred his soul into a Good Guy doll and was able to live on," said Tiffany. "Several times over, in fact."
"Wait a minute," said Harley, looking as if she had just solved a mystery. "I remember hearing about something like that in the news too. Yeah, that kid said his Good Guy doll was possessed by the soul of Charles Lee Ray. That's why they stopped making them. And then later in the nineties those two teenagers made the same exact claim. Hollywood was going to make a movie about it. Chucky Goes Psycho... or something. Wait THAT'S the Chucky you were talking about in group? And you're...," Harley gasped. "You're THAT Tiffany? The one that was going to be in the movie with Chucky?"
Tiffany nodded.
"But she was a doll too," Said Harley, confused.
"It's a long story," Tiffany said with a wave of her hand. "But you see what I mean when I said we have a lot in common. We both have guys who don't let anything keep them down. Even death."
"Ain't it the greatest?" said Harley.
Tiffany sat back in her chair and smiled.
"Too bad we're trapped in here now," she said. "They may have returned again and are on the outside right now looking for us."
"You want to get out of here and find out?" asked Harley.
"That would be nice," said Tiffany. "But this isn't exactly the kind of place you can check out of whenever you feel like it."
Harley laughed a musical laugh. "Let me tell you a little secret of my own," she said. "I've broken out of this joint more times than I can count. It would be no sweat getting both of us out of here this very night."
"Really?" asked Tiffany. "You can escape? And you'd really take me with you?"
"What are friends for?" said Harley. "Besides, it would be an honor to help reunite you with your true love."
"How would we do it?" asked Tiffany.
"Oh, I been working on a plan since I got here last week," said Harley.
Both woman suddenly became aware of the fact that they were being watched and looked over to a nearby table to see a large androgynous person with long greasy hair and drool coming out of their mouth staring back at them. Harley and Tiffany looked at each other and then leaned forward to whisper in private.
"Meet me in the common room in an hour and I'll fill you in, okay?" said Harley.
Tiffany nodded affirmatively. Harley gave her a thumbs up and then stood up and sort of skipped out of the cafeteria. As she watched her go, Tiffany couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea to ally herself with this woman. after all, she had only just met her, but something in her gut told Tiffany that her and Harley really were kindred spirits and maybe things would work out just fine after all.