Hello friend-os! Sorry for the delayed update! I was having trouble writing this week and I needed a little inspiration!
Now for the boy-meets-girl chapter! Yay! Excitement!
Hope you guys like it! (I sure enjoyed writing it!)
Chp. 5: The Girl in Room 60C
Brittany's Point of View
I dream that I'm running. At first, I can't see anything - everything surrounding me is a black, empty void. I'm cold, frightened and alone, but in that solitude I feel a strong presence behind me. I turn around and there's nothing there - just empty blackness. I continue to run, my feet scraping a cool, marble-like surface. There's someone breathing behind me and the breathing begins to grow louder and harsher, so I try more desperately to outrun it blindly. "DEVIL'S CHILD" yells a voice right behind me, "DEVIL'S CHILD! SATAN'S DAUGHTER!" I do not turn around to see who it is, but it is familiar. I search frantically for somewhere safe.
Then, I become paralyzed, losing my ability to move any part of my body. Everything around me is bright. My skin feels like it's being pricked by tiny icicles and I hear the sound of a beating heart. The rhythm of the beating is slow and it has a murmuring pattern. I recognize it - it's my heart. My chest feels as thought it is caving in and I try screaming for help, but nothing comes out of my mouth. My body is stretched out flat and I'm held down by something - by fingers. They pinch me and prod me and there's a heavy pressure on my chest; it's hard to tell if the air is escaping my body or if there's something being laid heavily on my ribs. My arms and legs are then forced forward in front of my body and are bound together by an invisible restraint. I struggle to free myself from the invisible force, trying to pull my hands and feet apart with my teeth.
Then I feel a draft of concentrated, frozen air and I'm suddenly shivering. I continue to fight when the grip on my hands and feet begins to tighten, beginning to make me lose feeling in my fingers and toes, causing them to turn blue. Snow begins to form from under me and I feel a wall of ice behind me as I try to lean back. I struggle with my bound arms and legs, failing to break free as the room begins to get smaller and smaller until it can barely fit my body at all. The temperature continues to drop until I can't open my eyes without them stinging. My mouth closes when I begin to lose feeling in my tongue and my lungs struggle to expand or contract; I'm suffocating.
That's when the voices come.
Brittany, says a voice, Brittany. Where is she? Where's Brittany?
We're running out of time! Says a different, frantic voice.
She's here. She's in here, says another voice.
I hear the sound of banging - metal against metal. The sound startles me and I cower from it, rolling to my side. The sound keeps getting more violent and deafening. It's beginning to shake the walls.
There's suddenly a terrifying CRACK! I scream and rebel with every ounce of strength I have left when there are hands all over my body again. My arms and legs are released and warmth rushes over my skin. I feel a tepid shower of rain on my skin as my arms and legs gain consciousness again and I collapse to the ground in exhaustion. My eyes slowly close. The last thing I see before I fade out is the color peach - the color I see through my eyelids when my eyes close in sensitivity to bright lights.
Third Person, Alvin's life
Alvin awoke at 8:15 on a Saturday to the familiar smell of sausage biscuits. His mouth salivated - Dave used to make them for him every morning on the weekends back before Alvin had gotten used to skipping breakfast and going without food throughout the day. It was a familiar, comforting smell. It made Alvin think he was back at home for a moment.
He slowly arose from his bed, kicking his legs over the side and stretching his arms over his head. This would be his first full day in the institution, and it seemed to be starting out great. This was the first night in months that he'd gone to sleep and didn't have the nightmare. He surprisingly got a full nine hours of sleep and he woke up feeling refreshed. This was a good sign. Alvin was going to seize the day.
With a new feeling of determination, he pulled on his red T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, not bothering to comb his hair before putting on his signature red cap. The aroma of savory sausage biscuits made it impossible for him not to think about his stomach - he was actually feeling quite hungry. He hadn't wanted to eat a decent meal for weeks, so it was curious how his appetite was suddenly drawing him toward the dining hall. He figured that since he wouldn't take long to eat breakfast, there wouldn't be any harm in going to the dining hall alone without his escort. He knew where it was anyway, so there was really no reason for him to require a person to sit there and watch him eat. An escort wasn't necessary. He'd be back in no time.
He slipped on his socks and sneakers, sitting on the bed and bending down to tie his shoelaces when he suddenly heard clanging. It was the sound of something metal moving hastily against another metal object. He peered around his room, checking for any source of the noise. Perhaps it was the air conditioning turning on? It was quite balmy outside for the usual Los Angeles climate, so it wouldn't come as a surprise. He checked the air conditioner. No dice. It was running just fine.
