hope institute - john seed

CHAPTER 2

"John Seed is such a fucking weirdo," Veronica says with a striped straw coming out of her clear coke bottle. She wraps her lips around the straw and looks to Caleb with innocent eyes.

This remark makes Hailey mad. Hailey stands from her spot on the table and stares at Veronica with daggers. "I'm not even sure why you're in here when all you want to do is sleep with the patients," Hailey spits. "I'm not sure how you avoided court."

Veronica shrugs and leans back against her chair. "There's not enough evidence," Veronica says with a low tone to her voice. "And David likes me." Veronica winks, referring to Doctor Grayson. "I see how you eyeball him, Hales."

Hailey's face is tinted pink with frustration. "I see how you open your legs for anyone who looks at you."

Katrina, who had been sitting quietly lets out a low, "ooo."

Veronica flips her black hair over her shoulder. "You think you're so innocent with your cute little bangs, but I know how you get turned on by the thought of winning over David Grayson." Veronica grabs her lunch from the table and shoots a glare at Hailey. "I also happen to know you are willing to open your skinny little legs for anyone who looks your way."

Before Veronica is out of earshot, Hailey snorts. "Only for Caleb York."

Katrina lets out an ugly laugh, her laugh converts into snorting and her shoulders moving up and down.

Katrina was gorgeous. She had dark brown skin the same colour as her eyes. Her hair was chin-length hair and she had the most amazing personality's out there. The only thing that was probably the most ugly trait was her laugh.

"Are you really quitting?" Hailey asks Katrina when her laugh dies down. Hailey pushes around the peas on her plate sadly.

"Hales," Katrina says softly, her eyes soft with her voice. "I'm not cut out for this job, we both know that."

That was true, because Katrina didn't have the patience and politeness for this job. She already managed to make a few patients scared of her.

"Poor Henry," Hailey says with a breath out. "I still see him hiding when you come around."

"I'm not sure how you do it, Hailey Denim." Katrina shakes her head. "It's a gift."

Hailey looks at the clock and gasps.

"As much as I would love to bicker about my gifts, I have to visit John Seed today." Hailey grabs the tray on her table and stands, gathering her things. "He has to take his meds, and I'm going to show him around. Ciao Trina."

"Ooooh," Trina takes a bite out of the meatball from her plate. "Have fun. I have to take Henry on a walk around the courtyard."

Hailey grimaces. She nods at Katrina and starts walking towards the end of the cafeteria.

When she throws away the rest of her food, she spots John sitting on a table by the large windows, his food untouched.

"John," Hailey breathes out, sliding into the seat across from him and smiles brightly. She looks where John's blue eyes were sitting. "That's Magnolia. She's a cherry tree."

Hailey rests her head on her open palm and admires Magnolia, the little cherry tree that grew by the window.

"She was named after a famous writer." Hailey sighs dreamily, remembering when the previous staff brought her to Magnolia and introduced the two as if the little cherry tree was a person. "But you wouldn't know her."

Hailey looks at John, who looked tired and miserable. The bags under his eyes were purple against his pale skin, and his eyes were so dull they barely were blue.

"You tired, John?" Hailey asks the blank man in front of her. "We can go to your room."

John finally looks at Hailey. At first, he looks confused but then he realizes something and shakes his head.

"Oh! That reminds me," Hailey looks at the watch on her wrist. "You have to take your meds."

Hailey stands from her spot and quickly, John too, rises. Hailey smiles warmly and begins her journey with John towards the front desk, where they keep the medication for the patients.

"Who did you live with, John?" Hailey asks, her voice soft. "If you don't mind me asking."

John shakes his head.

Hailey nods. "That's fine, I can do the talking." Hailey is a foot shorter than the towering John, so she has to arch her neck to look at him. "I live with my ex and his new girl. It hurts but it's bearable."

Hailey stuffs her hands into her pockets and shrugs. "His new girl is everything I'm not. She's gorgeous, she smells like vanilla and she looks like Taylor Swift," Hailey says. "Maybe she is Taylor Swift, which explains why she's so beautiful."

Hailey and John reach the front desk, where the lady there took a glance at them. The lady writes a few things into her papers.

"How's it going with Veronica, Hailey?" The lady asks, glancing up to them under her cat eye glasses.

"It's whatever," Hailey shrugs.

"I heard about what she said about Grayson. I cannot believe that girl." The lady turns with her swivel chair and pulls open a few cupboards. "We're this close to getting her fired."

"Ah, John." The lady pulls out a small box and holds it up. The lady turns to them and opens the box. "How are you feeling darlin'?"

"I am okay." John says, to Hailey's surprise. Hailey audibly gasps and suddenly envies the med lady.

"That's good." The lady nods. "How's the sleep?"

John shakes his head, to which the lady "aww's" at.

Hailey couldn't believe this. She had been trying to get a word out of John for a few days, and Meredith, the med lady, knew a lot about John already.

"I'll see you at seven, John." The lady says, to which John nods.

Hailey hands him a cup of water to swallow his pills with.

"You aren't sleeping well?" Hailey asks softly.

John just looks at her with his head tilted back with the cup edge between his lips.

"I'm sorry." Hailey says. "I couldn't help but eavesdrop."

John throws away his cup and he wipes the corner of his mouth with his finger.

"We have the whole afternoon to ourselves John." Hailey says, her lips curving into a smile. "I was wondering if you wanted a tour."

John nods, causing Hailey's smile to fully take over her lips.

"Okay this is the med area." Hailey motions around them, to the small room. In the corner was where Meredith's office was. Beside the opening for her office was a water dispenser thing with small paper cups. "That's Meredith, but I assume you know her already."

Hailey walks out of the room, to the long corridor just outside the door. "This is hallway A, and this is where we place the women." Hailey points to the end of the corridors, where a few rooms with patients inside were. There were a few nurses accompanying a few women with wristbands to identify them and what hallway they lived in.

Hailey looked to John's wrist, where a light blue wristband sat on his left side.

Hailey leads John out of the corridor to a large space. "This is the dining room, or cafeteria." Hailey looks towards the kitchen window. "The chefs are wonderful."

And Hailey blabbers on about the food, taking him to different parts of the hospital, introducing him to many people.

Hailey could do this forever.