Day 65: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

As some of the clouds from earlier began to clear, the intercom jingle sounded over the intercom once again.

"Hello, patients!" came the Head Doctor's cheery voice. "I hope you're all feeling fresh and clean this evening! To top it all off, we've prepared a scrumptious herb chicken dinner for you to eat before bed. Of course, we have vegetarian options available, so please don't hesitate to ask the nurse if you're interested in that.

Also, since we have the pleasure of welcoming a few new patients into our family, some of you will be receiving new roommates. Let's do our best to give them a nice, big Landel's Institute welcome, shall we?"

The Head Doctor gave a friendly chuckle. "Well, anyway, enjoy your dinner!"

With that, the intercom shut off.

[Note: All dinner threads are posted in response to this entry. Be sure to check the Roommate Assignments if you're not sure what room/roommate your character has! Thanks.]

Comments

Re: M99

[fallenbeanpole]

The Once-ler looked up from his slicing when his roommate spoke up. “I’m not particularly concerned with whether the chicken’s dead or not. I’m more worried about what nasty things the staff might have cooked into it,” he responded dryly. Satisfied that he had cut enough slices for the moment, the man forked a piece and inspected it before deciding it was safe for consumption.

The first bite was normal enough, but there was something chewy in the second piece. The Once-ler quickly spat it out in a brief moment of panic, only to find it was just a bit of fat. Still, it was enough for him to put in an extra effort to separate the remaining fat from the chicken.

He continued this process for a few more minutes before setting down his fork and turning to his roommate. It had occurred to him that while Rapunzel had told him her room number, he had no idea how he was going to find it.

“So,” he began, “you wouldn’t happen to know how I could get to room F15 from here, would you?”

Re: M99

[brokensmolder]

[Sorry! I don't think I ever got the e-mail notif for this.]

Eugene's attempt at humor had gone over like a lead balloon, but he was somewhat used to that. He'd been born with the gift of gab along with his dashing good looks, to be sure, but sometimes things fell a little bit flat. Often when trying to talk himself out of trouble, in fact.

When his roommate mentioned F15, he sat up a little straighter. What did he want with Rapunzel? For a brief, paranoid moment Eugene wondered if this new roommate was a plant, if Landel had decided to monitor him even further to ensure that he would hold up his end of their horrible deal...but a quick glance dispelled all that. The guy was obviously wounded; he was probably just taking Rapunzel up on her offer, the same as Eugene.

"Going to see Rapunzel, huh? I am too, actually. I'll show you." After a beat, he added, as if on afterthought: "Rapunzel's my girlfriend."

Just so that was abundantly clear.

Re: M99

[fallenbeanpole]

[It's no problem! Sometimes email goofs up like that.]

The Once-ler had expected general directions at best. It was a stroke of luck that his roommate not only knew where F15 was, but was himself actually going there as well. The former businessman had not been looking forward to stumbling around the institute on his own, especially not after the previous night's events.

"Sounds like a plan, then," the Once-ler replied, clapping his hands together. He was slightly puzzled when the other man brought up his relationship with Rapunzel, as if it was important for him to know. The Once-ler had never given such things much thought, even in his prime.

Well, to each their own.

If they were going to be traveling together, introductions were in order. "I'm the Once-ler, by the way. And you?"

Re: M99

[brokensmolder]

"The Once-ler?" Eugene asked, eyebrow raised. If the Once-ler was perplexed about Eugene's relationship with Rapunzel, Eugene was equally perplexed about that introduction. Was it a name or a title? Title, probably, though there was really no shortage of bizarre names in this place. Where were the normal names, like John and Mary? Heck, he'd even take an Olaf at this point.

(He had a healthy respect for the Olafs of the world; he'd known a couple as a kid. That was not an easy name to bear.)

Deciding that 'the Once-ler' was a title and not a name, Eugene asked, "And I should call you...?"

Of course, in a pinch he could just fall back on the reliable "hey you!". It wasn't like he was overly concerned with offending people or anything.

He had opened his mouth to say something else, but the intercom cut him off. The knot that had been in his stomach since last night twisted itself into a sailor's hitch and he paled visibly. Nightshift had come and Landel's sadistic plan was about to enter its next phase.

"You're not...feeling sick, are you?"