The clanging sound continued and became more and more frequent. Alvin stood up, going to the window and looking around outside. Maybe they were doing some construction outside that was causing a ruckus; like replacing a telephone wire or digging up a metal pipe from underground. After closer inspection, there was nothing going on outside at all in the courtyard.
He moved away from the window and headed for the door, forgetting about the sound and readying himself to get some breakfast from the dining hall. Just as he opened the door, the clanging seemed like it was even louder. It was coming from the hallway.
Alvin exited his room, annoyed. Who would do construction work inside the institution at this hour? It's probably waking everyone else up! He thought.
He started down the hall towards the dining room and turned the corner. If they were going to decide to do work on the hospital, so be it. It wouldn't bother Alvin while he was chowing down on his sausage biscuit. By the time he came back, he figured it would probably be over.
The noise persisted, causing Alvin's curiosity to get worse. He stopped walking for a moment and turned around, heading toward the sound of the clamors. His patience was wearing thin; whoever was doing this was being inconsiderate and he planned to confront them - and when Alvin confronted someone, he made sure they never forgot it.
He passed his room and turned the corner that lead down the C hallway.
When he saw the source of the clanging, he immediately halted.
On the tiled floor of the hallway sat the girl from 60C - the girl he marvelled over a day before. She wore a grimace and a long, silky pink nightgown with white lacing around each sleeve and pearl buttons going down the center. She was leaning against the doorframe outside of her room. As Alvin looked closer, he was taken aback - she was handcuffed to a vertical pipe on the outside of her room. She forcefully drew her hand away from the pipe and created the sound again and again as she struggled to release herself from the handcuffs. Alvin had never seen anything like this before.
"Um... Excuse me?" confronted Alvin, "Why are you handcuffed to that pipe?"
Third person, Brittany's life
"Um... Excuse me? Why are you handcuffed to that pipe?" Said an unfamiliar voice nearby. Brittany stopped struggling and turned her head in the direction of the inquirer. He was standing before her, one of his hands in a side pocket of his black sweatpants. He was a new face around these parts and he didn't look much older than her - he was medium height, a bit tanned and didn't have much muscle on him. He wore a red cap over his head of unkempt, sandy-auburn hair and his baby blue eyes met hers for a moment before they returned to watching her restrained hand.
She ripped her gaze away, returning to her usual nature of obstinance. She didn't care if he was around here or not. She was on a mission and it wasn't any of his business.
"Nothing you need be concerned with," she snubbed coldly.
"Well whatever you're doing, it's creating an awful lot of ruckus," he replied sourly, "Don't you know that it's 8am? People are still asleep at this time!"
"Good!" She retorted, "Then everyone can hear me."
"What on Earth would you accomplish by irritating everyone?" He seemed to be teasing her. Brittany was not amused; she wasn't one who enjoyed teasing.
"If you must know, I'm protesting." She stated matter-of-factly, "And it doesn't concern you, so run along."
"Protesting what?" Inquired the boy, leaning against the wall. He was enjoying himself. Brittany grew agitated.
"I'm protesting against the faculty for the conditions of my room. I feel like I'm being treated unfairly. I've been here for three years, so I feel like I should have more say in the conditions I live under."
Without warning the boy walked passed her and strolled casually into her room, scoping out the interior as if he was searching for clues, "Why? I don't see anything in here that looks too tormenting..."
"Wha-?! Get OUT of there!" She scolded, "Who said you could go into my room?!"
He looked in her closet, then her bathroom, then circled behind the door to see if anything was hidden behind there. He inspected the ceiling, the side table with an empty flower vase, the hinges of the closets, the pillows on her bed, the wallpaper...
"Hmm...nice bathroom, nice wallpaper, pleasant atmosphere, comfortable sheets..." He mumbled to himself.
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Hey! I said GET OUT!"
"Well, you said the conditions of the room weren't acceptable, so I was just curious..."
He continued wandering her room, checking under her bed, looking behind her monitors, peering out the window, "Wow! Nice view! But I think mine's better..."
Brittany huffed, "So your intrusive curiosity gives you a license to snoop around other people's private quarters? I could get you in trouble for this!"
He slowly made his way back to the door, taking his time with both hands in his pockets. When he got outside the door, he squatted down to her eye level.
"I don't see anything in there that gives you an appropriate reason to disturb the entire wing with that noise."
"Why you...!" She growled, "You obviously don't understand and I'm not going to point it out!"
"I don't see anything that justifies acting like a two year-old." He said blankly. The hair on the back of Brittany's neck stood up.
