Oscar’s Academy for troubled children

MarronQuillnest

I'm not immature, I just know how to have fun


Small drafts of wind made their way throughout the academy from the windows that were open. Earlier that night the nurses had left some of the windows ajar enabling some air to come in. They also made sure the windows were still protected by cold metal bars. As the building got colder patients curled up or slipped further into their sheets to put up with the cold wind.

It was dusk, so, the sun was starting to rise over the hills causing a sliver of orange and red to shine into the building. The lighting got rid of the bleak grey that washed over the building during the early morning. But since the front side of the school was facing away from the sun the only place being lit up was the library.

Therapists were already in their offices filling out paperwork preparing for the day. They sat in their small wooden rooms at their wooden tables with clip lamps and papers scattered all over them. They all had a blue couch behind their table where the patient would sit. They were starting to order the nurses to wake up the patients and give them their meds.

It was another day at the facility. Another day of taking meds and trying not to pass out from the side effects. It was behaving or get punished. It was a horrible game of trying to get out, and you did anything you could to get out as fast as you could.

@Mistress of Anarchy @Treasure
 
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Theo lay on his bed glaring at the ceiling above him sullenly. He hated this place. Hated the bed, hated the room, hated the furniture, hated the windows, hated the schedule, hated the classes! Someday he was going to get out of here. Someday he was going to get out and run and never stop running. No more prisons, no more school, no more parents!

Zilla's claws scratched on the wooden branch in her cage, drawing Theo's attention to his reptilian pet. He rolled onto his side and stared across the narrow room at the converted ferret cage to find beady red eyes staring back at him. The female iguana stretched out along the branch propped between two of the three platforms, her long tail trailing down on the plastic platform below her. He'd done his best to dress up the cage with real wood and a few reptile friendly plants, but it was still very clearly a small animal cage not meant for an iguana of her size.

