We're Not Crazy

I Have An Idea

I stared at the round clock on my wall for about an hour.
It was 10:27am.
I didn't have anything to do.
I just laid there contemplating whether or not I should go speak to him.

I sat up in bed and thought about it as I fiddled with my fingers.
I was nervous. I know I shouldn't be, I've known him for years, but...still.

I got up and attempted to walk towards the door. But I stopped and paced around a bit.

I was feeling so eager to go see him that I could feel the excitement spazzing through my legs. But also every time I tried, I got too nervous and my brain told me to turn around. It'd say I was bothering him and that if he wanted to speak to me, he'd already be doing it.
I finally told those thoughts to leave me alone and said I'd suck it up because I wanted to see him.

I headed towards the door but my path was blocked by a tall boy with brunet hair.

He hung on my doorway with his hands holding the top of it.
He looked slightly down at me. "Hey." he smiled.

I giggled shyly. Mostly at the fact he found me when I was going to find him but also because...he makes me nervous.

"Hi..."
"How's your mornin' goin'?" He walked in.
"It's okay, I haven't done much."
"You eat?" He sat on my bed.
"No..."
"Why not?"
"They haven't brought it to me yet." That was true, but even if they had, I wouldn't have eaten it.
"Oh okay."

"Listen..." he began.
I looked at him.
"I got a plan. I think it'll work."
"What's your plan?" I asked and walked closer to him in excitement.
"Can't tell you."
"What? Why?" I asked, offended.
"Because it's a surprise." he snickered.
"Nurse Melody would say that and it would just be pills and a cup of water." I said, unamused.
"Yea, well this one is an actually good surprise. So good, you're gonna wonder how I thought of it." He laid down in my bed with his arms under his head.
"Why is your bed so much comfier than mine?"
I looked at it and shrugged.
He sucked his teeth. "Cute people always get the better stuff. It's like favoritism or some shit but with your face."
I smiled to myself.

"Knock knock." I heard at the door.
I turned around to see my nurse walking in with a tray of food. "Good morning, I have a surprise for you...!"
She set it down.
I looked at Josiah.
He looked at me.
We both looked back at her.

"Let's get your medicine in first and then you can have breakfast, okay?" she asked.
"I was told you not supposed to take drugs on a empty stomach." Josiah stated.
"I don't think you're allowed to call them drugs, Josi." I told him.
"That's what it is, ain't it?!"

She sighed and knocked off two pills from in a bottle into the bottle cap. Then held it over to me.
I looked at it.
"Go ahead. It won't hurt you. It's gonna help." she encouraged.

I took it and popped them in my mouth.
She handed me the cup of orange juice and I sipped it.

"Very good. You eat breakfast and I'll be back in a bit to check on you, okay?"
I nodded.
"Bye, Josiah." she said as she left.
"Bye, Nurse Melody." he mocked her tone.

As soon as she turned the corner, I grabbed a napkin and spit the pills onto it.

Josiah laughed. "I've taught you well."
I balled up the napkin and walked over to the trash can.

Melody showed up again with her hands on her hips.

I hid the napkin behind my back.

"Leyla." she called me.
"What?..." I asked softly.
"Give me the napkin."
"What napkin?"
"Leyla."
I sighed and handed it over.

She began unraveling it.
"Really?" she asked as she looked at the two tablets laying in the center.
I just stared at the floor.
"I'll be back and you're gonna take your meds. Wait here."

I turned around and looked at Josiah in disappointment.
"Welp, better luck next time." he said.
I rolled my eyes.

"I don't understand why they make me take it. It doesn't help anything."
"It never does. I think they like seein' us run around high. Maybe it's like a game and they feel like they're the controllers." he stated.
"What game?"
"No, I said like a game. Like a video game."
I just stared at him.
"You never even played a video game at home?"
"My mama said video games corrupt your brain." I stated.
"Your mama said a lot of bullshit but that might be the worst."
"You played video games?" I wondered.
"Well, no. But I used to go to the places that had 'em and watch the other kids play. Actually, one time, I found a token on the ground, and I was able to play one. It was a shooting zombie game. Easily the most fun shit I've ever done in my whole life."
"What's a zombie?" I asked.
"It's like dead people but they're alive again."
"So...regular people?"
"No. They're still dead."
"But you said they're alive."
"Yea. Like they walk and eat and stuff."
"So they're not dead?"
"No. They're still dead. What aren't you gettin' about this?"
"All of it..."
"They're corpses that came out of the ground and started walkin' around tryin' to eat regular people or turn them into more zombies. And my job was to shoot and kill as many as possible."
"So...they're like...rotting flesh puppets that walk around killing everyone?"
"Exactly. Cool, ain't it?"
"No."
He laughed.

"Alright, here you go." Melody came back with more medication and a fresh cup of water.

I took the top with the pills in it and tossed them into my mouth, then took the cup of water and drank. I reluctantly swallowed everything.
"Open your mouth." she commanded.
I did so.
"Lift your tongue."
I did it.
"Good girl. You're starting to lose my trust, Leyla. Please don't make things difficult." She took the top and the water cup out of my hands then left my room.

I turned around to see Josiah and he was gone.

"Josiah?" I called in confusion.

The pantry closet closed and caught my attention, I  looked to the side and saw him behind it.

"Why the fuck do they give you so many bandaids? What the fuck have you been doin'?" he asked me.
I snickered.