Chapter
22 - Talk to me softly
It
was 9:42 a.m. and Justin didn?t want to draw blue flowers because his paper was
so beautifully white, exactly like the Christmas snow in front of the tower
window.
"Justin?
What?s the matter?!" Lindsay went over to her young patient?s table and
put a hand on his shoulder. ?Don?t you want to draw with us today? ?
Justin
turned his head away and looked at the wall.
Lindsay
watched the blonde for a moment and then took the blue wax crayon to draw a
pretty flower in the middle of Justin's paper. ?See? We want to paint the
spring today. Aren?t you looking forward to springtime, Justin? With all the
nice flowers and singing birds, hmm?" She smiled and gave the flower
curved leaves and a long stalk with the green pen.
Blindly,
Justin knocked the little pen basket from the table, got up from his chair with
a loud screeching sound, and walked a couple of awkward steps through the room.
Next to a big easel he stopped and pressed his forehead against the cold wall.
He hated stinking flowers and horrible fluttering birds and every word Miss
Eterson said.
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At
lunchtime Mister Kinney left his luxurious office on the executive floor to
take care of a couple of personal things.
He
buttoned his coat and stopped briefly at Cynthia's desk. ?This thing Gus wanted
for Christmas?what?s it called??
"Nintendogs."
She answered without looking up from the files and handed him a pink slip of
paper. ?This is the pick-up number. Toys R? Us, Century III Mall.?
Brian
blinked at the small paper. ?Golden Retriever?"
Cynthia
rolled with her chair from left to the right and stopped in front of her
computer to type in a few things. ?Yes, it?s a bundle with the blue NDS."
She took a sip of her lychee-tea without looking up. ?I mean there was also the
basset, but who would want something like that."
"Hh."
With his eyes on the pick-up number Brian went in the direction of the lift. As
if he had nothing better to do on his lunch break than to deal with a stupid
wiener dog...
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Justin
breathed against the window in his room and drew kong pao chicken with his finger
on the fogged pane. But male nurse Gold brought a tray with tortellini and
cheese sauce for lunch anyway.
Justin
found it tasted like liver sausage and spat it back onto the plate.
After
that, he drank a large gulp of puddle water from the red cup, kept it in his
mouth for a moment and then watched with fascination as it ran through his lips
and into the liver sausage- noodle mud. Hmm. It tasted even worse than coffee.
?What?s
your problem, dumbass?!" Male nurse Gold came at half past twelve to
collect the tray and slapped his hand on the back of Justin's head. ?Are you
too dense to eat now? Fucking idiot." He slammed the thick wall door
behind him as he left the room again.
"Yes."
Justin blinked briefly at the loud bang and didn?t like the pang in his head.
Then he padded back to the window, put his hands and forehead to the cold pane
and counted the snowflakes that fell on the beautiful wall in front of the
castle. ?Certainly toast?toast from Prian.?
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After
many years in a strictly Roman Catholic parental home, Brian knew one thing for
sure:? Whatever lay behind the gates of
hell was nicer than the local Toys R Us store.
Everything
here was Barbie pink and Blues Clues blue and full of huge balloons and fuzzy
teddy bears and earlier, in the department for girls toys, one of the fucking
dolls had talked to him. Inside of its damned box! It had fluttered with its
way too big plastic eyes and twittered, "Let?s have a tea party! You are
my very best friend!" He?d almost puked in front of the shelf with the
pink unicorns?
And
now, he stood for like an eternity (or almost thirty minutes) in the
media-department, to wait for 'Gwendolin' to look through every item in stock
for his fucking poodle.
"So,
here it is, Mister Kinney." In the thirty-fourth minute, she came back
with a bright smile and a box that was easily big enough to gather her cut-off
egghead in, Brian mused. ?The blue NDS bundle with the Golden Retriever. It?s a
good thing you ordered it in advance. This late during the Christmas season, we
only have the basset in stock.?
"Hh."
Brian took the box from her sweaty fingers and turned it around mistrustfully.
