2 Eyes Closed 1 Eye Open, Ch4

A Boy Is Spotted

There is a common room on the second floor, a small grouping of mismatched couches and chairs making up the seating, a handful of small tables dotting the spaces between them. There are two TVs, both on though one is muted, hanging between two windows completely forgotten at least for the time being. The other isn’t muted though the sound is so low only the couch closest to it has any chance of hearing it, if anyone had chosen to sit there. The room is strangely empty, making Valeri feel more brave than he has since his arrival here, or at least less nervous about every small movement.

He heads for the couch nearest the TV, trying not to make eye contact with the older kids that sat alone, books and paper scattered on the tables in front of them. For the most part they don’t bother to look up, ignoring the new boy and his timid steps. Once upon a time they were in his shoes, just as new with just as little knowledge about the building around them and the people within it. They might have pitied him and his ignorance, if they looked up to see the worried crease of his brows on his forehead but they keep their eyes down. They’re too tired to feel anything but apathy now when it comes to new faces. Valeri doesn’t mind.

The couch is surprisingly comfortable, for all that it appears to be falling apart, stuffing poking out at a few worn down seams. Valeri pulls his feet up, shoes discarded, tucked beneath him as he sinks into the cushions. There’s an imprint here already, left after years of use from various bodies placed exactly where his is now. It’s enough of a welcome that Valeri actually feels some of the tension in his shoulders leave, leaning back into the couch. That lasts only a moment before he’s leaning forward again in search of a remote. Some cartoons would help make the day feel somewhat close to normal.

“You gotta get up and do it by hand, or ask the nurse to change it. They have all the remotes, they have all the power but they like to say no.” The voice comes from beside the couch, startling Valeri. It’s the boy from before, the one who mocked the welcoming speech. He’s tucked away out of sight, leaning against an armrest using a pillow from a nearby chair as a makeshift seat. Valeri can’t remember what name the man had used earlier, he only remembers how scary the words and ideas he’d used were. “But I’m actually watching this so I’d appreciate you not changing it right now. In a couple of hours I’ll have to give up the set to the regular crowd. This show’s cool, they’re talking about abductees from like, Roswell.”

“Sorry.” Valeri isn’t entirely sure he understands the importance of Roswell or abductions that happened there but he doesn’t admit it. His toes wiggle in their socks, fingers twist themselves into his shirt, his earlier confidence drained. Going back into his room until lunch or dinner or whatever meal was next sounds like a good plan in theory but it’s empty save for the boredom that chased him down here in the first place. To go back now would mean staring at more blank walls, trying to decide if the cracks looked like faces or not.

The apology is louder than the TV and is apparently more interesting than the strange program about Roswell. The older boy is still looking at Valeri with one eyebrow raised, mouth pulled to one side. Even away from the doctors he is watched. Without checking he can tell there are eyes on him, the feeling of it burning into his skin, goosebumps on his arms. His nose itches but he doesn’t scratch it, ignoring the twitch of his fingers in his lap. The boy refuses to move, he is a statue, boring and uninteresting to observe. Surely this other boy would tire of looking at him soon.

The TV gives off a loud noise, playing clips that flashed from light to dark in an attempt to regain attention. Valeri stares at it, not really taking in what he’s seeing, eyes watering from a need to blink that he’d denying. Silently he begs for it to be enough, for those eyes to move away from him, to return to the show that had been so important to them. He gets his wish, a sigh of relief barely escaping his lips. The morning’s scene played through his head. This boy had been so loud and brash, gathering exactly the kind of attention Valeri doesn’t want. Still, it had been a little thrilling to see how little fear he has when it comes to the adults here.

“I’m Gabriel, Gabe for short. Only the assholes working here call me Gab so don’t call me that.” Gabe doesn’t look away from the TV set to speak this time and Valeri only flinches a little at the sound of his voice. Anyone who was unafraid to face the people in charge were also probably unafraid of saying exactly what they thought. Valeri doesn’t want to know what Gabe thinks of him. “Sorry if I freaked you out earlier. I just really hate hearing that stupid speech. There’s not a lot to do here so you gotta make your own entertainment. Pranks are good for that.”

Valeri shifts in place, freeing one of the feet trapped beneath him, wiggling toes to keep the pins and needles he’s feeling from settling in for the long haul. To hear it was little more than a joke is helpful. His shoulders relax once more, no longer resting up near his earlobes, the couch gets comfortable again while he calms down. Outside of a group, with no tension or anxiety to play off of those around Gabe doesn’t seem so scary. The boy feels a little silly for being so worried in the first place, after all his parents wouldn’t have left him here if it was dangerous. They love him, they want to keep him safe, they wouldn’t even let him sit in the car in the parking lot without a seatbelt. The danger was all in his head.

“Valeri, I’m Valeri and I wasn’t scared.” That’s a lie, he was definitely scared at the time but he doesn’t want Gabriel to know that. The last thing he wants is to look like a baby in front of the older boy, or stupid for that matter. He has no clue what a lobotomy is but he wasn’t going to admit as much to the other boy.

“My bad. Some of the other kids looked scared. I just assumed.” Gabe sees right through the lie, it wasn’t a very good one, but he says nothing on the matter. Once, many, many years ago, he knew what it was like to be in Valeri’s position. He’d worn similar shoes once. Besides it would do noone any good to upset the boy further today. All that would get would be trouble from one of the nurses or doctors and the punishment wasn’t worth it. “Valeri’s kind of a mouthful. What about Vale? Can I call you Vale?”

