Alive

"Beg."

TW: Violent treatment, crying, purposefully hurting someone

My legs are killing me. God, all I'd like to do is sit down. I've been walking up and down this cafeteria for about an hour now, pouring glasses of water for these ungreatful children. Not a single one has said thank you or even please. They're just laughing with their friends. One of them stepped on my foot.

Oh.

Right, okay, I get it. I'd suppose this is "how adults feel when I treat them with disrespect" or some bullshit that sounds like it was made up by an old man.

The atmosphere in this room is loud. There aren't any windows, with the exception of three large ones at the front, which lead outside to what looks like an unused feild by the side of the building. The walls in here are a more pale blue, the floor still light oak as the recpetion. The tables are darkwood, with six people seated at each. There's around 24 tables; each table is full, bar one or two with a person missing.

The lights glare down, making me feel almost faint as I walk up to the counter again, pouring a cup of water for some snotty dark-haired boy and iritatedly putting it on the table infront of him.
"You know, I don't think this is full enough. Get me more." He smirks with entitlement at me.

"C-come on man, I'm t-tired, just drink your w-water."
He purses his lips.
"I'm not sure.. Should I find Nurse Beckett and tell her you were being rude to us?"

Suddenly, a stern voice comes from the door to the hall. "Oliver. Don't be prissy."
The boy looks down to his plate.

The man who said this looks to be about thirty, and hones a trimmed brown beard with matching mid-length hair. He begins to walk over.

"I do apologise, he is my son, and likes to eat with the other kids to feel more at home. He thinks because his father owns the place that it makes him entitled to things." Then, the man thwacks his son around the back of his head, and grabs my wrist, pulling me to a small area away from the tables. All of the children are looking at us, silently.

"Young man, I've just come here to have a little word. My name is Mr Tondene, and, well, I hear from your parents that you have a little bit of an authority problem."

Oh my God. Not this again.

"I just want to make something clear to you."

Very quickly, almost so quickly that I don't process it, he looks his right foot around the back of my legs, putting pressure on the backs of my knees, instantly causing me to drop down onto the floor, into a prayer position. A few of the kids laugh.

I gasp in pain as he roughly grabs my chin and pulls my head up to me looking towards him. "You will only ever need to speak to me to ask for something. But, you will never, once while you are here, be asking me for anything."

He places one of his feet onto the front of my knees, which are on the floor. Even through the fabric of my clothes, it hurts.

"You will be begging me."

Tears begin to pool in my eyes from the different pressure points that he's pressing onto. "So, I want to hear it. Do you want to go back to your room, or do you want to stay and continue doing this for next group of people eating lunch?"

Swallowing my pride, I sniffle. "Please."

Mr Tondene raises his eyebrows in anticipation.

"Please, p-please can I go b-back to my room S-sir?"

"I'm not convinced you really want it that badly." He looks around the room. "Stand."

I do as he says, slightly worried. "Go and walk towards that wall." He remarks, pointing to the wall behind me.

I nod slowly, turning and beginning to walk.
Again, but more violently this time, he kicks the back of my knees and I drop to the floor again, this time crying out in pain.

His feet circle around me to be once again standing infront of me. "Keep your head down, you don't even deserve to look at me. People like you are the scum of the Earth. Now,"

"Beg."

I can feel myself almost sobbing. I just want to go to bed. "Please, oh my God, p-please, I'm s-sorry, p-please let me go to m-my room, I'll behave, p-please, Sir."

All of the kids in the room are staring at me, I can feel it, and it only adds to all of the sensations I'm feeling.
He stands quietly for atleast a minute, before I can't take the silence anymore and begin loudly sobbing onto the floor of the cafeteria. He stands, staring down at me and allowing me to cry for atleast a minute, then he shushes me.

"Good lad. Now, up up, you've embarrased yourself enough. I'll show you where your room is. And, I don't do this for many patients, what do you say?"

"Th-thank you."
I cringe at how pathetic I sound.

And he guides me out of the hall. I can hear that when we leave, the children begin talking again. He walks briskly, clearly expecting me to follow him. I still don't have any shoes, which makes me feel really inadequite compared to all of the adults who do have them.

When walking down a rather wide corridor, a loud scream rings out to the right of us. I stop walking and look in the direction of it, which Mr Tondene seems to clock onto.
"Oh, that's just the electroshock therapy. You shouldn't have to worry about that unless you're a queer, don't get yourself worked up over it."

I nod, swallowing in slight fear as we reach the bottom of a staircase. Just then, the same nurse who brought me in walks past.
"Ah, perfect timing. Could you take this young man up the stairs to his room please?"

She nods, looking to me. "Of course, Sir."

When he walks past me, the man grips my shoulder firmly. "I hope we'll get along while you're here, young man. Now, you treat Nurse Lilabet with the exact same amount of respect you'd give to me, and that applies to all of my staff. Is that understood?"

"Yes, s-sir, yeah."
He nods, stepping away and swiftly pushing me downwards so that I fall onto my hands and knees on the staircase, whining when the sharp edges of the wooden steps dig into my skin. Nurse Lilabet reaches down to help me up, beginning to walk up the stairs.

"Don't mind him, will you? He's like that to everyone, it isn't personal I promise."

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1158 words