?And how does this thing work?!" He surely had better things to do than to
read a seventy page instruction manual under the damned Christmas tree. In
Afrikaans or Mandarin.
"If
you want, I can explain a couple of things to you on our test console!"
Her braces blinked as brilliantly as her amorous eyes at this suggestion.
"Hh."
Mister Kinney grumbled and followed her a couple of steps to be initiated into
the wonders of the latest Videogame technology.
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"And
you have to use the touchpen on this screen?" Twenty minutes later, the
handsome man in the Armani suit was deeply concentrating on a game named, '
Animal Crossing'. He was a green elephant called Rocco and lived in a little,
yellow house near the river. It was fascinating.
"Yep."
Gwendolin moved a little closer to be able to enjoy the extremely stimulating
aftershave of her hot customer to the fullest. ?And all these games are
compatible." She gestured proudly toward a six feet large shelf. ?The Age
of Kings, Kim Possible, New Super Mario Brothers, Pokemon?s Mystery Dungeon
team, Crash Boom Ba-"
?What?s
this?" Brian pointed to one of the flat boxes, took it from the shelf and
read the imprint on the back.
"Oh,
this is Brain Age. You have to do a number of games. Math, crossword puzzles,
writing, reading. It trains the brain and you can test how fit you are
intellectually.?
"Hu."
Brian wrinkled his forehead as he quickly read over the summary. Then he took a
stack of the games he?d already selected, a couple of other accessories and one
discreetly white light version of the handheld game console and piled
everything in a big mountain in Gwendolin?s scrawny arms. ?I?ll take this and a
pack of Marlboros.?
Gwendolin
blinked through her stained lenses. ?But this is a toyshop, sir, we don?t sell
cigarettes.?
"Yeah
well?you really should ..." Brian turned up his nose as a man in a
brightly colored Clown costume passed by, trying to hand him a yellow Spongebob
balloon, and disgusted he looked? around
for the nearest register. He really couldn?t stand one more minute in this
horror show.
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Mummy
had always said, if it gets cold outside, the sun will set earlier.
And
Mummy was right. Because although the man in the radio announced 'Lady?s and
Gentleman, its 5 p.m. welcome to the news.'?
it was already as dark outside as if it were midnight.
Justin
liked it.
The
castle looked pretty in the light of the streetlamps and the white snow
glittered and sparkled and he breathed warm breath on his window until it
became fogged and non-transparent and then wrote the most beautiful word on the
cold glass with his finger. With a wonderful big P.
He
smiled and turned around as he heard the tinkling silver key and the thick wall
door opened.
"Just
let me know when you would like to leave, Mister Kinney." Nurse Sherman
smiled and disappeared.
And
then the beautiful prince stood in the middle of his tower room. Just like
that. Without a sword and crown but with a long coat and a big bag in his hand.
"Hello."
Justin looked over to the wall.
Brian
put the bag down on the bed, "God, it stinks." and opened three
buttons on his coat before he pressed a kiss on Justin?s forehead. ?Hello."
He put an arm around thin shoulders and buried his nose in the warm point
behind Justin's ear. ?And how come you always smell so good when you sit in
this terrible stench the whole day?" He said it quietly, kissed the boy?s
neck and turned around to remove his coat completely.
"Yeah."
Justin?s belly felt warm and light and he didn?t think that his room stank. Not
anymore. It smelled like almonds and prince and dark red velvet and he breathed
in deeply through his nose.
The
prince wet two paper towels and wiped the little table with it. Then he threw
them into the trash can and sat down on the table?s edge with folded arms.
"And?
Did you have a nice day? Honey?" He sent a fake smile in Justin's
direction.
"Yes.
Of course not." Justin looked blank up to the ceiling.
"Of
course not? What have you done today??
"Yes.
Certainly?certainly paint no blue?blue flower.?
"Hh.
Blue flower.?
"Yeah."
Justin made an angry? face. ?Miss
...Miss Eterson says."
