DAY 45: LIBRARY

[byname_bynature]

Even before he got sick, Sean had enjoyed reading. His teachers had always said that he read 'ahead of his age group', but he figured that was just because he read more than most kids his age did. He liked everything: fantasy, science fiction, biographies, journal articles... There was just something satisfying about holding a book--something

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[faithful_frost]

The library sounded like a great place to hide for a bit and just read. Chris hadn't enjoyed a book in a while, certainly not since ... not since then anyway. He spotted his friend and waved, but the nurse made sure to usher him along. It wouldn't do for him to only speak with Sean and not make any other friends.

Taking down an old book, one he wasn't familiar with, he settled into a chair that was far enough away from Sean to appease his nurse, but still within his line of sight.

[Free!!]

[moral_liberty]

Addison followed his nurse as readily as ever. He noticed that she had begun to smile when she spotted another patient, not far from his age, by themselves. She ushered Addison over to where they were sitting, looking through a book. They had exceptionally long, dark hair, and what seemed like a quiet demeanor. Addison wasn't able to say with any certainty whether it was a boy or a girl he had been shown to.

"Why don't you go keep Chris company today?" she advised, though she scarcely needed to voice her request. There was a routine to Addison's days, and being guided towards other patients to provide or gain company was a part of that pattern. Addison didn't mind it; everyone he had met had been kind or interesting, though now that he thought back on some of the things they had said, some of the things he had said

[faithful_frost]

Looking up, Chris reached up and tucked some of his hair behind an ear. "Of course," he said with a smile, gesturing to the spot beside him.

At least this new person looked like they would be nice and would probably not throw things at him like that strange man at breakfast...

[moral_liberty]

"Thank you," Addison responded, taking the seat that had been offered to him. He slouched in the chair, looking even shorter than usual as he sunk into it comfortably.

"My name is Addison," he said, and extended a hand to the long haired person. Now that he was sitting, he could see just how much hair there really was, and he found himself leaning towards female pronouns when he looked at them - her. A pretty girl, but with a boyish edge, he guessed.

[deadlyjuliet]

[ :| sorry, peter, Grell's not interested in your death peen]

Linda was such a lovely girl. Geoffrey just wished she could be happier. In a place like this, he could understand being...well, not happy, but still! She had such a pretty smile and she seemed so nice that it was a shame for her to be so upset. If only there had been something he could have done to help her...

But instead, he was here in the library after his nurse decided that his good behavior warranted a reward. Geoffrey liked books. He'd always enjoyed literature and research and just spending hours upon hours in the stacks. Of course, that had also gotten him in trouble after taking to reading up on-- Don't think about him. He'll come back. You don't want that."...oh look, fiction," he murmured absently to himself as he let the lure of harmless fantasy worlds drag him away from his thoughts. Going up to the first row of books, Geoffrey smiled faintly as he traced his fingers along the spines. Literature was such a lovely escape. He could pretend he was

[deadlyjuliet]

For some reason, Geoffrey had the strangest feeling that someone was watching him. But why would they? It wasn't like he was particularly interesting right now. He was just looking through the contents of a book. A book that he'd centered some of his delusions on.

...

Oh.

Glancing up, he tried to look for the nurse who might be coming over soon to take his precious book away, but to his surprise, he didn't see one. He looked the other way and still found no scary lady in a uniform looming over him. In fact, he couldn't quite see anyone at all. How...odd. Normally, when he had these sorts of feelings, there was someone there, watching him. Like the campus police or his doctors or--

Something rattled overhead and Geoffrey blinked, looking up in time to see - oh Holy God on Earth, BOOKS!!! Screaming, he leapt back out of the way, catching the corner of some paperback on to the top of his head, causing him to trip and fall as the other, heavier books rained down on top of him, burying him beneath them like snow in an

[tsunagari]

It was not uncommon to find Sai in a library even back in the village, and he fit into the scenery somewhat naturally. The selection of books wasn't any better than any of his previous visits, unfortunately, with its general lack of nonfiction. He pried a romance novel from the shelf instead and stared expressionless at the cover, mind very much elsewhere

[toobothersome]

It was rare to find Shikamaru in a library. It wasn't unthinkable--just because something came naturally didn't mean it couldn't be honed--but even if he did need to read something, it was a matter of signing his name on some ledger and finding somewhere less stuffy. Everything was stuffy here, though, and it was an almost malicious stuffiness, as if the room was packed with too much air and none of it had moved in years. He didn't bother to grab a book, or even look at the titles. As much as he wanted to find a place between the shelves where no one could bother him, that wasn't an option. Even if there was no immediate danger, something was wrong with Sakura. Wrong with a large part of the patient population, sure, but he didn't care about them. He needed to talk to the others, and find out if anyone else was affected

[tsunagari]

Sai blinked as the other ninja joined him, saving him the trouble of having to seek him out later. The question took him by surprise only briefly, and left a light feeling of relief - relief that he wouldn't have to be the only one trying to convince any others that the false life the Institute handed to them wasn't real. If he was the only one he worried he might have simply given in. It had been hard to tell Shikamaru's stance from the bulletin, but it was clear now that he was being tested. That earned the other ninja a light smile.

