damned_institute | Day 27: Intercom, Evening

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Day 27: Intercom, Evening

The intercom gave its cheery jingle just before the Head Doctor's equally buoyant voice rang through the halls.

"Ah, and finally, our day is coming to a close! Rooms and roommates have been reassigned with care, though what great partnership can start without a good meal? Ah, yes, after the nurses escort all of our patients, new and old, back to their proper rooms, everyone will have the chance to enjoy a savory chicken pot pie, full of peas, carrots, potatoes, and of course, chicken. On the side, we'll have buttery corn on the cob and green beans, and to drink, you may choose from the regular slew of water, milk, or assorted juices, which your nurse will bring to you.

"I believe that's all for now! Phew, long day, huh? I know I'll be happy to get some sleep, and thank you to all our vigilant doctors and nurses, although Dr. House seems to have gone AWOL... Hmm... Well, in any case, have a good dinner, everyone!"

The intercom clicked off again as the nurses began organizing the patients for the small trek back to their rooms.

[ OOC: Remember, room threads go in response to THIS post, and please put your respective room number in the subject line of your first post. Thanks! ]

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The nurse dragged him away from the bulletin board well after Dr. Landel's announcement. Armand kept the two balled-up notes in his fist.

When she deposited him in his room and departed to bring him some juice, Armand relaxed enough to let it out. Not tears. No, he wasn't quite as unnerved as that yet, but he wondered how far off that day was now. It was in a book, a "novel" that anyone was free to read. His shame was almost as acute as it was when he'd done the deed.

If what he'd done became common knowledge, he'd never make an ally here, for there was no way to explain it. He sat the food tray on his desk, not even speaking to the nurse who returned with his juice, then he uncrumpled the paper. He copied the name of the book into his journal, and jotted down the name and publication date of the first one.

Grimly, he began to methodically shred the paper with the incriminating information. Armand wondered if it were too late to start telling people his name was Andrew Ffoulkes.

The coming night was looking productive, if not glorious. The prospect of once again holding within his grasp the virus that put all other to shame was one that put William in a very happy mood that dinnershift. If it was in his nature, he would have skipped into the room which he did not instead of merely allowing himself to be escorted passively. His roommate did not seem to share his excitement though. What a pity.

"How was your day?"

Armand didn't look up or answer until every piece of the note had been shredded into pieces smaller than his pinky nail. "I thought it had been going well," he answered. He felt faintly nauseated when he looked at the food resting on his desk.

But he'd promised his services to one who badly needed them, so it wouldn't do to be weak from hunger during the night. He poked at the pie with his fork, releasing the aroma of chicken and gravy.

"You seem happy."

"Oh?"

He 'had thought' therefore it had not gone well in the very least. The poor unfortunate soul, he deserved a purple heart and perhaps a violin or two. William was unphased and instead of his usual annoyance, William was seemingly complacent.

"Perhaps," the doctor replied as he seated himself at his desk. "Today was very productive."

"That's good. I did get a map and find a new night partner, at least for tonight, but..." He didn't want to admit the worst of it so he tried to think.

"Have you ever read a book called Eldorado?" He tried his very best to sound casual about it.

William raised a brow. That was a large jump in topics and seemingly irrelevant as well, which easily raised the suspicion that this was what the other man was moping over. But why was--

...He had to have been joking... It made sense why the other man's name had been so familiar, as well as his mannerisms and overall ignorance, but the explanation for such could have been simply that this man was a fanatic of the series. ~~Or that he lived under a rock for the past century~~ That or this place was far more powerful than anyone had thought.

"Once upon a time, yes," William replied just as casual, keeping an eye on the other man's reaction.

As much as he tried to prepare for the answer, Armand still flinched. He tried to soothe his heart back down out of his throat with the thought that, as much as anyone, Dr. Birkin was a friend here. He wouldn't use the knowledge against him. In fact, it was vaguely possible he'd known all along and had kept quiet due to care for Armand's feelings.

"Do you recall much of it?" he eventually asked. He felt very selfish to be so focused on this, but he found it very hard to think of anything else. Not even the food in front of him. He forced a bite into his mouth, scalding his tongue so that he could taste none of it as he swallowed.

...He was talking to a character from a novel. Of course. How logical. Oh well, insanity possessed many traits. One being curiosity, another irrational logic concerning science and the last being the ability to accept results as they were ~~these results being that the other man was very much fictional indeed. He would have to look further into this.~~

"My memory of it is not so bad," William replied, poking at his dinner. He had read it when he was ten and he was distracted with at home experimentations on what food combinations were the most volatile when combined, but he could remember what happened easily enough.

For several moments, Armand couldn't speak. He shivered inside his sweater. "Thank you for your honesty," he heard himself say. What else could he say? He was afraid to ask for anything else.

Then he choked down a few more bites of his pie. "So do you have plans for tonight?"

Polite smile in place, the doctor glanced over at the other man with a nod. "Why of course." This was just perfect. Today perhaps could not get any better in the least.

Returning to his meal, William nodded again as he hid a smirk. Was his dear roommate uncomfortable? The poor thing... "A few acquaintances of mine hope to find some medical supplies and I'll be tagging along with them. What about you?" Guh, now he was going to have to listen.