"I hear ya, you're hungry," Theo sighed. He shoved himself up to sit on the edge of the bed. "Give me a minute and I'll feed you."

~~~

Vladimir sat cross legged in the center of his bed humming happily as he watched the light dance on the ceiling. Such a lovely day! And so many wonderful colors! Almost as many colors on the walls from the sun as were on his clothing. Today's outfit choice was a like green shirt with tiny strips of lighter green shiny threads, a purple vest with yellow accents, a yellow suit jacket that was just a little too big for him, dusky blue pants, a belt with little red hearts, and black socks. He wiggled his stockinged toes and waited patiently for his nurse.
 
Fraser laid on his firm mattress glaring at the ceiling. Itchy sheets covered his whole body except his head and face. He was waiting for the nurse to come in and take his vitals and give him his life-sucking medication. Everything about the facility was so draining all he wanted was to get out of this prison. His eyes start to sting and fill up with water. He wiped away what would soon be tears. The last thing he wanted was to seem weak. He had to stay strong. He laid there for a few more moments before starting to get up and prepare for the day.

He started to get up in slow robotic motions. If he moved too fast his head would start to pound and he would start to feel like he was spinning. His room was small like every other room. A small bed in the center, a little wood nightstand next to it, and a dresser in front of the bed. It was small and cramped but it didn’t matter because you were only in here to sleep. He stripped off his PJs and threw them in the corner of this room. He grabbed his usual outfit. A wool trench coat with a wool sweater under it with plaid brown trousers. Once he finished getting dressed, he slipped into his shoelace-less shoes and sat on his bed.

Now all he had to do was wait. Wait for the same fucking routine. Same activities. Same therapy questions. Same food. It was all the same. Nothing ever changed around here and he was so sick of it. One day he A ) would finally graduate and get the hell outta here back to his normal life or B ) bust the hell out of here. Before he could get any ideas he heard the metal clanking of the vital machine coming down the hall. He knew it was time. He sat on the edge of his bed tapping his foot.
 
Theo crouched next to his lizard's cage and slipped a hand inside, retrieving her stone bowl. She watched him judgementally as if she needed to critique and approve of everything he did. It was par for the course in his life, and honestly, Zilla was the only one he was okay with judging him. When he did something right, she did not hesitate to show him her gratitude! In her own reptilian way. He filled the bowl with food he kept stored next to her cage and checked her water levels. She needed more, but he'd have to wait until after the nurse visited to take care of that.

~*~

Vladimir thought he heard something outside his door and brightened. Oh, joy and rapture! A visitor! This was going to be lovely! It did not matter that this happened every single day. It was like a new treat every single time!

~*~

Nurse Ratchet gave a perfunctory knock on Fraser's door then opened it and stepped inside. "Good morning, young Mr. Faser," she said, her voice calm and as in control as the tight bun of hair knotted at the top of her head. "How are we feeling this morning?" She glanced down at her clipboard as she spoke to check the notes left by the night nurse.
 
Fraser heard a knock on his door, and before he had a chance to react the nurse was already through the door. "Good morning, young Mr. Fraser," she said in a calming voice. “It’s Just Fraser, and how many times do I have to tell you this?” he said, his voice rising as his irritation rose. Nurse Ratchet walked a little closer, her tight bun bobbing up and down when she walked. Avoiding his last statement, she asked another question "How are we feeling this morning?" He sighed and answered. He knew he had to. It was protocol. “Fine, just like every other day.” She looked down at her clipboard and continued to ask questions. He continued answering.

~*~

Nurse Veronica pulled the heavy cart behind her listening to it clang as she walked. She pulled up to Vladimir's room and lightly tapped on his door. She pulled her clipboard and pen out and patiently waited for him to invite her in.

~*~

Lizzie was Theo’s nurse. She hated being his nurse. The disgusting pet he had in his room was creepy and messy, and she hated doing errands for it. She dragged the cart behind her until she arrived at his room. She knocked on the door a couple of times to make sure he could hear her. She could smell the disgusting reptile and just wanted to get this over with as fast as she could.
 
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Nurse Ratchet went through the usual questions smoothly. Then she stepped forward and took Fraser's vitals with practiced ease, ignoring his protests or any snark on his part. She'd been doing this a long, long time. There was very little a patient - or student, as faculty were encouraged to call them - could do to phase her. She made a few quick notes then put her pen on her clipboard. "Good, you appear to be doing well, Mr. Fraser. Here are your pills. Once you have taken them, you may go down to breakfast." She handed him a small cup with two pills and another small cup of water then stood waiting for him to take them while she watched.

~*~

Vladimir hopped off his bed and used his socks to slide across the floor. He flung open the door and greeted the nurse with a broad smile. "Good morning, Nurse Veronica! Have you come to see my magic show?" he asked eagerly. All the nurses always said no, but someday he would convince them! "You can come in now." He slid his stockinged feet across the floor back to the bed and sat on the edge, his red hair standing wildly over his bright eyes.

~*~

Theo finished cleaning Zilla's cage and closed the door securely, making certain it latched before turning toward his own cage door. "What?" he barked angrily. "It's open, just come in!" He crossed his arms over his artfully torn black shirt and glared at the door, squinting just a little to make things look a bit clearer.
 
He watched the nurse take a few notes on her clipboard then move on. She put a cuff around his arm then turned on the machine. It squeezed his arm to the point where it throbbed then it released. The machine beeped, and he saw a bunch of numbers. But he paid attention to the one he understood. 120/78 was in the biggest font, and he knew it was his blood pressure. He slipped the cuff off and the nurse was already one step ahead of him. "Good, you appear to be doing well, Mr. Fraser. Here are your pills. Once you have taken them, you may go down to breakfast.” She said in her normal matter-of-fact voice. He snagged both little cups and knocked back the white and blue pill. One he knew was the Diazepam for anxiety, and the other one was for his depression. He gave her a dirty look and walked out avoiding the stupid cart.