"Miss?"
Brian frowned. ?Miss Peterson? She said you have to paint blue flowers??
"Yes."
The boy changed into an emphatically bored intonation and looked uninterested
to the wall. ?Miss Eterson." He really didn?t like Miss Eterson.
Brian
grinned. ?You don?t like her??
"Yeah."
Of course Justin didn?t like people with a...
"?thick
chest.?
"Yeah."
Brian shook his head. ?I know what you mean.?
"Yes.
Certainly stinks like...stinks like flowers.?
Mister
Kinney wrinkled his nose. Yes, most women smelled rather strange. But
nevertheless... ?Hey, it?s not nice to insult other people. Lindsay is the
mother of my child, you know??
"Yes."
Justin wrapped a hair strand around his finger. ?Of course like...like Falcon
Crest.?
"No."
Brian looked at the younger one with a horrified expression. ?Surely not like
fucking Falcon Crest!?
"Yeah."
Justin sighed. ?Certainly Denver...Denver Clan.?
Brian
tipped his head to the left. ?You know an awful lot about eighties soap operas
for a boy your age.?
"Yes.
Episode...episode two hundred and sixty?sixty-eight. The mother...mother of my
child.?
Brian
blinked. ?What ever. The damned mother of my child doesn?t stink like
flowers." He thought this over for a moment. ?Well, no more than other
women at least.?
"Yes.?
"Hmm.
What have you eaten today??
Justin's
eyes flickered and he rubbed the back of his head, but didn?t answer.
Brian
got up and went over to look at the plan above Justin's bed. ?Tortellini with
cheese sauce. Was it good??
Justin
stared out of the window and rocked softly back and forth.
?One...forty-one." Quite a lot snowflakes lay on the castle wall.
"Justin."
Brian walked to him and put his arms around a slender body. ?You don?t like
tortellini, huh?" He spoke softly and close to Justin?s ear.
"Yeah."
Blue eyes wandered restlessly from left to right. ?Toast from...toast from
Prian." He liked the prince and rubbed his hair against Prian?s temple.
"Hmm.
You can ask the nurses here to give you toast.?
"Yes.?
Brian
closed his eyes and stroked a hand over Justin's stomach. ?I?m bored. What do
you want to do??
"Yes.
Kiss... kiss Prian.?
Brian
smiled and drew his arms a little tighter. ?Actually I thought of playing cards
or something like that.?
"Yes.
Certainly lick...lick Prian?s belly.?
"Scrabble.?
"Yes."
Justin smiled. He liked Prian?s tongue. ?Prian licks?licks Justin Taylor?s
butt." It was emphasized wrongly and he nodded and turned his head to look
at the prince. ?Like a cat.?
Brian
stared in Justin's face. For a long time. Then he kissed dark pink lips and
whispered against them. ?It?s called rimming.?
Justin
said nothing. But he poked out his tongue and licked over the prince?s soft
mouth.
Brian
combed his fingers through blond hair, turned around a little and found that
playing? Scrabble was overvalued anyway.
With a small sigh he opened his lips and let Justin lead the kiss.
Uncoordinated and accentuated by soft, mewling sounds.
Justin
pushed up on his toes and dug his fingertips into broad prince shoulders and
brown soft hair. He loved the taste of Prian?s mouth and the warmth and the
wetness and Prian?s breath on his face and Prian?s hands on his neck. He wanted
to kiss the prince forever and really would have preferred for the prince to
not wear all these clothes. A little awkwardly he pulled at Prian?s shirt.
"Sssh."
Brian kissed the boy gently on the lips and put his hand broadly over a glowing
cheek. ?No undressing.?
Uncomprehending
blue eyes looked up at him. ?Without pants??
Brian
smiled and raised his eyebrows. ?It?s almost six o?clock. You want to eat
dinner without your pants on??
"Yes."
Justin seemed relieved about this suggestion and stood on the tips of his toes
again to continue the kissing.
