What You See...
Chapter Four
The Fair and Lawful Judgement of the Board
They waited their turn for a hearing, while others went before them. The kindhearted board of the hospital made it a rule that every patient had at least one chance to be released per every three months; though rarely did the chance turn the patient's benefit. More often then not, these evaluations only tacked more time onto the poor individual's stay.
Sid hoped that, with any luck, this would not be the outcome of his at-request examination. He glanced sideways at his niece, and praised his luck that she seemed well behaved and, if one didn't know better, sane. He didn't need them to release her as a recovered woman; all he wanted was to give her a better life.
While they waited for their turn, the old man watched the other inpatients before them. He recognized a few, none of which would be leaving any time soon.
Time passed, seemingly taking longer than it should have, as though mocking the old man. Not that he cared, having little better to do with it. He could think of better things, yes, but until this was over with… well, there was nothing he'd rather be doing.
Gray, on the other hand, sat impatiently on the other side of the waiting room. He did have better things to do – like sleep. He had hard enough time staying on a nocturnal schedule due to nature, let alone the upstairs neighbors, and the construction on the street outside his apartment. And he had to go grocery shopping, or so his memory suddenly informed him. He glared at those across from him, those that would so ruin his life… and made no impact whatsoever.
He gave up, and let his head fall back against the wall.
Two hours passed before they were admitted to the board. The man before them was a fellow that flittered between lives as often as most people did the same through forms vicarious entertainment. Usually, he was some historic person or another. Sometimes he got them wrong, although it was all the same to him. This month, he was a soldier from the American Civil War.
And intent, with the permission of the 'Major,' upon sticking around after his session was over. The administrator, being his lenient self, allowed this and the 'soldier' stood by the door as the proceedings started.
The middle-aged man seated at the center of the board members cleared his throat, and began.
"P.F. number," the man moved his hands to read one of the papers before him, "7259, Aki Ross. Mr. Sid…"
"Doctor Sid," the called corrected.
"How can we help you, sir?" the board member asked, ignoring the interruption.
The old man sighed, already knowing how this was going to turn out, "I wish you to release my niece into my custody."
"For what reason?"
If Sid could have found a way to banish this board to the outermost reaches of space, he would have. "I believe it would be more beneficent for her to be surrounded by family rather than white walls and iron bars," he answered with a slight hint of bitterness. "Sit down, Aki," he whispered to the squirming woman beside him.
"Everything considered, do you thi-" the man stalled, noticing something he hadn't before, "Edwards, what the hell are you doing?"
"Huh?" Gray, who had been nigh invisible to everyone present, sat up in his chair and blinked sleepily.
"I asked what you're doing here. You're supposed to be gone for the night,"
"I, uh…" the younger man looked around himself, and at the elder to his right, "Oh, I'm here to say that the Doctor is correct and that Ms. Ross could stand a better chance at recovery elsewhere." Somewhere far away.
"I see," the man leaned back and the board members whispered amongst themselves. After a few minutes, the man continued, "We'll think it over, and tell you within two weeks." With that, the officials were over, and Gray felt a sudden unwelcome for his party.
"No you won't," Sid grumbled to himself, standing and urging Aki to do the same.
The patient at the door, picking up on the cold air that suddenly enveloped the room, decided to step in and help.
"See?" he demanded, "This is the kind of oppression I'm talking about." He moved to console Aki, who shied away from the contact. She rebuked him – something that, to his reality, wasn't anything of the sort.
An argument raged, and Gray ducked out when he saw the chance. He was off duty, after all. However, his sudden misgivings about the stability of his job followed him out the door and soon caught up with him, and he tried not to think back to the little voice in his head that said he wasn't going to be working here much longer.