~*~

Veronica waited a few more seconds then the door flew open. "Good morning, Nurse Veronica! Have you come to see my magic show?” She chuckled, amused by his enthusiasm. "You can come in now." He added.“I love your enthusiasm Vladimir,” she said watching him slide to his bed “ but you know we don’t have time, maybe another day?” She felt bad for saying no but she had things to do. She took out her clipboard and started asking the usual questions.

~*~

Theo greeted Lizzie with yelling. Pissed, she opened the door a little more aggressively then she should have. “I know I'm not supposed to swear but if you talk to me like that again I'll throw you in isolation you little bitch. Now sit on your bed and behave!”She pulled out her clipboard and pen and started asking the questions.
 
"Ungrateful little cretons don't know what I do for them..." Nurse Ratchet's grumblings faded as she trundled off to the next patient.

~*~

Vladimir pouted a little because she turned him down, but he quickly brightened as the conversation moved on. He did his best to answer her questions, but his eye wandered around the room, and several times he lost track of what he was supposed to be answering as he watched her pen wag, or the light shift, or whatever else caught his eye. When prompted, he easily turned his attention back to the task at hand, but it was soon off again.

~*~

Theo stood next to his iguana's cage and sneered at the nurse. "A 'bitch' is a female dog, you idiot. You can't even swear right! So why should I do anything for the world's nastiest witch nurse? You are supposed to be nice to me, you know, not mean. Where did you go to nursing school? The Spanish Inquisition?"
 
Fraser huffed his way down the hall to show his frustration at nurse Ratchet. He got to the stairs and made it a point to stomp down every one. He wanted to cause a commotion. He was sick of this place. He wanted to receive an expulsion and maybe he would if he kept causing problems. At the bottom of the stairs, he turned the corner and started walking towards the library where the cafeteria also was. He continued to stomp and huff as he went.

~*~

Veronica had a hard time doing the morning check-up with Vladimir. He kept losing focus and continued to ask her to repeat the same question even though she had just asked it. She took his vitals after what felt like hours and gave him his pills. “ Have a great day Vladimir and just try to stay focused. You may go to breakfast now.” It was finally over. Phew!”

~*~

Lizzie wanted to strangle the little bastard for talking to her like that. Disrespecting her and her profession! “You better get your shit together. I'm throwing your dumb ass in isolation after breakfast and putting you as non-compliant on morning check-ups. Now take your pills and get the fuck out of my face. Also if you try getting me in trouble, no one will believe you. You're a psychopath and I'm normal. Who are they believing?”She put the 2 cups on his nightstand and stormed out.
 
Vladimir flung his arms around Veronica and hugged her tight. "Thank you for taking care of me! I hope you have a fantastic day, yes?" He gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek and skipped out. Then he came back and pulled up his pant leg. "I forgot to tell you, my mother send me new socks!" he told her, displaying the clearly handmade black socks with red hearts lining the cuff. "Good morning!"

He turned and skipped back out, slipping and sliding as he went toward the stairs. Time for food! Yummy food! Halfway down the hallway, he set the two cups on a little side table - still full - and left them there without a thought. He wanted breakfast! Vladimir used a rug to get a running start then slid along the hallway, coattails flapping in his self-made breeze! He cheered happily then yelped as Nurse Lizzie walked out right in front of him. He tried to stop, feet slipping as he barreled right toward her.

~*~

"Oooo, so professional and caring!" Theo called after her, not caring if she could hear him or not. Scoffing derisively, he turned back to his lizard's cage. Zilla still lay stretched out along her branch, studying him cooly. Theo frowned. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It's not my fault she is absolutely horrid at her job. She is just asking to get tormented with an attitude. If I'm the psychopath and she's normal, how come she's the one screaming insults at me? Isn't she the one who is supposed to keep it all together and stay calm?"

Zilla tipped her head and treated Theo with a long, slow blink.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. If I just played along, I'd be getting out of here sooner, but she starts it," Theo grumbled. He opened the cage door and reached in, gently removing the giant reptile from her perch. She came easily and crawled up to make herself comfortable on his shoulder. "We'll go down to breakfast in a minute. Maybe there will be some fresh fruit you can have!"

She licked his ear at that statement.
 
Veronica, unprepared, stumbled back when Vladimir shot up and hugged her. Surprised, she returned the hug and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Thank you for taking care of me! I hope you have a fantastic day, yes?" It made her happy to see her patient happy.“Thank you, I will.” Then Vladimir did something even more unexpected. He leaned towards her and kissed her cheek. Veronica stood rooted in place confused not knowing what to think. And before she could react Vladimir was sliding to the door. As he left he pulled up his pant leg and showed her his black socks with red hearts lining the cuff. "I forgot to tell you; my mother sent me new socks!" Then he slid out, and she could hear him running and sliding down the hall. She stood there another 5 minutes still confused about what happened seconds before.

~*~

Lizzie, still frustrated, was looking at the ground as she walked. She was trying to get to the lounge as fast as she could (considering she still had the heavy cart). She wanted to drink coffee and forget about that little snob. Halfway down the hall, she heard yelling. “Hey knock it off what do you think this-” Mid-sentence she looked up and saw Vladimir coming right at her. She tried to move but it was too little too late. She felt his body slam into hers. The force was enough to knock her over causing the pen in her pocket to dig into her leg. “WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!” she shouted.

~*~

