No Happily Ever Afters

The Voices - part 2

The next evening, I sit silently at the long, wooden table, trying to figure out what the brownish mush in between the two slices of bread was.  I somehow doubted it was brains, as one of the boys a few seats down had suggested... And by suggested I mean he screamed it over and over again while throwing the 'brains' against the stark, white wall.  The nurses, of course, hurried over and, after failing to calm him down verbally, gave him an injection to sedate him.  I watched as the screaming boy went limp and one of the nurses dragged him back to his room.  This was nothing new or interesting to me, so I went back to poking at the UBO (unidentified brown object).

"It-its not bra-brains, right?" stammered one of the other girls sitting a few places down on the hard wooden bench, as she stared wide-eyed at her plate.  Every few moments the girl would start wildly scratching at her skin as if it bothered her and she'd rather it not be there.  The glove like contraptions over her hands kept her from leaving any more marks but also seemed to make it hard for her to eat.

"Of course not, deary," said one of the nurses.  She was a round, robust woman with a mess of redish hair that seemed to be constantly in her face.  I always mentally referred to her as 'Nurse Deary', since that's what she called everyone - even the other nurses.

Again, I doubted the UBO was brains, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't hamburger either, which is what Nurse Deary claimed.  Oh well, I figured it couldn't be that bad since most of the other children were eating it without complaining.

Then again, I half way suspected​ that most of them would have eaten a bunch of worms without complaining if that's what had been put in front of them. 

I signed unhappily and glanced around the large eating hall.  There were no new faces, which meant no one I could try to strike up a conversation with.  I still couldn't figure out why none of the other children here seemed to like me. 

"They just don't understand you.  Look at them - they're not like you.  You're special, the only smart one here, and they're all just stupid."

I shook my head "I don't think they're stupid," I said with a frown, "maybe they're just shy or something."

"Shy, huh? Then how come they get along just great with each other. Hmmm?" the voice challenged me.

I opened my mouth to reply then quickly closed it when I realized that most of the eyes in the room were locked on me.  I felt my face heat up with embarrassment.  I dropped my gaze and didn't look up again for the rest of the meal.  Now, thanks to the voice, they probably all believed I thought they were stupid.  I should have defended them against the voice's cruel accusations instead of getting all tongue-tied.

I was relieved when the meal was finally dismissed and I was able to shut myself back in my room.  I never liked the eating hall.  It was too big and empty - nothing but the long tables and benches to decorated it.  The large cathedral ceilings made every sound and voice echo even more in my head.  I rushed over to the bed and grabbed Diego in a hug.

"I want to run away from here!" I announced.  "No one here likes me and nothing I do makes it any better."

Diego stared up at me, "Are you sure, Leah?" he asked. "How would your parents know where to find you?"

"Its not like they ever come by anyway," I muttered darkly.  Putting Diego firmly on the bed I walked over to the window and yanked the curtain back from the wall.  It was covered with dozens of marks, scratched into the paint.  I paused for a moment, mentally counting them. 

"180... 185... 190... 195! Its been 195 days and I quit counting last week!" I shout at the both of them.  "They don't want me anymore," I add softly, blinking back tears.

"Hey kid, don't cry. You've still got us," Jack encouraged.  He glanced over at Diego, who vigorously nods in agreement.

"Fine then," I say, trying to sound confident, "We'll all run away together."

Not getting any arguments this time, I smile, satisfied and pick up my Alice in Wonderland book before hopping into bed.   I opened to the beginning and started to read out loud, "Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do..." I couldn't help but pause and think how much she related to Alice.  I, too, was getting very tired of having nothing to do.

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Nurse Tabitha pursed her lips as she watched the smallish blonde begin to talk out loud again.  The poor thing had entire conversations, completely unaware that she was holding both sides of the conversation. 

"How come they get along just great then?" the girl says out loud, cocking her head quizzically.  Her voice drops deeper than normal for this half of the conversation.  She opens her mouth to reply, and Tabitha hopes it'll at least be in her normal voice, but then she seems to become aware that she's being watched and falls silent.

Tabitha kept an eye on Leah for the rest of the meal, but the girl didn't speak another word.  I'll just check in on her later, the nurse thinks sympathetically. 

Awhile later, she stops by Leah's closed door and hears the girl shouting.  "195 days!" the girl shouts angrily.  Tabitha frowns wondering what that could mean. 

"Poor, deary," she murmurs, shaking her head as she hears the girl's voice drop back down to normal.  Turning to walk away, she brushes back a strand of her red hair.  It always saddened her to see cases like this, for they rarely got any better.  "And so young too," she laminates to herself as she hears back down the stairs.

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Yay! Part two! I'm in a mood to write so I might even start part 3 tonight.  If you're reading this please let me know what you think! And if you like what you read, don't forget to vote!
Thanks :)
~Shelby Laine