Nonconformity | Henry Creel

You're Going to Wish I Had

I sat in a bathroom stall, fingernails burrowed into my palms. The freezing cold porcelain cut through the thin fabric of my hospital gown, sending a chill up my spine. I'd escaped to the bathroom in a desperate attempt at regaining my composure. Now, though, it seemed counterproductive. All I had managed to do was work myself into hysteria.

It felt like the entire facility was watching me. Walls, chairs, tables-- they had all set their gaze upon me with predatory obsession. I stood at the precipice of panic, barely able to keep myself from slipping over the edge.

The sound of the bathroom door opening was a much-needed respite from my racing mind. Hesitant footsteps treaded further into the room until a voice called out, "Sixteen?" I could have screamed in relief when Six's voice filled my ears.

After Peter told me training was canceled, a plan formed in my mind. Truthfully, I hadn't expected it to work. Still, I marched up to Six once she'd entered the Rainbow Room and asked if she would be willing to skip her lessons and join me. To my surprise, she said yes. To my further surprise, she had actually managed to slip out.

I unlocked the door and smiled, "Hi."

"Hi," She echoed, "So, I'm technically supposed to be resting in my room right now-- I told the nurse I had the worst headache of all time and I was going to die-- so let's just avoid the nurse's office and we should be fine."

"Alright," I replied as I held the door open and gestured towards the hallway, "Thank you for skipping with me. Where do you want to go?"

She grinned wryly and grabbed my hand, "You'll see."

With that, she began pulling me towards our destination. We started off at a walk, then moved to a jog until, eventually, we were running full force down the hallway, footsteps echoing all around us. Six erupted in a fit of laughter, growing more and more breathless as we proceeded.

When we stopped at a door, she placed her hands on her knees and gasped for air. She could not stop laughing. I didn't know what she was laughing at or why it was so funny, but I conceded eventually and giggled along with her.

"This," She gestured towards the door, interrupting her own sentence with yet another chuckle, "This is my favorite room. You'll like it, I think." Her hand wrapped around the doorknob. She rattled it a few times, and then her face fell. "Oh, it's locked. It's never locked. That's weird."

My eyes flitted over the doorknob. "Do you have a pin?"

Six offered me a blank stare. "I don't have hair, Sixteen. Why would I have a pin?"

"Paperclip?"

She began searching her pockets. Most of the other kids had the option of wearing crewneck and sweatpants instead of the hospital gown I wore. I wanted to ask Papa to get me some new clothes, too, but I figured he'd say no. After all, the last time I asked for something, a guard had ended up dead. My insides curled up at the thought.

Six opened her fist to reveal a small pile of paperclips. Most of them were bent at odd angles and broken in a few different places. "I like playing with them," She shrugged. One of the paperclips jutted forward. Six's eyes focused on the little piece of metal, face twisting with effort. The clip strained, and then slowly morphed into a star. "See? I can make other shapes, too. I've been practicing."

"Oh, wow," I took the star-shaped paperclip and felt the points one by one, "I'm impressed."

"Yes, I'm very impressive," She replied, "Why do you need a paperclip?"

"You'll see," I replied. I straightened out one end of the clip while keeping the other at a ninety-degree angle. Then, I positioned the straight end in front of the keyhole. I applied a bit of pressure and rotated the clip in what I assumed was the right direction. There was a small give, and one of the pins within the lock became stuck. The process was repeated a few more times until, finally, I twisted the doorknob and the door swung open.