help,” he said as he turned and escorted the nurses out.
“Fuck. I’m stuck in this fucking room for another fucking day,” I grumbled as I looked over to Barry Eugene’s bed. “And to top it all off, it’s with that fucking moron.”
“Ugh!” Barry Eugene moaned as he limped into the room.
“Well, speak of the devil,” I said.
He sat in his bed and flopped back into his pillow; his feet still touched the floor.
“So where have you been all night, Barry Eugene?” I asked sarcastically.
“Oh, they had me here and there, be-bopping around, and talkin’ to nurses…sit, stand, walk. But I did find that, uh…druggy buggy. Is what they call it?”
Silent, I prepared myself for another incoherent ramble.
“Well, anyway, I went outside and got in it to go home. Well, I must have fallen asleep because the driver woke me up and asked me what I was doing. I told him my name, Barry Eugene, and that is what he should call me, and said to take me home, but he said he didn’t have my name on his schedule. I think he was lying, because the nurse said she would take care of it. I don’t know why they won’t let me leave! They know I’m going home tomorrow.”
I began to laugh. “Well, keep trying, Barry Eugene.”
“Okay?”
“I’m going out for a cigarette, I’ll see you later.”
Outside, the sun was so bright I squinted my eyes and refocused on the objects before me as I walked up the path. The employee parking lot was half-full, where a few motorcycles looked like they were sun tanning, and the scene on the small hill was abuzz with patients and employees who came out to catch a quick smoke. They blended together in a parade of colors. The only thing that seemed to move was their smoke and conversation toward the roof of the pavilion and the small sparks that escaped from under feet, as cigarettes took their last breath.
I glanced around for my friends, lit my cigarette, and noticed them as they sat in the middle of the grassy field by the pond on a red picnic table that had been taken from the pavilion. I cut through the employee parking lot, hopped onto the plush grass, and strolled toward them.
“Hey guys.”
“What’s up?” said Sam as he looked up from a chessboard.
Jack Jack and Sam were playing a game that had been going on since the day they arrived. Both were deathly silent, as Bobby and two men I faintly remember whispered to one another as they waited for the next move. In the air, I smelled a sweet perfume and enjoyed the moment until a sharp pain bit me on the behind.
“Hi, Matt,” Victoria smiled as she passed left of me and sat next to Jack Jack.
“Damn it, Squirrel, don’t interrupt me,” Jack Jack barked.
“Jesus Christ, it’s just a game. Sam usually beats you anyhow.”
The silence quickly took hold again, when I noticed that one of the two men walked toward me, counting a handful of money.
He was white, middle-aged, and short, approximately 5′2″ with his worn, dirty, tennis shoes. His greasy brown hair matched his complexion and his unwashed, ragged clothes.
“Hey, Matt, I’m Shorty. Nice to meet you and all that shit. Are you in, if she falls in the pond?”
“Who?”
“Fie.”
“Who’s Fie?” I said, getting irritated.
“Oh, that’s right. You weren’t outside when it happened. Well, she is this detox girl who is totally stoned beyond reason, and yesterday she was walking around the pond with the nurse when she fell in. Well, the nurse had to go rescue her so she wouldn’t drown. You had to see it.”
He laughed uncontrollably, waving his arms around, while the group sat at the picnic table, smiled, and stared at the game.
“So we’re taking bets on if she and the nurse go in today…if she comes outside.”
“How much?” I asked.
“Five bucks to enter and the pot right now is thirty-five bucks; the winners split it between them.”
“All right, here’s five,” I said as I pulled out my wallet. “Put me down for
“Fuck. I’m stuck in this fucking room for another fucking day,” I grumbled as I looked over to Barry Eugene’s bed. “And to top it all off, it’s with that fucking moron.”
“Ugh!” Barry Eugene moaned as he limped into the room.
“Well, speak of the devil,” I said.
He sat in his bed and flopped back into his pillow; his feet still touched the floor.
“So where have you been all night, Barry Eugene?” I asked sarcastically.
“Oh, they had me here and there, be-bopping around, and talkin’ to nurses…sit, stand, walk. But I did find that, uh…druggy buggy. Is what they call it?”
Silent, I prepared myself for another incoherent ramble.
“Well, anyway, I went outside and got in it to go home. Well, I must have fallen asleep because the driver woke me up and asked me what I was doing. I told him my name, Barry Eugene, and that is what he should call me, and said to take me home, but he said he didn’t have my name on his schedule. I think he was lying, because the nurse said she would take care of it. I don’t know why they won’t let me leave! They know I’m going home tomorrow.”
I began to laugh. “Well, keep trying, Barry Eugene.”
“Okay?”
“I’m going out for a cigarette, I’ll see you later.”
Outside, the sun was so bright I squinted my eyes and refocused on the objects before me as I walked up the path. The employee parking lot was half-full, where a few motorcycles looked like they were sun tanning, and the scene on the small hill was abuzz with patients and employees who came out to catch a quick smoke. They blended together in a parade of colors. The only thing that seemed to move was their smoke and conversation toward the roof of the pavilion and the small sparks that escaped from under feet, as cigarettes took their last breath.
I glanced around for my friends, lit my cigarette, and noticed them as they sat in the middle of the grassy field by the pond on a red picnic table that had been taken from the pavilion. I cut through the employee parking lot, hopped onto the plush grass, and strolled toward them.
“Hey guys.”
“What’s up?” said Sam as he looked up from a chessboard.
Jack Jack and Sam were playing a game that had been going on since the day they arrived. Both were deathly silent, as Bobby and two men I faintly remember whispered to one another as they waited for the next move. In the air, I smelled a sweet perfume and enjoyed the moment until a sharp pain bit me on the behind.
“Hi, Matt,” Victoria smiled as she passed left of me and sat next to Jack Jack.
“Damn it, Squirrel, don’t interrupt me,” Jack Jack barked.
“Jesus Christ, it’s just a game. Sam usually beats you anyhow.”
The silence quickly took hold again, when I noticed that one of the two men walked toward me, counting a handful of money.
He was white, middle-aged, and short, approximately 5′2″ with his worn, dirty, tennis shoes. His greasy brown hair matched his complexion and his unwashed, ragged clothes.
“Hey, Matt, I’m Shorty. Nice to meet you and all that shit. Are you in, if she falls in the pond?”
“Who?”
“Fie.”
“Who’s Fie?” I said, getting irritated.
“Oh, that’s right. You weren’t outside when it happened. Well, she is this detox girl who is totally stoned beyond reason, and yesterday she was walking around the pond with the nurse when she fell in. Well, the nurse had to go rescue her so she wouldn’t drown. You had to see it.”
He laughed uncontrollably, waving his arms around, while the group sat at the picnic table, smiled, and stared at the game.
“So we’re taking bets on if she and the nurse go in today…if she comes outside.”
“How much?” I asked.
“Five bucks to enter and the pot right now is thirty-five bucks; the winners split it between them.”
“All right, here’s five,” I said as I pulled out my wallet. “Put me down for
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