chapter 6

Ding!

I walked into the store and saw Will behind the counter talking to a customer.

I sat in the lounge area and watched as she calculated the sales while still talking with the customer. It still surprises me that the owner of the store let her handle cash at such a young age. And I'm proud of her efforts too, it's not easy to keep record of all the money that comes into a store, no matter its size.

"Young man! Are you here to get your sister a gift?" She asks.

I turn back to see who she is talking to because I didn't hear the door jingle.

"I'm talking to you, genius," she laughs.

I laughed for a while too then I broke the news to her.

"Mum is having a baby" I smiled so hard my cheek actually hurt.

"What!? Are you serious!?" She rushed towards me and nearly sat on my body from excitement.

"Nope." I said laughing

"But it was worth it though, I mean did you see your face and the way you rushed here?" I said, still laughing.

She didn't laugh though which makes the whole thing funnier.

"Seriously though, do you really want a sibling that much?" I ask

"Yes! So don't you dare trick me like that again" she said, folding her hands

"Noted." We stared at each other until she decided to go back to her duty post.

"Ms Bridget said I could work for her" I say to her

"But you're not allowed to work..?"

I shrug, not sure how to answer due to my own confused state. "She says it's just for show, though the payment will be real" I repeat what I was told at the hospital

"So what will you be 'doing' for her?" She asked as she came back to the couch to sit.

"She said 'just arrange my messy table at the end of the day. You can get a free check up if you want while you're at the hospital" I say, using my best impression of Ms Bridget's voice that sounds a bit like Stephanie's in instant mom

"Wow! So, when do you start?"

"Tomorrow, because I want to. The house feels a bit too stuffy these days"

"Tell me about it" she says laughing

"So, that's all I came to tell you" I say standing up to return to school

"What about your health? Is there still hope for you to find a donor?"

I stopped to set my smile then turned to her and said

"You really need to think positive things Will you're in a toy store for Christ's sake. You're supposed to pass positive energy"

"Whatever" is all she says as she walks to a toy rack

"I'll see you later Noah" she says not looking at me and I nod.

************************************************

The hospital is a really uncomfortable place for me. Despite the fact that I have to come here everyday for "work", it doesn't change the smell of sickness and death.

No offence to medics that need to be here every minute though..

But the most creepy thing about this job is the fact that there are actual crazy people in here. Sometimes I hear them, shouting for help or screaming death threats to the doctors—it makes me wonder how the psychiatrists actually cope.

"Not all of them are that way. Some are really quiet while some are actually not crazy but are locked here by their families" a girl named Lane said to me when I froze in front of their dinning area. They all looked so calm and obedient that I almost forgot they were patients.

"Hey Noah, you're here early" Mitchell says as I go into the office

"Good morning Michelle. Yeah, my principal granted me two weeks off school to rest and take care of myself after he heard the news" I tell her. Mitchell is Ms Bridget's assistant in the office.

Ms Bridget AKA Mrs Stone is my doctor for this cancer treatment process. She's also the one who offered me to give me money for arranging her tables for her which either She or Michelle could do.

And to be sincere, I was pretty scared the first time. Because there were soany files with different formal terms I couldn't understand, so I did a very messy job. It was Mitchell who came to my rescue the next day and taught me not only how to arrange them, but also the meaning of the words.

So since then she and I became closer and talk about a lot of different things. She tells me everything that she's aware has happened in the hospital and I tell her about my school life.

"That's great! Your principal is a kind man" She says

"Woman..my principal is a woman" I correct her with a smile

She laughs shyly and nods.

"Will you like to join me in the lab today? It's not official business or anything, I'm just going to check on somethings then we'll be back" She asks

"Why exactly should I go with you? And am I even supposed to be there?" I ask her as I walk in and droped my bag on my designated chair.

"No reason actually, only that it will take some time and you might get bored being in the office alone. But if you can stay then no worries" She smiled and went to her desk

I actually have some books with me for study but it's not everyday someone get invited to see a working lab of a good hospital.

"Are you leaving already?" I asked when I noticed she was almost outside the office

"Yeah..you coming?"

"Of course!" I replied and hurriedly brought out my journal and my phone incase there was anything interesting for me to learn or show Willow.