Brian
held him by the shoulders and pushed him back in amusement. ?Think again, twat.?
"Yes."
Justin looked at the prince pleadingly. He wanted to see Prian?s ...
"?bellybutton??
Brian
drew his lips inside and put his forehead against the boys. ?No.?
"Yes."
Justin tried to look into the near face, while he tried to reach down with his
hand. ?Of course Prian?Prian?s penis?"
Brian
captured the five fingers at his crotch and purred darkly. ?What is this with
you, were you an Arabic carpet seller in your earlier life?" He kissed
Justin's lips. ?You are good with the haggling.?
"Yes."
Justin giggled. He liked the tale with the ...
"?magic
carpet!?
Brian
grinned and caressed the soft hair on Justin's neck. ?I like this story. Read
it when I was younger.?
"Yes."
Justin liked Prian?s voice. It was warm and soft and dark.
"My
parents weren?t too fond of books and stuff. So I often went to the library
after school. And there I saw this guy?Aladdin,? Brian closed his eyes and took
Justin's face into both hands. ?He was on the cover of one book and he looked
really hot.?
"Yes."
Aladdin had black hair and very dark eyes. And Justin liked the magic ...
??bottle."
"Hmm."
The older one massaged the warm points behind Justin?s earlobes with both
thumbs. ?Who lived inside the bottle? The genie??
"Yes."
Justin smiled and nestled his forehead to Prian?s.
"Hmm.
So, you want to know what I have done today??
"Yes.
Certainly buys...buys new gloves for Justin Taylor.?
"You
think so??
"Yes.
Of course on Monday after?after work. Prian says.?
"I
said that??
"Yes.?
"Hmm."
Brian placed a kiss on Justin?s nose, released him and pointed to the bed.
?They?re in? the bag.?
"What
is in the bag?" Male nurse Schmidt entered the room with a tray on his
arm.
"A
couple of porn magazines and a cake with file. I baked it myself." Brian
grinned at the nurse artificially.
"Yes.
Certainly gloves." Justin plodded to his bed. The bag looked really
pretty.
"Oh.
That?s good, with all this beastly weather lately." Ted put the food on
the table and theatrically shivering, rubbed his hands with a quick look out of
the window. ?I hate ice and snow. I am more the summer, sun, Miami type of
guy." He said the last words with a slightly lascivious undertone in
Mister Kinney?s direction.
"Yeah."
Brian examined the meal on the tray. ?And I am a member of the 'A happy life
without salmonellae poisoning' organisation." He pronged a grey, spongy
something on the fork and held it up. ?Theodore. What the fuck is this??
Mister
Schmidt scratched his head. ?According to the meal plan it?s pickled herring
salad. Very exquisite.?
Brian
moved the fork in front of Ted's lips. ?Bon app?tit!?
?Oh
well?? The
male nurse held his hands up with red cheeks and laughed nervously. "I?m
afraid I?m really allergic to fish of any kind. Too much ah?protein.?
"Yeah.
What ever." Brian threw the cutlery clattering back on the plate. ?Take
this shit away and bring something eatable for Mister Taylor. You know,
something you would actually take? into
your own mouth.?
Mister
Schmidt squared his shoulders, ?Of course, sir.? and quickly left the room.
"Yes.
Certainly sleeps." Justin didn?t take his eyes off the bag and tugged a
little frustrated at the zip-fastener.
"He
doesn?t go to sleep, he brings something to eat for you." Brian opened the
bag.
"Ooooh."
Justin watched as the prince unpacked three big bottles of Evian and put it on
the bedside table. Then he reached into the bag again and got a couple of black
gloves out. They were smooth and soft and ...
"?like
Prian?s jacket!?
"Leather.
Keeps your hands warm." Brian put the first on Justin's fingers and pulled
and picked at it until it fit correctly. ?Comfortable??
"Yes."
Justin looked up to the ceiling and kept his fingers absolutely still. Of
course it was rather tight and he wasn?t sure how his hand should ever ...
