Institute baby

Chapter 3

We followed the routine the rest of the day, yet somehow, none of it felt the same with Chloe there. I don't think she even talked to anybody, she just sat around staring at me out of the corner of her eye.

During lunch I decided to ask why she kept looking at me. She said she was trying to figure out the best way to win me over, then she tapped my nose, called me cutie, and went back to her sandwich. I tried to ignore the fact that she was still watching me.

She made daisy chains during our outdoors time and tried to wear them around, but one of the supervisors told her to take it off. She sat in the chair across from me in the waiting room for mental exams. I tried to start a conversation with her, it went something like this:

Me: so...

Chloe: so what?

Me: so I don't know.

Chloe: that's a pretty odd way to start a conversation.

I shrugged my shoulders, she didn't respond. We sat in silence until I was called in.

During our free time I started reading a book, I gave up after noticing the first time Chloe hid behind her book as an excuse to watch me. She was so obvious it was funny. She would look up at me from behind her book, notice I saw her, fake shock, and then hide behind her book again. I bet she wasn't even past page one. Eventually I got up and walked over to her. "Is that a good book?", I asked, sitting down beside her.

"I don't know, probably. I got a bit," she licked her bottom lip quickly, looking me up and down, "distracted", she finished, looking extremely proud of herself.

Dinner was relatively calm, Chloe wasn't chattering continuously, just watching me eat my tomato soup and grilled cheese. If I could I'm sure I would feel uncomfortable having her watch me eat. After we we put away our trays, we walk down to room they hold group bonding in. One of the younger (late twenties) scientists has us all sit in a circle and say our name and a fact about ourselves. Adam goes first, "hi, I'm Adam, I have a dick". When it gets to my turn I say, "I'm Diane, I like reading", the last person to go is Chloe, "hello, I'm Chloe. And I think Diane is hella attractive," after that we all go back to our rooms.

I've showered, put on my pajamas (an oversized t-shirt), and am about to get into bed when I hear a soft knock on my door. Opening it I find myself face to face with Chloe, she looks up at me but she doesn't have the same cocky look as she normally does. Instead she looks like a child, a slightly terrified child. She walks into my room and I shut the door behind her.

"Hi," she says meekly.

"Hello," I respond, "ummm... You know we're supposed to be sleeping right?"

She gives a small nod, "yeah... Just, I don't know, it kinda freaked me out, new place, nobody real friendly... Plain white un-lived-in bed room. You're the only person who really talks to me, I... I thought maybe you'd let me sleep here. You know, just for tonight?"

I look at her for a second before nodding, "yeah, I guess you could sleep here, just for tonight. So you aren't... Scared," the word feels foreign on my tongue, I've never had to use it before.

"Thanks," she says quietly, but she doesn't make any a move towards my bed or anything. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before I realized what was wrong. "Ummm... Do you need pajamas?" I asked looking at the white t-shirt and jeans that she'd been wearing all day. She gave an embarrassed nod as her cheeks gathered a pinkish tinge. Opening my dresser I found a t-shirt she could sleep in and tossed it over to her. She put it on and went over to my bed, snuggling under the covers.

I had turned off my light and was laying down on the other side of my bed trying to sleep, this was proving to be quite difficult with Chloe fidgeting around trying to get comfortable. She must have thought I was asleep because she nearly had a heart attack when I put my hand on her arm trying to calm her down. After she realized it was me however, she relaxed a noticeable amount.

Turning towards her I asked a question that had been on my mind since she'd came into my room, "what's it like? I mean, being scared? What does it feel like?"

I felt the mattress shift as she turned to look at me, "I don't really know how to describe it," she said, "but I guess when it's irrational it's like... What if you were in a hallway with one hundred doors, and behind ONE those doors there's a murderer. So you know that you probably won't have anything happen to you. In fact, it's almost certain nothing will happen, but for whatever reason, you can only think about what would happen if you open the wrong door. You end up convincing yourself that you're going to open the wrong door, even if the logical part of you says you won't. That's what it's like I guess..."

I don't really know how to respond, that sounds like a really dramatic thing. "Oh," I whisper over to her, "thanks... I guess,"

I can hear the smile in her voice when she whispers back, "you're welcome, I guess. Goodnight Diane"

"Goodnight Chloe"

I can hear her breathing steady out as I drift to sleep.