"The point wasn't to make noise," she murmured peevishly, "It was to stay out here until they come and fix the problem. Because I'm anchored here, I refuse to unlock myself until they agree to my conditions."
"What conditions? I still don't see what's to fuss about."
"You don't feel how freezing it is in there?!" She exclaimed, revealing her dilemma, "I feel like I'm getting frostbite just breathing the air! It's supposed to be summertime!"
"Yeah, exactly. It's summertime. The air conditioner's on. It's to keep everyone else in the building from melting into a puddle!"
"Well I'm not like everyone else in the building!" She declared, "I'm cold and-!"
"It's really not cold at all in there! It's 75 degrees fahrenheit! That's normal. Put on an extra layer of clothes and problem solved!"
"The room temperature isn't all I'm complaining about!" She hissed, "It's the fact that I'm not allowed to go outside and I'm stuck in this cold building freezing to death! I want to go outside during early summer! It's gardening season and I'm stuck in here looking at white walls and blank ceilings! It isn't fair! I'm not even able to open my window! How would YOU like decaying in the same God-forsaken room for three years?!"
He was testing her patience and it was getting under her skin. He didn't seem to be fazed at all by her outburst. She paused, breathing in impatiently, "Why don't you just leave me alone, huh? Mind your own business, buster!"
"Whoa whoa, hey hey..." halted the boy, "My name is not buster, sweetheart."
"Don't call me sweeth-"
"Okay, whatever. Girl of 60C. First of all, my name is not 'buster', it's Alvin. And second of all, mind keeping it down? There are others around here who'd like to live in peace. Like me, for example."
She said nothing for a moment, her pallid complexion interrupted by a pink blush. If she wasn't restrained to a pipe, she would've shoved him away from her immediately. But since she put herself in this predicament, she was going to stand by it, despite the fact she was rendered immobile.
"Okay, okay. Fine. Just go away."
"As you wish, 60C," grumbled the boy, "See ya around." He turned the corner and disappeared.
She began drawing invisible pictures on the ground with her finger, "Yeah, yeah..."
Third person, Alvin's life
"That oughta shut her up," Mumbled Alvin to himself on his journey to the dining hall, satisfied with his successful confrontation.
After breakfast, Alvin made his way back to his room. It was now 8:45 and the halls were quiet. There was an eerie silence that he was no stranger to - he could recall the last time things were quiet like this: it was back when he lived on the C wing. Everything on the C wing was quiet and controlled. Alvin used to hate 'quiet and controlled', but now he rather preferred it over anything else. It was soothing - it gave his head some peace to concentrate on each individual thought that passed through his mind. Even in his empty house back on 66 Cedar Drive he never felt this astute.
He crossed down the hall, about to turn the corner until he passed 60C. The girl from before wasn't outside her door like she was an hour ago, but her handcuffs were laying on the ground, still attached to the pipe. He peered curiously into the room in search of the girl. She was sitting in her bay window, looking dejectedly out the window at the peony plant just outside, her body attached to the wires of her monitors and IVs as they were yesterday. Her fingers grazed the window glass as if she wanted to reach out of the window and pick a few flowers for herself. Alvin wondered when she had last been outside - with all those wires and tubes attached to her all the time, she must never have the chance to get fresh air, and it didn't help that her windows were barred shut. She looked miserable.
It was then when Alvin began to feel a pang of remorse for antagonizing her so much earlier - he'd forgotten about how different her conditions were than his. HE wasn't the one with machines attached to him. HE hasn't been here for as long as she had. He was in the D wing, she was in the C wing. Their lives were very different.
As he watched her, he thought about earlier - about the way she first looked at him. Her porcelain skin and lustrous strawberry blonde hair contrasted greatly in color and brought out the rose tone of her pouting lips. Nothing was out of place on her at all - she looked perfectly groomed and unblemished - like a doll, which wasn't something Alvin saw every day; especially not in a psychiatric ward. Her voice - although high pitched - was clear and feminine, making the words that came out of her mouth sound like they were prettier than they were being spoken by anyone else.
And, oh, those incredible caribbean-blue eyes! She could've easily hypnotized him right then and there with her eyes if they weren't so frozen with contention.
The way her face was so perfectly proportioned rendered him speechless until she opened her mouth to speak to him so argumentatively, and even though she turned out to be hot-headed and stubborn, she still managed to strike intrigue in him with her unusual features. He found that it was fun to tease her, yes, but he wished that he could've done a better job striking up a conversation with her rather than making her angry. She was interesting... and he probably just ruined his chances of ever getting to speak to her again. She most likely wouldn't want to speak to him.