"I met a man who got into a tangle last night and is in a wheelchair today, but he's very smart and makes--" He had to think a moment for the right words. "He makes machines."

His stomach rumbled, not all sympathetic with the purely mental queasiness he felt. He decided to eat the vegetables first to try to settle it and his nerves.

"I couldn't let him go out on his own, so I'm with him tonight. We'll see how it works. No specific plans."

How... boring. Oh, to be sure, the other man's intentions were noble (as true to character ~~yet another thing to be noted~~), but they were so dull. William could hardly stand being polite for the amount of time during the day he was forced to do so, but to always be like that?

No wonder the man was an idiot.

"How kind of you," William praised, schooling himself not to gag.

Armand was always polite if he could help it. Marguerite had scolded him often when he was a child to teach him manners. They'd been poor and couldn't afford cheeky attitudes. And honestly, in Armand's case, it hadn't helped that much. He was downright rude and too forward by the standards of his own time. Only in the modern day did he seem so painfully polite.

"Thank you, Dr. Birkin. It was all I could offer to do for the man. I'll be next to no good in the work he hopes to do." He made a face at the corn. It had already been salted, so he washed the mouthful down with a few swallows of juice.

"There's simply too much to learn so quickly. I don't like this modern world very much."

William smiled, beginning to eat his dinner. If he hoped to stay focused he would have to not be hungry. "Yes, it is somewhat overwhelming," William agreed and because it was, for the rest of the world. But then again, they liked their ignorance, so why did they ever bother complain so much.

"I'm making notes. Perhaps someday it wil all make more sense." He returned his attention to the previously despised chicken pie.

"Do you think there is enough abandoned material around here to make more machines like Citan wants?"

William nodded helpfully. "Of course, but be sure they make sense to you or later it will be nothing but rubbish." That and it would be no fun to look through when his roommate wasn't in the room.

'Dear diary, I'm so frightened!'

William fought back a smirk, successfully keeping the 'kind' smile in place. "You brought up Eldorado earlier, is that a favorite of yours?" William asked innocently, fighting back a laugh now.

"I am trying." He feared they would barely make any sense the next day, but he could only do his best. It had seldom proved adequate in the past, but there was always a first time, wasn't there? That's why people kept trying.

When Dr. Birkin mentioned the book again, Armand looked away briefly toward his wardrobe, trying to hide his resentment that the subject came up again. He regretted asking about it, but he had no other way to learn what he'd wanted to know.

"Oh no," he said, trying to sound unconcerned, "I only heard about it today. I heard it was about rescuing the Dauphin from the Temple prison in Paris. Just historical fiction but..." But what? He had to think. "But about a time period comfortable to me." Did Birkin remember it or the series well enough to have made the connection between the names? He was not going to ask that.

The urge to laugh was growing stronger, he had to be wise and keep it bottled in. Oh how obvious his roommate was, it was almost beyond pathetic.

"Really?" William asked curiously. "I had thought it was somewhat interesting when I read it." A lie. "There was one character that was my favorite, but I can never remember his name." Another lie. None of the characters were even remotely interesting, but he need not say that aloud.

The food was no longer even remotely interesting, though it made a good show to look down at it and poke it again. He swallowed, considering carefully before answering. "You probably mean Sir Percy, the Scarlet Pimpernel. He is always the most interesting, a heroic sort." It never even occurred to Armand that for someone who claimed not to have read the novel, he was revealing a surprising amount of knowledge.

Right about now, back in the lab or even before he was assigned as lab assistant to Marcus ~~the pathetic man~~, a victorious smirk would form on William's face at the knowledge learned. Now, unfortunately, he had to play foolish and blundering. How boring.

"Hm... Maybe that's who it is..." William titled his head to the side in thought. "How'd you know?"

Armand flinched. He bit his tongue while he scrambled mentally for a suitable lie. He was a terrible liar at the best of times.

It was a series. Yes, that would help him. "Well, I read one of the earlier books. Sir Percy is the main character, don't you know? He's in all of them. Tall, with fair-hair and blue eyes. Percy is the most English gentleman you'd care to meet, on the printed page or in a salon." He feared he was babbling by the end, speaking too fast to be clearly understood. He felt like throwing up.

Laughter bubbled up in William's throat, threatening to escape at the obvious uncomfortable state his roommate had worked himself into. The doctor pushed it back, maintaining a calm facade. Armand was such a fool, of course he had read the earlier books, but regardless the other man had given himself away without even trying. After all, he wouldn't be so touched to learn about the forth book in a series if he had already read the previous three.

"I see!" Silly him. "It must have been a really good forth book for you then, have you read the rest?"

Armand shook his head. "Only the first," he lied. Why wouldn't the man let the topic alone? He was beginning to worry that Dr. Birkin did recognize his name. "It's not important," he added hurriedly, desperate that they drop the subject.

This was too fun. Sadly, the other man wasn't a complete idiot (though he could have fooled William) so now the doctor was going to have to play damage control to prevent him from reaching any conclusions. That way more fun could be had later!

"It's not?" William feigned a look of confusion. "It's a really good series, I'd recommend others like it, but I usually only read medical texts." The doctor feigned a sheepish grin as if to show how embarrassed he was at being a 'nerd'.

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Day 27: Intercom, Evening

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