two left feet

[angel411]

After waking up in the morning at precisely 7:45, Alice dressed in just your regular forest green long sleeve fitted shirt, jeans, and converse. Seeing as she wasn’t officially working yet today, there was no need to look all ‘nurse’ like. She still had sometime until she was scheduled to come in and work, meaning she could wear whatever struck her fancy and that was definitely not scrubs. Seriously, was there any off duty person in the medical field who preferred to wear scrubs over regular clothes? Alice thought not, or at least she herself felt that way and was adamant about it.

Next she thoroughly brushed her teeth with her bright red toothbrush and fixed up her hair so it didn’t look too bed head like it always did in the morning. In truth, Alice didn’t care so much about looks, not really having the time for it, but with her semi wavy red hair, without any care, it would look more like a nest then hair, and while she had nothing against nests and birds, she would prefer not to look like that. Silently declaring her hair in a suitable condition Alice left the bathroom.

And now for some breakfast Alice thought to herself. Preferring not to eat at the canteen, Alice snagged from her secret stash a granola bar to eat on the way to the infirmary. It might not be the breakfast of champions but it would have to do. Besides, Alice would not even think to begin calling herself a breakfast person. While most considered it the most important meal of the day, Alice thought it unnecessary. After all, who is hungry at the start of the day? Lunch however, now that was definitely the best, strategically placed in the middle of the day when everyone is hungry. She unwrapped her granola bar and took a bight. Delicious She thought.

There was still some time to kill until Alice was needed at the infirmary, but she kind of preferred to be early to things, mostly out of a fear of being late, so she left her room and began her way to the infirmary wandering through the corridors not really paying attention to where she was walking. Alice was more interested in seeing if she could just naturally walk there with her feet leading the way instead of her mind. Biologically and psychologically speaking that was not possible, but Alice meant it more in a figurative kind of sense. Having been her for not so long, but for a substantial amount of time, Alice just wanted to see how well she actually knew that place.

But then again, by not paying attention to where she was walking of course that would lead to accidents. Tripping over her own two feet, Alice crashed to the ground with about as much grace as a football player. How typical of me she thought. After all, Alice wasn’t the most balanced and careful of people. One of the least actually. At this point it was actually quite comical and Alice laughed as she thought about it more. She a nurse, who was supposed to take care of others, couldn’t even take care of herself. Unwilling to get up just yet, Alice straightened herself and sat Indian style on the floor leaning against the wall.

Tagged: Riley

[RILEY JAMES TYLER]

Morning dawned, but that did not bring him any comfort. Riley lay flat against his mattress, his arms folded up under his chest and his cheek pressed to his pillow. Dark bags had formed under his eyes, but they were a constant plague. When all you heard at night was screaming and dark whispers it was impossible to sleep, and it was even worse at night. It had always been that way for him, and he was used to running on only a handful of hours of sleep each day, though now all he wanted to do was to fall asleep and find some peace, even if it was just for a little while. He closed his eyes wearily, letting the coolness of the morning air in his room and the slick feeling of the sheets lull him into a strange state, where he was hovering between sleeping and waking. He was teetering on the edge, about ready to drift off, when someone shouted in his ear to wake up.

Jerking back into a full state of awareness, Riley fell off of his bed and onto the cold floor with a dull slapping sound as his flesh met the floor. Looking around wildly, he looked up to see who had shouted at him, but the room was empty. Well, except for a tall man a few years older than himself, watching him from the corner with his arms folded loosely over his chest and a faint smirk on his face. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Riley said shortly. He was not in the mood to deal with Liam this morning. He was tired and wanted to sleep, but once again it was going to be stolen from him and he knew it. Damning the morning, he got back to his feet and he went over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of jeans. He pulled his pajama bottoms off and threw them onto his bed, yanking his jeans on afterwards. Riley put on some deoderant and then a fresh shirt, stooping to get his shoes on, the entire time completely aware that Liam was watching him. His temper flaring, Riley turned his head as he was doing up his laces, glaring at the other man. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

Liam rolled his eyes and said nothing. Snorting in derision, Riley walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Let Liam do what he wanted, Riley was not having any more part in it. It did not matter how many times the doctors told him that Liam was not real, that Riley had made him up and that he was a hallucination, Riley could never believe it. He could touch Liam, talk to him. Just because they could not see him did not mean he was not real. Or so Riley told himself.