The cafeteria was pretty average. The lunch line was at the front with the hot bar and cafeteria ladies behind it. In front of the hot bar was glass to protect the lunch ladies and ourselves. All around the cafeteria were circular wooden tables with black plastic chairs. Windows went halfway around the cafeteria (protected by bars) and there was a small bathroom at the back. Fraser entered through the wooden double doors that put you directly in line. He patiently waited in line for his disgusting hospital food.
 
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Vladimir clung to Veronica, tumbling down as she did. He lay in a heap half on top of the nurse, and pushed himself up so he could stare down at her. He lay there for a second, catching his breath, before the full magnitude of what had happened hit him. "Oh!" He tried to scramble to his feet, accidentally elbowing her and kneeing her in a couple of places. "I'm sorry, Nurse! I'm sorry! I lost control of my slide! I didn't know you were there!"

Vladimir managed to get to his feet and held out his hands for her, apologizing with every breath, his eyes shining with genuine anxiety. He hadn't meant to hurt anyone! Especially not a nurse. They worked so hard to make everyone better and healthy! They needed love and kindness, not to be bowled over. Poor nursy!

Meanwhile, Theo opened the door to his room and looked out to see what was going on. He watched as Vladimir got to his feet and tried to help the nurse up. He did not know the other fellow, not even his name, and generally made an effort to avoid the walking rainbow, but he could not help standing and grinning for a moment. Nurse Lizzie was getting hers! Maybe she'd put Rainbow Boy in the brig instead of him. His grin faded as he thought about what would happen if Nurse Lizzie caught him smiling at her misfortune. Hurriedly, he slipped out of his room, closed the door behind himself, and headed for the cafeteria as quickly as he could while trying to keep up a careless saunter.
 
Veronica felt sore in other parts of her body as she was kneed and elbowed as she went down. And on top of that, the wind was knocked out of her because a 17-year-old boy who weighed 100 something pounds used her as a cushion. When she finished yelling, Veronica watched the boy frantically scrambled up witch resulted in more knees to the ribs and elbows to the stomach."I'm sorry, Nurse! I'm sorry! I lost control of my slide! I didn't know you were there!” .“Watch where you're going” her voice got shakier and louder with anger. Veronica stood up and got close to his face “Or...I'll throw your ass in isolation for a week. You hear me?” she was practically touching noses with him. She grabbed the cart and started down the hall again pretending like the incident never occurred

~*~

Fraser got his disgusting meal of watery macaroni and canned green beans on his cardboard tray and walked towards the back of the room. He took a seat towards the very back and started to eat. He looked up when he heard the wooden double doors open. He saw a boy who looked about his age with a lizard on his shoulder. He looked down again and silently hoped that maybe he could make a friend, especially one as cool as him.
 
Vladimir blinked after the nurse for a few seconds, staring at her back. Then he turned and started back down the hallway. Within a few steps, his smile was back, his eyes gleaming, his steps light and bouncy. He smiled, spinning a little as he made his way, slipping and sliding on the wood floors until he came to the stairs. The stairs he greeted by hopping down them two at a time, laughing as he went and ignoring the other students walking along at a normal pace. He sped off, soon reaching the cafeteria. He bounced up to the line and stood a few people behind a fellow with a very interesting lizard. Vladimir turned and started chatting to the person behind him, a young, nervous looking girl who looked like she'd rather be anywhere else and only the promise of food kept her in her place listening to Vladimir talk like a babbling brook.

~*~

Theo slunk through the line, not really caring what food he got except for snagging a slightly over ripe apple at the end of the line. Zilla would love that! Taking care not to make eye contact with anyone, he started making his way down along the tables, glancing around for a place to sit. He found a spot near the back. It didn't look like there were many people back here other than some kind in a ridiculously heavy coat. Was he perpetually cold? Allergic to the barely existent air conditioning? Smuggling snacks under the heavy folds? Hiding some hideous deformity? Not that it mattered.

He plunked himself down at the table a couple of places away from Coat Kid with his back to the room and guided Zilla down onto the table. His plastic utensils were basically useless, but he did his best to get the apple into pieces and set them on the table. The white iguana tipped her head and eyed the fruit for a minute before touching one piece with her fat tongue. Satisfied, she started eating, her alligator jaws opening wide for the uneven bits. Theo shoved his hair out of his eyes and started poking at his own unappetizing meal.
 
Fraser sat there uncomfortably waiting for the boy to maybe come over. He watched him grab his food and walk to the back. He wanted to look confident and strong so he straightened his back, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Then, he froze. I can’t do this. Oh Lord what if I mess up? What will he think of me? He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and started to fidget with the milk on his tray. He watched the boy glance around the cafeteria making it a point not to look at anyone. Then, Without warning, he looked at him. His heart skipped a beat and he nonchalantly put both his hands under the table and felt his wrist. He felt his heart beating a million miles a minute. He got even more anxious and excited when he saw the boy walking right towards him. He would finally get to meet someone cooler than him! Then, as if to purposely break his heart, he sat a few tables in front of him.

Fraser looked down at the table embarrassed that he thought anyone would ever sit with someone like him. He watched the boy play and try to feed his lizard still a little pissed and disappointed that the boy didn’t sit with him, even thought it might be social suicide. Fraser eventually lost interest knowing that he would never sit with him considering he had a “bad boy” Fassade. In any case, the boy may just want to impress the girls. Ugh.

He let his eyes wander and he eventually saw a boy who was chatting with a girl. He looked happy. The boy looked like a walking circus but honestly he seemed like he had a better personality than Mr. Bad boy. Once he got his tray, he might as well invite him over and get to know him. He started to eat the gross food excited that he could make a friend again.
 
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