We are walking towards the elevator when I see Lane running towards us—or maybe the elevator—from the other corridor.

"Miss Leah, is there a problem?" Mitchell asked

Yeah… Lane is her last name, Leah Lane.

"Yes ma'am. One of our patients is trying to escape from the hospital so I need to hurry down with the sedative" Leah said anxiously

"Shouldn't you take the stairs then? The elevator might take a while" Mitchell tells her. I look over to the elvetir and see it's still reading 15..14..13..

"Yeah…you should take the sta…irs" I laugh when I notice she wasn't there anymore

"Do you want to go take a look?" Mitchell asked when the elevator opened to our floor, the 10th floor.

"Um…I don't know, it sounds pretty scary" I say and go into the elevator first and she follows

Lane is a psychology student that's performing her internship in the psychiatric department of this hospital. And from what I've learned from her so far, it's not the first time that a patient tried to escape and they a usually violent about it.

So while it may be thrilling to watch, I don't know how violent this patient will be and I'm a patient too, I can't risk my life for drama.

"All patients and their visitors on the 15th floor are advised to stay in their wards till further directives are given. There is a psychotic patient on the loose and she was last seen on that floor. This is for your safety and we apologize for any inconvenience this might cause you"

"Seems like they lost the girl" Mitchell frowned

"Since it's a she's, it wouldn't be that dangerous right?" I thought to myself as our elevator arrived

"This way Noah" She moved and I followed

It's lunch time now and omthe hospital is calm again. The patient successfully escaped—no one could find her anywhere in the hospital so they came to that conclusion—and Lane sent her information to the higher-ups so they can ask the police for help.

"Is she that dangerous?" I asked Lane as soon as she sat down. She looked exhausted and worried but not scared.

"Not really, she's actually one of the calmest we have right now. But her family brought her here for her safety. If anything bad happens to her, it's on us" she said and I nodded in understanding

"I just hope we find her because she not from around here, she might get lost" She said in between bites of her burger

"She's not from around here? Then how did she get into your hospital" I asked confused

"There was a specilist center that caught fire two years ago. A lot of people died and the owner didn't have the finance at the time to get back on his feat. So, our dean agreed for the patients to be sent here first. Although, all the other patients have been sent back now but refused to go back, so they handed over her file and everything for us to take over" Lane said as she moved to the next burger

Watching Lane eat can make anyone feel hungry—even when you've already eaten— and she has a big appetite. So even when you don't want to eat, you find yourself staring at her food with hunger

"So… you don't have a way to contact her family?" I asked, trying to distract myself by talking

"No. It was a nurse that found her on the streets and doesn't seem to remember either, so we don't know where she actually came from."

"That's bad… Abd she's out there alone right now. Do you think she now knows that she's not from around here?" I ask

"That's a possibility. But breaking out won't help her find them, she should've met someone" Lane answered and I nodded

"I hope she's safe out there…" I thought to myself as my phone rang

"Hello?"

"Noah.. my baby how are you doing!"

"Grandma!?" I shout, surprised and Leah glares at me for the noise and I apologize while quickly looking for a quiet corner

"Noah… Noah are you still here?" Grandma asks through the phone

*Yes grandma, I was looking a quiet place we could talk" I say to her and rest my body on the wall

"I heard from your mum that you were sick. Are you feeling better now?" She asks

"Yes grandma. I'm taking some medications and resting a lot more now"

"Good to hear. Anyway I called you because I wanted to know if you and your family will be coming over for Christmas"

I face palmed and laughed.

"Grandma Christmas is still two months away.."

"Why do you all keep telling me that? I just got of the phone with you aunt Clara abd she said the same thing! Just because I'm old doesn't mean I don't know the month and season we're in. Besides, what else should I do with my time? Your grandpa doesn't like to hang with me anymore" She shouted over the phone and I laughed

"Grandma, please don't use the word hang again okay? It's for young people like me and lt…"

"I don't care… Muris taught me some new words and I will use them however I like. So are you coming for Christmas or not?"

Seems like I need to have a word with that naughty cousin of mine..

"Yes grandma. We amwill all be there this year" I tell her

"Good. You're more reliable than that mother of yours. Well take care of yourself and say hi to your parents for me"

"Yes gran…" She hung up before I could reply making me laugh. My grandma is so cute