Of Lakes, Mysteries and the Odd Lunatic

Chapter VI: In which Lawrence is visited by a juvenile vandal

Chapter VI

In which Lawrence is visited by a juvenile vandal

The little brass bell above the door tinkled as the string it was attached to was jerked violently. A few seconds later it was jerked again.

“Alright, alright, you can come in!” The large mahogany door to Lawrence’s office opened and in the doorway stood a sweet little girl of eleven, bright red hair done up in two curled plaits behind her head and wearing a blue and white chequered dress. She wore ballet shoes over white tights.

Lawrence frowned down at her. “What are you doing here, Isobel? And more importantly, how did you get out of your room?” The little girl smiled sweetly, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.

“Secret,” she whispered.

Isobel was the youngest person at the Institute by almost eight years, and the only one still taking lessons. She lived in the Criminally Insane ward in a solitary ‘room’. This ‘room’ had completely fireproof walls, flowing, ceiling, bedding and furniture, bars over the windows and several bolts on the door. Isobel was at the Institute on account of her burning down her school toilets (the blaze then consumed almost two-thirds of the rest of the school) on the claims that they were ‘unsanitary’. That was almost two years ago, and she was coming up to her eleventh birthday in several weeks.

“Well,” Lawrence continued, “we will worry about that presently. Now, do you want to tell me once more of your objective?”

“I want to leave.”

“Isobel, you know very well that you cannot leave here until it has been proven that you no longer have your...problems.”

“Well, I can assure you that all of my problems have gone!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So, can I leave this place, now?”

“I am afraid that is not an option, my dear girl. I will be needing some more concrete information than that.”

Isobel frowned. “But where am I to get concrete? I can hardly get my hands dirty making it, can I, and the amount I need will be far too heave for my delicate body to haul up the stairs to my room.”

Lawrence laughed. “I don’t think you quite understand what I mean, Isobel. Perhaps you will cover it soon in your studies.”

At this Isobel made a face. “I don’t like studying. I want to leave!”

Lawrence was tiring of the girl. “Isobel, no.”

“Well, if you won’t let me leave this place in the next five minutes you have to buy me a pony.”

“Alright, then.”

“So are you going to let me go?”

“It is still a no.”

“Then buy me a pony. You have to.”

“And how are you going to make me?”

“Ummm...I don’t know.”

“Well then you have no control over me. You need to learn that if you blackmail someone you have to have the ability to follow your threats through.”

“Buy me a pony pleeeease!”

Lawrence tugged on a string near his desk and within moments two burly women in nurse’s uniforms entered the office.

“Thank-you, ladies. Please take this little girl back to her room. She is not meant to be wandering around like this.” The two women nodded their understanding and took a hand each, turning Isobel round to face the door and walking her out.

Before Isobel reached the corridor, she took a bite at one of the nurse’s hands, but she was quickly constrained by the woman’s colleague, and she did not have a very good angle anyway. The nurses were made of stern stuff, and the one who had been bitten merely staunched the small trickle of blood with a pocked handkerchief and elevated it above her head. She then took Isobel’s hand once more and continued escorting her to the girl’s room.