The In-Betweens: A is for Alice

Chapter 6

“I never said that,” I whispered, looking away.

 “You do like him though, don’t you?”

I shrugged. “Sorta?”

Cindy laughed. “Just eat your food so I can give you your meds.”

I sighed and gave in, picking up my fork and digging in. I looked at the white gloopy stuff and the long, green strands of food. Beside those things sat a large hunk of meat. I tried a little of everything, and then I looked up at Cindy who was watching me intently. “Is everything okay?” she asked me.

“Uhm-hmm,” I tried to say, swallowing my food and looking back down at my plate. “What is this stuff?” I asked her, for it wasn’t what I normally ate. Cindy laughed and me and pulled up another chair to the table.

“Those are green beans,” she said, pointing to the green strands. “And the white mountain of mush is mash potatoes, and the meat is ham. It comes from pig.” I made a funny face. Pig? What is pig? Cindy seemed to guess my question because she said, “It’s just a type of animal. I’ll find you a picture of it.”

“Are you allowed to do that?” I asked her, worried that I could get Cindy in trouble.

She smiled. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to do it anyway. Now eat. I need to give you your meds.” I smiled and dug in, savoring the ham in my mouth and learning its flavor. When I was done eating, Cindy gave me my medicine.

“If I get another one of these shots, it’s going to look like I got into a fight. I have a billion holes in my arm.” Cindy laughed, and when she was done giving me my medication, she began to gather up my plate and silverware. “Cindy,” I began. “Why did I get ham today instead of my usual noodle soup?” Cindy paused and then looked at me.

“Why it’s a holiday silly.” I froze. My dream.

“Do you only eat ham on holidays?” I asked, trying desperately to remember if we had been eating ham.

Cindy laughed and me and said, “Of course not. Normal people can have ham whenever they want, and ham isn’t the only thing that you can have on holidays. You can have turkey of chicken or even pork. Some people don’t even eat meat. I’ll bring you in more pictures or meat and the animals that it comes from,” she said, getting ready to leave.

“Cindy, what holiday is today?” I asked her.

“Christmas,” she responded with a sad face.

“What’s Christmas, and shouldn’t you be spending it with your family?” Cindy avoided both of my questions and walked to the door.

“You still have some much to learn child.” I didn’t know what that meant, for I was pretty sure that I wasn’t a child, but I figured that this was the end of our conversation, as Cindy walked out the door without saying anything else to me.

When B’s nurse also left, I went back over to the window. B did the same. I tried to say something to him, but he didn’t understand what my lips were saying, and he couldn’t hear me. I started screaming, or at least yelling, but I only succeeded in making my voice hoarse. B looked at me funny. He must have thought that I was insane, for it was impossible to hear each other through the thick plexiglass, let alone the sound proof walls.

I sighed and plunked my head against the glass window. This was so difficult. How could I make a friend if we couldn’t even communicate?

My thoughts were interrupted by someone coming into the room, and I scurried away from the window. A few guards rushed into the room, followed far behind by an overweight scientist. “What was all that yelling about?” the scientist asked.

“Nothing,” I replied. Technically, I wasn’t lying. I wasn’t really screaming about anything, I just wanted to get B to hear me.

I heard you, a voice said in my head. I froze. What was that? The fat scientist was still trying to catch his breath, but he looked at me. He obviously knew something was wrong.

“I’ll ask you again, what were you screaming about?”

Say you were having a bad dream, the voice in my head said, and I foolishly listened.

“You were having a dream?” One guard asked in disbelief. I looked at him, and eyes squinted.

“Yes. I do have feelings.” I rolled my eyes and the guards, along with the scientist, began to file out, after giving me a warning about causing any more trouble. When they were all gone, I turned and looked at B. I was about to speak out loud, when I had a better idea. Was that you? I thought in my head, hoping that it would reach B.

I saw him smile through the window and a second later, yes, popped into my head. I smiled and looked at B. We had finally found a way to communicate.

When the excited feeling wore off, B and I began to think more logically. Could we hear anyone else’s thoughts? Could anyone else hear our thoughts? These questions were continuously cycling through our mind.

So…what should we do? B thought.

I don’t know B. I don’t know. He was silent, so I continued. I thought that being able to hear some of your thoughts would make everything better. I was wrong. I looked down and I saw B walk away from the window.

It’s okay A. We’ll figure something out. Maybe we can figure out a way to escape. When I didn’t respond, he looked back over at me. A? Hello, A? Can you still hear me?

Can you please not call me that? Call me Alice. That’s my name. I’m more than just a letter, and so are you.

Well, what should I be called? B thought, returning to the window and looking at me.

How about Burt or Bob? B immediately turned those down, and honestly, I could see why. He needed something more intellectual. How about Bryce or…. B cut me off.

Bryce? Yeah right.

Well fine Mr. Smartypants. If you don’t like my ideas, you can come up with one on your own.

B smiled. Okay. How about Barney? I giggled.

See, I knew that you couldn’t handle this task. B rolled his eyes.

You are quite an overbearing lady Miss Alice. Now, if you don’t mind, could you call me Bartholomew? I must have looked at him like he was crazy, for a worried look crossed his face. What? Is it bad?

Is it bad? Of course it’s bad. His face crumpled. Why would you want to be called Bartholomew? I asked him.

You said that I should have a name that matches my intellectual capability, so I’ve picked Bartholomew. You can call me Bart for short. I smiled because I figured that he wasn’t going to budge on this one, and I guessed that I would get over it eventually.

Well Bart, I think that you’ve chosen a pretty interesting name. I still like Barney better though. He laughed, and that was the end of our name conversation.

A/N: The italicized words are what the characters are THINKING.....not what they are saying. :D

So....did you like it?? This was a little longer of a chapter and it was kind of light and funny. I hope you liked it and I promise, I'll have the next chapter up soon! DON'T BE A SILENT READER! Tell me what you think. :D Thanks so much!!!

~Hope