The Secrets of Hellingly (boyxboy)

Chapter 3- Carrots and Chaos

A/N: I've become so addicticed to writing this other story lately about greek mythology that I've been neglecting my other stories. I feel sad for my characters when I do that. So here's chapter 3 of Hellingly, I really wanted to write this one it's sort of funny in a sad kind of way. Picture on the side is Olivia. Isn't she pretty?

            After breakfast a nurse came into the lunch room. She regarded her clip board carefully before calling out the names. A few boys promptly got up and left with that nurse just as another one arrived.

            “They have schedules for therapies they try on different patients. It’s all a load of bullshit if you ask me, but then again this whole institution is,” Adam said to Felix.

            “What kind of therapies are we talking here?” Felix asked. He couldn’t help imagining horrible things like ice cold showers or electroshock therapy.

            “Oh nothing too extensive, art therapy, free association that’s where you talk to a shrink one on one, and then there’s psychotherapy,  and meditation, sometimes there’s religious therapy. Apparently, finding God can sometimes bring people out of their depression.”

            “Has anything ever helped you guys?” Felix asked the two boys.

            “Nothing but medication,” Adam replied while Ralph agreed. “You should see my prescriptions.  My medication takes up a whole shelf in the nurses’ station alone. Anti-psychotics, anti-anxiety, anti-depressants, you name it,” Adam said, looking rather proud of the fact.

            The nurse Felix met yesterday entered the cafeteria, and called out ten different names, Felix was one of them. The boys sullenly got to their feet and shuffled towards the door.

            “Looks like we’re in for group therapy today. Just remember if you don’t say anything they won’t bother you,” Adam whispered to Felix before walking ahead of him towards the recreation room.

            “Like I said don’t listen to him, he’s crazy,” Ralph said trying to keep up with Felix.

            Vinnie came up behind the two boys holding a plate of carrot sticks. “How’s Ralphie doing today?” Vinnie asked while throwing his arm around the red haired boy’s shoulders.

            “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me!” Ralph shrieked, running ahead of the two boys.

            “Well that answers that now doesn’t it?” Vinnie said with an impossibly wide grin.

            When the two boys made it to the recreation room, there were already eleven chairs set in a circle by the window.

            It wasn’t much of a recreation room according to Felix. There was a small old fashion T.V. in the other corner of the room with some lumpy looking white chairs around it, and a ping pong table with missing paddles. The only interesting thing Felix noticed was a large blue parrot sitting on a perch in a small cage, in the corner of the room.

            Felix sat in a chair next to Adam, in front of the bird cage. He turned around and regarded the bird carefully. It was picking at it feathers under its left wing out of boredom. There was already a pink patch of skin on its breast where the feathers were totally removed. “Can you talk?” he asked it. The bird lifted its head at the voice and tilted it to the side to stare at him with its liquid black eyes. Felix thought the bird looked sad, probably because it was trapped in such a small cage next to a window where other birds were flying free. Felix felt he could commiserate with the poor thing.