Day 52: Intercom, Afternoon

[damned-intercom.livejournal.com]

The intercom jingled on to its usual broadcast as the patients finished their lunches.

"Hello, everyone! Just another announcement about our next shift. Right now, our nurses will be escorting you to the Game Room, where we have an assortment of activities for all of you to take part in, including card games, board games, and even video games! Today, we even have a few televisions set up especially for co-player interaction, including Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System! We would like to encourage our patients to work together to solve problems, and in conjunction with some of the suggestions we found in our box, we felt this was a good way to go about it!

"And, like our last activity shift, some selected patients will be taken to their therapy sessions with their assigned doctor. Thank you, everyone, and I hope you continue to have a good day!"

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[windsome.livejournal.com]

"Hello, everyone! Just another announcement about our next shift. Right now..."

The words had been heard, but they didn't quite register; in fact, Yukari didn't even find them out of place in the least, blaming them on yet another dream her mind hadn't snapped out of yet.

"...including card games, board games, and even video games! Today, we even have..."

But then they continued on, and the clearer it became as she slowly but surely stirred out of her slumber, the more strange it became. Whose voice was that? It was unrecognizable, enough to pique Yukari's curiosity in even the groggiest of states upon waking up. She blinked, rubbed her eyes--

-- And gasped when she became startled upon noticing a woman dressed in a typical nurse's garb with her hand extended, almost have reached her shoulder.

"Oh, just in time," the woman laughed, pulling her hand back to her chest, clutching a clipboard in her arms. "I'm sorry, did I scare you? I only meant to wake you up."

"Huh?" Yukari blinked stupidly. What? Who was she? And why was she...

Then she looked around some more, and not only was this -- nurse? -- unfamiliar, but everything else about the room had been, too. Dull, white walls; nothing decorated them, not a single poster, mirror, color-- anything. The bed was smaller than usual, lacking all the pillows and blankets she owned. These were just as white. This room wasn't hers.

"Where... is this?" Yukari finally added, her eyes slowly becoming wider as more and more questions were popping into her mind.

"You don't remember? Well, you were only admitted here earlier today." The nurse knelt down, placing a hand on the girl's upper arm with a consoling smile. "This is Landel's, a hospital. I know it must be hard being away from your family, but we're going to help you get better so you can go back."

Yukari's following expression could only be described as contortion, and it took her a long moment before she could come up with the simplest of responses. "What are you talking about? I was fine before. There isn't anything wrong with me."

The nurse shook her head. "You're not going to make any progress with an attitude like that. Anyway, the day's almost over, and I wanted to let you get out for a little while before it's time for everyone to return to their rooms." Her hand slid down, grabbing at the bedsheet covering Yukari and pulled it off. "Follow me, all right?"

She was as confused as they came, nothing at all had been answered, and there was something in her somewhere in there that was growing an uneasy feeling... But she pushed it aside, because there had to be some logical explanation for this. Nobody wound up in a hospital room for no reason, right? Yukari didn't have the slightest idea what it could possibly be over, but she trusted she would know soon enough. So, tentatively, she crawled out from what the nurse hadn't pulled off of her; staying in here didn't seem like it was going to help her in the least.

"... Okay."