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?"
Felix had also heard that. He stopped writing, just holding the pen still, and his cheeks and ears turned a light shade of pink. He quickly took a bit to distract himself and he forced himself to look at his work again.
"I don't know, he seems nice," Chessidy said. A grin crept its way onto her delicate features. Oh no, here we go again, Alice thought, seeing the other girl's expression. "Alice, what do you think? You seemed a bit distracted during art therapy."
She glared at Chessidy before responding. "Did you not see Jake standing right next to me? You all dislike him as much as I do," she retorted. "He wouldn't shut his trap, and he was painting a rather…interesting…picture of Nurse Emily."
Chessidy rolled her eyes. "Yes, but he does that every time," she responded. "I think you've gotten used to it."
"That doesn't make him any less annoying," Alice parried. "I'm telling you, it wasn't the new guy."
"Mhmm," Chessidy replied, clearly not impressed with Alice's answer.
Felix finally finished his food. He left the cafeteria and went back to his dorm to get his work done. Alice and her friends had been distracting him too much. He plopped down in his chair and started writing stuff down again in the silence of his dorm.
"You guys scared him off!" Charlie complained. "But now we can ask you…what is he in Wonderland?" Alice kind of hated the question, but her friends asked her with every newcomer. They were always intrigued by her answers, especially Maddox, though he wasn't here right now and Alice couldn't guess why.
"I don't know…" she mumbled. "Wait a minute, I believe he's a rabbit with a pocket watch."
"Aha! So, the White Rabbit?" Charlie exclaimed. "Hmm…"
"So little Alice is dreaming about rabbits now, is she?" asked an annoyingly familiar voice from behind Alice. She turned around.
"Ian, can you just leave me alone?" Alice asked, a steely glint her eye. Ian snickered. Alice disliked Ian at least as much as she disliked Jake, perhaps more. Ian was the worst of Jake's minions, and the most notoriously violent.
"Seriously, we're in not the mood," Chessidy said in a monotone.
Jake himself then walked up to their table. "Ian, stop harassing them," he commanded. Jake does not get to play the hero here, Alice thought angrily, looking around for someone to help them. But the only one of her group who could do anything was missing, and most of the staff wasn't sitting anywhere near them, or they were turning a blind eye.
Felix thought he probably shouldn't have left so early, but no one told him to stay. He slowly finished the paper work after a bit. He had to bring them to the boss so he left his dorm once again to find the office.
Ian rolled his eyes but walked back to his table. Alice noted with skepticism that it almost seemed planned. Jake was nothing if not diabolical. "Alice, can we talk?" Jake asked.
"No," she said, shutting him down quickly. "I'm busy."
"Please?" Jake pleaded.
"What's your problem, Jake?" Chessidy questioned with venom. "She said no."
"My problem is that we had a misunderstanding the other day and I need to correct it," Jake responded. Alice knew what he was referring to. The encounter where she found him and Nurse Grace suspiciously standing by themselves and doing nothing right outside the janitor's closet. Alice wasn't stupid. She knew what they were up to.
"We had no misunderstanding," Alice said, clipped. Jake was looking angrier by the moment, and Alice knew that unless he physically hurt her, most of the staff probably wouldn't bat an eye. There were kind nurses, yes, but none of them ever seemed to be there when Alice needed them most. She pleaded internally for Felix to come back before something happened.
Felix had to go through the cafeteria to get to the office the quickest way. He was speed walking and slowed down only to open the door. He looked around for a second, spotting Jake close to Alice. He walked a little closer and saw her obvious discomfort and unhappiness. He sighed, checking his watch and walking over to Alice and her friends. "Hello, Miss Alice, Chessidy, and… Charlie? Is Jake here bothering you three?" He asked with a small smile.
Jake glared at Alice, as if daring her to say that she was bothered. She knew what would happen if she did. He'd only find her later. "No, I'm not bothered," she lied, while doing everything to convince Felix otherwise with her posture and facial expression. The others caught on quickly, except for Jake, who tried to look as nonthreatening as possible. Alice was certain Jake's expression only worked with a few of the female staff.
Felix looked between Alice and Jake. He noticed the obvious opposite in response. He took in a breath and swallowed. It was only his first week and he was already dealing with this kind of thing. "Um, Jake would you leave these lovely people alone if they don't want you to be there?" A small smile crept on his face. Some of the other staff told him about Nurse Grace and a kid. Felix saw Jakes painting so he put two and two together. "Or else I'll make sure a certain someone knows what you've been up to, I could even tell the boss if you desired."
Jake paled. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied with a huff. "But I'm done with you losers anyway. I don't want to see your stupid faces right now." He stormed off towards his minions. Alice smiled at Felix before remembering to glare at him again.
"Thanks, I guess," she mumbled, narrowing her eyes.
"Yeah, thanks," Charlie repeated with a smile. Chessidy just gave her characteristic smirk.
