Strawberry skies

Chapter 3

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Kara's voice cut through my thoughts. "Alright, Louis, you're going to start off in the pediatric ward today. Help out the kids, try to make their day a little better. They'll appreciate it more than you think. After that, I'll need you to run some errands for the older patients in the ward."

"Are you good with kids?" Kara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," I said grumpily.

She sighed, clearly used to my attitude by now. "Could you at least try to be happy you're here? The kids already have enough on their plate. They don't need that negative energy around."

I didn't respond, shoving my hands deep into the pockets of my vest. I hated it here. Every second felt like a countdown until I could leave, but Kara wasn't giving me much of a choice.

She waved me off. "Make the best of it," she muttered before walking away. I followed her down the hallway, dragging my feet like a petulant child.

The pediatric ward wasn't what I expected. The walls were painted in bright, cheerful colors, cartoon characters smiling down at me from every surface. It felt like a place meant for kids to forget they were sick for a while. I hated how fake it all felt-how easy it was to pretend everything was fine. I wasn't one for pretending.

As we walked into one of the rooms, I saw a red-haired girl wearing the same ugly vest I had on. She looked up as we approached.

"Hi, I'm Sarah," she said, walking toward me with a friendly smile.

"Louis," I muttered.

"I'll leave you to it. Sarah will show you the ropes," Kara said before hurrying off. "I have other things to handle."

"Sarah!" a small, bald girl called out energetically from across the room. "Look at this!" She held up a drawing, her face glowing with pride.

Sarah crouched down beside her. "This is so beautiful, honey! That's you, and that's me... and Bee?" She pointed at a figure in the drawing, laughing softly. "What's wrong with Bee's drawing? Is she committing suicide?"

"No!" the girl said with an exasperated giggle. "That's her cannula tubes."

"Got it," Sarah said with a chuckle. "Bee's your best friend huh?"

"Yup!" The girl grinned, then turned to me. "Hi, I'm Katie."

"Louis," I said, shaking her tiny hand. Her energy was contagious, and for a moment, I forgot how much I hated being here.

A few minutes later, as I was gathering my bearings, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see Craig strolling toward me, grinning like he didn't have a care in the world.

"What are you doing here? And how did you know I'd be here?" I asked, annoyance creeping into my voice.

"Seth told me," he said, smirking.

"WTF, man?" he said suddenly, laughing loudly. "That's an ugly-ass vest."

I glared at him but didn't bother responding. I was still pissed at him for what happened the other day. If it weren't for his stupidity, I wouldn't have ended up in this mess in the first place. Telling Seth my whereabouts was a mistake .

"Shut the hell up," I muttered, brushing past him. I wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"Wait-" Craig grabbed my shoulder, turning me around. "You good? I know things are... weird right now, but-"

I shoved his hand off. "No, I'm not good. You're the reason I got caught with your stash in my bag. You didn't even have the decency to tell me you left it there. Idiot." My voice was low, but the anger was simmering under the surface.

Craig's face dropped for a moment, the usual cocky smile gone. But just as quickly, it was replaced with his usual nonchalance. "I didn't think it was a big deal, man. My bad, alright?"

"You think?" I snapped. "You got me sent to jail, man. I had to clean up your f*****g mess."

Before he could respond, a sharp voice cut through the tension.

"Take those words outside."

I turned to see the girl from earlier, Bee. She was standing in the doorway of one of the rooms, hands on her hips.

"You don't need to be cursing in here," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "The kids don't need to hear those filthy words coming out of your mouth."

I wasn't in the mood for a lecture, especially not from someone who seemed like she had no idea what I was going through. "Who the hell are you?"

She didn't flinch. "I'm Bee. And you're in a hospital, not your playground. Take it outside."

I wanted to snap back, but something about her made me stop. Maybe it was the way she wasn't afraid to stand her ground, even though she was so much smaller than me. Or maybe it was just the fact that, for once, someone was calling me out on my bullshit.

"Whatever," I muttered. "Mind your business."

Bee didn't say anything else. She just turned and walked back into the room, leaving me standing there feeling like an i***t.

I cursed under my breath, then looked back at Craig, who was smirking.

"Man, you've got some serious anger issues."

"Shut up," I snapped, turning away. I needed to get my emotions in check. This place, these people-it was all getting under my skin.