Alice looked up when a new person entered the room. He was young, for a nurse. He was also cute. Alice forced herself to concentrate on her painting again, her face going a bit pink. There was no way a nurse would be interested in a crazy girl like her. Jake seemed to notice her blush and grinned, not noticing the newcomer.
“Hey Alice, what do you think of my painting?” he asked. She glared at him.
“Leave me alone, Jake,” she mumbled, averting her eyes to her own work, thankfully distracted from the new nurse.
There was some calm, wordless music playing to try and help with the process. Felix heard some voices and turned his head in that direction. He made his way over to the two of them. "Is everything okay over here?" He asked in a soft voice. He knew some people didn't like harsh voices, but he wasn't sure who so he always talked softly to patients. Well, he was a soft talker to everyone normally so it wasn't hard for him to.
Alice looked up when she heard the unfamiliar voice, butterflies taking flight in her stomach when she noticed who it was. He talked in a soft voice, just like some of the nicer nurses, and it made Alice a bit angry. That was good. If she was angry then she wouldn’t fall for someone who she had no chance with. “We’re fine,” she muttered, her eyes flashing.
“We’re great,” Jake added with a grin, glancing at Alice with malice in his eyes. He always looked a little bit malicious, in Alice’s opinion. Add that to his foul breath and wandering eyes, and he was the Knave of Hearts. He and the horrible Queen somehow got along, sometimes. She sometimes suspected they were doing things that nurses weren’t supposed to do with patients.
"I'm glad! If Jake here ever bothers you, or vis versa I guess, feel free to call me over." Felix replied with a smile and a bit more enthusiasm. He left them and continued roaming through the patients. All the paintings he saw were so unique. He did like seeing them, this being one of his favorite things to help with.
Alice went back to painting, ignoring Jake’s comments and adding to the detail of the scenery from her dreams. At least the new guy hadn’t told her not to paint her delusions, but he probably hadn’t seen her painting anyway. She was surprised that the guy knew Jake’s name already; did that mean he knew her name as well?
It wasn’t like it mattered though. He was just a random nurse that’d probably leave after a few months or something. As she drew, she imagined him with a fiancée or a girlfriend or something to keep her from thinking about it.
Felix wandered back to the desk and sat down. He immediately started looking through some papers that he had to do. The boss didn't need them until the next week, but in his mind, it's better to get things done ahead of time. Needing to sign and write stuff, he frantically looked around for a pen. After maybe 5 minutes he found one. He checked his trusty white watch again and quickly stood up his eyes wide, opening his mouth. "Okay everyone, you may head back to your quarters. Please leave your paintings on the easels and I will collect them." He said loudly, but softly.
Alice sighed. Already? She finished up a few things, most of the others leaving her behind. She glanced up to see that she and the newcomer were the last two people in the room, and she blushed slightly, setting down her paintbrush at last and heading towards the door slowly and reluctantly. Her quarters were just another prison in this horrid place, and she was in no hurry to get there.
Felix smiled slightly as everyone left. He noticed the girl from earlier still there, moving slowly. "Alice, is it? Is everything okay?" He asked. His voice still soft, but not nearly as soft as earlier, it was his regular speaking voice. He stayed standing and was looking over at her as she was slowly walking.
Alice looked up with a start. Oh no, not him again…
“Everything is just peachy, Mr.New Guy,” she responded, with a bit of an edge to her voice. She was bound to scare him away sooner or later, why not now? He seemed anxious, so it should be easy. So why did she want to talk to him, for real instead of the one-line conversations she normally had?
"Um… sorry if I made you mad or anything. But I'm Felix just so you know for future reference." Felix responded. Somehow he felt that she wasn't quite like the rest. Yes, she had been sent to the center for a reason, but he couldn't help but feel like she was full of intelligence and something else.
“Good to know, Felix,” she said, her voice dripping with condescendsion. That seemed to be how a lot of the nurses talked to her, after all. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have hallucinations to get to.” She gave a him a side-eye. Good, now he would either be afraid of her or weirded out by her and not bother again with his attractiveness.
"Have fun…" Felix said. He hadn't meant to make her angry or hate him, but that's how most people were to him. There was maybe 3 patients and even fewer coworkers that actually liked him. He was honestly used to it since he was mostly a loner in school. He sat down in his chair and got back to the papers, glancing at Alice once more.
