#7 China Cat (The Weird Night Man)

was a lot of love in their room to counter act the weird night man, and Carole stealing her plants, but there was Cora, who was talking to Carin and Colleen now, and even Carolyn dying was a type of love. Then it followed that the weird night man, and Carole stealing, were love too. They were predictable, therefore she felt loved, therefore she felt in control, even in charge sometimes. After all, she was the object of their affection.

One time, one of the hall people wandered in, during the day, looking for a fight. Sonia attacked China. None of the staff stopped her. China just laid there while Sonia pulled her hair and screamed. Sonia was way bigger and fatter. She started pounding on her with closed fists, all the while screaming. Still, no staff came in. China was scared and it really hurt. She stopped and stared at her for a moment. The pupils of her ice blue eyes widened, and in the next moment, Sonia started choking her, screaming that she was going to kill her, but China just laid there waiting for staff to stop her. Carin showed up. She rose up behind Sonia, no expression on her face, and looked at the situation. She grabbed Sonia by the wild, grey hair and yanked her back. Sonia let go. Carin kicked her in the arse, then threw her out of the room. It was over, just like that, and it never happened again, though she had the bruises to prove it.

Every floor had their own Recreation Room, so they only had to walk down the hall. It had games, puzzles, books, and every room had a ping pong table and television. Pieces were missing, pages were torn out, and the staff controlled what channel they watched. Only the religious channel was allowed, the sexy pages were torn out, and as far as the missing pieces went, the games and puzzles were donated, so were the books, for that matter. They didn’t want the patients to get stimulated. Mostly everybody watched television, including the staff member, and if there was an ‘incident’, the staff member would just call for help, and give the person a needle. The hallway people lined up against the wall, making their noises, but there was one really creepy one. He looked like he died yesterday, but they said he was in a coma. He was left out in the hall all night, brought down to the rec room, brought back, and left in the hall for the rest of the day. It was boring. He was skin covered bones, crooked, his cheeks were hollow, and they fed him through a tube once he got out in the hall. He was by the nurse’s station, so it was more convenient, and mostly everyone was out for mandatory fresh air. They tried to put him out once, but he just made groaning noises. He probably wanted a coat and boots, but he wasn’t sent with any, so they didn’t bother anymore. It was too much trouble anyway.

China was well-aware she wasn’t getting an education, so she got smarter by using the games, puzzles, and books. It was easy, and at any moment, someone would donate something new. She could mostly always find someone to play a game against her but she preferred the staff member, as they tailored the times of the rec and mandatory fresh air to suit them. When there wasn’t anybody, she would work on the puzzle. From the games, puzzles, and books, she learned words, math, and strategy. She always had a book in the room, but sometimes she had to read a book over again, because nobody had brought in a new one. That was okay, because that made her into an expert.

Carole stopped stealing her plants when she got two of her own that she stole from Carolyn when she was dead. China finally got a flower, three actually, and she let them go to seed. She wouldn’t have to wait for him to be in a good mood or even come back. She grew lots using the same disposable cups. She read