Chewing on his fingernail, Riley turned down the corridor, heading for the infirmary to get his morning medications. It had become a routine of sorts. He got up, went to get his meds, maybe got some breakfast and had a smoke, and then the day went from there. Usually he took a morning nap since he barely got any sleep at night, but this morning he knew that he would wait. Scratching the back of his neck with his free hand, Riley stopped on his usual route when he saw one of the nurses huddled up on the floor near the wall. He stopped, looking down at her curiously. She would not be the first one that broke in this palce, and he knew she would not be the last.

[angel411]

With numerous others in the asylum, it came as no surprise to find others, such as the one currently staring down at her, walking through the corridor just like she was. However, if Alice was being honest with herself, they were nothing like she was, but just like everyone did every once in a while, Alice often lied to herself not wanting to face the truth and reality of the situation of the kids here. The truth of the matter was these kids were had serious issues and were clearly messed up partially by their own fault, but Alice preferred to almost ignore that and just will them better.

“What are you looking at?” Alice asked raising one eyebrow at him. Perhaps it wasn’t everyday he saw someone breaking down sitting on the floor, laughing crazily. No, scratch that, he’s in an asylum. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it was rude to stare?” She said. While this could potentially be interpreted as rude, Alice did not mean it in such a manner, and anyone who knew her would know such as thing. Alice was just too kind hearted of a person to be purposefully rude. This was just her stating her opinion. But then of course there was the issue that not everyone knew her exceptionally well, meaning her statement was left up to the guy to interpret as he wished, and Alice hoped and had a feeling he might just shrug it off and not take it to heart.

While being careful not to stare, Alice eyed him, trying to place why he looked familiar. By looks she could tell he was close to her age, but by process of elimination he was also a patient here at the asylum. As a nurse she dealt with many people so it wasn’t the easiest of tasks to remember exactly who was who, but she did after a moment recall while not his name, some facts about him. He was schizophrenic if she remembered correctly. Perhaps he daily came to the infirmary for his meds? Yes, that must be the reason why he was so familiar.

Then of course there was the fact that by reputation he was a druggie, something Alice greatly disliked. Not only was it illegal, but it was also dangerous. Those who did drugs also brought all of the negative affects upon themselves. Druggies know full well what they are doing and what the affects are, and although some might say that druggies can’t be blamed because they’re addicted, Alice felt it was their fault for starting in the first place. Also as a future nurse, she felt it was her duty to express her distaste for it vehemently. Drugs were just one of the few things she took a firm stance on.

[RILEY JAMES TYLER]

It was sort of amusing, really, watching the nurses in this place completely lose it every now and again. None of them seemed to last long, and those who did lost all sense of humanity and they were almost as bad as the patients they were trying to treat. This was appeared to be no different. Riley loved it. He loved when they learned that they were not superheroes, that they could not change anything or anyone around them like they had been told they could. Their lives sucked as much as the patients' lives did, just in a different way.

Riley raised an eyebrow at her, cocking his head to the side. He did not look over his shoulder as Liam joined them, standing beside Riley and looking at her with the same confusion that Riley was. "She's sort of a bitch, isn't she?" he asked. Riley merely nodded. She sure was in a bad mood, or else she was just like this all of the time. Maybe she lost her humanity already and was finally having a breakdown. Usually those two things were changed around, but then again everyone was different. She was not special and therefore she was no different.