"?get
out of there again??
"No.
You must leave them on forever.?
"Hh!"
Justin looked at the prince alarmed, then at his black-dressed hand, and
finally back to the ceiling, before he began to rock nervously back and forth.
Brian
shook his head. ?Justin. It was a joke.?
"Yeah."
Justin's eyes flickered unfocussed but he didn?t dare to move his hand.
"Here."
Brian took the thin fingers, led them to his mouth and smiled slightly. ?Look
at me." He took the thin leather at the tip of Justin's middle finger
between his teeth and pulled.
"Yeah."
It took a moment until the boy had focussed his gaze. And then he felt the warm
prince mouth through the glove and the heat went straight to his belly.
Brian
took his time to loosen every single finger and grinned briefly before he
removed the complete glove in a smooth movement. ?Better?" He said it
quietly and kissed Justin's warm palm.
"Yeah."
Justin looked aside. But he smiled and touched his forefinger to Prian?s mouth.
"So!
It wasn?t easy but I could persuade the new cook to heat up the leftovers from
lunch." Male nurse Schmidt entered the room again with a new tray on his
arm and immediately the smell of cheese sauce filled the room. ?Here, please.
Tortellini." Smiling brightly, he put the food down on the table. ?I even
managed to get you a green bean salad.?
"Yes."
Justin rubbed the back of his head and made a couple of clumsy steps before he
stopped with his face to the wall. ?Of course dumb?dumbass. What is...what is your
problem.?
"Justin
come here." Brian spoke in a calm voice.
"Yes,
certainly too dense.? The boy beat his forehead against the wall. ?Dense to
eat. Of course toast from Prian." He didn?t like the sharp pain in his
head and went with small steps towards the window to see the castle in the
snow.
"Who
says you are dense?" Brian frowned.
"Oh,
surely no one." Mister Schmidt laughed. ?Our patients tend to
talk a little confused from time to time, Mister Kinney. It means nothing at
all.?
"Hmm.
And the staff here tends to talk disrespectfully towards their patients. Mister
Schmidt." He shot the male nurse an icy look. ?I appreciate your
efforts, but Mister Taylor doesn?t like tortellini. Please, bring a buttered
toast and cheese. Or at least some fruit.?
"With
pleasure, sir." Male nurse Schmidt cleared his throat, gathered his tray
and disappeared without further comment or looking back.
"Yes,
certainly sleeps." Justin was close by the window and followed a passing
car with his eyes.
Brian
stood behind him and stroked fair hair from a pale neck. ?He doesn?t go to
sleep. He brings toast for you.?
"Yes.
Toast from Prian.?
Brian
kissed the crook of Justin's neck. ?Hmm. Who said you were dense??
"Yeah."
Justin blinked lethargic out into the darkness. ?Of course not...not Plake.?
"Hmm.
You like Blake??
"Yes.
Plake.?
"Do
you like the other nurses here, too??
Did he? Justin wasn?t sure and felt sad as he saw the beautiful castle in front
of the window. It was very far away from his tower.
Brian
remained quiet for a while and then put an arm around Justin's belly, before he
spoke softly but clearly into a warm ear. ?If somebody says you are dense or
somebody touches you and you don?t like it ...?
"Yes.?
"Then
simply say ?fuck off?, okay??
"Yes.?
Brian
closed his eyes and drew his arm tighter. ?Say it for me.?
"Yes.?
"What
do you say??
"Yes.
Fuck?fuck off. Prian says.?
"Exactly."
Brian smiled thinly and kissed a pink earlobe. ?Good boy.?
"Yes."
Justin rubbed his ear against Prian?s cheek. ?Justin.?
"Hmm."
Brian put his chin on Justin's shoulder and pointed to the damp window. ?What?s
this? My name??
"Yeah."
Justin smiled. ?Prian.?
"Hmm.
Have you thought of me??
Did he? Yes, he always thought of Prian. He was his prince and beautiful and
very brave.
