The Institute

Chapter Six- Picture of Brady

After the strange visit with Josh, I went back to my room and waited for break. I wanted to tell Sean about what Josh had said and see what he thought. I worked on biology but I couldn’t really concentrate, so after a while, I just gave up and sat on my bed. I’d been sitting for about an hour when Nurse Linda came in.

“Are you ready for break?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said, sighing.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” Like I was actually going to tell her anything.

“Alright, well, come on then.”

We walked down hall to the cafeteria and community room. I saw Sean sitting on the couch watching television. I walked over and sat down next to him.

He looked over at me then back up at the screen.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hi,” he replied.

“Do you want to know something really weird that my brother said?” I asked him.

“Sure, why not?” He turned to me.

I told him everything and when I had finished, for a split second his face looked worried, but then it returned to the normal blank look he had.

“Weird,” he mumbled. He turned back to the TV.

“So, what do you think?” I asked. He practically blew up in my face.

“Look, I don’t care about your stupid ghosts!” he screamed. I looked around but none of the nurses came over to quiet him down. “Ghosts aren’t real!”

“I’m not saying they are,” I protested. “My brother is. I was just asking you what you thought about it.” He turned back to his show and glared at it. I wasn’t even sure he was really watching it. Then it hit me: He was probably just mad because my family came to see me and his didn’t.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. He looked at me funny.

“For what? You didn’t do anything?” he said.

I shrugged. He laughed and rolled his eyes. Then he got up and walked to hall that led to his room. I settled into the old couch and looked up at the television. There was nothing good on so I just sat the rest of the break.

---------------------

I didn’t see Sean the rest of the day. He didn’t come to lunch or dinner or any of the breaks in between. I figured he was still upset about his family so I didn’t bother him.

The next day Nurse Linda came in to give me my medicine and take me to breakfast. When we started on our way to the cafeteria I decided to ask her about Sean.

“Do you happen to know if one of the patients—Sean—is okay?” I asked. I saw Nurse Linda’s face turn kind of pail but she stared straight ahead and kept walking.

“What’s his last name?” she asked. I realized then that Sean had never told me his last name.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Well, we don’t have a Sean,” the nurse said. Before I could get another word in, Nurse Linda gave me a little push into the cafeteria. “Here you are,” she said. “Enjoy your breakfast.” Then she turned and went to sit with the other nurses in the corner.

I turned toward the tables and spotted Sean. I hurried over without even getting breakfast.

“Hey,” he said, looking up. “Are you okay?” he asked.