"You're a bright little ray of sunshine," he muttered. Liam snorted behind him and moved on into the infirmary, disappearing from Riley's sight and never having been in the sight of anyone else. The joys of schizophrenia. The medications did not help much, either. He had been on dozens of different does, variations, and drugs and his body and mind would get used to them after a time and then it would either need a higher dosage or a change in medication.

That was where the drugs came in. When he was high, he felt good. The voices didn't stop, but they were more tolerable when he was stoned out of his mind. Heroin was the best out there for him because he could use it and it would cancel out all of his other medications and trump them, leaving them in the dust. He did not care if it was bad for him. If it made him feel better he was going to do it, as the track marks on his arms attested. Thankfully he had a bit saved up to take the edge off since he knew withdrawl was nothing short of painful, and frankly he was not ready to face that. Thankfully several of his family members were into drugs too, so it made visitation days a little more tolerable when they came bearing certain gifts.

[angel411]

Alice understood that many of the people here at the asylum were no better than troubled kids, so when told she was a bitch, Alice didn’t take it to heart. Half of the staff was loathed just for their position, while the other half was loathed because they really were crazy and evil. Alice certainly liked to hope that she was considered part of the earlier group, but either way she understood why someone might call her a bitch, and while she certainly disagreed with that statement Alice found it best not to argue with people she doesn’t really know, so she continued to act as if she heard nothing.

Ah sarcasm, the joy of a cutting remark. It was not a tone Alice favored for herself due to some negative connotations that came along with it, but it seemed to fit this guy here. Traits normally associated with sarcasm included rudeness, bad moods, and great levels of wit. Was Alice witty? Yes, but was she often rude and having bad moods, such as her one today? Not so much, hence the lack of sarcasm in her speech. Alice preferred to speak more in a straight forward cheerful manner. What you heard was what you got with Alice for the most part.

“I’d say I’m more like a blaze, except not before noon.” Alice said expressing her great disliked for the morning. She was just so tired during that time of day, unless she had coffee that is, which today she didn’t. “Alice Blaise to be more precise.” Alice said smiling slightly at her play on words. She now stood up, preferring to look the people she talked to in the eyes instead of having the listener look down on her. “But tomato tomahto really. Whatever floats your boat.” Alice said indicating that it was all the same to her. He could call her whatever he liked.

She frowned slightly disliking the height difference between the two of them. The point of getting up from her comfy spot on the floor had been so she didn’t have to be looked down upon; rather she could talk to him and not to a pair of legs. Alice however, still found herself being looked down upon due to her completely average height and his exceptionally tall one. Couldn’t for once some guy have a normal stature and not some crazy tall one? Was it that much to ask for? She didn’t think so but apparently it was because whenever she spoke to guys she always felt so petite and like such a midget, which she wasn’t really.

[RILEY JAMES TYLER]

She really was being a bitch about the situation. How was he supposed to act upon spotting a nurse on the floor laughing like that? Was he supposed to just walk past and treat it like another hallucination? If that would have been him on the floor she would have been all over him to see if he was alright and try to get him to the infirmery for more drugs to calm him down or something. But no, she was a nurse, so her breakdowns were perfectly acceptable. What a hypocrite. Then again, they all were. They preached that they did not judge and that they wanted to help, but Riley knew better. They judged just as much as the next person that came in here and they didn't want to help, they wanted to get paid. There was a difference.

Riley started chewing on another fingernail, having gnawed his other one down completely. His fingers were always in a state, and the nails were usually gone and chewed down to the very skin and it would not be ther first time he had chewed them so much that they had bled. He did not care. It would hold him over until he got back into his room to take a hit and take the edge of. Before he had come here he was high pretty much all of the time, but now that he could not get all of the drugs he wanted readily he had to ration himself. It was hard and he was always in a state of mild discomfort, but a little in his system was better than nothing.

"Aren't you clever," he muttered, wincing as he reached skin on his finger. Looking down, he saw that he had managed to chew the last of the nail away that he could reach and now dribbles of blood were coming up from under the nail where he had torn the delicate skin. He wiped his finger on the side of his led, staining the fabric red in the process.

