WillyWood Hospital

Chapter 25: A Fatal Smoke

" Foxy just defended you " Mark says. " That's so weird. I thought she hated me " Martha says. " Martha you should go to the nurse and get checked out " I say. " She's gonna have to tell Ms. Simpson and Ms. Robinson what caused the bruises " Mark says. " I'm ready to " Martha says. " Do you need us to be with you ? " I ask. " I don't even wanna be doing work anyway. I prefer to support you any day " Mark says. Martha smiles and says " Thank you guys for the comfort and support but i got this one. You guys need to hurry up and finish your work so i can hang with you guys " You probably won't be hanging with us until tomorrow. We still have to clean the cafeteria, make dinner, and clean the basement " I say. " I'm scared to clean the basement " Mark says. " Basement ? " Martha ask. " Yeah we have a basement that Mark and i are just figuring out today by one of the guards " I say. " It's probably cold, dark, big, and messy " Mark says. " Sounds like my type of place " Martha says nodding. I laugh and say " Martha i know what your doing. Your procrastinating. You need to go in there now " " Kayla's right. The longer you wait the worse the situation " Mark says. Martha signs and says " Alright. I'm leaving now. See you guys at dinner. Maybe " Mark and i hug Martha and watch her leave. " I'm proud of her " I say. " I hope Dante gets electrocuted " Mark says. " That will be awesome to see " I say. Mark laughs and says " We need to clean the cafeteria now " I nod and Mark and i leave the laundry room. We enter the cafeteria and it looks messier than last time. " They just get worse by the day " Mark says shaking his head. I sign and say " Well lets get started " We finish cleaning the cafeteria in an hour.  Mark sits down in a chair and wipes off fake sweat. I cross my arms and say " I should be the one doing that. I am the real sweaty person " Mark was being lazy this go round. He cleaned for like 20 minutes and spent 40 minutes talking to a janitor about cars. I'm gonna get him back when we have to clean up after dinner. Mark and i go in the kitchen to find Ms. Anderson dancing to Drag Me Down by One Direction. She stopped once we came in. " Into boy bands i see " Mark says. Ms. Anderson turns off the radio and says " Not boy bands. One Direction " I laugh and say " Who's your favorite boy ? " " Niall. He loves food. I wish he can try mines " Ms. Anderson says. " If he tried yours Directioners would hate you for killing him " Mark says. Ms. Anderson throws a drying rag at Mark and says " Shut up " I laugh and say " Alright you can leave now " Ms. Anderson goes out the back door. " Let me cook dinner " Mark says. " You can cook ? " I ask. " Only one thing and i want to cook it " Mark says. " What is the food that you know how to cook ? " I ask. Mark goes in the freezer and takes out steak. " Steak " Mark says. I raise my eyebrows and say " Who taught you how to make that ? " " My foster uncle " Mark says. " He taught you how to make such a manly food at such a young age " I say. " I know. It's finally paying off " Mark says placing the steak on a paper towel. " My grandma did not teach me this " I say. " I'm not surprised. Watch and learn babe " Mark says getting out the ingredients. " How long does it take for steak to get to room temperature ? " I ask. " 30 minutes " Mark says. " We have 3 hours until lunch time. When will the steak be done cooking ? " I ask. " It varies per steak. I'm making well done steak. So for me 10 minutes " Mark says. " What are we going to do while we wait for the steak to get to room temperature ? " I ask. " Hang out " Mark says while setting the timer for 30 minutes. I open the fridge and take out a jar of pickles. The jar is Ms. Anderson's but i'm going to eat it anyway. " You'll spoil your dinner " Mark says doing a grandma impression. I laugh and say " No i won't. A jar of pickles won't make me full. Don't worry baby i'll eat your steak " Mark chuckles and sits on the counter. " Do you like being a girl ? " Mark ask. " Yeah because men by us free drinks " I say. Mark laughs and says " You drink ? " I laugh and say " I've only tried vodka " " What the hell ? That's a strong one. When'd you do this ? " Mark ask. " In Pre-K some teenage boy lured me into drinking it. I did and it really burned my throat. Have you tried it ? " I say. " No and i'm not planning on to " Mark says. The rest of our time went like that. Mark and i just talking about random things. The timer beeped. Mark turns it off. " The only meat that i won't have a problem with cooking is chicken. The rest is a no no " I say. " Why ? " Mark ask heating the skillet under the broiler. " Because chicken looks the prettiest to handle unlike the others which always seems to drip blood and all " I say disgusted. " But i wanna teach you how to make steak " Mark says rubbing the steak with oil. " I'm learning visually not hands on " I say. " Why are you so scared of blood ? It's in your body " Mark says placing the skillet over high heat. " Because i just hate how it feels and sometimes the smell can be strong " I say. " So your scared every time Aunt Flow visits ? " Mark says searing the steak. " Yes. When i first got my period which was at age 13 i thought something was wrong with me and i