One Flew INTO The Cuckoos Nest

Chapter Two

The cafeteria of the ward isn't too big. Jenny keeps telling me it's not the ward, it's not the ward, but you know what? I don't care. There is something wrong with this place, I can feel it. I can feel it! Something seeping into my pores there's something crawling beneath my skin something making red blots on my arms I swear something is trying to kill me from the inside out!
"Why are you scratching your arms like that? Knock it off, you'll make yourself bleed." Jenny scolds me from across the table through a mouth full of sandwich.
My eyes snap to her blue ones and the feeling disappears. "I'm sorry, something was trying to kill me." I say with a sigh.
"Jesus Christ what the hell is wrong with you?" A boy says next to Jenny. She elbows him in the gut, "Ow, Christ Jenny what's your problem I'm just making God damned conversation!" He says and I cover my ears, he's a very loud person.
"Knock it off Drake you're going to scare him and I just got his nose out of that book." Jenny warns the boy.
I look at Drake and his large frame and brown eyes. He looks like a panda bear. Big and fluffy, but man oh man is he loud! "Hey, I'm Ethan Cross." I say sticking my hand out like Mc Murphy would have.
He stares at it a moment, "What the hell is wrong with you?" He asks again loudly. Now all the ward patients are looking over here to see what all the commotion is.
I smile, "I guess I'm crazy." Is all I say.
Drake nods and I thank god he doesn't open his fat mouth again. He stands with an empty tray and walks off. Conversation resumes slowly and Jenny leans across the table. "Don't mind him, he's got some sort of turrets or something I think." She tells me.
"I figured." I say and stare down at my food. "Boy that lunch lady sure is particular bout where she puts the food." I say looking at how the corn and mash potatoes and beef are separated. Big brick walls separate them lined with cannons and little body guards. I watch as one corn pokes at the wall. Then another and another and suddenly a war begins and the potatoes are bombing the corn and the beef is setting gunfire through the potatoes.
"Ewww, Ethan! That's gross!" Jenny exclaims and I look at her then back at my tray to see my food all mixed.
"There was a war." I explain but I see and she does too that my previously untouched fork is in my hand covered in food.
Jenny sighs, "Just eat." She advises and I nod forking in the food.
"So is everyone here as normal as you?" I ask. I look around at the many kids all eating and making conversation as if we were in the cafeteria of the school. Knowing me I'm not sure we aren't in the school, I'm not sure this isn't a made up reality, I'm not sure of a thing really.
"No, not all of them. Some of them are schizophrenic, I bet that's what you are. Some are depressed like me. Some are loud and obnoxious like Drake. Some kids are just here because their parents got sick of them and made up some story to put them here. All depends on the person."
I nod, "So what's wrong with this place then?" I ask. I'm sort of confused. If this place isn't full of crazy people then why am I here anyway?
"Nothing. It's better than home. It's got good food and plenty of friends and the staff is nice. In fact it's only here to make us all better." She says.
But I'm still not convinced. In my book Harding said something just like that about his ward and Miss Ratched. I just got to keep looking, there just has to be something wrong here.
"Hey Jenny, who's the knew kid?" Some guy asks sitting where Drake just left. I looked at him, taking in his long black hair and pale lanky form.
"I'm Ethan, perfectly capable of speaking for myself." I say, "Who are you." The boy gives me an odd look and an awkward silence takes over.
"Ethan this is Andrew, he's a home reject." Jenny says after a moment. Andrew just nods as if verifying that this is the truth. I don't think Jenny'd lies to me anyway.
"A home reject?" I ask looking at him.
"Parents decided I was too different for them." He shrugs and then I see it. His black hair is fine wire. He has three unnatural green eyes and his lips are blood red. He stands tall, almost hitting his head on the ceiling, but he's thin as a flag pole. He nods once more to me than disappears back into the cafeteria.
"Did you see how many eyes that guy had?" I exclaim to Jenny. She just smiles at me and shakes her head. I watch her nose wrinkle like Christmas paper as she laughs, her voice a beautiful bell. I can't imagine anything more beautiful than that sound.
"Alright everyone it's time for bed please head to your respective rooms." A voice comes on overhead and I flinch.
"Alright that's our cue to go." Jenny sighs and stands up. I follow her to the tray return and back down the hall from earlier. I was right, my rooms is right across from hers.
"Thanks for showing me around." I say looking at my feet which are playing footsie like a pair of nervous children at church.
"No problem. Night!" She said with a grin and I watch as she turns and closes the door to her room behind her.
Instantly I feel cold. I walk into my own room and sigh. She is an angel I swear it. And I didn't believe in those until today.
"Hey pal, mind sleeping on the bottom bunk? I've always had the top." A mousy voice sounds from above and I look up to see a scrawny little boy sitting in the large top bunk of my bed.
"Okay, sure." I say and sit on the bottom bunk.
"I'm Ricky by the way." He says and I nod.
"Ethan."
Moments pass and I all but forget Ricky is there when the nurse comes in with little plastic cups and one red and one blue pill.
"Red for you." She hands me it, "And blue for you." Then she is gone.
I look at the pill in my palm and shove it in my pillow case. I never took pill before and I'm not taking them now.
I stare up at the bunk above me and think. And think.
And I think I fall asleep and have a nightmare of the bunk crushing me.
That or I think I am dead.