"Nara Shikamaru," he said, closing the book and setting it in his lap, "of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Sai lowered his voice slightly, just so that their conversation was that more difficult to pick out, but not to a whisper. "I am not theirs today, Shikamaru-san."

The smile fell away, leaving his expression cold. "I spoke with Sakura over breakfast."

[toobothersome]

Shikamaru audibly sighed, relieved for the same unspoken reasons. "I don't think she's in any immediate danger," he said, glancing around, but the room was conspicuously lacking in ninja. He was sure others would arrive soon enough--Kakashi wouldn't turn down the possibility of smut, and if Naruto wasn't off sleeping somewhere, he'd have to be wandering around. Why did everyone else get to spend the whole day napping whenever they felt like it

[otnemememento]

Library, Leonard thought as he was led into the room. Not many people here. Then again, I wouldn't be here myself if I didn't have to be.

He picked a book from the shelf, flipping through it idly before returning it to its place. No point in reading, anyway. I'd never be able to follow the plot. He found an empty spot near one of the shelves, taking a seat on the floor and leaning backward, his head and back against the books. He closed his eyes, enjoying the quiet of the room. He thought better without the distractions caused by the other patients.

[Utena]

[roseoverture]

A little while later, after most of the other patients had already been ushered in, Yomi entered the Library. She had spent the second half of breakfast and a bit of the first part of second shift in the Sun Room thus far. With no chance of scheduled therapy for the day, Yomi had decided to initiate some minor therapy for herself over the board instead. She ended up immensely glad that she did. Even though the people responding to her anonymous posts didn't know what exactly they were advising her about, the effect of their collective support had helped to ease her mind some. She knew that nothing would completely erase the unease until she could visit with Antony again face-to-face, of course. However, she was comforted and encouraged by the idea that maybe - just maybe - she could face the rest of this day without Utena's help

[otnemememento]

Leonard opened his eyes as he was addressed, his mind being taken far from where it had been. The girl who'd spoken to him caught his attention immediately. Kids nowadays. Guess pink is the new color of teenage rebellion.

"Can I help you?" he asked, keeping his voice low. It was a library, after all.

[roseoverture]

Okay, great. She'd got his attention. Now what to say? Her cheeks flushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassment setting in. "Well, this might sound kind of weird. You probably don't know me, but I wanted to apologize for something," said Yomi, brushing some hair behind her neck.

[meitantei]

Shinichi had been more than happy to leave The Ninja Previously Known as Yuffie (though he would now forever know her as "that psycho chick who likes to throw her breakfast at unsuspecting detectives") when the intercom signaled the end of the meal. That girl was nuts, and what she said about being 'cured' was really unsettling. Did she really think that walking around claiming to go along with this place's lies would really get her out of this place any sooner? Seemed like a pretty naive plan to him.

The detective was glad to be guided to the library this morning. After his rather unsettling (and greasy, ugh) encounter at breakfast, he just wanted to curl up with a book and relax.

Moving along the stacks, it didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. The Hound of the Baskervilles was his favorite book about his favorite detective by his favorite author. He'd read it so many times that he didn't even need to look at the page to know what it said.

Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings,

[flashyaudacity]

[Worshiping Lupin was half the problem! It gave Kyle terrible ideas... :(]

Breakfast could have gone better. Kyle hadn't gotten to apologize for what he'd really needed to apologize for ("Sorry, Hartwell; I've been lying to you a lot because I thought I was a famous thief, but now it doesn't matter because I realize that I just made the whole thing up; please forgive me?"), and... Well, it just could have gone better.

When his nurse escorted him to the library, Kyle nearly groaned. Of course, the very first person he spotted just had to be the other person he'd lied to repeatedly: Kudou. Or... whatever his name really was. He wasn't actually sure he'd heard it.

His nurse had turned to go, but Kyle stopped her, pointing towards 'Kudou'. "That guy, the one who looks kind of like me... What's his name?" he asked her.

The nurse smiled warmly, obviously taking his interest in the name as a some kind of signal, and shuffled him over towards the other teen before Kyle could protest that no, he didn't particularly want to go over

[meitantei]

Shinichi was well engrossed in his book by the time that Kaito showed up, but he was perfectly willing to tear himself away from Holmes' exploits for a friend. He looked up and smiled, giving the other boy a little wave. "Hey Kuroba," he said absently. "What's up?"

He stretched, cracking his back. "You doing okay?"

[flashyaudacity]

Great, another person calling him 'Kuroba'. It made sense that they would--he'd wanted to be called that, and the idea of being 'Kaito' (or thinking that he was) was more appealing than he really wanted to admit. If he still blindly believed it, he wouldn't feel so terrible about everything he'd done...

Kyle took a seat near Jimmy, setting the book in his lap.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, studying the other boy for a moment. They really did look rather similar... He'd thought before that the idea of a relation between them was ridiculous, but he'd also thought at the time that Jimmy had been masquerading as a pint-sized brat before he'd been admitted to the Institute. Next time he saw his dad, he'd have to ask if maybe he had any cousins he'd never known about...

He glanced at Jimmy's book. "Sorry I interrupted you... What were you reading?"