was the only person that had it " I say. " Nobody told you about periods before then ? " Mark ask broiling the steak. " Isn't this a weird topic to talk about while cooking ? " I ask feeling uncomfortable. " Not while cooking but while eating sure " Mark says resting the steak. " Looks good " I say. " Thanks " Mark says slicing the steak. Mark puts the steak slices on each tray. I go out the back door to find Ms. Anderson leaning against the wall sleeping. I wave over for Mark to come. "  Eww she looks like an orge " Mark says. I laugh and go in the cabinet. I take out the salt and go back outside. I dump the salt in her mouth causing her to wake up coughing. " Wakey wakey " I say. " What the hell ? You tryna choke me to death ? " Ms. Anderson ask. " That would be a miracle " Mark says. Ms. Anderson gives Mark the finger. " Shove that nasty ass finger up your ass " I say. Ms. Anderson groans then goes in the kitchen. RING RING RING. Mark and i get in line to get our food. Mark and i sit down at our table. Foxy walks by and i stop her. " Hey Foxy. I just wanted to ask you why you defended Martha ? " I say. " I felt the need to. Anyone who goes through abuse i would love to help. I had no idea Dante was doing that to her. So i punched him so he can feel how it feels to be hit by a girl " Foxy says. " That was a shocker since you don't like us " I say. " Don't get the idea that we are friends but i'm not your bully anymore either. But if anyone messes with you let me know " Foxy says. " I understand. You don't want to be seen with us uncool folks " I say. " You guys are cool in your own way. Just not my cool " Foxy says. I smile and say " Thanks " Foxy returns the smile and walks to her table. I sit back down. " I see someone made a new friend " Mark says. " She's not my friend. We're acquaintances. I respect her now " I say. " Well are you gonna eat my steak ? " Mark ask. I smile and say " You know i never had a steak " Mark's eyes widen and says " What ? Where have you been ? " I laugh and say " I've been here just not introduced to steak " " Well i'm honored that the first steak your having is cooked by me " Mark says. I smile and grab my fork and knife. " Why would you cook steak if we need silverware to eat it ? This plastic does not help at all " I say throwing them on the table. Mark laughs and says " I didn't think of that at the time " " How are we suppose to eat this ? " I ask. " Eat how cavemen and cavegirls did. With their bare hands " Mark says. " Cavemen and cavegirls did not eat steak " I say. " They ate cow so technically yes. Just raw " Mark says. " They had spheres ! " I say. Mark laughs and says " Are you gonna keep debating with me on how and what cavemen and cavegirls ate or eat my steak ? " I sign and pick up the steak. I'm turning it over analyzing every detail. " Steak's getting cold " Mark says. I bite into the steak. " Finally " Mark says clapping. I swallow then smile. " This is my new favorite food " I say. Mark smiles and says " I'm glad you like it " I widen my eyes and say " Like ? I love this ! " Mark smiles and says " Not all steaks taste the same now. I don't want you ordering steak from somewhere and be disappointed in the taste "  " Ok. Your steak's are my favorite food " I say. Mark smiles and we eat the rest of our lunch. RING RING RING. A boy walks by try's to throw his tray away but his milk carton fell off the tray and landed on the floor. He looks at it and leaves it there. " Uh uh ! You saw that i saw that he saw that ! Pick it up and stop being lazy " I say. The boy gives me a weird look and walks away. I stood up and was about to chase after him but Mark held me back. " Slob ! " I shout. Mark sits me down. RING RING RING. Mark and i dump our trays and go to the laundry room. " Last clean up for the day " Mark says. " This day is taking forever to end " I say. Mark and i enter the laundry room and take our clothes out the dryer. " I love the smell of clothes that just came out the dryer " Mark says putting his shirt on his face. I laugh at how cute Mark looks. Mark and i leave the laundry room and go to our cells to put our clothes there. I fold them and put them in my draw. That took around 40 minutes. If i was with Mark it would've took me 2 hours. I go out my cell and stand in front of Mark's. He was still folding clothes. He was having trouble. " You don't know how to fold clothes either ? " I ask. Mark shakes his head and says " I'm self teaching myself " " Can i go in there and help him ? " I ask. " No " The guard says. " You'll be watching us " I say. " It's against the rules " The guard says. " But i need him. He's suppose to be helping me clean the cafeteria as part of our punishment " I say. " He's staying in here alone " The guard says. Mark laughs and says " Go on without me " " You just want me to do half the work so it can be easier for you to clean when you come " I say crossing my arms. Mark smiles and nods. I scoff and say " You know where i'll be " " Ok. I'll be right behind you " Mark says. I playfully roll my eyes and walk to the cafeteria. As i'm walking in the hallway Levi stops me. " Kayla Martha's in the nurse's office " Levi says. " Why ? " I ask concerned. " A severe asthma attack " Levi says. I run towards the nurse's office with no concerns besides her.