Flux

torn. The TV dominated the front of the room and it was at this the other five people present stared, glassy-eyed. There were three women and two men; Iain didn’t think they looked very ill apart from one of them, a middle aged lady who was drooling as she rocked back and forth. Two people on the TV were shouting at each other; Iain couldn’t stand Eastenders, finding it more than depressing at the best of times. He inwardly laughed at the thought of showing it to people who were already in poor mental health.
    Untangling one of the plastic chairs from the others, he carried it over to the side of the sofa where one of the women sat; a young girl, he guessed to be in her twenties. She looked like the most likely candidate for him to have something in common with.
    “So, what are you in for then?” he asked, turning towards her.
    She looked at him blankly for a second before screaming; “get away from me you monster. You’re evil. HELP. HELP. Somebody help me.”
    “Shit. Sorry, really I am. Shit. Shit.” Iain got up and backed to the door just as two nurses came running in; “Sorry, I didn’t do anything!”
    They brushed past him to the girl, who now stood crying all over her pink pyjamas.
    Iain ran back to his room but became disorientated; trying one door, then another to find them locked. He tried all of them, tugging at the handles but none let him in. Slumping to the floor, he too started to cry.
    Does she know? Am I evil?
    Eventually the nurses came and showed him back to his bed.

Chapter Twenty-One
    Buckaroo

    The following morning found Iain unable to organise his thoughts. After lying in bed for a while, he decided to get up and see if there was any breakfast on offer. Leaving his room he discovered that just opposite, one of the doors which had been locked the previous day now stood open and the sound of chatter could be heard coming from inside.
    He’d managed to find the dining room; inside there were several of the other patients sitting eating, some were in groups of two or three, and some were alone. He spied the girl who’d called him evil, she was one of those who sat alone.
    All the tables had at least one person sitting at them which made Iain uneasy, he didn’t want to risk another confrontation, thinking he wouldn’t be able to handle it so early in the morning. He moved to where two men sat talking;
    “Is anybody sitting there?” he asked.
    “No, go for it,” said the man, nodding towards the plastic seat.
    “Hi, I’m Iain,” thinking it only polite to introduce himself.
    “I’m Adrian, and this is Geoff,” indicating to his companion. Geoff looked at the ground, scraping his feet on the tiles. One of his eyes twitched with a nervous tic. “You have to help yourself to cereal,” nodding in the direction of a long table at the back of the room which had on it an array of single portion boxes of breakfast cereals, a jug of milk, paper bowls and plastic spoons.
    “Thanks.” He got back up and went over. The portions were small so he had two, a box of Frosties and one of Coco Pops and mixed them together. The paper bowls were also small and some of the milk spilled over the side when he poured it.
    Carrying his breakfast back to the table, instead of sitting down he went to speak to one of the nurses who were milling about. “Is there any chance of a proper bowl and spoon please?” he asked.
    The nurse looked at him and shook her head, “I’m afraid not.”
    “Why not? That’s ridiculous.”
    “It’s the rules I’m afraid.”
    “Why?”
    “In case one of you tries to hurt yourself.”
    “With a spoon?”
    “I’ve seen more innocent things be used as weapons.”
    “But I won’t.”
    “Sorry.”
    Iain, robbed of the will to fight by the drugs which coursed through his veins, sighed, shook his head and returned to the table to eat his breakfast.
    “What was that about?” asked Adrian.
    “Not allowed a proper bowl and spoon. They think we’re fucking kids.”
    “I know. Watch ‘em. They put things in the food too!”
    “I’m sure they don’t,” then, “What kind of things?”
    “Poison!”
    “Why would they do that?”
    “Are you calling me a liar?”
    “No.”
    “You are, you’re calling me a fucking liar. Cunt. I’ll fucking have you!”
    “Woah; hold on a minute!”
    Adrian was up which made Iain instinctively also jump to his feet, spilling the contents of his bowl over the table. He raised his hands to signal he wanted no trouble