Read Online The Plain White Room by Oliver Phisher - Free Book Online Page B

get his mind of his never ending research. The nurses had encouraged him to let go of his research and relax. He got on a running machine that looked out of the main room’s window. Lepus started to jog, looking out on the rising sun.
    Feeling warm and free. His mind started to drift to Alice and how they would sometimes get hot chocolate  of a morning before he went to teach a class. They would watch the sunrise.
    Lepus had always been an early riser. It wasn’t so easy to get Alice out the door. But the promise of hot chocolate always seemed to turn her jocular moaning into smiling excitement.
    Jumping off the treadmill, Lepus walked back to his room to have a shower before breakfast. Walking down the hallway, he noticed a guitar lying against a doorway to one of the arts and crafts rooms.
    Knowing he had gotten up for too early for breakfast, he sat in the hall playing the guitar.
    His mind wandered, playing random little acoustic tunes he knew. As he started strumming Hallelujah, he saw Fiona walking down the hallway. She was quite a calm woman, speaking with soft self-consciousness. She had dyed blonde hair with dark roots sculpted into a reluctant bob-cut as her natural curls seemed to rebel and continued to curve.
    She stood with her hands clasped together in front of her. Wearing a blue pastel coloured track suit. Her gold chain necklace visible only by an inch around her neck.
    “Oh that’s beautiful,” she said as he finished.
    “Ah thanks,” Lepus said, putting down the guitar and brushing his blonde locks out of his eyes.
    “I don’t usually play in front of people,” he said as he stood up. “I’ve never been artistic, unlike my siblings.”
    “Oh, you should!” She said smiling.
    “Hey, do you want to get some coffee upstairs? The coffee here is terrible; they have a café upstairs,” Fiona said.
    Lepus shuffled where he was standing. She had such a pleasant tone, and he felt it would be so rude to say no, but he hated the idea of breaking his routine.
    “Okay sure,” he said.
    Fiona smiled, and they started walking to the ward doors. There were two sliding doors which they walked through. Then they turned left and went through a smaller door which led to a stairwell.
    “I didn’t even know this was here,” Lepus said looking around with concern. “I didn’t think there was anything except the exit doors past the sliding doors of the ward.”
    “I have trouble sleeping, so I like to come up here early, I can’t stand the coffee downstairs. It’s horrible.”
    Fiona opened the door to the third floor from the stairwell, and they both walked through. It was an empty cafeteria with a courtyard to the left through a row of windows and glass doors. The courtyard must have been on top of part of the ward, and there was a large white wall like in the courtyard downstairs.
    To the right of the cafeteria, Lepus followed her without a thought. She walked up to an automated coffee machine and pulled a styrofoam cup from the machine. Then placed it under the nozzle and pushed a button. Lepus didn’t ever drink coffee, not wanting to embarrass himself by doing it wrong. Once the coffee had finished, she picked it up and held it under her nose inhaling its smooth aroma with a deep breath. Then smiled and took a few steps away from the machine. Lepus replicated the process. Then followed her to a nearby table. For a moment, they sat in silence.

    Lepus stared down at his coffee. Being so preoccupied with not having the machine spray him with hot milk or mess up in some other embarrassing way. He had completely forgotten to put sugar in his coffee. The taste appalled him. Not wanting to seem foolish he sat drinking it one small sip at a time.
    “So I don’t know if this is impolite to ask but do you mind me asking why you are here?” Fiona said still holding her cup with both hands. Warming them with the heat of the cup.
    “Ah no. Not, not at all I don't mind.”
    “A girl I suppose.” he said,