She got to her feet, but it made little difference. She was a munkin compared to him. Then again, a lot of people were like that around him, seeing as he was was over six feet tall. Compared to her he might as well be a giant. Oh well, not much he could do about it. Riley scratched his forearm with his non-bleeding hand, wincing a bit. God, he needed a fix. "Well, tah," he said, turning to go into the infirmary to get his medication so he could go back to his room for the real medicine.

[angel411]

Well this was a rather pleasant way to start a day off. That was if Alice was the kind of person who loved giving off negative impressions and having people dislike her, which she didn’t. This encounter was very much like his now bleeding finger: pointless and just a tad bit painful, only in their situation it was painful in the sense that the conversation, if you could call it such a thing, was dull, and not very cheerful. All in all, it was not a very promising start to a day, something Alice loathed. Mornings were bad enough to start with, but a bad beginning already makes things grim.

Alice also wondered what she had tone to get him in such a foul mood. Did she actually do something to insult him? Was he naturally like this? Perhaps something occurred in his passed causing him to be like this or perhaps it was the more likely option also known as schizophrenia. Yes, that was probably it, and would definitely explain it all. Maybe he had yet to take his meds yet this morning. Realizing that she was slowly reverting back to her nurse ways, where everything could be explained through medical means, Alice snapped out of it.

She eyed the blood he wiped off his finger for a moment before dismissing it. Alice really did dislike when people bit their nails, which were there for a reason, so why go about taking them away? Besides, it was only common knowledge that at some point there would be no more nail left to chew and then the biter would bleed, and how Alice loved blood, although not in any sadistically sense. She just found it fascinating.

“Why yes I do fancy myself as rather clever. Clever enough to know that it is possible and entirely likely for one to be able to here another, even if words are mumbled.” Alice said. The ever so honest and straight forward Alice preferred that if someone had an issue with her, that they say it clearly and to her face because that way she could try to resolve it and work through the issues. Mumbling sarcastic comments under ones breath did nothing, so then why speak like that? Besides, she knew he had a voice so why not use it properly?

So this was goodbye? Not likely. The infirmary was Alice’s domain and exactly where Alice was heading to work like a nurse trainee should do. What a coincidence, and something he in his infinite wisdom failed to realize. “As much as I’d love for this delightful get-together to end, a predicament is at hand seeing as I too am heading to the infirmary." Alice said. Wanting for this to turn out a bit for the better, Alice added, “So perhaps we could, I don’t know, maybe tolerate each other, or something like that.”

[RILEY JAMES TYLER]

Generally, Riley considered himself to be a happy enough guy. Well, maybe happy was not the best term. He had been dealt a shit hand at life and now he was playing the best hand he could would the cards given to him. It sucked, but he needed to either learn to deal with it or he would be even more miserable than he was already.

His past was something that people had tried to make him talk about but Riley was not a fan. They had his files and obviously knew what his past was like, so why did they need him to talk about it? It did not help at all. If anything it made him angry, being forced to relive aloud all of the past horrors he had been forced to endure. Who wanted to talk about how their mother was little better than a hooker with more kids than she could probably count or even remember? Why did it matter why he did drugs so long as he got some relief from the constant barrage he put up with from his schizophrenia? Who really cared that he saw things that weren't there? No one. And he wanted it to stay that way.

Riley rolled his eyes, shaking his head a bit. If she wanted to be that way then fine, more power to her. Right now he just wanted to go to the infirmary and get his medication so he could say that he took it despite the fact that it did not even work and then go outside for a cigarette, then maybe breakfast and finally a hit from some of the drugs he had stashed away.

Great. He thought he could shake her off but now she was going to go in there with him. Damn nurses and their meddling ways. "Whatever trips your trigger," he said, going into the ward, sucking on his bleeding finger.