Room 303

Chapter 8

                                    Patrick

     He rummaged the cabinet looking for the drug. He often misplaces things, but this time he was certain that he had left the drug in the cabinet. He searched harder scoping the cabinet from end to end and still couldn't find it. He sighed with frustration. He ran his fingers through his hair in desperation. Where did I put the drug? If he got busted, he would have to face Maria. There is no room for mistakes. He shouldn't make anyone suspicious. He sat on the chair stretching his legs forward and resting his hands on the back of his head. He needs to find the drug and he needed to find it before anyone got hold of it. He walked out of the room and went to the staff room. Maria was there along with Stella and two other male nurses. They stared at him when he walked in then looked away and got engaged in whatever they were doing. He was on duty so that means that he shouldn't be wasting time here. He forgot that at this time of the day, the staffroom was usually occupied. He used the little time he had to try and scan the room for the drug, but he couldn't spot it.

  "Is everything okay?" Asked Stella.
  "Um yes, I was just looking for my keys," a lie he had to make up
  "Aren't you on duty?" Asked Maria.
  "Yes I am. I just want to grab them and I'll be out." He scanned the room quickly once more, but the drug was nowhere to be found.
  "There are your keys," said Stella as she pointed to his waist.
  "Oh, I didn't notice them. I thought I'd left them here," he said as he fidgeted with them.
  "A key chain as big as the one on your waist is hard to miss especially when you have that many keys dangling from it," added Maria.
  "I am sorry; I don't know how I missed it. I am going back outside." He retreated from the room ignoring Maria's suspicion. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He got nervous easily and that wasn't a good thing. He rubbed his palms against his trouser to get rid of the sweat, and made his way to the lower floor. 

     Patrick looked left and right trying to stay out of sight. There wasn't any other soul down there but his. He drew his ID card from his pocket and slide it through the card reader on the pharmacy's door. The beeper turned red denying him access to the pharmacy. He tried once more and still couldn't get the light to blink green. He frowned at the idea. His card was working perfectly fine the last time he tried to access the pharmacy. Someone must have rebooted the reader. His card was no longer recognised. He went back outside to accompany his patients. Their happy hour was almost over. He failed today, but that doesn't mean that he was going to stop trying. He needed to gain access to the pharmacy before it was too late. He also needed to find the drug before someone else finds it.

  "Andrew it is time to go back to your room, come on now." Andrew doesn't respond. "Andrew stop making this harder. Come on let us get going I don't want to fall in trouble with Maria. Damn it Andrew. Don't make me force you back into your room," he said as he tried to help him up.
  "I...want...more...out."
  "You can't stay more. We need to get you back to your room. Come on move."

    Andrew finally listened to Patrick and walked back to his room. He knew his way around very well. He had memorised the route from his room to the garden and back. This was his favourite journey. The garden was the patients' happy place. It breathed life into them. Andrew was taking baby steps to his room shaking his head from left to right in dismay, and mumbling somethings to himself while Patrick escorted him.

  "Did you say something Andrew?"
  "N..no."
  "You know you can tell me anything right?"
  "N..no."
  "You know I wouldn't hurt you."
  "Y..o..u.. w..ou..ld"
  Andrew always gave Patrick a hard time. He was difficult to deal with. He was one of those patients who often did the opposite of what you tell him. Patrick sighed with exasperation.
  Andrew kept on walking silently until he reached his room.
  "Let me strap you. Turn around."
  Andrew did as he was instructed.
  "Good. You see nothing happens when you listen Andrew. You have to always listen if you don't want anything bad to happen."
  Andrew didn't respond. He glued his eyes on the wall waiting for Patrick to strap him.
  "Do you need anything Andrew?"
  "N..no."
  "You be good okay?"

     Patrick gently let Andrew into his room. Andrew stood in the middle of the room watching Patrick as he left. He hated when he was addressed as 'boy'. He was a grown man and well beyond his boyish days, but the staff members call him boy because of his mental health. They treat him like a little boy. He detested that, but was helpless to do anything about it. Stella was the only one who didn't call him that. Stella knew what annoyed and what relaxed Andrew, and that was why he was mostly comfortable with her. She reminded him of his daughter, one that he had lost a very long time ago.