hope institute - john seed

CHAPTER 1

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"Hailey, can you go over these for me?"

Hailey jumps in her spot, gasping at the sudden person beside her. She clutches her chest and breathes deeply, letting a lazy laugh out.

"Jesus, 'Trina," Hailey is joined in laughter by Katrina, her coworker. "Yeah show 'em."

Katrina shoves a phone into Hailey's view and starts asking questions. Katrina was applying for another job, and Hailey was looking over her resumé.

Hailey is talking to Katrina before her coworker starts giggling like a schoolgirl. Hailey's head shoots up to see what her friend was laughing at.

"Veronica just got rejected by Caleb." Katrina's mouth makes a low, "ooo" sound to accompany Hailey's glance that way.

Veronica flips her dyed black hair over her shoulder and slumps in her chair when Caleb walks away from her. Veronica Hale, was infamously known by her lustful attraction to any attractive patients. She was accused many times of sleeping with patients, but no evidence could properly throw her out. Veronica was good at keeping everything a secret.

Hailey isn't focused on Veronica's glare when Caleb makes his way towards the two girls, the only thing she could focus on was the way his lips curled into a small smirk.

"He's so cocky," Katrina whispers in Hailey's ear. "I don't see why a sweet girl like you sleeps with a douche like him."

Hailey sighs and rests her head into her open palm. Katrina rolls her eyes and grabs her purse from the table and excuses herself.

"Caleb, hi." Hailey says breathless when the boy is in earshot. The boy pushes his hair back.

"Hailey Denim." He tsk's, shaking his head slightly at her. "You're practically drooling."

This remark makes Hailey swipe the corner of her lips, finding no drool. She narrows her eyes with a playful smile. Caleb York was like experiencing New York for the first time, you're really scared at first, but then you get swiped into the darkness and get beat up countless times.

"I have no time to bicker all day with you, Caleb." Hailey stands from her spot and flattens her uniform. "I have a new patient."

Caleb makes a sour face; his lips pucker and his eyes get really narrow. "Ah yes," he says. "What's his name again?"

Hailey opens the folder that was sitting on the table and flips through a few papers.

"John Seed," Hailey reads aloud, reading through his file again before closing it.

"Ooh, Mister Seed." Caleb mocks. "Yeah, I heard he's scary."

Hailey frowns. "I don't understand why people keep saying that, that's pretty rude to someone with difficulty."

Caleb smirks. "You're getting really defensive." He holds up his hands in surrender. "He's got really bad temper issues."

"I don't even know why you know that." Hailey opens the folder and goes through the list of things the man was diagnosed with. "I'm going to visit him, I'll talk to you later."

When Hailey walks beside him, Caleb smacks her butt, causing a squeal to come out of her. She narrows her eyes playfully at him, which is met with a smirk and an eyebrow wiggle.

Katrina's words smuggled its way into Hailey's mind, how Trina had called her sweet. She smiled and frowned a second after she realized the only person who made the institute bearable was quitting in two weeks to pursue a better career.

Hailey felt she understood her. She could understand why Trina would want to leave this hopeless place.

Hailey passed a broke-down sign with the words, "Hope Institution" in black, bold letters and she sighed at the irony; because hope didn't exist here—it was a foreign thing in a broken place for broken people.

Hailey's fingers dragged across the pictures that dotted the walls. The photos that was contained in the frame were pictures of the different staff over the past 20 years.

Hailey continue walking down the incredibly long hallways, watching as the numbers counted down.

12b, 11b.

She spots the silver door with a shiny doorknob that could only be opened with a keycard.

Hailey pulls her file to view and reads the letters on the paper inside of the file.

"John Seed, room 10b." Hailey confirms, and pulls out a key card from her pocket. She unlocks the door with a small beep and enters the room with light steps.

"Hello you," Hailey says softly to a man who laid with his back toward Hailey. Hailey puts her file down on the metal table in the corner of the room and pulls out a chair for her to sit on.

The man twists his body to Hailey, but with a sigh, he twists back to face the wall.

"I'm Hailey Denim, I'm your assigned nurse for your stay here," Hailey says with a softness to her voice. "How are you today, John? Or do you prefer me to call you something else?"

"I like John." He says, bluntly. His voice is so monotone and low, Hailey couldn't wait til' his voice would raise octaves when talking to her.

"Okay John it is." Hailey scribbles on a notepad with her pen without thinking. "How are you, John?" She asks again.

Hailey looks at the man's back, waiting for a response.

"Not much of a talker I assume." Hailey says and lets out a breathy laugh. "Don't worry, I'm a huge talker."

Hailey pulls her legs up on the chair and wraps her arms around it.

"I'm Hailey Denim and I'm doing good right now," Hailey starts. "I'm currently 28, the second youngest nurse in the facility."

"I graduated when I was 19. I used to be a janitor here, but I pulled the cords to land me a spot as a nurse." Hailey taps the pen against her chin and hums, trying to think about things to tell this man. "With a show of fingers, how good are you right now, John?"

Two long fingers come into view, causing Hailey's chest to feel heavy. She felt for this man who didn't have the words to tell her things. She felt for the low number she received.

"I'm afraid I have to leave, but I promise to visit again tomorrow, and I hope to see you at lunch today?" Hailey asks, standing from her chair with the yellow file between her fingers. "I believe the cooks are serving mashed potatoes and chicken." Hailey smiles. She loved the food here with all her heart, and she was so fortunate to work at a facility that had professional chefs for the food.

"You're going to love the food here, John." Hailey says, her voice followed by a beep of the door.

And then, Hailey Denim was already off to another room.

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