She glanced back at him one more time before leaving the room. The hall wasn’t just an ordinary hall today, however. It had turned into a rabbit hole, one of the portals to her own magical world. She wondered what it looked like to the others when she saw Wonderland. They probably just saw her staring at nothing and talking to herself.
Felix's watch beeped. Quickly and in panic, he picked up the papers. He stood up and sped to the door, taking a second to open it. He saw Alice, she seemed to be having an episode of sorts, but he went right past her. He kept checking his watch to make sure he got to his destination on time.
In Alice’s mind, a fluffy white rabbit ran past her, who, when she blinked, became a boy again. In her current state, her mind couldn’t connect him to the cute new nurse, however. “Wait for me, Mr.Rabbit!” she called hurrying after him. She wondered why he was in such a rush, and he seemed to be checking his watch quite a bit.
Felix heard a voice presumably Alice's since she was close. He turned around and saw her running towards him. He glanced at his watch once more. "Hello, Miss Alice, can I help you?" He was nervously tapping his foot as he smiled lightly to her.
Her eyes seemed a bit faraway and glazed over to anyone else, though of course what she was certain that what she saw was real. "I was just wondering, what are you so late for? You're in a such a hurry," she replied. "It's a lovely day, there's no reason to rush."
"Er, it is probably nice today, I've been here all day so I wouldn't know. But I have to get to my next session and…" Felix looked at his watch again. "Shoot! I'm late, this is very important! Sorry to leave, but I have to. See you around, Miss Alice!" He sent her a smile and a wave as he sped away.
She sighed, waving back before wandering off down the hall. She wished he could have stayed a little longer…Soon enough, she walked back to her room, settling down in a seat there until she fell asleep, dreaming about the boy who was always in a hurry for some reason. Wonderland even made its way into her dreams.
Felix almost ran to the session, this time with Maddox. He got to the door and took a breath, then walked in. He saw Maddox sitting in the chair, waiting for Felix. He sat down in the chair in front of him and started.
(Time skip?)
(yeah)
Later that day, the kids were heading to dinner. They always had dinner at 5:30 and ended it at 6:15, which Alice chalked up to the head people's love of schedules. She got her food and sat down by herself, as far from Jake and his annoying friends as possible. She didn't like their rude comments and teasing glances. The only people that she could tolerate eating with were Charlie, Chessidy, and sometimes Maddox. No one else could tolerate Alice anyway. Alice hadn't seen any of the aforementioned kids yet tonight anyway, but didn't particularly care whether they sat by her or not. None of them seemed to consider the others very close friends.
By 5:27, the session had ended. It was longer this time, but Felix felt like it had been good for the kid. He sent the boy off and gathered his stuff. He was one of the few workers that didn't have a home to go to and that stayed in the employee dorms. He took his stuff to the dorm then headed to the cafeteria for dinner. He got his food and sat down at a table near Alice's table. Not noticing that she was alone, he started eating, not minding anyone else.
Alice, however, was acutely aware of the fact that the new guy was sitting at the table right next to hers. She turned, trying to ignore him. Thankfully, Charlie headed over to her table at that very moment. "Alice!" he greeted. "Wassup?"
"Nothing really," she replied. "Same as ever. I went off to Wonderland again, but I ended up falling asleep." She shrugged. Charlie nodded.
"Yeah, I haven't had much out of the ordinary either," he replied. Then he lowered his voice. "But I did manage to steal a few cigarettes from the Queen of Hearts."
"Can you just call her by her name?" Alice sighed. "It's humiliating enough that no one believes me, but to have it rubbed in my face…" Charlie did look apologetic at that.
"Sorry, but it's so catchy," he commented. "Calling her Nurse Grace just doesn't have the same ring to it." Most of the staff had the kids call them by their first name, usually with some sort of title in front.
Felix overheard just a little of Charlie and Alice's conversation, but he tried not to think to deep into it or listen anymore to it. He started working on some of the papers he had while he ate. He doesn't like to just eat, he feels that it isn't productive.
"So, did you see the new guy in art therapy?" Charlie asked. "He was kind of cute."
"Charlie!" Alice squeaked, wrinkling her nose and glancing back at Felix. "He's literally right there!"
"I know," Charlie replied with a shit-eating grin. "That's the point."
"You're insufferable," Alice added as Chessidy sat down next to her.
"What did you did this time, Charles?" she asked, raising a penciled-in eyebrow.
"We were just talking about the new guy," Charlie said with a shrug. "What do you think of him?"