Brian
didn?t need words to know it and extended a finger to write his answer directly
underneath. On a cold, fogged tower window on the fifth floor.??
"Yeah."
Justin read it and bobbed up and down nervously in Prian?s arms and noticed as
his belly became all hot and his throat a bit tight. ?Justin.?
"Yes.?
"Yes."
Justin looked aside and nestled his head to a broad, strong prince chest. ?Of
course think of.?think of Justin.?
"Way
too often.?little twat.?
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Justin
had eaten four buttered toast slices although it was Monday evening and not
breakfast-time on Tuesday. He also had read all about good minerals that stood
on the Evian bottle label and then drank two brimful cups. Afterwards, he had
to go to the toilet and Prian had pushed the ugly alarm button next to the door
for him.
It
was the best Monday evening Justin could imagine.
And
it got even better, because when he returned from the toilet, the prince stood
in front of the bed and unpacked wonderful coloured boxes from the black bag.
"Justin."
Brian called the younger one over and held the empty bag out for him. ?Put it
into your wardrobe.?
"Yes."
Justin looked up to the ceiling. ?Of course not mine.?
Brian
raised his eyebrow. ?Of course it?s your damn bag. I?ve bought it for you, so I
won?t have to carry your embarrassing underwear across the whole fucking town
if you decide that you have to sleep in my castle again. Brat.?
"Yes.?
"Hmm."
Brian shoved the $280 piece of luggage roughly in Justin?s hands. ?Into the
wardrobe.?
"Yes.
Prian says.?
"Damn
fucking right he says so." Mister Kinney felt the urgent need for a
cigarette.
"Yeah."
Justin needed almost six minutes until the bag was tucked into his wardrobe,
then he drank a large sip from his red cup and finally stopped after four
aimless steps in the middle of the room.
"Justin."
Brian sat down on the white clinic bed and began to open one of the boxes.
?Come here, I want to show you something.?
"Yes."
Justin walked in the direction of the door, scratched his forehead and then
went straight to his bed. A little awkwardly he crawled on the mattress and
knelt between Prian?s legs. The prince got beautiful things out of the colored
box. Cords, paper, plastic bags and "Ha!" a tiny white television
set!
Brian
removed the packing material of the little handheld console, pressed a few
buttons, opened it, snapped it shut and finally plugged the cable in. There was
a beeping noise and the screen brightened. ?Give me the game over there."
He pointed to a flat box.
"Yes."
Justin reached for the terrific television set. He wanted to see whether the
good night greeting came on it.
Brian
held his arm stretched out for a bit, before he finally reached past the boy
and fetched the game himself. ?The bitch with the braces said you can see how
old your brain is if you play this." He fiddled with the way too big
packing, only to get a tiny game out after a minute. ?Which way do you have to
put this in?!" He wrinkled his forehead and turned the little plastic chip
around five times before he stuffed it brutally in the scheduled opening.
?Motherfuckingpieceofshit ..." Nothing happened, so he opened up the
screen, snapped it shut and in the end switched off the whole console and then
on again. ?It costs a damn fortune and then not even the fucking light go--
" It made a 'bing', the screen became bright and coloured and a little,
funny melody could be heard. ?Hh." Brian grumbled and longed for his
Marlboros.
"Yes.
Certainly broken." Justin curled a blond hair strand around his finger and
looked up to the ceiling. ?Of course no...no good night greeting.?
"Hmm."
The older man swept a couple of bags and boxes on the floor, moved to the head
of the bed and spread his legs. ?Come here.?
"Yes."
Justin rocked on his heels. ?Kiss...kiss Prian.?
Brian
didn?t look up from his game and feverishly pressed around on the little
buttons. ?Well then come here.?
"Yes.?
It
took nearly forty seconds for Justin to crawl closer, a whole minute until he
leant a little stiffly across the little screen, and after another long moment,
Brian received a damp, warm kiss. Directly on the lips.