"I've been here for three years," her voice repeated in his head. Three years. That's a long time to be stuck in a facility like this.
"I'm not even able to open my window! How would YOU like decaying in the same God-forsaken room for three years?!"
In that moment, he felt remorseful. He wished there was some way he could've been a little more cordial instead of making her feel like he was intrusive by invading her privacy. But of course, that was Alvin. The old, confident Alvin. He didn't want to lose his new sense of heightened self esteem...
Alvin shook his head. Why was he feeling bad? He did everyone a favor by making her quiet down this morning. He looked back at the girl who was looking down at her lap, a reserved expression on her face. She's probably some spoiled brat looking for attention or something, he thought scornfully, she's been here for three years because she's reckless and ill-behaved. It's nothing I should be concerned with.
With that new judgement, he passed by her door and rounded the corner into his room. It was now time for him to get prepared for his group therapy session at 9:00.
Since Alvin had a little time before group therapy, he decided he'd check out the view from his window. His window had a wide view of the center of the courtyard, which meant he probably had one of the best views in the institution. Within his view was a well-groomed area of turf grass with a colorful perimeter of petunias, pansies, irises, cherry blossom trees... You name a flower and it was probably there. He'd never seen so many different shaped flowers in such a concentrated space! It looked like a garden somebody would see in a gardening magazine!
As Alvin scanned the garden, he noticed there was a large peony plant just outside of the window next to his. His gaze moved from the marvelous scenery to the his neighbor's window. Since the window was right around the corner from his, he could practically see everything in the neighbor's room through the glass. At closer inspection, he noticed that the window belonged to none other than the girl from 60C. He took a moment to re-examine her features. Even though she was further away now, she looked as sad as she did when he passed her room just minutes before. In fact, she looked worse; she was crying. He watched as big tears rolled from the corners of her eyes down to the tip of her chin. She seemed to be staring out of her window in longing of the garden she was forbidden to see. It made Alvin's chest feel heavy with sympathy. The garden probably meant more to her than he realized. Alvin began to feel guilty.
"Alright, Alvin. Time for group therapy!" Said a voice belonging to Dr. Walters. Alvin didn't hear him; he was too distracted. She looked so depressed. No wonder she rebelled; to put her in a room with a view so close to the courtyard without giving her access to go outside sounded just cruel. No wonder she was so unhappy with her conditions - it was like putting a dog on a short leash and hanging a steak in front of its face; it seemed so unfair.
"Hello? Alvin? Alvin!" Repeated Dr. Walters loudly, catching Alvin off-guard.
He whirled around to see Dr. Walters leaning against the doorframe. Immediately, he shoved away from the window and pretended not to be staring at the pretty girl next door.
"Ready for group therapy, Alvin?"
"U-uh yeah! I'm all ready!" The red-clad boy assured, nervously adjusting his hat. The doctor laughed at his suspicious behavior and walked to the window, looking out.
"What have you been looking at that's got you so fascinated?" Asked Dr. Walters curiously.
"Nothing!" Interjected Alvin, "J-just the flowers! The garden is um...really nice! So u-uh... sh-shall we get going?"
The doctor's head turned slowly to the left in the direction Alvin seemed to be looking in and spotted the girl in the nearby window.
"Ah ha! I see what it is you've been gawking at! She's a cutie, isn't she?"
"Who is? I don't know what you're talking about!" denied Alvin, his face gaining a shade of red.
"Brittany from 60C! You were looking at her, weren't you?"
Alvin looked away, pretending to ignore him. His face was beginning to feel warm. Brittany. The girl's name was Brittany. What a pretty name...and it seemed to fit her.
"You know, I once was a teenaged boy too, Alvin. You can't fool me!" Jested the doctor, patting him on the head. He then cleared his throat, checking his clipboard, "Alright. Ready to go?"
"Yes, I am," grumbled Alvin, staring at the floor tiles in denial of his embarrassment. He didn't like people bringing attention to things he was too flustered to admit - especially this kind of thing. I wasn't looking at her... I was just...noticing that she was...within distance of my room, that's all, Alvin reassured himself. Surely her unusual good looks had nothing to do with it.
..Right?
Alrighty. The two have met! They're off to a bad start, but they've met!
So how will things end up between the two of them? Will Alvin end up talking to her?
Also, what will Simon Blackwell be like? (He's in the next chapter, promise!)
Reviews are helpful and extremely appreciated! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Until next time, over and out!
-Blythe