“Yeah, you can.” Just like with the lie, Valeri doesn’t do a good job of hiding his excitement. Nicknames are shared between friends and if he’s honest with himself while he might find Gabe extremely intimidating, he also thinks he’s really cool. Older with a talent for causing trouble, he’s exactly the kind of kid his parents won’t approve of but they’d left him here. They weren’t here to monitor his life anymore. They’d walked away with tearful goodbyes and without looking back even once. Valeri wants to rebel against them and he wants a friend. This place is too big, too bright, too much like a hospital to navigate it alone and any friend would be preferable to none at all.

“Cool. Watch this alien marathon with me? Someone else has to be educated on the extraterrestrial menaces we face.” The invitation is accepted with a nod, restless fingers finding a ratty crochet blanket with holes they can stick themselves through. Without another word the boy settle in, adjusting themselves to the whisper volume of the TV. Vale wants to turn it up but he assumes that there’s a reason for it to be so quiet. Maybe it’s to keep from bothering the others in the room with their books and their papers spread out in front of them. Or perhaps it’s to keep the nurses from changing the channel with the remote they kept hidden away.

The reason doesn’t matter and it’s not long before he stops noticing how quiet it is, the room itself is nearly as silent as a tomb without the low murmur of the TV. He figures out how to pick out the lines of dialogue without sitting mere inches away from the screen though at some point he does slip from the couch to the floor, sitting cross legged there as Gabe was already. The sound was clearer down here, which explains the choice of seating in the first place. Neither boy said a word, not about the program or anything else, eyes glued to the screen even during commercials.

“Gabriel!”

This time it’s not just Valeri who jumps at the sudden voice though he is the only one that looks surprised by it. He’d gotten so used to the whispering speakers that he’d forgotten it was so quiet. Gabe recovers from the shock faster than the younger boy does, giving him a look before he sighs. Turning he doesn’t bother to get off the floor, twisting in place to look at whoever it was that broke the moment with a near shout. Clearly he’s not impressed with whom he sees, returning to the screen and it’s extremely phoney looking UFO.

That just leads to the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them, their foot tapping loud enough that it drowns out the woman who was recounting her abduction experience. Gabe groans, rolling his eyes in the most exaggerated manner he can manage, spinning on his pillow to face the person so desperate to get his attention.

“Gabriel, what do you think you’re doing? You know you’re supposed to be in with Doctor Duco right now. Even if you weren’t you’re skipping your classes right now.” Valeri doesn’t follow Gabe’s lead, he stays seated as he was before, eyes glued to the TV screen. It’s not because he’s super invested in the show, in fact he has little idea as to what’s happening in it currently but he doesn’t want to move and draw attention to himself. He’s afraid that he’ll get into the same kind of trouble as Gabe, if they find out he’s also sitting here. The couch is fairly large, he just hopes it’s large enough for a shield.

“Right now I’m learning that there was definitely a UFO that crashed in Rowell and now aliens are abducting us all. Now the experts can’t decide if they’re greys or reptilians but they are taking us, that they can agree on. I think it’s far more important to know how to spot an alien then it is to know how to do algebra, don’t you agree?” The amount Gabe cared, or rather didn’t, about what he was supposed to be doing was clear in his voice. He uses the armrest as a pillow, making a show of getting more comfortable where he was sitting, Valeri can’t really see him do it though he catches the movement from the corner of his eye.

“Gabriel you will go to Doctor Duco’s office this moment or I will revoke your common room privileges entirely. There are new kids here, you’re supposed to set a good example for them.”

“Why not just tell them all to stay far, far away from me like the last set?” The older boy seems to be no closer to moving from his place, his tone darkening just a little with his response. Valeri isn’t entirely certain what’s happening here but he does know that he would much rather be anywhere else than in the middle of it.

“You know we don’t enjoy punishing you. Now come on. If you go now then we’ll tack another hour onto your TV time tonight. Just come without making a big scene or production about it.” The adult’s voice sounds tired now as they made what was clearly their final offer. Even if Valeri had never met this person before, he knew the inflection they used, the weight of their meaning. There was clearly something unpleasant in store if Gabe chose not to follow their advice. For the first time since the newcomer had spoken up Valeri moved, not a lot, just enough to see Gabe’s face.

“Fine. I’m coming.” Using the armrest the older boy gets to his feet, towering over Valeri’s hiding spot now. To his credit he doesn’t look down, doesn’t draw any attention towards the second person watching TV. He just picks up the pillow he was sitting on and half tosses it at the chair it must belong to, the pattern on both the same dated floral print. It bounces, falling to the floor one more time. Gabriel pauses, staring at it just as Valeri’s staring at it, internal debate clear on his face. In the end picking it up wins out, a sigh pushed from his lips as he bends over. There’s hesitation as his fingers curl around one half empty corner.

“They don’t enjoy the punishment, they love it. They get off on it.”

Gabe might as well have been muttering to himself. Valeri doesn’t understand what he means with his words or the wrinkled expression on his face. Rather than ask and risk getting themselves both in trouble he nods. He might not know what the older boy meant but he can tell it’s not good. He wonders if his parents realize what kind of place they left their son in, full of mysteries and worry.

---

Chapter 5