Brian
smiled and returned the kiss without comment. And he forgot his game and put a
hand on the back of Justin's head to slide his tongue slowly deeper. And he
closed his eyes and was enraptured by the five cool fingers on his neck and
sweet butter toast taste.
"Hmm
.." He ended the kiss slowly and had to lick his lips at the end. ?What
was that??
"Yes.
Kiss... kiss Prian." Justin looked to the wall and had red cheeks.
Brian
wrapped his fingers in the blond hair strands on Justin's neck and whispered
into a warm ear. ?You?re very good at that.?
"Yes.
Justin.?
"Yes.
Come here." Brian turned him around until the boy leant against his chest,
and then held the little white handheld console in front of his face. ?Here.
Can you read this??
Justin
liked to sit so close to Prian. He could feel Prian?s breath next to his ear
and the strong arms were everywhere around him. It was very comfortable in his
white bed today.
"Justin."
Brian spoke louder and reached for Justin's hand to place it over the little
buttons. ?Read this.?
"Yes."
Blue eyes flickered around unfocussed for a moment, before they finally landed
on the little screen. ?How many...how many numbers in the left field are ...are
divisible by three.?
"Hm.
Do you know what divide means??
"Yeah."
Justin looked to the ceiling. ?Twelve, six, fifteen, thirty, nine,
two...forty-two.?
Brian
blinked and stared confused at the bunch of mixed numbers on the screen. ?Hh.
Well don?t be too smug. This was simple.?
"Yes.?
"What?s
with this?" He pointed to the screen with the touchpen. ?How many vowels
are in this sentence??
"Yes.
Five.?
"Five??
"Yes.
Certainly five." Justin looked to the window.
"Hmm."
Brian counted three u?s, one i, one a, and moved over to the next task. ?Do you
know what a crossword puzzle is? What word could fit in this squar??
"Yes.
Administration.?
Mister
Kinney raised his eyebrows in silence, stared at the screen and then looked at
the kid from the side. ?You know all this, but you don?t know when you can
cross the street??
"Yeah."
Justin's gaze wandered up to the ceiling again and a long blond strand was
curled around his forefinger, before he answered after 36 seconds. ?Only
if?only if Prian says.?
And
Brian remained quiet and closed his eyes and rubbed his nose against a pale
cheek, because he really didn?t know what to say.
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At
8 pm, Brian Kinney left room 4.11 with his hands in the coat pockets and the
urgent desire for half a packet of nicotine.
"Brian?"
Dr. Bruckner stuck some files under his arm and stopped.
Brian
looked up and changed immediately from ?lost in thought? into fake kindness.
?The good Professor.?
"Brian."
Ben smiled obviously surprised. ?What are you doing here? Have you-" He
looked around. ?Did you want to see Lindsay? I?m sure she isn?t here anymore.?
"Hmm."
Brian slid his hands deeper into the coat pockets and shrugged his shoulders.
?I?ve visited someone. Tell Michael to call me." He nodded in Ben's
direction and walked away without looking back.
"Okay
?" Ben frowned as he looked after the other man, shook his head and
concentrated on his files again, while he entered room 4.11 with a polite knock
on the door. ?Justin, hello.?
Justin
sat on the edge of his bed with a straight back and pressed twice on the left
and once on the upper button of the little console.
Doctor
Bruckner smiled and got closer. ?It?s eight o'clock. I thought maybe we could
go into the community room together.?
Justin
knew 213 + 88 were ...
"?three
hundred and one.?
He
pushed the button and the little man said the result was right. The little man
was really clever.
"Justin?"
Ben put a hand on his patients shoulder. ?The good night greeting will start in
a few minutes. Don?t you want to-" He furrowed his eyebrows. ?Where did
you get this game from?" He smiled and grabbed for the little device. ?May
I??
Justin
didn?t look up from his screen and his answer sounded monotonously and wrongly
emphatic. But the responsible doctor understood every syllable quite exactly.
"Yeah.
Fuck off.?
????????????????????????????????????????????????????
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